Pokey Peas Challenge for October 2024

Thanks for checking on nylene and passing on the news, gramma.  I moved your post from the Team Chat to here.  Hope that is okay?

Of course - I may still be a bit jet lagged.  Or maybe I'm just ME!!

Poking my head in to let everyone know @homescoolmums DDs are good. They didn’t even lose power!

I plan to pop in to the crop for a bit tonight. Saturday morning DH and I are heading to my brother's for Thanksgiving. He is hosting since Mom doesn't have room for all of us anymore. This cuts our drive in half to 2.5 hours. We will stay until Monday.

Wednesday I facilitated a local author event called Lloydminster Reads. It went really well even though I was pretty nervous for the 24 hours before it started. I wore one of my cute dresses that has books on it and got several compliments.

The first of my two yearly teacher evaluations is on Wednesday, so I'm low grade anxious about that. There is a lot of paperwork to send her before hand, and they don't seem to realize that my self-paced adult classroom doesn't work like the other K-12 classrooms. (Or her paperwork doesn't reflect it, even if she knows this.)

kitbop I wish I could see that show. It sounds so fun. gramma I hope you find your equilibrium soon. kellyr21 those pages are gorgeous. joyfulnana have fun knitting. I am taking my knitting with me to Thanksgiving. There is usually some down time for things like that. grammadee what are your Thanksgiving plans?

Here's the link. If I don't let you in right away I'm probably flipping laundry and will be right back. Hope we see you soon gramma .

Thanks guys! 

Hey Pokeys! Hoping everyone is doing well this week.

gramma, are you recovered from your cruise and your Friday night galivanting?

Happy Thanksgiving, kitbop and justjac! Since we had our turkey supper yesterday, I am having a Boxing Day kinda day--which is one of my favourite holidays. Kitchen CLOSED today. Hungry? Go find something to eat! Pumpkin pie for breakfast? Good choice!

Drive safe, justjac.

Thinking of you--as always--nylene. Hoping the recovery is starting to FEEL like one.

Speaking of recovery, my ddil had a second surgery last Friday. They took some lymph nodes and "cleaned up the site?" They assured her they 'had it all" the first time, but they wanted to make sure that "the margins are clear". Her mom had the boys from Thursday evening until today, and she was able to ride there (about a 2 hour drive) with ds yesterday so they could have Thanksgiving dinner with her parents and then bring the boys home today. Meeting with the oncologist in a couple of weeks, but she has been told she will "probably" need both radiation and chemo. I am planning to drive down there on Friday to spend the weekend with them. Taking some lasagna and pumpkin muffins, so I need to get busy in the kitchen this week.

I got to play with the last two CARDtobers, so I am "up to date", but now that I will be traveling that won't continue.

Hello, Pokeys! I have missed you. I feel like I have come up from a dark place into the light! I have had a good weekend. Lots of sleep, very few pain meds and things are looking and feeling better. I need to go back through the thread and catch up.

Last Sat. the family held a special baby blessing of little Myles at Tori's home. Then Sunday, there was a baby blessing of little Millie at Em's chapel with a luncheon to follow at Tori's home. We weren't able to attend either, but got lots of photos. Today Millie and family will stop by before they go home to So. Utah. Myles and family have just moved into the county, so we will be able to see them more often. Tori is loving her big home remodel because she loves hosting all the families!

kellyr21, I see your beautiful pages and your album. I will get to the gallery and get close up looks. I'm so glad to see you enjoying scrapping your adventures!

Linda, I have been so worried for your home and your girls. I'm glad for the news that they did ok through the hurricane. I hope you are having a wonderful trip.

joyfulnana, I laughed at Bess having to have her favorite toy hidden so that you could accomplish something. What is it with cats and yarn? How's the blanket coming.

grammadee, I am so sorry about the need for chemo and radiation for your DDIL. I hope things go well for her and that they did get it all.
Hugs to you and your family. She's in my prayers for a great recovery.

kitbop, I can't believe what fun you have had with Katie at the theatre. So glad you can enjoy that together.

gramma, how was Mrs. Doubtfire? I think I would love that.

justjac, best wishes on all the paperwork you have to have ready for your review. Surely they take into consideration that your class is nothing like the K-12 classes. I hope it goes well for you.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to our Canadian Pokeys!

So I'm sitting at my desk on my laptop today rather than my tablet. I struggle to type on the tablet.

The Hawaii trip was wonderful. The right amount of "togetherness" and for "Pete's sake I need to get away from y'all for a bit" - If you know what I mean.

Our first day was Honolulu - We all went to a local beach and played in the water. Then the water played with us, sending an unexpectedly large wave in that swamped all of us and our belongings on the beach. I wish there had been a video of that - we were all scrambling like crazy people to keep everything from washing away!!

Second day Maui - My daughter and I visited a pineapple farm. I had no idea how pineapples are grown - but I do now and that was the BEST pineapple I've ever tasted.

Third day Hilo - We did what they call "The Best of Hilo". This included Akaka Falls, another smaller waterfall, two candy factories, a zoo and a public garden. By the end of this trip on the way back to the bus I started singing "Take me Home Country Rose" and several others joined in. When we got back to the bus, someone asked to sing that again along with several others including "I am a Survivor". Needless to say everyone was pooped. If anyone tells you that the walk into Akaka Falls is a nice "moderate, easy walk" DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. I'm pretty proud that I did the entire thing.

Fourth & fifth days Kona Fourth day we again went to a local beach. Now, I am terrified of water, but I promised by daughter that I would try to get in deeper than my ankles. I did, the pictures are pretty darned funny.

Fifth day - I was done. Spend the entire day napping.

Sixth day Kauai Daughter and I spent the day on deck playing Yahtzee and Gin Rummy

Oh - and somewhere in there we visited Pearl Harbor.  Sobering to say the least.

Then home - We are already planning our next trip.

kitbop The trip was great - and yes, even pools. But being on a cruise ship doesn't bother me. I think Alaska will be next.

Good for you for "indulging" yourself and seeing the show again.

Hello, Pokeys! Hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday.

It was SO good to hear from you, nylene. So wonderful that you will have babies close to you. And that your family meals have moved to the next generation yet you can still join in them! Glad things are progressing with your shoulder.

It was great to see kitbop for a bit this morning at the daytime crop. Hoping I can join in again tomorrow morning, but that will depend on what dh has planned. I am happy that I got to finish a couple of LO's here instead of trying to figure out a kit for them.

Cooked another batch of pumpkin today and will cook tomatoes tomorrow so I can make muffins and lasange on Thursday to take with me on Friday when I go stay with ds & family in the Calgary area. I spoke to ddil yesterday and she is doing okay, but I know how hard it is for her. gramma, it is okay to feel like you got the luck of THAT draw. It would definitely be better to be part of the draw where NO cancer was an option, but any recovery is a blessing and we need to celebrate it.

Thanks for the chuckles as I imagined you guys scrambling to rescue your stuff from the surf! Glad you enjoyed the cruise and that you are planning another one. Alaska is a great next trip!

Good Morning Peas! Happy Friday!

I thought I had made my cookie baking life easier this weekend. I bought a Day of the Dead cookie painting kit. That would cut down on the mess and things. But Rudy really wants to do cut out cookies. So I guess we are going to do both tonight/tomorrow lol.

gramma I love that show! It took me only 3 days to finish it. I don't think I've watched anything that fast since the time I tried to catch up on Game of Thrones (before they ruined the last 2 seasons). a Sunday rematch of our teams this weekend!

Linda, safe travels home if you aren't already home, I can't wait to hear about your trip.

grammadee sending a all the good thoughts for DDIL. I hate this for her, I hope they can get it treated quickly and she never sees or hears that word in relation to herself ever again.

kitbop is cleo still insisting on wrapping herself around your neck? Bess has almost put my crafting to a complete stop. I love her, but I love to play and make things too.



I think I'll try cropping tomorrow evening for at least a little while, I'll post a link in the team threads. I'm thinking a 7PM EST start if anyone is going to be around.

grammadee, I'm glad that your DDIL feels well enough to have an outing. Will that give you some extra scrappy time this weekend? It seems like work fills in the holes that come up in time, especially when we'd rather do something else.

joyfulnana, I have to giggle at Bess being around your neck. She has really become a family member. She obviously loves you! Have fun with Rudy this weekend. Making cookies together sounds like fun!

kitbop, I think Utah homes have always been just ordinary size until the past 10-15 years. Now it seems everyone wants to build bigger and better. DS started out building homes with accessory apartments attached, but now builds multi-million $ homes in the newer foothills areas. Tori's home was 3 small bedrooms upstairs and a full basement that they turned into a rentable appt. They built out in 2 directions and the living area is now twice the size both upstairs and down. No change in bedrooms or baths but her tiny kitchen is now huge and open to the living room. She is loving it. She has always loved to host dinners and parties. She plans to do Thanksgiving for the family this year. Hooray!

gramma, your vacation sounds wonderful...except for the roll in the sand and waves! Wish we had video of that! LOL. We loved touring the pineapple fields too. I had never even thought about how they grow. So interesting. I think making this a yearly trip sounds delightful. Are you all relaxed from the trip?

justjac, was your review this week? How did it go? I hope your students keep coming and doing the work.

kellyr21, your pages are beautiful. You have love in the gallery. What fun places you and Ron find to visit!

Seems I have a great day with lots of energy and the next day I can hardly move. I guess that is what is expected, but I am feeling impatient. The pain is much reduced which is very encouraging. I made a stack of anniversary cards this week and need to finish a few b-day cards for family. I hope to do a bit of scrapping tonight.