Life in the Bristolwood

Have you noticed everywhere you go, people are wishing everyone “Happy Holidays!” instead of Merry Christmas?  Yeah, I know….don’t get your knickers in a knot…right?  It is just that it seems with every year that passes, Jesus is becoming less and less the center of the celebration. I guess the name of Christ is just so offensive, no one wants to utter it.

And, speaking of Jesus.  Well, when my father-in-law passed away,  we inherited his nativity set.  The nativity is beautiful but it takes up a good bit of real estate.  When one lives in a small house, it is hard to find empty flat surfaces to place such things.  This year, I found a cool solution when I really wasn’t looking!

I love this nativity! Yay! Takes up little space AND as an added bonus, it adds the element of fire!!! Yes, there is a place for a votive candle in a cup in the center.  This makes the fire gently wash upon the faces of the wise men, angel, and shepherds.  It really is pretty.

You might wonder where I have been and to tell the truth, no where in particular!  I have just been busy.  The other day, we took Michelle to school and dropped her off.  We then headed to Rochester.  On the way to Canandaigua, the skies were so pretty.  They looked like watercolor paintings.  Sorry about the smudges….those are Scottie snuzzles on the glass!

Michelle has completed her first semester of college and I am pleased to say she has done very well.  It is always a bit of a relief, as a homechooling family,  to get a good report from school.  Michelle will have her final grades the day after Christmas, but she is sure she has made the dean’s list.   She was excused from the final test in one class, as her average exceeded 100%. 

On Monday, I had to visit the dentist for three (argh!) fillings.  The dentist gave me two shots of novacaine in the upper front and then proceded to work on a small cavity on the bottom. When I nearly jumped out of the chair, he gave me one more shot.  I have a tendency to close my eyes and look as though I have stopped breathing, causing both the dentist and hygenist to keep questioning whether I am okay!  Of course I am….I am just *trying* to relax.  By the time I reached the receptionist,  I was so numb in the face,  I could barely talk!  The dentist came up behind me and massaged my neck. They all laughed,  saying he should have relaxed me BEFORE I got the work done!  Ah well….I smiled and told him “Another dental visit survived”!

Now, why I took the camera with me to the dentist is beyond me,  but when I came home,  there was a pileated woodpecker right behind the house.  These birds are so flighty, it is impossible to ever get a photo.  This time, the bird stayed put for awhile, but  I only had a short lens on the camera.  If you click twice to enlarge the photo, you can see the bird right in the center of the photo.

Ah, one more story about the shopping trip… As I awaited Mark and Ben to pick me up at Sam’s,  I heard an elderly woman ask one of the guys gathering carts for help unloading the heavy items in her cart.  Unfortunately, the wind was blowing and the guy didn’t hear.  I pushed my cart over and told her I could put her heavy items in the trunk for her.  She was glad for the help and told me about how her son and daughter-in-law were flying out today to China to pick up a little girl with Cerebral Palsy that they are going to adopt.  They have four children of their own, but wanted another child. She also told me her granddaughter had been accepted into the pre-med program in Syracuse.  She confided she was so excited….and so blessed, this year!  As I finished up,  she grabbed me and gave me a huge hug….

Don’t you wish everyday was Christmas?

Yes, I am afraid Angus just does not want to cooperate with me!!!  Well, not really. It is just that there is so much going on around here,  I have not had the time (or energy) to photograph the little fellow.

The kids had a friend over yesterday and they went sledding for awhile, ate, then went down to Naples for a concert.  I was so pooped after running around!  I was also trying to watch a Sabres game between taking two runs to Naples, so it was really crazy! Thankfully, the Sabres won. Yay!

Here are a few photos for your perusal, taken throughout last week.  I am seriously loving the Nikon D-90 and would recommend it to anyone looking into buying a great D-SLR. 

The weather today was quite frightful….it wasn’t cold or blustery, but rather warm and springlike, complete with rain! Somehow, cold rain feels much more chilling than snow this time of the year.  Mark needed to do a little repair on the ATV before finally plowing the driveway.  By the time he got out there,  he was plowing the wettest slush!  Hopefully, it will remain warm enough tomorrow to finish melting all the slush from the driveway so it is clear before we get another Arctic blast midweek.

Tomorrow looks like another active day.  The kids have an early morning dental cleaning and in the afternoon, we are expected at Mark’s mom’s house.  Didn’t I mention that wintry weather was a time for *hibernation*?  Well, perhaps after Christmas?

Lucky me! This morning, bright and early, I got to go to the dentist’s office to discover how many zillions of dollars it will cost to fix my teeth!  Yeah, not a very exciting proposition….

Nonetheless,  I did head out with the Panasonic in my Explorer “just in cae”.

Since I left the house a few minutes early, I was able to stop at Woodville just in time to see the sun coming up over Bare Hill.

I thought it rather amazing I was able to do the sunset last evening in Canandaigua at the lake and the sunrise his morning from Woodville, at the complete opposite end of the lake!

Oh yeah,  the dental visit wasn’t *too* bad.  I did find out I have a problem grinding my teeth. That was news to me, but the dentist explained it might be done at night while I am sleeping….too bad I never remember my dreams, eh?

This morning, while chatting with my mom on the phone,  she asked how I managed to keep from getting the bug that troubled our family.  She probably remembers when I was younger,  I caught every cough and cold that came along along.  If I was in a room and someone coughed,  I would end up with a cold!

Well,  I guess there are two three things I have been doing.  The first involves handwashing.  Handwashing to the point that it seems miraculous I have skin left on my poor hands!  Secondly,  instead of using toothpaste,  I have been brushing my teeth with Listerine!  Yes, I used that horrific mouthwash to brush my teeth while everyone was sick.  I would pour some into the cap, then dip my toothbrush in….and no,  no one else uses the bottle I use, so no spreading germs there!

The third and last thing I did to ward off the invasion of the bug was,  I drank this on a regular basis….

Yeah, that is a Scottie Dog shot glass.  Although I personally don’t drink anything stronger than Pepsi,  I did buy that cute little shot glass because,  well, I will let you guess. <smile!>

So, what is in the glass?

I talked about this concoction last year.  It is a recipe we found on the Internet.

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 Tablespoon Honey

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tablespoons  Water

Now, the person offering the recipe was a Registered Nurse,  saying this stuff “tastes terrible” but that it really works for calming a cough  or helping a sore throat.  She suggested a teaspoon taken at a time.  Haha!  The shot glass was one recipe, and I drank the entire thing down!  It really is hot and spicy but Ben said it has the basic components for a good barbeque sauce.  By golly, the kid was correct and as I chugged it down,  each serving seemed tastier than the one before!

Now, if you wonder if I have lost all my senses, so be it.  But remember,  I was the “sole survivor”!

While I was photographing the cute little shot glass,  I saw Michelle’s pretty red roses and took a closeup of one flower.  Iwas rather well-pleased with the photo…….

And,  speaking of Michelle…..that child!  Look at THIS shot.

She called me into her room to see poor little Murph,  head slung almost to the bedding,  wearing Michelle’s new hat.  She insists he looks “so cute” in it.  But, the new slippers?  That is quite the improvement over the little baby slippers she used to make him wear……

Yes, it seems like we were everywhere today, although we really weren’t!

The kids had an early afternoon appoinment with the doctor for a routine checkup.  Mark wanted to have them actually see the doctor,  instead of a physician’s assistant, so we were there for about an hour and forty-five minutes. I came out of the office with a hand full of literature informing us about various immunizations.  Gads, how did we live so long without all of these shots, after all?  I told the doctor we will study the sheets and get back to him….

After the doctor visit, the kids wanted to meet up with a couple of their friends to take in the movie GI Joe. We dropped them off with their friends at the theater and I grabbed a bite to eat. (Mark and the kids ate before) Mark and I had a couple of hours to kill, so we went to a Chevy dealer and took a look at the 2010 Chevy Equinox.  Our friend, Pastor Bert, recently purchased one of these cars and Mark was impressed by it.  Sporting a small four cylinder engine, it has six gears and achieves some good gas mileage. 

We visited a dealership and a saleswoman came out to talk with us.  She said the dealership sells this model like hotcakes.  I went on a test drive and was impressed by the vehicle.  Even wih the small engine, the Equinox moved along the highway with no balking or hesitation.  A very nice car!

After the movie ended, we picked the kids up and rushed to the college Michelle will be attending.  She wanted to get some information regarding her books for classes.  We arrived only a few minutes before the store closed, but Michelle got the info she needed.

As the skies began to get that beautiful “Canandaigua glow”,  I figured I should try to get a photo or two for my blog!  The first shot was good except for one thing….I took it through the bug-smeared windshield!

As we left Canandaigua, Mark took a route that rises up some from the city.  This allowed me to get a couple more cool sunset shots….

These photos were all taken looking to the west.

I then looked to the east and was so happy by what I saw!

Mark pulled over onto a side road so I could hop out of the truck  and take some photos without shooting rapidfire through the windows!

The weather the past three days has been so amazingly beautiful!  The evenings and nights cool off and then the days are full of glorious sunshine!  The temperatures have been comfortable as well.

Last night,  I called Michelle outside so she could hear the awesome sound of tree frogs….it sounded as though they were surrounding us!  They are repeating last night’s performance, and listening to them through the open bedroom window is so cool.

I am working on the sweater little by little.  I have discovered that with all the cables and crossing over of stitches,  I cannot work with people around.  Thus, I am now becoming the introverted knitter!!!

Last evening,  Mark and I decided to take a little cruise down West Lake Road.  After reading accounts about the tornado in Canandaigua,  we were curious to see the damage.  Reports kept saying the damage was mostly confined to the yacht club.

Apparently,  someone was assessing the damage from above.

I suppose the aerial perspective would be much more revealing than our attempt to see everything from the road.

We were surprised to see that houses right next to the yacht club were left unscathed by the violent wind.  The damage really did look as though it was confined to just a small area! Mark commented that the above building is now “twisted”.  We also noticed that the trees look as though they are “leaning”.

Hard to believe all those boats are still sitting there in the water! 

Mark and Ben wet to Lowe’s and Michelle and I looked around TJ Maxx.  I like this photo of last night’s moon….

Last night, the kids heard that one of their friends was involved in a bad car accident.  One of his arms is badly damaged and he had emergency surgery today to repair broken bones in his neck.   I hate hearing things like this!

Today, Mark, the kids and I all wandered into the woods.  I cut some firewood and Ben worked with Mark, making the most awesome trails that the ATV’s can ride on.  As Ben wedged an enormous rock out of the pathway, this salamander  crawled out from under it….

I feel so exhausted and I really did little work compared to the kids.  The pathways Ben created are like little highways running through the woods. 

Tomorrow is another busy day with us taking the kids to Rochester for doctor appointments.  I so look forward to a time when we can sit still for a few minutes!!

 Instead of getting ready to head on down to the dentist now,  I am home, root canal completed!  As I was out taking photos yesterday,  the office called and asked if I might be able to make a 9:00 am appointment this morning. (instead of noon)  I was ecstatic, as  I HATE appointments that are late in the day….too much time for me to get nervous!

I got there late,  as I found it difficult finding a parking spot.  The dentst assured me, after I told him my problem,  that all those signs that say only “1 hour parking”  are not enforced at all.  Ah well! 

Oh,  I have a tendency to be a (somewhat) compliant type….trying to make folks happy; I am a middle child after all!  So, as I was driving down to the dentist’s office,  I decided to take a picture of the broken tooth to satisfy Chris’s request.  I must preface this by saying that I  am absolutely appalled by teeth and mouth photos….BLECH!  The hygienist assured me my gums look very healthy, so I decided that even if my teeth (which have been seen by dentists all my life!) are ugly, I do my best with dental hygiene.

And yes, I did take this photo in the car. 

The dentist worked diligently for over an hour and a half.  After he finished, his assistant told me that I might have some pain….use a saltwater rinse and take Advil. 

This is the temporary tooth in place for the next month.  The replacement was far too “white” , so this wonderful dentist used his artistic side to darken it some.  He apologized that it isn’t perfect, but WOW!

The Novacaine is totally worn off now and even the site where the shot was administered has very little pain at all.  Net result: TOTAL success!!! I think I am REALLY liking my new and VERY close dentist!!!