From our house to yours

We had Christmas with Valorie and Chris this year. It was great. On the 26th RJ's family got together at KFC in Wichita for dinner then went to Vonda and Jim's house to watch the Chiefs win. We had a wonderful time this weekend. Next weekend, New Year's Day, My side of the family will celebrate Christmas with our gifts. We will have our traditional meal. Will post pictures of that event. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Be safe.

Christmas flower

I got this plant last year before Christmas. I thought it would look nice under the Christmas tree. And it did. The plant almost died when we went on our 2 1/2 week trip this fall. But I talked to it and kept watering it and it came back. But I never thought I would have the red leaves of the flower on it like I had last year. Now I know how they look to get to that stage. It is a miracle for me because I do not have a green thumb. Let's just see how long I can keep it going.

Getting ready for Christmas

We are starting to get ready for Christmas. Our tree may look a little bare in places but it is reflecting the economy. Besides most of the gifts we buy will be mailed. We have our "pets" under the tree. It is beginning to look alot like Christmas. Tomorrow we will try to decorate the deck.

Thanksgiving

It is great when family get together for the holidays. This year we had Thanksgiving at Carrie's house, where we have had it for the past several years. It was different this year because Carrie and her family were not here.  They are in Boston. We had the dinner as usual and it went very well. Just not as organized as Carrie would have done it. Here are a few of the pictures taken of this great day.

Here is Jennifer getting ready for the carving of the turkey.

Naomi and Jennifer examining the turkey.

Vonda getting into the act of carving the turkey. She ended up using her fingers. It was easier.

Here is RJ, Vonda and Jim, Vonda's husband, after the dinner feeling stuffed.

Here is Ron and his daughter Dana after the meal.

 Here is James, a close family friend, and Kathy, Ron's wife, sitting at the grown-up table.

Leslie sitting at the table enjoying his ice tea.

Naomi enjoying a visit with the others in the living room.

Here is our annual picture taken at Thanksgiving. Will be the one we send with our Christmas cards. We survived the day but look forward to next year when Carrie and the family will be back home. She is a better planner than I am. We missed you Carrie.

Christmas came early

I have a Christmas cactus that I have had for quite a long time. It almost died. But it came back slowly and I noticed that it had a few buds on it. Today I saw that there was one bloom. I was so excited. At one time it was covered with blooms. And all of this is from one leaf of the cactus. I hope I can keep it going till Christmas.

The cactus is sitting in my bathroom window by the whirlpool tub.

family gatherings

We went to Yates Center today to see RJ's family. We had lunch with his folks. It was a Thanksgiving dinner by the VFW. Was great to see the town folks turn out for the dinner. The afternoon was spent watching football, of course. Ivan flew into Wichita today and Vonda picked him up and took him to Yates Center. It was good to see the family.

Here is RJ, Vonda and Ivan, half of the kids.

Here is the family picture. Can you find the turkey in the group? Gobble, Gobble.

JOB INTERVIEW

I did something today that I have not done in over 22 years. I had a job interview. I was nervous and did not sleep well. Had to get up at 6:00  am to be there at 8:30. Of course I got there a little early. RJ drove me there in case I could not find a parking spot and he could drop me off. I thought I was going to interviewed by a elderly lady. She was not that old and had 2 other persons with her to interview me. Was not expecting 3 people. I was shown a book in the lobby while I was waiting that had items about the job and what questions that would be asked of me. That helped some but I still didn't have all the answers. By 9:00 I was back in the car with RJ. Don't know how it went or when I will find out about the job but I felt great. Had a new haircut, color job by RJ and a new outfit.  I knew the first one would be the toughest. Will keep you posted on the outcome.

Turkeys

I love this kind of weather. It is cool with no rain. You can tell that it is getting closer to Thanksgiving. Need to start making plans for Thanksgiving.

You would think the turkeys would be hiding instead of walking the roads. RJ says that they are thinner this year due to the economy. They always looked bigger in the stores.

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone has a safe Halloween. The weather is cooperating for the kids. I doubt that we will have any trick or treaters but we are ready with the candy if we do. Of course we picked the candy that we would like just in case. Enjoyed watching the Chiefs win today. It was a close game, went into overtime in case you did not get to see the game.

Family

Me and Jennifer

It is great when family gets together. This evening we had a chance to visit with his sister Vonda and her husband Jim. 

RJ and Vonda

We need to get together more often.

outside the box

Most people do not live outside the box. Sometimes it is fun to go there. Here is an example from Carrie's yard. This is from her flowerbed in the front yard.

As you can see, there is a lone Zinna plant that is by itself. There are no Zinnas anywhere near the flowerbed.

Sometimes it is good to be different. This is for you Carrie.

On the road ..... again

RJ and I decided to get out of town for a few days. Hopefully by the time we get back the bank will have our problems solved. We came to Wichita to see our kids. Jennifer had to make cupcakes tonight so I helped her with some of the designs. This is what we came up with.

What do you think of these?

This group is a little tamer than the monsters above.

These remind Jennifer of Allison and Owen. Can you see the resemblance?

Bad Luck

What a way to start the day.  The bank called to say that we were overdrawn over $2,000.00 and asked if we purchased something recently.  We knew that I had some money in my checking account and that today I would get my unemployment check.  WOW, did that wake us up.  I am glad that they called.  After talking to them, we had to go to Holton to close my account and open another one.  At least they said that they would not charge us for the overdraft fee.  I had to even pick out new checks.  After the bank then it was to the police department to file a report.  I hope all of this comes out O.K.  Am looking for some good luck now.  We are planning on going to Wichita tomorrow to see the kids.

Friday nights

What do you think older folks do on a Friday night?

 Last night RJ and I watched two movies. The first on was The Karate Kid. It is a remake of the original movie. It was very good and was shown through a different view, with the kid in China. The second movie was the new Robin Hood, a remake. I had some trouble understanding some of the language due to the accent and some was in French. It showed a different side of Robin Hood. I actually enjoyed both movies, seeing how to improve on an older topic. Each movie was longer than I imagined. Therefore I didn't blog last night. I would recommend these movies to any movie buff to see if they think they are better than the originals.

A lovely day

Didn't do much of anything yesterday so today I got busy. RJ helped me with our walk. Did not do much but I liked what we did. Here is the before picture. As you can see, you can't see much due to the many leaves that have fallen. And we have a lot more to fall.

This is the view from our deck.You can't see the stepping stones very well. Here is what the walk looks like now minus the leaves.

I not sure what to put along the edges to keep the pebble stones around the steps. Will keep thinking about this. RJ says that the cats like walking on the walk. I think they just don't like to walk in the leaves.

After working the short time in the yard, I came in to get started on my clam chowder. It is suppose to be a recipe like the one at Red Lobster. This is the before picture, my prep area.

Here is the after picture. I was surprised at how thick it was. That is good. It is like a potato soup. Even better than the potato soup I make. The only thing wrong, the celery was still crunchy. But that was o.k. Now I have some leftovers.

Day off

RJ

Today was the first day that we did not have to do anything since returning home. The laundry is done and the bills are paid. We went to the store to buy what we needed to make our own Clam Chowder. Really liked what we had on the East coast. Will let you know how it turns out when I decide to make it. We enjoyed getting caught up on some reading. Just spent the day relaxing. Thinking about redoing the stepping stones to the carport. Never know what tomorrow brings.

HAPPY 85th BIRTHDAY

Today is my mom's birthday and we went out to eat with her and Tom, her boyfriend. We had a great time. She sure looks good for her age. What do you think?

 I can only hope to look as good as she does at her age. Here's to you MOM. Love ya.

Fall weather

With the sun shinning, I went outside to check out the yard. I was so surprised when I checked the garden. The is what I found, another pumpkin.

I saw a small bulb below a flower when we left. This pumpkin is bigger than the first one. Don't know if it will turn orange before Halloween. There was another bulb close to this one. Will wait and see. I also discovered two small green tomatoes on our hanging tomato plants. They are each about the size of a golf ball or 1 bite. Don't know if they will turn red.

Here is the first pumpkin. I guess you pick them when the stem dries up. I might just draw a face on it instead of cutting it up yet. Need to figure out what to do with the inside pumpkin. Will be looking at recipes.

When we got home you could see that quite a lot of leaves had fallen. Our deck was covered with leaves. But with the amount of trees around us, we have more to fall. Our Maple tree in the front yard has not turned red yet. Will take pictures when it does.

finally made it

We made it in tonight, very late. It has been a wonderful trip. Even though we did have some rain, it did not dampen our mood. At least it was not hot. After awhile you get to where you don't want to get into the car. I think that is why it took us so long to get home. We spent shorter time driving. I hope everyone enjoyed the trip as much as we did. Again we had a most EXCELLENT adventure. Looking forward to planning our next trip.

From the windy city of Chicago

RJ talked me into going to Chicago today. I was not sure with the traffic. But I am glad that we did. It was another beautiful day.

Here is the "L", their version of a subway. We were going to ride but could not figure out where to park to get on. You can click on the picture to get a closer view of the "L".

Then we happened to find the Chicago Bears football stadium. Of course it was by the water. Hopefully our next stop will be Soldier, Kansas.

Here is the flip side of the field. RJ liked this side of the stadium. And look what I found next door.

THE FIELD MUSEUM. RJ sure does get around.

This is the 10th anniversary of finding Sue. I had never seen this before but RJ had. She has big feet and very tiny arms. Don't know what the arms were good for, can't reach the ground or the mouth. This museum is great for kids, a lot of hands on items.

Has anybody seen my mummy? There was an Egyptian exhibit that I had not seen at the other museums. I was impressed with the displays although it was pretty dark in there and the flash would reflect in the glass.

 Here is a picture of the Willis Tower, formally known as the Sears Tower. I was happy just to see it, not to go up to the top.

Here is the skyline of Chicago. This is a few of the buildings.

This is our final shot of the waters, Lake Michigan. We are now headed toward the landlocked area of Kansas.

View from the windshield

Today we spent a lot of time driving so most of our pictures are from the car.

Here we are coming into Cleveland. For once we did not have any rain at all today, clear skies.

Look what we happened to find on our way through town. Don't think they are doing well but it is still fun to see where they play.

Came upon this and wasn't sure what it was.

Now we know what it is. Sure doesn't look like the ones we see in Kansas.

We arrived in Hammond, Indiana this afternoon. Wanted to go to Chicago but the traffic is beginning to bother me. We went to the water again and took pictures of the boats. This is in Lake Michigan. Now we have seen 3 of them (they all look alike to me). We might make it home tomorrow. Will see what comes along.