A "Magical" Cup

And altogether amazing Friday night and Saturday morning spent with my 8 year old grand-daughter. What a magical age, eight!

The evening filled with us cooking pasta together and making Playdoh refrigerator magnets and bath time with washable markers...and her turning the tiled bathtub walls into a work of art. The movie "Water Horse" and story-time and hot cocoa then snuggling with Tucker and several of the stuffed bears until she was fast asleep.

Up early to help fix "Pigs in a blanket" and hot tea...

and then to plunder the scarves, and coloured hair extensions and curls kit, and paint our nails together before our morning ended.

and ending up with Safari Nails....one hand zebra and the other leopard!

"Grands" keep you young.
 (at heart anyway!)

She and Hannah are going to be able to share our (late) Thanksgiving next week with Chris and Tina.

The kids, who came in the other afternoon after work and collapsed on the sofa they were so tired. When I covered them up they looked so cute laying there sound asleep I stole a shot!

                                          (...not a creature was stirring..)

Exciting news as Nicki will be finding out if "The Bump" is a little girl or a boy today! Hoping to know before the day is out. And I may just go with pink or blue hearts on the quilt. Hearts go with everything!*

My bedroom an absolute disaster with all the Christmas stuff everywhere...inside from the patio room. Waiting not-so-patiently for the seasonal change after Thanksgiving this year. I have got to weed out and pass some of this on to the Senior Center. A much much better place to donate gently used items. The Goodwill put a price on things that it ridiculous since they were donated. The Senior Center keeps the prices low so that the elderly can actually afford them.

And Tucker...who is spending most of these cold days...indoors...on the sofa...and snuggling with his stuffed fish. One of the first plush toys he really seems to like. Of course the tail is stuffed with catnip! (...thanks Pam!)

This week's book "The Wedding Gift" by Marlen Suyapa Bodden set in the deep South during the times of slavery. The story of a young slave girl who is "gifted" to the plantation owner's daughter (as her maid) on her wedding day...and the girl's struggles to find her way to the North and freedom. A nice twist at the very end of the story elevates this book to a must read.  Excellent period piece!


So back to cleaning the house and preparing for next week's holiday...looking forward to hearing from Nicki and have ALREADY received the first "HOLD THIS DATE" for an early Christmas Party at Donna, Dane's and Eric's, and hopefully the 12th for Christmas with both my Grandsons! Planning an afternoon Christmas High Tea with Judy, Loretta and Ola as well!

December's shaping up to be a busy month, already!

Have a wonderful weekend!




* And a tiny postscript...as the kids just told me according to the ultra-sound...maybe...

The Windblown Cup

Yeah it looked a lot like THIS yesterday.

To compound matters, the oldest was on his way to campus for classes today...college being in Iowa. Where does he stop on his way through? Peoria.
Luckily they kept them at the bus station until the worst of it cleared. After which a small nearby town (minutes away) ended up gone. Wiped off the map. Looking like this after it was over.

They counted 65 tornadoes yesterday through Illinois and Indiana. Where I am...very little damage...terrifying winds...torrential rains...all of the leaves down (...Fall has fell...) and a few dead limbs and roofing shingles...but otherwise unscathed.  Nearby, one of the automotive plants reported damage. Kokomo Indiana was hit fairly hard and Lebanon had an edge of the town Starbucks coffee shop damaged pretty badly

 (...of which, Lennon immediately quipped "One down...several thousand left to go.")

but overall we were so very lucky.

Nicole and I engaged in kind of a telephone/email (((hugfest))) until we heard that James had reached the dorm safe last night. Huge sigh of relief.

Iowa...in November.  It's flat. It's bare. Oh...and it's flat.  Apparently, there is a pool table in the commons area though (which thrilled him to no end). And like Chris' experience with the AIOI...not your father's "Smuggle in The Hot Plate" dorm-room. A full kitchen and bath/shower. Three of them to his cube. Space to sleep and study and relax. A damn pool table! LOL!  He will be back to Nicole for Christmastime, though!

And an early morning call this morning before his class started...which made me a little misty...reaching out to Mom before his first day "...back to school..."!

They grow up so quick!

One out of college...one mid-way...and one just beginning trade-school.  So proud of all of them...and feeling so very blessed.

And speaking of blessed...the above picture sent by the girls' Mom...four of my (soon to be) 7 grandchildren. Three natural (Hannah, Kaylee and Brenden)...Three Honorary (Preston, Emma and Jasmine) and One on the way (...still too early to know yet!)  And the girls will be coming for an afternoon this week!

So happy!

Some "Grandma Rose" Time!

Which will be a welcome respite after this week's MRI follow-up I am sure.

"Don't bother me I am coloring with the kids and having brownies and milk in our tent-fort"

This week's book a non-fiction selection  All About Techniques in Acrylics part of the Barrons Series. Interesting and informative and something I learned at the end of last year/beginning of this one...that I really enjoy...a LOT. Who knew.

Tried oils. Dries way too slow for me...requires more patience than I admittedly possess.

Tried watercolour. OMG @@ They start school-children out with these unforgiving blotch-monsters...??? Really? My painting resembled a Rorschach inkblot.

Experimented with the pastels Idgy sent. Looked like something done by Monet...when he was 5...in the kitchen with crayons...after spilling his milk on the paper...in a word...terrible! 

 LOVE the acrylics, though. Beautiful. Very forgiving. Easy to thin to transparency or apply with a palate knife. Mix with a medium for Impasto. Glaze. Make a small mistake...paint over it. Make a big mistake...prime the whole canvas and start again!  

Have a vision of turning this shot

Taken this summer at the Nature Park while she and I visited and hiked away an afternoon...into a painting. I love the Impressionistic style and think it would lend itself very well to that.

We joked recently together about my trying pointillism sometime. Think Seurat. Once again...although she has been known to do the whole 9 million dots in Pen and Ink and when she finishes it looks like a black and white photograph of the Carroll County Courthouse, or some such. I am pretty sure the dedication to dots will end up something like this...

Hey...it's a close up...don't judge me.

And a box arriving...an early Christmas from an old friend. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!! A Personal Jet Spa to enhance the whole "bath" experience!  If anybody needs me, I'll be in the tub...till Wednesday!

And a quickie of Tucker squishing his little playtoy gold fishie.

I think we've found Nemo!








Possibly a Polar Bear in a Snowstorm??? IDK.

An "Almost The Weekend" Cup

And after this crazy week...I NEED it!

Foremost,

                                  Je Presente':

                                                 Mr. and Mrs. Hurst

And the beginning of their "...happily ever after!"  Not losing a son but gaining an amazingly sweet daughter-in-law! And in May...a grandchild! Both of them sound so in love...so very happy. Nicole asking me yesterday if I would come down to stay for a week after the baby is born :)



And snow already.

                                         Boston Fern is Not Amused!



Although it was short lived and this Sunday is suppose to be back into the mid-60's.  Actually, it was kind of pretty and after Thanksgiving
                              
                           "let it snow...let it snow...let it snow!"

Did my 2 1/2 hours "...in the tube..." Tuesday and glad it is over. The results a bit sobering. I may be getting thinner, but FRED is expanding. The MRI results showed a definite spread this year from the left frontal across the mid-line to the right hemisphere. And this wasn't your 1 or 2 mm at a time that we've been seeing yearly. Along with a tail...characteristic of the invasive nature of an Astrocytoma.

                                         Contrast Deepened to Show the Cross-Over


But to quote Monty Python

"...I'm not quite DEAD yet..."

Actually today I am feeling pretty good.

And it does explain some of the aberrations I have noticed in the past year.
But today, it is beautiful outside and two of my sons are in love and the third is engaged to his studies...and soon to celebrate his 25th birthday...and happy. And although I have good and bad days I am STILL walking (well...sort of...face it...in the Zombie Apocalypse, I'm screwed...) and enjoying EVERYTHING life has to offer...I have an amazing circle of friends and family who love me and I love them...and good chocolate, of course.  Life is GOOD!

Despite FRED. Hell...truth be told...maybe because of him.

Having someone hand you an expiration date, (over and over) has the unexpected benefit of teaching you to live each day as though it might actually be your last one.

You appreciate more.

 You are full of gratitude.

The everyday chaos becomes just
so much white noise.

 You learn quickly to differentiate between an inconvenience...a problem and a crisis.

As a matter of fact...the day after the MRI...I took a total "me" day...complete with coffee and dessert at my favourite tea room...a bit of photography...perused and bought a lovely early 1900's humpback writer's trunk from the BEST antique shop because I have always wanted one (and there it was)...talked with all the kids...several close friends and family...and slipped our (Bill and mine) wedding rings off the chain where I have worn then since his death and have now passed them to my eldest and his new wife (...who was crying she was so happy and overwhelmed with the gesture...) Enjoyed some Whitman (as in Walt) with Tucker (purr therapy) and a steak dinner with asparagus and baked sweet potato...a deep candlelit bubble bath and a glass of wine and a bowl of cherry compote drizzled with dark chocolate...and...slept like a child afterwards. 

I'd like to make every day as pleasant and mindful.

Nothing like a bad MRI to pull you back to focus.

But really really ready for the weekend. 

Focus.
Enjoy Yours. 
None of us have any guarantees beyond this moment.

LIVE.

     Talking to Lennon on the phone today...and he sent me this :)

     Either is is a great big ((((hug))) or my Middle son has become a Zombie.
     (Nice try but it still won't get you out of Exams!)

     Colleges are plagued with the living dead on Exam Week.

      Love ya, kid...and (((((HUGS)))) back!



  

And a Fall Shot.
Angie, only 13.5 pounds to go!  Oh, and this is the Fall look. Infinity Scarves "R" Us...

 ~laughing~

Easiest weight loss ever! 16.6 pounds since the end of July.
I LOVE the "Fast Diet"!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Sunday's Tea

Almost "Life with Beethoven" these days around Chris...his mind whirring with musical notes and theory...and I half expect to walk in and see him writing composition on the wall.

Unbelievable progress. Taught himself to read music in one week. Picked up the first book in Berklee College of Music's: Music Theory a couple weeks ago and is grasping the contents well and even attempting some composition. Has taught himself to re-hair the violin bow and is recording his playing progress...which is considerable. I'm talking from "...mice in a blender..." days to "Section of Bouree: J.S Bach" in three weeks.

The Bach Piece

http://youtu.be/YiOZCu_yYlg

and an earlier attempt at Ode to Joy

http://youtu.be/wNHk7tz4-uk

Even made his first "tip" the other night...as he was practicing while at a local laundromat and an elderly gentleman walked over and dropped a $20.00 bill in his case.  He was stunned.

"At first I thought maybe he was paying me to quit practicing, Mom"
he laughed.

And busy learning some Christmas Selections, now.

Son. You never cease to amaze me!

Kind of a bizarre, exhausting week...with our buddy, Jim...having an circuit malfunction with his heart causing it to STOP BEATING...luckily his dead and then brought back to life episode was after the paramedics had arrived...so instead of a funeral...as Jim says...he has a GREAT STORY.  I've been calling him a Zombie now.

"You were dead, but now you're alive...damn it....you're a ZOMBIE, Jim..give it up..."

Anyway, they've implanted a defibrillator...he's part way to becoming the Bionic Man, like he has always wanted to be...and soon will be back on the Harley or climbing Denali, like nothing ever happened.

So completely Jim.

~laughing~

Remembering a long conversation years ago about hiking the Appalachian Trail (well part of it) together...and lamenting the fact that i couldn't get the 3 months off work it would take. Now I have all the time and much much much less of the physical ability. 

"No problem...you bring a good hiking staff and you can hold on to me and we will still do this!"

An indomitable spirit.  Hell...We may still do it..or at least a scaled back version.

                                     Is it any wonder I love this guy  :)

And a long afternoon and evening with Angie as her Mom just went through heart surgery...successfully...thankfully. Her brother making it up as well...and his wife's family who live just outside of Cebu in the Phillipines...not an optimal place to be this week...so far we have received word from her sister (who is trying to find their parents amidst the chaos) and she is safe.


And preparing to take my annual sneak peek at FRED this week...which is always a stressful thing for me.

                                                  2012's Sneak Peek
                                                          FRED

Is it any wonder that yesterday I came to a complete stop and did...well...pretty much absolutely NOTHING for the entire day. A bit of internet time...a little reading...and shared a pizza with Chris late. That's it.
Just dropped.

And so, catching up today. One of those Cinderella Days..with everything clamouring dust me, feed me, scrub me, toss me out, launder me...Note to my friend Gail in Africa who says:

"Where I am...everyone has a maid. They look funny at you if you don't"

I may be living on the wrong Continent.

(...okay...except for the whole spitting cobra thing...and the centipedes...and army ants...and huge spiders...and torrential rains...and outbreaks of freedom fighters shooting up shopping malls...) 

Hey...you know what. Maybe I'll just stay here...maidless and all, m'kay?

But the bright spot in the midst of yesterday was finishing "Sycamore Row".
The latest John Grisham novel. A self-proclaimed sequel to his first novel A Time To Kill. A return to Clanton, Mississippi, the book opens with the suicide of Seth Hubbard. Hubbard is a white man of means in the small racially divided town. Most of the original book's characters make a reappearance...as Jake Brigance (the lawyer) receives a cryptic handwritten Will by post only a day after the suicide. In it, Hubbard's children and grandchildren are purposely cut from his original will and the bulk of his Estate left to his black house-maid. Grisham has a way of making a character thoroughly despicable...and before this book ends you will find little sympathy for Hubbard or his grown children. A nice twist and tying up of loose ends by the close of the story.
 Overall, an exceptional read!

Amazing the difference a week can make...with the rains and winds the leaves are dropping fast now. You can feel winter and snow just around the corner.

                                                        Last week.

                                                        This week.


And Tucker-Cat...who has velcro'd himself to the sofa most days, now. Snoring loudly.

 

                              Tucker's Position on The Up-Coming Winter



 Anticipating an early one. Winter, that is. My Christmas Cactus already starting to bloom. Two full weeks before Thanksgiving!

 

 Looking forward to Thanksgiving with Chris and The Leprechaun this year :)
And looking forward (soon) to finding out whether my newest "grand-bump" is a he or she "bump"!  
Always exciting.

Discussed school, and my oldest will begin his classes before long. Although he has headed in a slightly difference direction than his original idea of business management...it will help him achieve a good career and provide a solid foundation for his family! Proud of him for setting this goal and working hard to build a career instead of just "working a job" the rest of his life.
 I KNOW you can do it!

Lennon's 25th quickly approaching...and laughing at my pragmatic middle son whose official birthday wish included

"My good office chair is shot to hell, Mom" 

And us perusing office chairs together on Amazon...until

"Oh...THAT one is perfect!"

And so, along with a few other goodies...it will wing-its-way his way on or around the 20th!

They are all grown up now.

 Office furniture for your birthday is a tell-tale sign.

~sigh~

                              Even though this feels like only yesterday :) 


Have a wonderful rest-of-the-weekend! 
Back to Cinder-Ella  :)



 

A Cupful of Politics...and Tiggy,too

The Power of Positive Doughnuts!

Congratulations on a landslide New Jersey win, Governor Christie.

Take a long hard look GOP...and realize this guy may be your only hope at a win in 2016.

No, really.

And he is motivated. The man has lost 106 pounds and 10 inches off his waist so far after the lapband.

By November of 2016 he may be ripped. Who knows? And if he isn't, who cares?

What I do know is this.

Christie is personable. Funny, even.

I loved the Letterman doughnut.

He is a straight shooter. Can anybody forget the "Get The Hell Off The Beach" Moment?

http://youtu.be/PHy6S5u7M3w


"It's 4:30...you've maximized your tan. Get the Hell off the Beach!"


More importantly, he tends to be a moderate. In this day of extreme right and extreme left...we could use a few more moderates.

Just the fact that the hardcore conservatives are already lashing out with RINO comments, tell me he is doing something right.

I haven't voted for a Republican since the FIRST Bush...who admittedly sucked me in with his "thousand points of light".

How was I to know they would be from the bulbs strung around Tent Cities inhabited by the poor and middle class as he plunged the country into a deep recession?  By the time the second Bush showed up...yeah...fool me once...but not again. And look how THAT ended up! The closest thing to the Great Depression we have seen since...well...The Great Depression.

Christie stands head and shoulders above Cruz, Rand, Ryan, Bachman. Admittedly, not a resume worthy distinction. Their theme song should be the one off the Animaniacs.

"We're tiny..we're tooney...we're all a little looney"

But I digress.

And a strong message sent to the Tea Party in Virginia last night as that swing state went blue...again.

Sell Crazy Somewhere Else. We're all full up, here.

And voters ARE fed up. Tired of the constant squabble. Tired of the obstruction. Tired of Congress doing nothing (both sides)  Tired of the "Orange Man" (Boehner)  and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
 Just tired.

And don't even get me started about Hillary, okay? I learned everything I ever wanted to know about Hillary when she ran in the primaries in Indiana.

I think Christie would have a good shot at the whole thing. By siphoning off a few Democrat voters...and appealing to Independents and Moderate Republicans. He could win this thing.

And if the Democrats do run Hillary...I will definitely be voting for the doughnut guy.

In fact, I think if he runs he should embrace the inner doughnut guy. He has the capacity to be EVERYMAN.

But enough political chatter...

Yesterday, I was reminded (once again) how Good Things Always Arrive in Boxes with the arrival of Idgy's Fall Box...filled with this summer's seeds from her gardens.

 Columbine and Black-Eyed Susans and Our Sunflowers, oh my!
(and Cockscomb later)

 Also a bar of my favourite Lindt (Orange) dark chocolate, and best of all a jar of thick raw sunflower honey from the Amish.  This honey, which I have enjoyed before, is some of the best honey I have ever tasted. Not thin and light and "meh" like the Sue Bee Honey of our childhood. This is dark and cloudy. Unprocessed and thick. It tastes like a million sunflowers on a sunny Tennessee afternoon! Immediately opened and a teaspoonful eaten straight from the jar. It is exceptional.

Can't wait to drizzle it over Greek yoghurt with walnuts. 

 Holding off on the re-read of a Time to Kill, as I am still 3rd on the list for his sequel and want it fresh in my mine. Besides...I just found the FIRST Jo Nesbo
(amazing Norwegian author) book The Bat...following Detective Hole "down-under" on another murder mystery. Review on Friday.

                                                           The Kids

 Thinking about the kids a lot tonight and wishing them much love and luck on their journey together!

I think the two of you have finally found your "...happily ever after!"

And, wanted to share a recipe that I learned of today that makes "Turduchen" pale in comparison.

The Hoosier Equivalent to the New Orleans Turduchen:

Tiggy

Which is exactly what it sounds like...Turkey stuffed not with Duck and Hen but
instead Pig.
Can't get a lot more Hoosier than that.

Tiggy is actually layered with Pig, as it were.
so without further adieu  (...or in Hoosier-ese: I won't keep ya waitin')

Tiggy Recipe

1 large boned Turkey Breast

1/2-2  pound Pork Tenderloin (long roast)

1/2 pound thin shaved Honey Ham

1/2 pound Cracked Pepper Bacon (raw)

Clean and flatten turkey breast...roll Pork Tenderloin in shaved ham slices to form a package. Then roll tenderloin and ham package in boned turkey breast. Sit in roasting pan with seam side down. Weave an outer coat of bacon slices over turkey breast.  Cover with aluminium foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 - 2 hours...uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

Thick slice roll and serve...maybe with a defibulator? 

Or sweet potatoes and green bean casserole...and a chunk of pecan pie ala mode!   :)


Enjoy!





 

An Hour Longer...

For extra cups of coffee, of course!

A beautiful morning for what may be the last gardening day of 2013. One more quick tidy on the garden-spot and flower beds. The compost and mulch is layered. The Frog Spa drained and shut down. The Hummingbird feeder rinsed and stowed...and a bird feeder filled with millet and sunflower seeds has taken its place. The bulbs and roots nestled snugly in waiting for winter. Everything pruned. Going to heel in and deadhead the mums...clean, oil and stow the pruners and trowels and cover the strawberry crowns with leaf mulch...and then it's

"SHHHHHHH...The Garden is Sleeping"

And although it is gorgeous out today...you can feel the subtle change. Winter is coming.

Early, I think. My Christmas cactus already has fuchsia buds beginning to swell.

Picked up some extra bulbs to force (inside) in January or February for early color when I will need it most.

Of course the manuscripts...which have been sorely neglected since Spring are breathing a dusty sigh of relief as I turn my attention back to the musty dusty writer's trunk and focus on THEM for a few months.

                                  "We've Been Waiting for You...and waiting...and waiting"

 Goal...to finish the second book in the Zen Trilogy and have it reading for final re-write/edit by January for an April release.  Beyond that...who knows???

My winter TBR pile is growing...and the "grandbump's" quilt...a collection of poems I am working on...and "The Ashes" manuscript, clamouring for attention.
It will be a productive season.

Finishing this final cup then it is off to button down the last of the outside stuff!


Oh...want to share Chris' Progress on violin after 3 weeks....

http://youtu.be/wNHk7tz4-uk

(...the kid amazes me...)


And had to add

Compost 2013

And today's start on the Compost Bin for 2014

A Cup of Post-Halloween Cheer!

The goblins and ghouls settled back for another year...and a few bits of lovely chocolate still left!

Our little town actually postponed "Trick or Treating" until tonight because of the torrential rain on the 31st.  So Chris and Tina took the extra time and got really creative with their pumpkin.

And I made pizza and worked on my "Pintrest Find of the Season".

                                             A  Halloween Doughnut!


As it rained...and rained...and then rained some more.

We were lucky, though.

In Indianapolis, Pam has been without power for over 24 hours, as the result of trees blown over on power lines. In Wimberly (Texas) where we usually go for the Gathering, they had 14 inches fall and roads washed out and flooding. We have a few dead branches down and a lot of leaves that have dropped in one day...but otherwise unscathed. 

And Tina and I warning Chris that IF he managed to get that pumpkin stuck on his head we would be far too busy photographing and laughing to get help.

And a call from Lennon.

"Not many Trick or Treater's here tonight, Mom...so I am stuck with this huge bag of Tootsie Rolls.

  (...pause...) 

"Damn..." 

~laughter~

Me: Don't move, I'll be right there to help you with them!



Heading out this morning it definitely changed overnight with the bright leaves of October now falling and muted to various shades of Sepia, that IS Indiana in November.

November...a month set aside by many for Gratitude. A time to count our many blessings in life.
For me...on this first day- my foremost blessing is my family and friends (and friends who have through the years became an extended family). This year enfolding Nicole and Tina as well.

A nice segway into my next bit of news.

Recently my oldest and youngest proclaimed they had found "The One" (as in to spend the rest of LIFE with...grow old with...et al...)

As a Mom...so nice to see both of them so happy and in love.

Chris back with (and inseparable from) Tina :)

and James with Nicole

Both boys letting me know that these two would "someday" become my future DILS.

Someday...as it turn out, is sooner than I ever imagined. Congratulations are in order.  I am thrilled to welcome into our family

Mrs. Nicole Hurst

So happy for the two of you!  My wish for you?

"Forever" and "Enough"

Love you both!
                        Mom


Finished the re-read of Stephen King's: The Shining late Halloween Eve. Seemed appropriate. Starting the re-read of Grisham's: Time to Kill on Monday and inching ever closer on the waiting list for its sequel Sycamore Row.  I think i am in 5th spot now.

Custard baking for an early morning and soon to call it a night. Tucker already curled in a snug purring circle- having started without me :)