The year is coming to an end - and so quickly too! I am having a hard time realizing how fast time is going - it is already almost 2010! I started this blog four years ago (January, 2006) , and this is my 601 post - unbelievable! (Not that I had anything exciting to say in any of the posts, either!)

Speaking of time flying - AJ will be 17 in a week and a half - how did that happen? I think he is planning on a couple of the guys coming over for pizza and video games next weekend. It will be a late night here on Saturday!

It was a flying trip to Susanville! Because of the probability of ice on the road, Ralph didn't want to leave until around 10:00, and then we left Susanville at 3:30 (Counting in drive time, we weren't there very long!) The drive over was beautiful - sunny and relatively warm. Then.....we hit the inversion layer! Around the Hog Flat/McCoy Flat area, we hit the cloud layer, and the temperatures dropped. It was over 40 at our house, and held pretty steady - colder in the mountains, but not really dropping too much below freezing, and then it was foggy and 20 degrees!


These were taken just after hitting the fog.



This tree is on the corner going in to Mom's house - the pogo nip turned the whole landscape into ice! (pogo nip - frozen fog)


These are from Mom's back property - beautiful, but cold! It was 45 at our house, and 22 at hers! The crystals are not snow - they are actually fog that has frozen on everything.

Even if it was cold, it was a good visit. The neighbors had given Mom a ham, so she decided to cook it for Christmas. She knew it was a large ham, but it didn't have the weight marked on it. She weighed in on the scales to see how long to cook it, and it was 30 pounds! (That meant it needed to cook for almost 8 hours, and she weighed it around 10:00 a.m.) We barely put a dent in it for Christmas dinner.

Another quiet morning around here - Alli didn't get up until after 7:00, and AJ spent the night at the neighbors. Very quiet! If I was really good, I would be using my Wii Fit program instead of sitting around, typing on the computer, but....maybe later,. I did log on 30 minutes yesterday, so I am off on a good start!

We're off to Susanville today - to celebrate Christmas with my family. Because of the ice on the roads, we won't be leaving here until around 10:00 or so. I did take pictures of the finished presents! (So if you are on my list, don't look yet!)



The pink and purple gloves are for Rachelle (the snowflake is for her mom!). The Packers hat is for my BIL, the race hat and camouflage hat are for my brothers, the John Deere hat and scarflette and fingerless mittens are for my Dad. My original plans didn't call for a scarflette for Dad, but....when I thought about it, it may be easier for him, as it won' get in the way of anything - just warm his neck!

The dust is settling from Christmas morning. AJ has already gone down to the neighbors, comparing gifts and to play computer games. I've managed to clean up the kitchen (breakfast of eggs, waffles, hash browns, sausage and orange juice!) and picked up most of the wrapping papers and bags. Just in time to get ready for dinner! Not really, but pretty close!

I did get the rest of the presents done today - we leave tomorrow for Susanville, so I am almost a day ahead! (I know, Christmas presents should be done before Christmas, but what can I say!) I'll get pictures of them loaded later!

As promised, here are pictures of the birds. The orange ones are Meenie and Minie, and the black ones are Eenie and Moe. I couldn't remember which of the orange birds we had left, but Ralph decided he was defiantly a "Meanie". He has been picking on the new birds all day! Not a great picture, but it hard to take pictures through the bars of the cage.


Along with the birds, the other animals got presents too! The dogs got a new Spider - a fuzzy green spider that growls and croaks and squeaks. Jasper loves it, but Koori.....maybe not so much!
Koori is hiding from all the commotion - poor baby!


Rufus likes his new toy mice, too!


The kids seemed to enjoy their gifts - always a surprise! Alli was very impressed with her Pez containers and her blocks, along with a new blanket. Happy girl! AJ was impressed with his new cot - look - it is long enough for him!

Santa came early! He brought with him Eenie, Meenie and Moe (I already had Miney!) Pictures tomorrow - they are so cute - Moe has a punk hairdo! (They are Society Finches - replacements for my originals that died last year - some with the help of the cats!)

Last night was the annual bowling party for the scouts, and a good time was had by all, including the adults, I think, not that you can tell from AJ's picture! I don't think he bowled as well as he wanted in this frame. We decided that we all bowl better on the Wii than in real life!

Okay - I got most of the sewing project done! That counts, right? I got all the machine sewing parts done, now for the finishing parts. I found out yesterday afternoon that I had sewed Dad's hat together backwards - now how could I have I done that? Instead of John Deere, it now is a Deere John hat (material is inside out!). I quickly ran into town yesterday and picked up more material, and then later last night, found out I did the same thing to Dave's! I must have been sleeping! (I didn't see any more of Dave's material when I was in town, so I may have to do a 'rescue job' on his!) Those two hat still need to be sewn, but the rest are sewn!

Ronna, Sarah and Kirby - don't look below unless you want to see your present early!


Sarah's


Ronna's


Kirby's

I also got all the presents wrapped and under the tree - here is Santa's little helper (not!)

My vacation is almost over! I did get three of my hats made yesterday, so I have high hopes to get the others done today. Of course, that means I need to get going and get breakfast fixed, laundry started, get showered and dressed, etc., or nothing will get done today.

Last night was the Bank's Christmas party - lots of fun! Ralph seems to have come down with Alli's cold, so he stayed home and I fixed dinner (boring old stroganoff) for them, and went out to salad, halibut almondine with sides of rice, carrots and green beans, and a lovely cake dessert - wonderful! I even got all dressed up in a long black dress, perfume and everything! Ralph took a picture before I left, but the lighting wasn't the greatest! I wasn't the only one without a date, so I joined up with another lady whose husband was sick, and enjoyed myself very much!

So much for having lots of time on my vacation to sit around and relax, adding to the blog, etc. I think I was busier than when I work! I know that isn't true, but I sure didn't get as much done as I thought I should! I battled migraines almost every day lately, and that just slows me down! I'm glad I wasn't trying to work with them! As it is, I have everything done but the wrapping of the presents and the sewing of the hats. I still have time, right? Right???

I forgot to take picture of the little angles I made all together. They were a big hit! The gloves were a hit with the teachers, too. AJ took some in for his teachers, and they were all excited by them. He did have an awkward moment with Mr. Murphy -" What do you mean what color does my wife like?" AJ said he chose pretty well for the teachers, they all liked the color/combinations he brought. I got all of the scarves ordered for Christmas done. I still have one more to make, but she didn't need it for Christmas, so I will start on that next. (Maybe after the hats??) All in all, I think the handmade Christmas is going well so far.

My sister fell the other day, and broke her ankle in 4 places! I guess she never has done anything half heartedly, but maybe she should start! I talked to her the other night, and she was doing okay - but it might have been the drugs talking too! Her daughter was due in from college for the winter break, so she may have some company at least after her husband goes back to work. I told her that if she had planned it better (ha ha!) she would have done it before I was on vacation, and I could have spent some time over there, helping out.

Hmmmmm. How many things get to go wrong before you officially call it a 'bad day'? It started out okay (and keep in mind it is not even 6:00 a.m. here!) but early. Alli was up before 5:00 a.m. - early even for her, much less on a weekend for me! I decided to go ahead and get my day started, so I sorted all the clothes and started the laundry - and realized I forgot to put the soap in for the first load. OK - it is still early here, I just need my coffee!

While the coffee was brewing, I fired up the computer. After I poured myself a cup of coffee, I sat down to check e-mails and blog, etc. I had one line of bright light running vertically on my screen. I think we lost the monitor. One more calamity/purchase needed (and there have been quite a few of those lately!). Luckily, AJ has a computer, and there is no way he is up at 6:00 a.m., so I jumped on it to do the aforementioned things. As I did so, I moved his chair and hit myself in the ankle with a wheel. Is it a bad day yet????

I did get my Christmas cards done yesterday. I even finished up a scarf last night, except for the fringe on it. Not too bad! We'll see what I can accomplish today! I hope to get some of the sewing done. If I could whip out a couple of hats, I think I can manage the rest of the season. I have yet to make a list out of things I need to do, because it is so scary in black and white! shopping and wrapping and baking and cleaning and trips to Salvation Army (to clean out the piles and boxes I have been storing my the garage) and..... so much more!

I was planning a trip to Susanville while I was on vacation, but the weather is not cooperating. We got over 3/4 on an inch of rain here in this last storm so far, and Mom said they were forecasting 1-2 feet of snow last night on top of her existing foot of snow. I have 4 wheel drive, but....that is for getting out of trouble, not to go looking for it! The roads will be a mess right now. Yesterday it warmed up enough in Susanville for the snow to start melting, and then of course, will have frozen last night, so now there is a mix of ice covered by snow. Yuck! I don't think I will try to go over the mountain just now.

Dad is doing okay - not great, but okay. He actually isn't doing much at all. He gets up, eats, sits in his chair and watches TV, eats and sleeps, and goes to bed. He is not doing his physical therapy. He can't even change the TV channels - Mom switched providers while he was gone, and he can't run the remote. (I admit, different remotes are tricky, and the DirecTV remote is not the easiest one I have seen - not particularly user friendly. I do love the DVR part of it though!)

Bell ringing was canceled the other night, thank goodness! Since I am on vacation next week, they rescheduled me during the day on Monday. Since temperatures should be warmer by then (it would be hard to be any colder than it was scheduled to be Wednesday night - mid 20's!) and it will be during the daylight, I was very happy! The temperatures have already climbed - we were at 36 this morning when I got up rather than the 18-19 it has been! The rain is scheduled to come in today as well, and if it had still been cold, it would have been snow!

Poor AJ is still sick. He started throwing up on Wednesday, so he went to the doctor's yesterday. He should have been getting over his illness, not getting new symptoms! The doctor even took chest x-rays to make sure he wasn't coming down with pneumonia, since he though he should be on the recovery side as well. The final diagnosis - two different viruses, back to back. We will continue to watch to make sure he doesn't develop pneumonia, but otherwise, the standard rest and hydrate routine. Next week is finals for the poor kid, and he has missed a week of school, and may still miss some next week. We already discussed the fact that he may need to re-take some of his classes next year, especially math and science, because he has missed so much school. He only has two required classes next year, so he has plenty of room in his schedule.

I finished one more scarf last night, and have one half way done for co-workers. So far, I have sold most of the scarfs I made, and quite a few of the gloves. No snowflakes, doilies or ornaments! Makes me wonder if anyone actually likes the snowflakes I give at work for presents! Oh well, I like them, so I will continue! At least, on the plus side, I don't have to make any more for my own Christmas list!

Brrrrr! It's cold! Our low last night was around 17 degrees. (I know, Mom - you are a lot colder, but...I'm a valley girl now!) And I'm ringing the bell for Salvation Army tonight at Big Lots! I'm going to freeze! AJ was supposed to be helping me, but he is still sick. He really doesn't need to stand around for 2 hours in the freezing cold!

I have still been procrastinating about Christmas stuff! Because I am on vacation next week, I have put everything off (except the actual decorating) so I still need to do my cards, do the sewing projects, do my shopping, bake cookies for gifts, etc. I did start my Christmas Letter to put in my cards, but that is about as far as I got. Good thing I do have time off!

Most of winter is here! We are having the cold temperatures (not as cold as some people, I know, but cold for us!) but no rain yet. We got down to 20.6 degrees Saturday night! This was also the night that AJ was camping out with the scouts! I got a text from him about 6:00 a.m. 'Sooooooooo colddddddddddd'. I texted back that the fire was already going here (as Alli was up early). I picked him up at the campsite about 8:30 and they were already beginning to thaw a little bit, standing around their fire - even though it was only 27 degrees by that time. AJ did discover a few things he wants for Christmas on the campout though - a new sleeping bag and cot designed for people taller than 6'! He doesn't quite fit in his old stuff any more!

I did get some crafting time yesterday! Alli and I went shopping (hence the Walmart pictures) and then I cleaned house, and then.....I took a break! I made up some more glove sets for the bazaar. All of the black gloves I took in are sold, so I made up a few more pairs. I may try to make some more today as well. I also finished up a scarf that was ordered, so there is another set (scarf and gloves) sold! Since this is the time of year for crafting, I don't feel so guilty sitting around crocheting - they are for presents!

I still need to sew some of my presents, but I may wait and do that when I am on vacation (in a week!) I hate to do that, though, because my vacation week always seems to disappear on me! I have one day shot already - Alli has a dentist appointment at 8:00 am, and AJ has one at 4:00 pm and I have a nail appointment in between. That day is shot for any serious work! I also have the annual Christmas Breakfast at work one day, which means I have to be at the bank by 6:30! So much for a day off! It is a fun morning, so I don't mind going in, but I may try to skip it this year, we'll see!

When Alli and I went to Walmart this morning, our Christmas pictures were in! The girls at the photo center flagged us down as we walked by to tell us. Here are scans of the pictures! Those of you that read the blog and want pictures, let me know which one(s) you want!

Ahhh, Saturday! A day to sleep in, laze around, NOT! I do love my 'morning time' to read e-mails, etc., and it is nice (sort of) that Alli gets me up early so I have time, but then it is off and running! I stayed up late last night, and know better, because Alli was up at 5:15 this morning. Maybe I can sneak in a nap this afternoon?

Dad is back in the hospital again - going in Thursday around 1:00. As if yesterday, he is still in Susanville. He is not able to keep his oxygen level up at home on a nasal cannula, but they were able to get it up with an oxygen mask at the hospital. I talked to Mom yesterday at lunch, and she hadn't heard anything new yet. Ronna was coming in yesterday afternoon, so I'll check in later today to see what is going on.

AJ has a campout with the scouts this weekend. They are doing a Junior Leadership Training (JLT) session this weekend. Hopefully, they can get someone to take over the Senior Patrol position from AJ. This is his second year! The campout is down in Cottonwood at the Scout Master's property, so we don't have to haul him very far to take him and then to fetch him back. He missed the last two days of school though, because he was sick (and shared his cold with his dad - lovely!) but he seems to have recovered enough to go camping. (If he really enjoyed the campouts, I might be more suspicious, but I think he really was sick!)

AJ also finally finished his Driver's Ed training course - the paperwork side of it at least! We started this last year during his Christmas break, and last weekend I grounded him from all 'fun' activities until it was done. A year is too long for a simple on-line training program! He finished it in less than a week, no problems! I should have done that earlier! Now he just needs his certificate (being mailed) and then he can take the driving side of the course.

We're back from our Sacramento trip. The traffic was busy all the way down I5! Between road construction and the traffic, it took almost 3 hours to get to the hospital instead of the estimated 2 1/2. Alli was a good girl most of the trip, and was a good girl during the hospital part of it, so I can't complain! On the way down, there was the largest flock of birds I have seen down by the wildlife refuge. I have seen a lot of birds there before, but not like this!


The visit to the Shriner's Hospital didn't yield anything particularly new about Alli's foot. It isn't a bone problem, so they won't be doing surgery or anything. They think it is related to her Autism and brain/nerve functions. The term 'dystonia' was used, I think, and doing research on that word matches up to some of her symptoms. The course of treatment for her is to splint the ankle and monitor to make sure it doesn't get worse. If it does get worse? No telling! It doesn't look like there are a lot of options at this time, especially if it is related to her brain functions!

Alli and I are off today to Sacramento! She has an evaluation appointment at Shriner
s Hospital for her ankle/foot at 12:45 today - and they want us there a half hour early, so....we will be leaving somewhere around 9:00 to allow time for pit stops and a lunch stop on the way. It will definitely be an all day trip! Of course, she was up early today (5:15!) so I have all morning to myself. It will really feel like a day off of work!

So far, the only things selling at the craft fair at work are my gloves and scarfs, I think - which is actually good for me! Any snowflakes I sell I will have to make replacements for for my gift giving, so I'm not too broken-hearted. I picked up some more black gloves the other night - I am sold out of all the black ones - I need to make more! I have two more scarves on order as well. Not too bad!