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Post by LisaDV on Dec 13, 2019 15:04:07 GMT
Linda , congrats on finishing your Jesse tree ornaments. I love the idea of it. The ones you shared are super cute. I’m glad you got some additional time with DS as well. Sounds like you are plugging away at everything. I hope that typing up these memories will help you through this tough time. Hugs. kellyr21 , great price on the tree. I’m glad you helped your DH up his ornament game! Sometimes those guys really needs some direction. Lol. nylene , did your decorating get completed? grammadee , I hope the little one is feeling better today. Poor guy. joyfulnana , no animosity toward the fake tree. Just a way to delineate between the two trees (real and fake). The real tree is our real Christmas tree and where the presents will be, but the fake one is in the front window. We had to wait for the boys to decorate the real one since it gets our special ornaments. I’m so sorry that you have to go to the stores. Too bad all of the stores don’t have pick up like Walmart. Good for you taking off the week! My DH did the same. Waving hi to @elaynef , justjac , and msliz ! We have not gotten the village pieces we have out yet. Everything is just going so slow this year. I just took the empty boxes from decorating the rest of the house/tree out to the garage yesterday. They’ve sat in various stages of disarray in the living room and reading room all week long. I worked on my cards on Monday and Tuesday and mailed them on Wednesday. I now need to address and sign those to family but realized I need a couple of more made. Today, I have our giving tree presents to wrap and hopefully, fingers crossed, finally get the freezers organized. It’s been on my to do list since the move and has yet to get accomplished. Today will be 40F so it won’t be too chilly in the garage to work. I’ll be playing all weekend (2 outings: Chicago and then the Circus du Soleil), so I hope all the Pokey’s get some time to play as well.
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by kitbop on Dec 13, 2019 17:24:37 GMT
I hope everyone is getting a bit down time here and there! I second this wish! And I'm very pokey this month so I'm joining the group  I've been in my scrap space for only 30 minutes this week...and that was for cards and to barely touch the homemade photo calendar for my MIL. It's tradition. She asks for it (demands it!) every year, and displays all the years prominently in her house, flipping the months on each. She has about 12 of them!!! I used to use the basic Grey kit...quick and easy...but now make them from scratch. This time of year is so hard when you are busy, but I remind myself it would be so. much. worse. if I WEREN'T busy because that would mean I didn't have family/friends that I want to celebrate the season with! I have to work this weekend, and DH is putting in 12 hour days this weekend, so I know Christmas festivities, preparation and mood are going to suffer greatly! |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 14, 2019 13:29:48 GMT
You are welcome here anytime, kitbop! Hope you find the inspiration—and time—for that calendar. Sounds like what started as a fun gift idea has morphed into an annual chore, and that kind of stunts creativity. But I am sure whatever you come up with will be appreciated. After one very stressful December, I have started creating my family calendar, page by page, month by month, during the year before the gifting. So my photos are recent, the stories fresh in my mind, and seasonal supplies are out in my craft room. Not to rub it in, but I am working on the December page for my 2021 calendar now. Busy day at the rink, today: little guys each have practice this morning, and their older brother has a game this afternoon. And we are meeting up with my other ds’s family for lunch so the cousins get a bit of time together. |
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joyfulnana
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,043
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Post by joyfulnana on Dec 14, 2019 13:52:58 GMT
I have almost all my shopping my done! I will finish next weekend, no procrastination here  But in my defense, I just need a few gift cards. Tree will go up today. I even got the part I need for my carpet cleaner and want to get that done too. I will need to finish up my cards so I can start baking. grammadee have fun at the rink! LisaDV enjoy your weekend of play! kitbop This time of year is so hard when you are busy, but I remind myself it would be so. much. worse. if I WEREN'T busy because that would mean I didn't have family/friends that I want to celebrate the season with! Excellent reminder! |
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Post by LisaDV on Dec 15, 2019 2:35:19 GMT
kitbop, it's good to see you, hope you are having a good birthday even if you had to work. I was going to tag grammadee and how she makes her calendar throught the year technique, but she's already let you in on the secret. @elaynef, happy birthday to you! I hope you are having a wonderful day! grammadee, well a busy day, means the little one must be feeling better. yay! joyfulnana, The twinkle lights on the tree help with the holiday spirit, even if that's all you do. They make me so happy, I've considered putting some up in places in the house year round, but then realize that would probably take away from the holiday lights. However, I am going to put some up this spring around the back decking to the pool area and those will stay up year round. Christkindlmarkt was so super packed that you couldn't even see all the little vendors wares. We did walk over to the Bean in Millennium Park. Drove around locally to see the holiday lights upon our return. Good day in all.
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Post by grammadee on Dec 15, 2019 2:40:13 GMT
While I have been gone from the farm, dd’s hubby and little guy arrived to spend some time with Grampa. They finished the Christmas tree. Sent this photo today  |
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Post by LisaDV on Dec 15, 2019 19:41:50 GMT
How cute, Dee! And those boys are keepers for sure. My DH put the Dickens village up above the hall closet this morning -and took away the last of the Christmas boxes!! So I guess I’ll have to keep him too.  |
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Post by Linda on Dec 16, 2019 3:07:14 GMT
LisaDV - village looks super - DD13 is currently putting ours up - it's not themed - just a mishmash of various pieces we've acquired over the years. Twinkle lights are so festive aren't they? I'm envious of your visit to the Christkindlmarkt. Thank you for the compliment on the ornaments. grammadee - tree looks lovely and festive. Ours isn't up yet - I'm thinking next weekend when DS will hopefully be home. kitbop - welcome to the Pokies! sorry you're not feeling the calender - I hate when creativity becomes a chore. joyfulnana - You're far ahead of me with gift shopping - I've hardly started...looks like we'll be shopping the final weekend before Christmas (which I hate but what can you do?) Today the plan was to clean all the things but first we had CCD and Mass and then DD19 needed to pick up supplies at Michaels...got home, started cleaning and she needed more brown paint so DH and I went back to Michaels but they didn't have it so we ended up at WM along with the rest of the town, lol. I got everything cleaned except the bathrooms and kitchen (that'll be tomorrow's job), baked cookies for our Advent celebration (that took WAY longer than expected as the recipe made more cookies than i thought it did and my roaster oven only holds ONE small baking sheet and cooks slightly slower than the oven (15min vs 11-12)). DD13 made corn bread for dinner and D19 made penne with meat sauce. We did our Advent celebration DS27 joined us via facetime. Now I'm baking cranberry bread for DD19 to bring tomorrow morning to a friend's house (she's going for a sleepover but the bread is for the mum who takes both my girls horse riding). I'm worn out but the bread has another hour to bake.
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msliz
Drama Llama
The Procrastinator
Posts: 6,419
Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Dec 16, 2019 11:37:32 GMT
It makes me smile to read about all your Christmas preparations with your families. Please don't worry about what doesn't get done. Things can be done a little differently from year to year, and they'll still be lovely in just a slightly different way. Just breathe and have a cup of cocoa.  Most of my shopping is done, which is easy this year because what they seem to want most is cash. And I'm enjoying all the pretty cards coming to my door. Waving hi to all of you, and big hugs for Linda. I'm so glad DS will be home soon! |
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Post by knutschen on Dec 16, 2019 19:55:50 GMT
I have been away from the board for quite a few months. We have some bad weather here and didn't do my normal routine today. I have been trying to stay warm and cruising the internet a bit. DH and I are probably going to finish decorating the tree and do a little organizing. We would have had our tree decorated by now but the 4 sets of lights that we had either didn't work or only partially worked. We waited till we got more lights. I like a lot of lights and he doesn't. I would like another set on the tree and he disagrees.
This Wednesday, I am having bilateral carpal tunnel release. It is going to be rough in the beginning till my hands heal. I am looking forward to my hands not going numb all the time. This will be the first time in several years that I will have the holidays off because of this.
I am going to get out of my warm cocoon and get some things accomplished! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!
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Post by grammadee on Dec 17, 2019 5:09:59 GMT
Oh, knutschen! Are they doing BOTH wrists at the same time? How will you be able to function? Healing of joints is tricky. Dd had her thumb done twicE b/c she reinsured it after the first one. Hard to know when you are doing too much. Will catch up with everyone else tomorrow. I am home safe tonight after a long snowy drive. Must get some sleep.... |
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Post by LisaDV on Dec 17, 2019 14:09:24 GMT
knutschen, what a way to get off for the holidays! I'll be keeping you in my thoughts for a successful surgery and quick recovery! I hope you will be able to enjoy your holiday! msliz, good to see you pop in. grammadee, glad you're home safe and sound. Today is cleaning day. Tomorrow DD has her (hopefully, and I can't see why not) last ortho appt. Final xray and release. I also must get all of the presents wrapped before this weekend. And want to get those going in the mail done today to mail tomorrow.
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Deleted
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Nov 22, 2024 15:51:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2019 15:47:03 GMT
knutschen, I'll be keeping you in my thoughts for a successful surgery and quick recovery, also! just poping in for a minute to say:
 thank you all for the gorgeous birthday cards! I had a very nice birthday with 5 grandsons, dh and dd#3 and sil. We had cake, gifts, cherry limeaide and Italian food! Yesterday I got to go hiking in Palo Dura Canyon with all of them and did well. It was very cold, so no one was interested in a long hike, for which I was grateful! Here's the gang minus me and dh:
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Post by grammadee on Dec 17, 2019 17:00:10 GMT
Glad you had a wonderful birthday, @elaynef. What an amazing photo of them with that old building! Sounds like a great adventure, even if it was "cold". Good luck to your dd at her appointment, LisaDV, even if she doesn't need it. And good luck with all your wrapping! I was congratulating myself on getting so many packages wrapped and out by last week, but now I have to wrap all of the ones that will be under the tree here Christmas morning. Would not seem like a lot, but dd's little guy is here with his dad, so I have to remember how and when I used to schedule those kinds of things years ago when kids lived here! At least I did the last little bit of gift shopping done yesterday. Just need to get everything in from my vehicle. Love your village BTW. Sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate sounds devine, msliz, and would make an iconic holiday photo. Do we dare take a shot of us in front of all the pre holiday chaos with a frothy cup in hand??? I got a shot of dgs in front of a kid's Christmas cartoon this morning, and another one of him making snow angels, so I am a happy scrapbooker! Received your lovely card when I got home last night, nylene. Thankyou! Hoping you managed to get everything done that you had planned to do. As msliz says, we need to just relax sometimes and let the season happen! When I empty the vehicle I plan to bring in my pages from last week into my scraproom and add the little extras they needed so I can get them posted. One is for the next Sketchy Saturday, so I have a few days... Okay, off to try to get something accomplished.... |
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Post by knutschen on Dec 17, 2019 19:51:52 GMT
grammadee, yes, I am having both done at the same time. It will be rough for a few days but I will be glad to have both heal at the same time. I will be able to return to work a bit sooner. I have a bunch of errands to run today. I also have been trying to clean and get laundry done before tomorrow. It is going to be a busy day! Thanks for thinking of me and I will have to check when again when I am able.
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kellyr21
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,002
Location: California
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Post by kellyr21 on Dec 17, 2019 23:19:57 GMT
Happy Tuesday everyone! Wishing you all a good evening. I made to my dh's Christmas party last Saturday night. I used this event before my surgery as motivation. You know something exciting to look forward to. For years, my body disrupted some of these events and I couldn't go. Now, I can go and I am so happy. We had a great time. It was at the Disneyland Hotel and boy was it beautiful. Full of Christmas trees, other décor and lots of lights everywhere. We ate delicious food, took pictures, I met lots of coworkers and strolled around the hotel lobby. It was huge! I have so many pictures, I will share some with you. Thank you msliz, @elaynef, joyfulnana, maribeth for the wonderful cards! I am looking at them on my bookcase right now. @elaynef- Oh boy, you had a great birthday celebration. That Italian food sounded like a great choice. Many blessings to you! grammadee- Look at what a great job your dh and gs did! I am sure they had fun but it would of been more fun with you. What a sweet family! knutschen- SO good to see ya and hope your surgery goes well. Let yourself be spoiled! You deserve it! When I was home from my recent surgery, we had home nurses to help me. It was weird but when I saw how much they cleaned and prepared my food I was grateful. My place hadn't been that clean in like FOREVER!!!! LOL! kitbop- WELCOME!!! We hope you can join the party and go at your pace. Waving hi to you ladies and have a good evening! |
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nylene
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,779
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Post by nylene on Dec 17, 2019 23:31:18 GMT
Hi Pokeys! I feel AWOL. I have not had a minute to get into my computer for days. It seems that everything just came at once. I can't tell you how many "rush" trips I have made to Home Depot and other industrial supply places. I do miss DH being able to make some of those trips by himself. Alyssa came with a friend and they did a great job on my Christmas decor. I helped, but they were like little whirlwinds. We have had work dinners, invites to friends' for viewing their Nativities, plus our Recovery meetings and it feels like there is no time to sit down except in the car. LOL I have loved opening Christmas cards each day. kitbop , so nice to have you join us. Drop in whenever you get a minute. I love your scrapping style! I so love your comment about being busy means we have family and friends. That's a good way to look at it. knutschen , so nice to see you dropping by. You are in my prayers for a great recovery from your surgery. I worked with a friend who had both done at once. The recovery time was better than going through it twice and she did so well. Take it easy afterward. Let your DH help you. msliz , it's nice to see your happy avatar popping up. I like your advise for doing only what really needs to be done over the Holidays. I have let a lot go this year. Only a little baking and my wrapping this year is not at all fancy. My scrapping has gone away for this month. I figure the photos will still be there to scrap in Jan. We have enjoyed several mugs of hot chocolate! grammadee , What fun to have your little grandson there for Christmas. Our CA kids will be here but not until 2 days after Christmas. With them here, the rest of the grands hang close too. It should be crowded, noisy and wonderful! I hope you have a wonderful experience too. I love that photo of your Christmas tree! He's such a cutie. @elaynef , I love that photo of your family together. The little building behind them looks just like our root cellar behind the log cabin house where we lived. It was always a little scary for me, but I never went in alone. Thanks for the memory. Glad you had a great birthday. I hope you have a joy filled Christmas. Linda , I am so glad you can "hear" your mom's voice as you transcribe her words. Take your time and enjoy the process. I hope things are going well for you. I love your ornaments and the stories behind them. Thanks for sharing. kellyr21, have you been able to get some Christmas decorating done? It's OK if this is a low-key year for you. I hope you are gaining strength each week. Do you have any fun plans over the holidays? LisaDV , I hope the braces get to come off. That's such a great rite of passage. She needs some great news! How is the the clavicle healing? I hope you get the things done that are most important before Christmas, and can then just relax and enjoy your family. BTW, I love your village. joyfulnana , did you get your cards and baking done? I finished my cards (had to make 10 more) and I think I won't do more baking. I'm sure your little Rudy is excited about Christmas. Will he come and spend some "sleepover" time with you during the holidays? Thank you for the beautiful Christmas card. Very cool design! I hope you have a great Christmas I am going to help Em with the school Christmas party on Thursday. I hope to be finished with all the important stuff by then. I plan to relax and enjoy the grands while they are here. I hope to get back to this thread before Christmas to wish you each a great one! |
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nylene
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,779
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Post by nylene on Dec 17, 2019 23:35:41 GMT
kellyr21, we must have been posting at the same time. I am so glad you were able to attend the party. It sounds like a great event. I'm glad you got some good photos, too.
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Post by Linda on Dec 18, 2019 0:36:34 GMT
Hi everyone!
Just popping in quickly. DS arrived late last night - yay! Tonight we went carolling with a small group from Church at the local Hospice facility. I did manage to get a photo of me with all 3 kids (DH couldn't make it - he worked late). Managed to do days 1 and 2 in my DD this morning. Hoping to sneak in another one tonight while dinner cooks
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,622
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Post by kitbop on Dec 18, 2019 0:45:43 GMT
Linda - sounds like you are taking advantage of every Christmas moment, and good for you to squeeze in some DD! I am currently supposed to be working on homemade gifts, but instead opted to play a game with DH and my 2 DS's. I can't scrap the warmth of the season if I don't participate in the togetherness!!! It's so dang hard to find that balance. It should be crowded, noisy and wonderful! I grew up an only child, with only 6 cousins total who lived a 5 hour plane ride away. My Christmases were quiet and lonely. I share your view that crowded and noisy is how a Christmas should be! I'm sure your grandkids are going to have WONDERFUL memories!
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Post by grammadee on Dec 18, 2019 0:47:41 GMT
Looking forward to seeing everyone's photos! Strolling around the Disneyland hotel, Christmas décor, caroling!
Watching a movie with dgs this evening. Will post a pic later.
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Post by knutschen on Dec 18, 2019 15:24:35 GMT
nylene, I am glad you have know someone that has done this at the same time. I have been told I am not going to like having this done at the same time and I will have a hard time doing anything. The surgeon said he would do both and I also want to heal without doing this a second time on the opposite hand. I am glad to read your comment before heading to the surgery center! kellyr21, I hope you are feeling better and healed from your surgery. That would be nice to have a nurse to help and cook for you. I hope my husband will help as well as he says. I have to be a the surgery center in about 40 minutes. My mom is picking me up and taking me and my DH is taking his car. He has to work this afternoon and needs to work to help pay for his dental issues. I did tell him not to worry about taking off since my mom will be able to help for a few hours. DH and I set up a new media center and my sister wanted to get rid of a 55 inch TV. We bought it from her. We feel like we are living in style! I canceled my cable and can't get local channels. I stream everything anymore. I hope to relax and watch some Netflix when I get back home. I hope everyone has a good day and I will check in when I am able.
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Post by Linda on Dec 18, 2019 16:55:28 GMT
knutschen - prayers for all to go well and your recover to be smooth. Enjoy your new media centre. kitbop - thank you - yes, trying to enjoy the season and having all the kids home. Like you, I didn't grow up around cousins and neither have my children so the big extended family holidays have never really been our thing (DH on the other hand was the youngest of 7 and his older siblings started having kids when he was 18m so he grew up with the big family chaos) nylene - thank you. Hope the school party went well - I miss those days. kellyr21 - what a fun place for a party - glad you were able to go and enjoy yourself! grammadee - you've been busy also dentist this morning - last two fillings and my treatment plan is DONE! Back to just cleanings now. Just waiting to get feeling back in the left side of my face. Need to start wrapping and do some more DD and maybe even manage to start writing out Christmas cards.... tomorrow is DD13's last day of school before the holidays - which means I need to start baking - oops - teacher gifts need to happen
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,622
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Post by kitbop on Dec 18, 2019 21:16:21 GMT
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Post by grammadee on Dec 19, 2019 13:29:39 GMT
Hope all went well knutschen. And that you have LOTS of help with everyday tasks until those wrists heal. I am camera ready for my scope today. Ny son in law is driving me. He and the little guy plan to spend the waiting time at the military base rec centre. We had hoped they could hit the local ski hill, but it doesn’t open for full days until tomorrow Yesterday the dgs and daddy and I decorated a gingerbread house and watched a movie. Later, the guys went out for pizza (I was on clear fluids) so I stayed home and wrapped some gifts. And I did manage to post some pages from last week in the Gallery. Have a great Thursday, Pokeys! |
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Post by LisaDV on Dec 19, 2019 13:50:20 GMT
grammadee, I hope all goes well. knutschen, Hope surgery was a success and your recovery is quick.
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nylene
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,779
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Post by nylene on Dec 19, 2019 23:58:44 GMT
knutschen, I hope that everything went well with the surgery and that you will soon be pain free and healing. Have your husband type a short note to let us know how you are doing. grammadee, oh no, back on clear liquids again. You don't need this time of year. Please take it easy. You are in my prayers. Your Gingerbread house sounds like fun. Topher called me today to tell me they made Gingerbread men and houses at school today. That's an ambitious teacher or room mother. Linda, caroling as a family sounds like fun. My voice has lowered over the years and I find I can't sing soprano anymore and can't sing alto because I don't read music and can't just "hear" it. So I am pretty worthless as a caroler! LOL Glad that DS got there safely. I hope you have a wonderful time together. The school party was lots of noise and lots of fun. Em did a great job of having 3 stations ready to go and rotating around throughout the time. The children remembered that I helped them make a craft at Halloween. Today we made Santas that can double as puppets. It's time to get dinner and get ready for a Recovery meeting. I'll try to hop back on in the next few days.
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Post by Linda on Dec 20, 2019 3:12:41 GMT
nylene - I can't sing worth a darn - I sing at Church or in groups where others sing louder and can drown me out and I sung to my children until they got old enough to tell me not to, lol. We do sing together as a family on Advent Sundays at home. The caroling is fun though and hospice helped out with BIL, Aunt-IL and MIL so...
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Post by grammadee on Dec 20, 2019 17:21:18 GMT
The test yesterday was good: they found nothing of concern. Am gradually working my way back to full diet. And the good news is I am drinking COFFEE this morning! Dgs is with us while his dad goes to do some errands for the day. We wrapped some gifts this morning. Now he is outside helping Grampa with one last outdoor display piece.
My brother just called to say he is on his way here (3 hours away) to drop off Christmas gifts. I need to throw a roast in the oven for supper I think. Dh wants to go to a local church for their concert this evening. I had already planned to stay home with dgs, so if my brother stays the night I can visit with him as well.
Hoping you are all having an excellent day!
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Post by Linda on Dec 20, 2019 19:25:38 GMT
yay for nothing of concern on the test grammadee - that's wonderful news and coffee is good also. Have fun with your brother. Last night we did our annual family outing and went to see the newest Star Wars film - it was really good (and I got photos with the film poster). Did grocery shopping this morning and am baking cookies now - last tray of peanut butter cookies is currently baking (it makes 6 dozen and I can bake 16 at a time so slow going). Then I need to run back out for more parchment paper before starting chocolat chip cookies. My girls aren't being helpful which is irritating at best. |
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