On Monday, we drove to Jamestown to pick up my parents. We then drove on to Erie, Pennslvania, where my father had an appointment at St. Vincent’s Hospital.  The appointment was to get his heart shocked!  Yikes!! Dad had expressed some anxiety when Mark and I spoke to him the week before, so we offered to take him and Mom to the hospital.  This was a relief for him, as he was concerned about Mom driving home in the dark if he had to stay overnight.  As it worked out, the procedure was done at about 12:30, and we walked out the door at about 3:00 with Dad.  It was an absolutely great day and we arrived back home around 9:00.  A long, but fun day!

Tuesday was spent in Rochester.  Running around and errands. Will errands ever end?  I think not.

Wednesday, Mark had a dental appointment.  I stayed home and then when he got back home, decided we needed to go to the grocery store as some bitter weather was headed our way! Actaully, more than bitter cold was coming….they predicted snow and some “dangerous” conditions.

Thursday, we were back in Rochester.  We are still trying to decide what to do with the Ford Explorer.  Mark has looked at every conceivable option, but feels we need just a little more time.  We stopped at Wendy’s on our way home to pick up a couple things and the rain was just pouring down by the buketsfull!  If that had been snow, we would have struggled badly to make it home!

Today, our bad weather finally arrived. With a vengeance.  The winds blew and howled like crazy all day.  It is quiet now…almost deafeningly so!  We became accustomed to the loudness all day, so now, our ears are straining to hear the noise that is no longer there!  I am glad we didn’t need to go out today. There are spots on the driveway where the snow is about eight inches deep, and others are nearly bare.  The wind certainly rearranged things!  Carly and I talked a little today and she said the roads were atrocious.   Since most road applications do little good in weather this cold, we opted to enjoy home today!

We left the house early this morning so Michelle could attend a five-hour mandatory driving class she needs before she can take her driver’s test for her license. She had to be at the class at eight, so we left at about 7:15.  While Michelle was at her class, Mark, Ben, and I just kind of hung out and went to the mall and BJ’s.

We picked up some Chinese takeout from a restaurant near where Michelle’s class was, just before we picked her up.  That particular restaurant has a good luncheon deal.

Afterwards, it was on to Penn Yan.  The kids have a friend who lives there who will be returning to college soon, so they wanted to spend some time together.  Mark and I dropped the kids off, then drove on up to Geneva. We just hung out there, watching a documentary and a movie.  We drove back to pick the kids up at 7:30.

As you can see, this was a long day in the truck!  Even Murphy is stretched out, eyes closed, and dreaming doggie dreams!

And so, I shall close this and take my leave…..to slumberland!

One project that I do want to comment on is the new ramp that Ben nearly single-handedly built behind the house!  With Mark’s help and instruction, Ben not only built a wooden ramp which is longer than the old temporary one, but he also mixed and poured twenty-two bags of cement to form a beautiful sidewalk at the end of the ramp!

I honestly think a better job could not have been done.  Ben is very shy about me sharing about this project, but to see him mix one eighty pound bag of mix after another, then pour it and begin again was incredible!  I think most men would have been slowing down after ten bags, but Ben just kept right on going!

Our weather has been very strange this winter. While the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicted a colder and snowier winter than usual, we have had precious little snow and the temperatures have been mild.  We are supposed to be getting some snow over the next few days and I will welcome it!  The warmer temperatures we have had, along with the rain, have made me feel so chilly!  Better freezing temperatures with snow than warmer temperatures with rain and drizzle!  The dampness seems to get into one’s bones!

We are missing riding the snowmobiles this year.  Last year, we were able to have had several outings by this time, but with no snow, it has been impossible.  There was some snow up on Tug Hill, but Mark read accounts where the warm temps made nasty riding conditions with puddles. Yuck!

I have been in cleaning mode the past couple of weeks, wanting to thin out stuff we don’t want/need.  It is crazy how stuff piles up on us while we aren’t paying attention!  Michelle has been feeling the need to discard old junk as well.  We need to make a trip to one of the Salvation Army Stores soon!  I think this is the closest I come to making a New Year’s resolution.  I have just become restless looking at all the stuff that has been building up over the years.  We even have things from Mark’s dad who passed away seven years ago this month!

How about you?  Have you made any resolutions?  Do you usually stick with them, or do they fall be the wayside?

When I was at Lowe’s the day I saw the wonderful  blue orchid, I bought a Christmas Cactus.  I had two of them for years and years and they both died at the same time a couple of years ago.  I figured I just wouldn’t replace them, but when I saw this particular cactus, I was enamoured!  After all, it has that incredible “gold dust” look on the flowers!

Have a great day, and if celebrating, don’t eat too much!!!

So…I took a few photos yesterday but was too pooped to blog last night!

When I got up in the morning yesterday, it was snowing.  The snow was coming down steadily, but because the ground was warm, it melted pretty fast.  It did leave its mark on some things, though. Since I get up long before the sun (or lack thereof) does, I love to light little tealight candles and set them in the windows. (in votice holders!)  Look how pretty!

I love this little bit of “alone time” before everyone else gets up.  Murphy and I are the only ones stirring and it is nice to start the day quietly!

And, here are a couple of photos of the remains of the aforementioned snow…

I spent a couple of hours doing errands in Canandaigua yesterday afternoon.  It was a cold day, but the sun was shaining and the sky was blue!  When I came home,  I made some meatballs for spaghetti.  While they were baking,  I made up a batch of cloverleaf rolls.  Dinner was a hit, as Ben and Mark had spent the day outside working.  They were so cold!

Today, Mark and Ben were up and at it once again.  I had gone out to the garage at 6am and made a fire in the woodstove so the garage would be warm.  Mark kept the fire going throughout the day, and when he and Ben finally came in for dinner at seven tonight, the garage was a toasty seventy degrees!  No wonder they took long to get in….early this evening, it began raining, although the thermometer said only twenty-six degrees!

While the guys were out working,  I went to work on cleaning the chimney on the woodstove in the living room.  The stove seemed less efficient than usual yesterday, so I thought a good cleaning was in order.  It doesn’t take long and the result was the stove is burning better now.

After finishing up the stove,  Michelle’s friend came over to the house for a few hours.  I bounced back and forth between the house and garage.  Thankfully, we had some chicken breasts left over from a few nights ago.  I sliced them and warmed them up in my homemade Buffalo wing sauce and served them with homemade Bleu Cheese dressing,  mixed veggies, and potatoes. Once again, I am so tired!

Murphy wakes me up every night, walking around.  I don’t remember him doing this before Angus died, so I don’t know if it is related.  I started feeding him half a meal in the morning, and the other half in the evening, hoping this would help him sleep better.  He actually did sleep in a little this morning, so maybe two meals a day might help.

When Mark came into the house tonight, I was pretty concerned. We had that freezing rain on the steps and handrail.  Ben poured hot water on them just before Mark came up and it worked well. Phew!  Afterwards, I took some more photos….

During my running about yesterday, I picked up a pair of boots!  What better thing to wear out tonight into the miserable weather?

And, I got an umbrella and walked out to show you just how miserable this weather is!

Yup, the car is encased in a shroud of ice tonight!

And, one more photo.  When Mark cut through a piece of 4″ x 4″ pressure-treated lumber today, instead of “heartwood”, what he found left him starstruck!

I don’t think I have ever seen anything like this before!

Yesterday, after dropping Michelle off for her afternoon classes,  I picked up Carly and her daughter, Erin, for a little photo adventure.  I really needed that! It was awesome and we had fun wandering, too.

We went to the George Eastman House first. We weren’t there very long.  We really didn’t have a lot of time, as Michelle’s afternoon classes only run three hours.  Thankfully, Carly knows her way around the city very well….I never would have even known where to go!  After finishing up at Eastman House, Carly asked if I had ever visited the Mount Hope Cemetery. Nope.  But I would like to!

We got to the cemetery and it is really an incredible place.  Carly, being trained as an Earth Science teacher, knows all about land formations and such.  She told us the cemetery is built on what is called “kettles”.  As one wanders about, it is easy to see how this type of terrain is so named.  There are deep round valleys that do indeed look like kettles!  And, Carly said if the kettles fill with water, they become kettle lakes.  Thankfully, that isn’t happening at the cemetery, lest the dead might arise from their graves…..or at least their coffins might!

We had no sooner stepped out of the car when a male Cardinal began to flirt with us!  Can you see him? He’s the intense red “spot” in the center of the photo. Click to see him bigger! I stood there and took repeated shots of him, but it was nearly impossible to get focussed correctly on him. Only when I got home did I find this really cool shot of him…

The monument below was seen from the road and I told Carly we should go look for it.  The color was just beyond fascinating…and the monument is so beautiful as well!

I guess it really is impossible to capture the brilliance of the colors of the tree.  I don’t like to fiddle around with photos. I like to try to capture my subjects just as I see them. So,  I tried shooting upward into the tree!

Enlarging the pictures adds a lot…condensing them just detracts from the glorious colors!

We had wandered off just a bit from the car when I wondered if I had locked the doors.  Not that a “graveyard” is a typical place for pilfering, but I just wanted to make sure the car was locked.  We asked Erin to run down and make sure it was locked up, as we “oldies” didn’t want to clamber down a hill, then climb once again! Erin loves to run, so she scampered off and made sure everything was set.  When she came back, she was nearly doubled over, laughing hysterically.  She thought that both she and I had been pressing the wrong button for the locks.  She was so funny!

One of the interesting aspects of this cemetery is that no space was wasted in the past.  There are literally graves everywhere! Now, remember Carly called this land kettles….

The stones in this cemetery range from elaborate to simply initials etched into a tiny just-above-ground marker.

I couldn’t quite understand why some of the sites are terribly overgrown, either? The next photo was taken from a steep clifflike area.  There was a guardrail built at the edge from concrete upright “pillars” and horizontal iron bars, but the concrete was falling apart and the bars were not very likely to keep one from tumbling down the steep grade! Anyway, the mausoleum built into the hill across from the one we were on was intriguing!

As I was photographing the building, Carly and Erin had found some rather unique seating arrangements in a section of really overgrown graves!  The cedar trees looked like they were going to overtake the stones!

Now, how we could feel so comfortable and at ease amongst the “sleeping” is beyond me, but the atmosphere was amazing! We were having so much fun and it was just the kind of day where everything looks beautiful and perfect!

Carly told me there were a couple of famous people buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery. So, off we went on a little explore to find the monuments….

A brief history lesson. And, the monument. Buried in the same place is his wife,  and a daughter.

Apparently, Mr. Douglass was married twice as this marker is nearby….

As we walked along, I noticed this and smiled. Ironic it is in a cemetery, for in the crevice of a dead stump, a new little tree had taken root and was growing!

Another brief history lesson. On the way to Susan’s grave, what should Erin spot?

Definitely enlarge this one, as you can see the little fellow is sitting on the edge of a stone that says “safe with Jesus”. Too cute!

Susan B. Anthony’s simple, unassuming marker.  It seems so small for a woman who so greatly impacted the rights of women in this nation, and perhaps even elsewhere in the world.

And, one last tree shot….

We only covered a tiny slice of this huge cemetery. Perhaps one day we will revisit and see even more. 

Did you ever believe when you saw the title above that such amazing color would be found in an old, old cemetery?

Michelle’s friend, Jacob, came over and we went out this afternoon, stopping first at a Chinese buffet in Geneva.  My, oh my, I ate too much!  I usually don’t overeat at buffets, but I kind of ate a bit too much today!  I sat across the table from Michelle, so I kept annoying her by taking pictures.  I was hoping to get just one good one.  She got tired of me and the camera, though….

Ummm…the photo above was taken before we left, obviously! I got the pretty Argyle sweater she’s wearing for her for her birthday.

After we ate, we headed on over to the outlet mall in Waterloo.  We walked and walked and walked some more!  Michelle had said she wanted a pair of fashion boots to wear under slacks, so we looked for those.  As we passed by the Clarks/Bostonian store, I told her she might try looking there.  She was reluctant, thinking it looked too “upscale”. 

Lo and behold, the store had boots just like she wanted.  The problem was,  they didn’t have her size.  She was a little disappointed, but one of the girls there told her they can order them directly and they will be shipped to the house. How cool is that?  No extra charge for shipping, either. Michelle was pretty happy.  I also found a really cute little purse there for a great price.

We looked around a little more,  then decided to start for home.  Mark wanted to see the Sabres/Ottawa Senators game, so we wanted to get home before too late.  We stopped at Wegman’s along the way and I picked up a Friendly’s Reeses Peanut Butter Cake for Michelle’s birthday.  WOW!  What a cake that is!

We got home a bit late, but watched the game as the kids watched a movie in the basement.  All in all, Michelle had a good day, but we can tell she isn’t 100%, as she looked pretty worn out by the time she went to bed. 

So, on this day, I am so thankful for our Michelle.  She has accomplished a great deal in her nineteen years and we a proud of her!  She is a blessing in so many, many ways. 

I am also thankful for the Sabres win over Ottawa!  This game was a real nail biter. The game ended in a 2:2 tie,  so we went itno overtime.  No one scored in overtime, so it was time for a shootout.  The first two Senators got the puck in, as did the first two Sabres.  Then there were three Senators who failed to drive the puck in….same with the Sabres.  Another Senator. Then, the Sabres’ Derek Roy……INTO the NET!!!  Sabres win 3:2!

I did wander down to the Dollar General Store in Naples this afternoon.  I was feeling a bit on the restless side because the sun was shining, although it was quite chilly! 

This is just a quick post because I am tired and I am anxious to take a look at the Victoria Classic Holiday Bliss magazine I picked up today.  My oh my….this magazine is full of the prettiest holiday photos I have ever seen! I love Victoria Magazine, but this issue is so beautiful…..with photos ranging from simple little touches to luxuriously elegant ideas!  Eye candy, indeed!

Today, I am thankful for the birds that sing so happily outside our house.  I know that is a little unusual, but they are so chipper!  Just hearing their songs and little chirps can make a less than stellar day so much better! I really am thankful for the birds and that I can feed them.  God gave us those little birds to remind us of His great love! The Bible says that not even a little sparrow falls from a tree but that God is aware….How much greater His love for us?

We spent the day today running around..a lot!  We had to drop Michelle off at school.  Oh, but *before* dropping her off,  we had to rush to WalMart so the kids could buy a bunch of the special Halloween candy on sale for half price.  This was important. To them, anyway!

After Michelle was off to school, it was time to rush over to Mark’s mom’s house.  She had a doctor’s appointment.  After getting her squared away at the doctor’s,  we went on over to Home Depot.  We were checking out some pricing on lumber and when I saw all the pretty Christmas baubles,  I was like a piece of metal to magnet.  I will never understand the draw for me,  but I just love all the colors of Christmas.  Oh, not *just* the reds and greens, but all the others as well.  And speaking of red and green,  I cannot even begin to believe all the variations of these two colors.  Just awesome!

After picking my mother-in-law up when she was done, we took a leisurely drive on over to Sam’s Club.  We were there for quite awhile.  I really like their big packages of chicken and roasts.  The prices are so great and with all the Crockpot meals I have been making, it is so nice to be able to pull out pre-packaged chicken breasts and thighs.  (I place one breast or thigh into a small baggie, then place the small baggies into a large marked bag…so simple!)  Mark’s mom even bought a large package of meat to make up several meals.

When we got done shopping, we were off to Mark’s mom’s house.  She is such a stitch!  She bought a wireless doorbell at WalMart she wanted to show me.  It was pretty cool. The button goes outside, as is typical, and there is a wireless receiver you plug into an electrical outlet.  It makes a very nice “ding-dong”. 

After seeing the cool wireless setup, she went and got out another box.  This was way way cool!  She loves watching QVC and sometimes buys things from them.  Well, she bought an awesome wireless doorbell that plays different songs.  It has Christmas selections as well as titles for other holidays.  The most impressive had to have been the Hallelujah Chorus.

Although today was fairly warm compared to the past several days,  I got chilled.  We were working outside at Mark’s mom’s and it was shady and cool.  I went and sat down in the car with Murphy.  Mark opened the tailgate and Ben put one of the seats down so Murphy could see what was happening.  The little bugger sat in the back of the car and watched every little thing!  He was so cute sitting there, tilting his head back and forth! 

One notable difference with Murphy being the single pup is he is no longer such a wild man when it comes to food.  When Angus was around,  if you offered Murphy a treat, you would have to place it in your palm and hold it up to him.  If you tried to have him take it from your fingers….OUCH….Murphy would clamp down on your fingers like a ravenous wild animal! Today, my mother-in-law (bravely) placed a treat in her lips and told Murphy to take it.  We used to do this with Angus and he would ever-so-gently remove it.  Not Murphy….he was out to do some lip-piercing!  Today, however, Murphy gently eased the treat from her lips!

As we were getting ready to leave today, my mother-in-law confided that Murphy reminds her a lot of Angus. That was awesome, as this woman absolutely adored little Angus!  When we used to go to her house, Angus would see her and his ears would lie flat on his head….his lips would curl back, exposing his teeth and his rearend seemed to come undone, as though totally disengaged from his body!  He would hop up and down until she came over to him and talked to him.  Oh, how we missed that today…..but Murphy was different….totally warming up to her.  It was so cute as he followed her into the garage to get a “cookie”.

We were a few minutes late picking Michelle up from school.  She and Ben were so excited, as a nationally known band was going to be doing an accoustic set at a local business in Rochester this evening.  It started at six, and the best part was, it was free!  Tomorrow, they are doing another venue, and it is expensive to get in. 

Michelle got into the car and asked us to crank the heat up.  She asked Mark to go to McDonald’s to get her a sandwich as she felt like she was starving.  After she ate, we went over to WalMart.  She stayed in the car with Murphy and when we came back out, she said she wanted to go home.  She then told us her throat was so sore, she just wanted to go home and go to bed.  Poor Michelle.  I feel so bad for her….

As soon as we got home, everyone acted pretty tired;  even Murphy flopped down and fell asleep!

Only one photo.  I took this one yesterday.  You see, we moved into this house just a little more than nineteen years ago. In all those years,  we have never, ever, had one child come trick or treating!!  The first few years we were here,  I always bought big bags of candy, expecting someone to stop by.   But, it never happened.

Sooo……there is always a first, right? 

There were four “kids” that came by just before dusk last night.  Aren’t they just dear?

The fourth little one was photo shy!

And so, this November first,  I am so thankful for all my friends and family! Where would be be without all the loved ones in our lives?

We had such a great visit.  Mom, Dad, and Randy all shared little things they remembered about Angus and were encouraging and upbeat.  It really was good to get away from home, too.  We got to drive our new Subaru Outback for its maiden voyage, other than the trip home from the Subaru dealer a week ago last Wednesday.  Yes, we waited to drive it for a long time!

When we got to the home of my parents, Randy was anxious to show me a most amazing gift my Aunt Barbara had left for me!

This is one of two Scotties.  They are made of a heavy glass and although it looks yellow/green, they are actually clear glass. They are so pretty in their detail and I cannot think of a more awesome gift!  I’m not sure if Aunt Barbara is reading, but if you are, a million thank-you’s!!!!  A more wonderful gift could not be given, especially since losing Angus.

Ben and Mark and I worked on splitting and stacking firewood into the woodshed today.  We figure there must be close to eight cords of wood loaded in there already.  Ben has been working so hard on the firewood supply and I appreciate that!  I was having problems cutting with the chainsaw…I kept getting back pain.  The stacking  doesn’t seem to bother me at all.

Here is one more photo taken from the front porch late this afternoon…

Many of our leaves have fallen, but there is still a vibrant yellow/gold in our front yard!