Blessings, books, bugs, and babies!

Blessings:

Thanksgiving is almost here and with it comes a reminder of all our many blessings.  We have so much to be thankful for, including our family and friends.  So many fond memories are stirred up as I think back on many celebrations with our loved ones.  I always miss my parents more this time of year as I think back on the holidays.  Mother was a terrific cook and she knew how to make family celebrations fun.  My mother-in-law also comes from a heritage of good cooks.  They say people often express love through their cooking-and I agree!

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(credit)

Books:

The family cookbooks have arrived!

We are so excited to see all our family recipes in print!

Thanks, Liz!  (Thanks for the pictures, too.  I helped myself!)

Bugs:

A flu bug has hit me.  I’m sitting here at the computer looking a bit like this:

(photo credit)

Spending the day in bed with a cold, wet towel on my head makes for interesting hair, but at least the bug waited until school was out for the holidays. 

Babies:

This sweet baby just got a clean bill of health from her cardiologist.  She doesn’t have to be checked again until she is around three or four years old.

And there you have it.

Lots to be thankful for!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

♥

JoAnn

 

In Denial….

(photo credit)

I’m just needing a little color.

(It’s snowing big fluffy flakes outside and I’m in a little denial.)

Maybe by tomorrow I’ll be ready to face a white world, but not tonight.

So, I’m sharing some bright things that make me happy.

Aren’t these flowers pretty?

(photo credit)

I LOVE this quilt I found on Pinterest. (click for credit)

and this one

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These plates look so fun, too!

Doesn’t this chair just cheer you up instantly?

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Well, I feel a LOT better now.  Think I’ll go read my new book I got at the Book fair at school.

I’m reading Matched by Ally Condie.

It’s a New York Times bestseller for young adults.

Have a great week end!

JoAnn

Now You See it,… Now You Don’t…

Going….

Going….

 

Gone!

Thirty years  enjoying its cool shade,

climbing limbs, 

rope swings,

and leafy privacy.

Now its gone.

 (Yes, we feel a little melancholy.)

However,

We kept some of it.

Things will be a little bare and boring for a while.

JoAnn

P.S.  #1  Did you know that all the wood was completely gone by that evening?

The tree company posted an ad in the newspaper and people came and helped themselves- to every single piece.

P.S.  #2  We found a much cheaper bid than the first one.  It pays to keep looking.  (I’d still rather have taken a little vacation!)

P.S.  #3  Guess what I got for my birthday?  A new camera.

My family decided there were too many blurry photos!

 

HGTV Comes to Utah!

I don’t normally have enough to say to write two blogs in one day, but I just had to pass on this news!

HGTV is coming to UTAH!

I’ve always wanted to enter their drawing and win a fabulous house, but I never really wanted to pick up and move across the country. 

Watch this video and you will see why.

I love Utah!

How exciting is this???

JoAnn

Veterans’ Day musings….

One of the things that I like about Fall is celebrating Veterans’ Day.

I’m always impressed how normal, every day people can leave behind their jobs as farmers, teachers, accountants, doctors, and so on, say good by to their families and friends, and head off to face uncertainty and danger while serving our country.  I wonder if they recognize the courage they possess. 

On Memorial Day we were able to check out this new war memorial in Preston, Idaho, dedicated to the local servicemen of Franklin County.  It was a cloudy, overcast day, but the bronze statue of this soldier standing guard seemed ready for what was ahead. 

We proudly looked for familiar names.

We found our father’s name and two of his brothers.

Can you imagine the courage of a mother sending her sons off to war?

We saw uncles, cousins, and a brother-in-law.

So many friends and family have served this great country.

They are all heroes!

To read more about our family heroes click here.

Thank you to all the veterans!

JoAnn

P.S.  It was a noisy, busy day at our house! 

Guess what we did?

The Times ..They Are A Changin’…. and other “Stuff”

Good bye Halloween!

Today I boxed up all the Halloween “stuff” and put it away until next year.  I had to take one final picture of the table/witch’s legs.  I got this idea on Pinterest.

(Sorry, the rug makes it hard to see-as does the blurry photo.)

Winter pushed fall right out the door today, as we woke up to see

all this white “stuff” weighing down the tree branches.

We finally got a bid from the tree man to cut down our huge elm tree.   Only $3,500.  Gasp!  Choke!  Cough! 

I guess it will involve a

lot of equipment, power lines,  and other “stuff”.

(We are trying to find another bid.  That money could pay for a cruise or something much more fun!)

And finally…

We will get an extra hour to sleep tonight, but I’m choosing to stay up late and do  fun

“stuff” like write a new blog post.

(clock from Google)

Have a great weekend!

JoAnn

Age, it’s all relative!

This has been a very long week and tonight I am feeling my age!

(Halloween and school children require a lot of energy!  Several days after Halloween is still not much better.)

When I start feeling those aches and pains that didn’t used to be part of my body; when the mirror isn’t as kind as it used to be; when I see old friends who now look like their parents; I realize that I am a part of the “Seniors” who qualify for discounts at restaurants (which is not a bad thing), reserved parking places closer to the door, and are the main targets of funeral home ads and medical equipment.

  I’m not sure I’m ready for that. 

Some people age gracefully and never lose their zest for living.

My mother-in-law just celebrated a birthday and she is a great example for all of us.  She still gets up, dresses, goes to church, and comes clear across town for Sunday dinner.  She loves to hold the babies and listen to the kids play.

 

(Naomi and Aubrey)

Little kids seem to have all the energy and enthusiasm we wish we had. 

Little Brooklyn just turned two.

In just over a week I will have a birthday, too.

I can’t say I’m excited, but it is better than the alternative.

Now, I just need to get a better attitude!

“Grow old with me!  The best is yet to be.”  ~Robert Browning

Joann