A quiet moment at my house - that has been hard to come by in the last 24 hours or so! It's amazing how much noise 16 people and a few dogs and cats can make! It's a lovely noise though! It was a fun and busy day - dinner was marvelous - thanks to all those that brought part of it! Ralph's turkey was very moist and flavorful - he used Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe from Foodnetwork.com - very tasty! I am NOT going to weigh myself today - or probably tomorrow. I need time to get back into 'normal' eating mode. I have been snacking too much lately! All the lovely appetizers! Back to regular meals, really!

My cats will be happy when everyone goes home. Indy hid all day yesterday, and finally came out late in the evening. He's still a little jumpy - he doesn't like strangers. Since we just had him neutered, we were teasing Ronna and Susan (who stopped by for dessert) that it was because he could tell they were Veterinarians! Picot wasn't shy at all, even with Jeff's dog. She spent a lot of time running from it, but only fast enough to stay ahead - it didn't scare her! (Of course, she's almost as big as the dog!) Rufus left when Jeff and family showed up - all I saw was an orange streak down the hallway. He stayed in my room until they left and it calmed down. They all seem to be enjoying the quiet this morning too.

I'm up bright and early - just to get a head start! Ronna and Joe came in last night, Jeff and his family are due in today, and it is snowing between here and Susanville. Bogard Ranger Station has 2 1/2 inches so far, so....will Mom, Dave and Sarah make it? I baked two pumpkin pies last night, and picked up stuffing ingredients on my way home, just in case! My head count had already dropped from 18 to 15, and now may be 13! We'll have plenty of turkey!

I'm off to work today - hopefully it will be a nice slow day, and I can get caught up. I'm about ready to hyperventilate - too many projects due by the end of the month, and not enough days in the month to do them! Oh well - there is always next month, and maybe if I do the projects badly enough, they will find someone else to do them next month? Probably not, but there is always hope!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day yesterday - lots of good food and family. Alli was a wonderful angel, and didn't even make too big a mess eating dinner - always a shock for me.

We got in last night after 5:00, and I sat and crocheted some (since I wasn't cooking dinner!) I made two of the scarves that are pre-ordered. Only 6 more to go! I need to get my scarves and gloves ready to take to work on Monday, I am setting up the Christmas Bazaar at work next week. I think I will probably do more 'special order" work than anything else this year. I have a dozen gloves made up, and about 8 knitted scarves, but none of the flower crocheted scarves made up as a sample! I need to make one of those up - evidently they are a big seller! They take an evening to make, so as long as I don't get too many special orders, I'll be fine. The last thing I need is to stress myself out over crocheting - that's what I use as a de-stresser!

Happy Thanksgiving! I have too many things I am thankful for than I can list! Family, friends, health - the list is endless! I'm even thankful for a nice house that needs to be cleaned! (Yes, I got the living room carpet cleaned last night - yippee!) I have food in my refrigerator (I have a refrigerator!) gas in my car (I have a car!) I have a kitten helping me type! (She chases the cursor across the screen - I blame all my typos on her, and the fact that most of the time, I can't even see the screen when I'm typing.) It's all good at my house!

Since I didn't get my carpets cleaned this weekend, I told myself last night I was going to get up early this morning and clean the carpet, but.....it was cold out there! I snuggled back under my blanket and snoozed for a while. It is 29 degrees here this morning - a far cry from the 16 they said it was going to be, but it's still cold! I guess that means I be cleaning carpets tonight before I go to bed! That has to be easier than getting out of a nice warm bed!

Poor AJ - he wanted a new video game, since he was out of school this whole week, but didn't have enough money to buy it, so....I made a list of chores to be done in exchange for me buying it. He was so proud of himself when I got in yesterday - he had cleaned out all the leaves from my front flower beds, and mowed the lawn (which sort-of mulched the leaves up) for me. Since I had waded through (literally) a pile of leaves on the front steps when I came in, I gave him the 'what are you talking about?' look. He went out to show me, and realized when he opened the front door that he had forgotten the front flower bed and walk! He had gone in and out of the garage doors, and didn't even notice the leaves! He's back to yard duty today!

Finally - the first day of AJ's Eagle Project! They got all the grass out of the area, now...putting in wood chips! I think the hardest part is done. There was only one boy scout there, but a lot of adults (including 2 recent Eagle Scouts - still scouts to me, but they are registered as adults now!) and our neighbors - thank goodness! John and Dallas were late to the work day, because they got stuck in Dunsmuir last night coming in from a wrestling tournament, due to a jack-knifed rig on I-5. God bless John - not only did he come and work on his day off, but yesterday, he drove 6 teenage boys home from a tournament, got stuck in Dunsmuir, spent the night without electricity at their cabin there with 6 boys, and he still showed up with a trailer and ready to work! Alan came too - and today was his only day off this week, except for Thursday. What troopers!

The crew - ready to start Laying the plastic down in the hallways the grass area Alli and I showed up (late of course!) The path in and out of the school I'm so proud! Dad's helping! Rudy is supervising - the grass is out 'a here!

I made a huge misjudgment yesterday! Allison was sleeping in, so I didn't wake her up. By the time she did get up, ate breakfast, showered, etc. It was too late to run my grocery shopping errands before my Trustee's meeting, so...I went to the store after the meeting. Horrors! Never again! It was awful! Where did all these people come from? Have they never shopped before? Don't they know better than to block the aisle while they try to decide what brand to buy? Come on guys - it's ugly enough in here - play nice! I will say that the crew working were great - very up beat and cheerful - much better than me! It didn't help that Allison's pants decided to fall down repeatedly in the store. I don't know if it was her bebopping that was doing it or just the fact that her cast is smooth, so they just slip down, but...she mooned several people during our trip. I expected it to be busy, but I thought I would still beat the rush. Not!

Today is AJ's first workday for his Eagle Project. We have gotten 0.7 inches of rain in this storm, and he is digging out dirt today from the garden area. It is also 41 degrees outside, and not expected to get a lot warmer. I think Allison and I are staying home, or running errands as needed. I need to feed the helpers today, but...first we have to see how many actually come out. As of this morning, only one scout has RSVP'ed that he is coming. The neighbors are coming, and even better, bringing equipment. Dallas and his brother are working, and their Dad has a trailer to haul off the dirt for us - wonderful! Some of the scout adults said they will be there, but....no kids. That's what happens when you do it on a Sunday, and during school vacation! Oh well - he has until January 6th at 5:00 p.m. - no need to panic yet!

I started a flower scarf/hat set for a co-worker and took it in to show her the progress on Friday, and got 10 orders for scarves! One lady even went out at her lunch and got the yarn for 6 scarves - I'm behind and haven't even started yet! I worked on gloves last night - I have a dozen ready to go and about that many knitted scarves. I will set up the Bazaar after Thanksgiving, so I need something to put up. The flower scarf seems to be all the rage, and I to make up several and include a sign that I will make custom orders, too. They don't take as much time or yarn as the knitted scarves to make, but with beads on the fringe, the cost of materials is higher. I would rather sit and crochet at night than knit, so it will all work out, I think! I can't help myself - I keep picking up more yarn saying -" oooh - this is pretty!" I have to gt rid of it all somehow!

Winter is back! Cold weather and rain have settled in. It is about time - I'll enjoy it for a little while, and then I'll be ready for Spring! AJ and I are running to Chico today to see his surgeon. Hopefully we get some solutions!

Thanksgiving is at my house next Saturday - which means I'm going to kick cleaning into high gear this weekend. Now that Ralph fixed my carpet cleaner, I need to use it on the living room carpets! I have grandiose ideas about getting a lot of 'stuff' cleaned up and out of my way, so I have room to put food. We'll see if that happens! I know I get easily distracted from cleaning, so I really hope to get at least the basics done! AJ's Eagle project is Sunday, so I'll be busy with that, and I have a Trustee's meeting on Saturday - lots to do besides cleaning! So far, the head count is at 12 - and I haven't heard from one brother about how many from his clan are coming. That could push the number to 17. I think I have logistics of tables laid out, so - on with the fun!

The flower scarf I made for a co-worker is a huge hit - I have had several people ask me what I would charge for one. I started one last night - a scarf, hat and glove set for a co-worker. I did the flower for the scar and the first few rows on the hat in about an hour last night. Not too bad! I wanted to get it started so I could show J what the yarn looks like made up. I like it, but...it's for her daughter-in-law, so this will give her time to find a different yarn if she wants it. I'm thinking about charging materials plus $5.00-$10.00 for a scarf - somewhere in the $15.00 range. I usually charge $15.00 for a knitted scarf, and these are a lot easier and faster! I need to get stuff organized for the bazaar, I have some scarves done, but no gloves. That is also on my list of things to do next week, besides get ready for Thanksgiving.

Indy made a trip to the vet's yesterday - poor baby! He is now neutered, and is doing fine. The vet's office evidently took a picture for his file - and took it after the drugs set in. The tech that checked him out thought it was too cute to just keep in his file, so she gave me a copy of it - too cute! He did look like he had a hangover that night when we got him home.

What a whirlwind of a week - I haven't posted in a while! I feel like I am running behind, and not catching up with anything. Last Friday, I found out that Angela's baby shower was the following Sunday - no baby afghan even started! I did whip up a couple of pairs of booties and a hat, though. She got an IOU for an afghan.

AJ actually started working on his Eagle Project last weekend. While I was in the middle of mopping the kitchen floor he asks "Can you go with me to the stores to talk to them?" Does it look like I'm busy??? Needless to say, I had my day all planned out already - after grocery shopping and cleaning, I was planning on going in to work to catch up on a few projects. That didn't work out. AJ ultimately decided that Dad would be better at the hardware/nursery/landscape store than Mom would be, but he had to wait until Dad made a dump run (No way was he going to stop that - I've been waiting months!) That meant I had Allison, so no bank work, just more housework for me. It did give me time to work on the baby booties, though!

So - change of plans - Sunday I'll go in to the bank. I'm going to stop making plans. Alli had an accident that required the cleaning of her carpet. The carpet cleaner wasn't working well, so Ralph and I overhauled it. By the time I had that mess cleaned up, including the kitchen after tearing the cleaner apart, I had missed church, and only had a couple of hours to put in at work before the shower. What a weekend! The good news - AJ has started his project. The scouts are gathering at the school this Sunday to start work, I hope. What a long journey!

Allison successfully slept in her brace last night, so we are off on the 24/7 adventure! She didn't seem to have any problems this morning, but she was scratching her stomach and back a lot in the shower - it must get itchy under there! I thought she might have problems going to sleep with it on, but she dropped off faster than usual - at least faster than lately. But that may be because lately we have been taking the brace off before bed, and she gets all excited. Now - nothing to get excited about at all!

I had a fun filled day yesterday - Ralph took Alli to daycare for me, and AJ was sleeping on the couch (he caught the latest bug circling around the school!) so it was just me ant the dogs in the morning! Then, I headed in to town for some serious shopping. Okay - not that serious, but I went to several stores in one trip - more than I usually get to do! I spent quite a bit of time in Joann's, and came out with a few more projects! I picked up 4 more balls of yarn, and a couple of yards of netting. The netting is for the crocheted kitchen scrubbies. I bought a couple at my church's bazaar this fall, and thought 'I can make these!' and for once, I did! With some help from AJ - he tied the ends of the net strips together for me as I cut them - and without the help of Indy - he got locked in the bedroom during this procedure - I rolled up 1 7/8 yards of netting, and then made two scrubbies!

I think Indy got back at me for locking him in - this was the main bathroom later that evening:

Jasper said "It wasn't me!"

AJ was very helpful in cleaning it up

After all my adventures in shopping (I even found a dress for the Christmas party - very red!) I met Mom and Dave for lunch at Casa Ramos - yum! I ate too much, but it was so good! Then - more running around with Mom and Dave. They left town around 2:45 I think - even then Dave said he hit snow on the way home. I headed back home and dove into my scrubbie project. I suppose I should post a picture of them - the first one wasn't too pretty - it took me a bit to get the hang of working with the netting. The second one was much better. I also finished up a scarf and an amigarumi cat (a Christmas present) yesterday - I love having the day off from work!

With a rainy start yesterday, I faced up to my procrastination, and took Rufus, Indy and Koori in for their shots. I could have gone last month, or even the month before, and it wouldn't have been raining. But no, I have to put it off until I have to stand outside in the rain in a long line waiting to get them vaccinated. I did think that maybe no one else would show up because it was raining, but evidently, I wasn't the only on that thought that. The line wasn't as long as I have seen it in the past, but...it was still almost an hour long wait outside. Luckily, it didn't rain a lot while I was there - just a drizzle!

After an inch of rain, the sun came out yesterday, and it was beautiful! The dogs and I went for a walk - I didn't even need a jacket!


We found this little guy handing out in the road - he didn't look happy. I think he was moving a bit slow due to the rain and cold.



I picked up a new ball of yarn on Saturday - a boucle' made by Joann's. It has the coolest pattern working up in it - I love it! I want to go back and get all the different colors they have!



I also made up a kitty toy - Ralph was making up a dog's toy from a fillet glove, so I whipped up a ballish shape, stuffed it with stuffing and some catnip, and.....



I think it's a hit!

A rainy, windy Sunday! I did remember to turn all my clocks back - except for my internal one. I was awake at 4:30, and could only snooze until 5:00. I'm up! Alli will probably snooze late - she wasn't asleep when I went to bed at 10:30. The teenage years are hitting her, I think - she wants to stay up later and sleep in later. I don't mind the sleeping later - it's the staying up later I don't like. I'm used to that being 'my' time. Pokemon is turned off, and I can have the TV and a little conversation. Oh well - I guess I'd better get used to it. AJ is wired to stay up late and get up late, and probably will be for a while, so Alli will just follow suit, I'm afraid!

I got Ralph started on a clean-up project - our overflowing stacks of computer discs and paper work. When we traded up from Windows 95, we didn't get rid of all the 'stuff' we had for it - until yesterday. He had a little help sorting out the discs.



He did get it down to a manageable stack, and disposed of old items no longer needed (stuff that was still 'good' but we didn't need are going to school with Allison - maybe they can use it!). He also made a run to the Electronic Waste dump and got rid of an old monitor and our defunct TV - more room in the garage! (Since AJ can't lift over 10 pounds, he put our "other son" Dallas to work to help him load the TV in the truck.) Between the rummage sale and this trip - there is space in the garage! Hopefully, now that we've got a start, we can keep cleaning things out a little at a time, until we can actually move around in there. What a thought!

I had a little help myself unloading groceries. Alli and I were still the only one up when I got back from the grocery store (Dallas did get up just when I brought in the last bag of groceries - he really is my 'other son' isn't he!) This time, I had both kittens helping me unload the bags

Notice the positions - Indy going in the bag, Picot watching

Attack!
Playtime!

They are so much fun to watch! I'm so glad we did get Indy - it gives Picot someone (besides me!) to play with and really defuses the disasters she was creating. Unfortunately, the two of them can still cause some major disasters (my beta fish has a new home in a new location!) but I think it is less with two than when we just had Picot.

What a week! Good thing it's Friday! I'm even playing hooky from work! I'm technically babysitting Alex as he recovers from surgery, but he doesn't need much babysitting, really.

Alli update - she is wearing her brace full days now. She started with a full 9 hours on Monday and Tuesday (from 7:00 in the morning until Ralph picked her up from school). Wednesday, when I put her brace on, she growled at me - not a good sign. She bounced back pretty quickly, but it was obvious she didn't like putting it on. The, her teacher called me at 2:00 to warn me that she was 'having one of those days' with Allison. Not good! At 2:30, I was picking Alli up to take her in to get x-rays - which means pick her up, drive to MD Imaging, wait to sign in, wait to be called to a little window and fill out paper work and then wait until our turn for x-rays and then wait to make sure they turned out all right and then wait for them to make copies for us to take to the doctors. It really isn't a long time in total, but the up and down gets to Allison more than just sitting in one place. I think we were there a total of 30 minutes - not bad, but that was a lot of ups and downs, not to mention trying to make her stand still in the exact right spot for her x-rays! She doesn't do half steps I found. She needed to move a little bit to the left, now a little bit back to the right, too much, a little bit back to the left, too much.....She really did very well through it all - though I was a bit frazzled. Then, since it only took a half hour, I took her back to work with me to wait until her 4:00 appointment with the specialist. That was so much fun! (for her!) Once again, she did really well. She likes going to my work - she likes looking downstairs through the glass handrails, and following me around. After all that, it was off to the doctor's. We got there before 4:00 and saw him around 4:30 - the usual! He wasn't happy with the way her brace was fitting (neither was I - this was the first time I had seen it on after more than just a couple of hours, and it was really riding up!) It was also catching on her clothes - the bolts on the back were tearing her shirts. So far, the brace has destroyed 5 shirts I think. Ralph had already put a call in to the Orthodic specialist, and she had a solution, so after the doctor's appointment (which was pretty non-committal - keep it up and see me in three months) Ralph went by the orthodics place. He was there for 45 minutes - once the specialist saw Alli and her brace and the x-rays, she wanted to do some work. Ralph went back again on Thursday for another 1 1/2 hours to get the brace re-fitted, and it seems to be working much better! Alli still doesn't like it, but it looks like it fits better. She moves into the full 24 hours a day soon!

Alex update - Alex had his procedure done yesterday in Chico - and they didn't even do anything. The doctors couldn't get his heart to go into an arrhythmia while he had him there. Go figure! So AJ had the whole anesthesia and recovery for nothing! We go back to see the doctor in two weeks, so will find out more then about possible medication, etc. Bummer! The good news was that, since they didn't do any ablation work, AJ didn't have to spend the night - he just had to lay flat on his back for 6 hours, and then he could go home. Luckily for both of us, he slept most of that (and his last nurse was willing to bend a few rules about being perfectly flat, etc.!) He is doing fine today - a bit sore at his incision sites, but other than that, he feels fine.

I did finally take some pictures of the scarves I've done recently. I didn't realize it, but I must have had a thing for red lately!

Three of my more recent scarves

This is a new yarn by Lion Brand - a tweed - I like the color changes

This one is actually crocheted - and I really like how it turned out.


And this one is a new yarn put out by Michael's - nice and thick and fluffy!

We're off and running - another Monday! It's already started out ugly - while I was fixing Alli's lunch this morning, she made a mess in her room. Not how I wanted to start my week! Oh well - my fault! I know not to ignore her when she first gets up - even if it is "just for a minute".

I had help around the house yesterday too - the usual help I get! She is ever so helpful when you're folding clothes.



A while back, Mom rescued some plants that I was killing at my house. On her last trip down, she brought them back - all healthy and ready to bloom! Aren't they beautiful!



The dogs and I went for a walk yesterday - intermittent sunshine, but still a good walk.



It was a very slow Halloween last night too - very few kids. We were asked so many time that it got to the point that if there were parents with the kids, we automatically told them the score on the game (we had the game on the TV and they could see it from the door.) Ralph pointed out that he didn't see a lot of Dad's with the kids - they must have stayed home to watch the game!