The month of November flew by....we had car troubles galore so now that those are fixed we can be grateful and move forward.

December is my birth month. It is also the birth month of my nephew Brian (24th), my great niece Sarah (Dec 30th), our late great grandson Alastor Avery (18th), our kids Rebekah and Zach wedding anniversary (2) , Noelle and Roger had the 13th as their shared birthday but now we remember Roger on Dec 6 as he will be gone one year . It is still hard to imagine life without him here.  But all of our memories are stored away where we can each pull them up and remember all the good times we all had. Life is hard but God is good.

We did some shopping with more to finish. It is going to be a smaller CHRISTmas, with more emphasis on phamily than gift giving. 

My Blaker Man on Monday eating his mac n cheese and playing some sort of numbers  game on his laptop. This child just spouts off mathematical addition as if it were as easy as  1-2-3.

I have been able to spend some quality time with the grands. Brody & Blake spent Monday afternoon with me while Harrison came over on Wednesday. His parents moved him into his own room and Jacey's brother Tyler, moved in downstairs. Lisa & Caroline moved to their own place.

My Mac Man "B" loves mac n cheese. I thought he would burst from eating so much!  

I did not get many photos but Brody and  I played three rounds of Banana Blast and he beat me all three times. Blake played Candy Land with us and he won! Harrison and I snuggled under the covers because it was cold outside and he used my old laptop while I cleaned up emails on my phone. We have such a nice time together. It's funny he likes to prop himself up on my side of the bed while Shea likes to pat grandpa's bed and say "my grandpa sleeps here, now I will take a nap here" That girl is a hoot. Avery said to her one evening, "do you want to go in the front room? " She said "Grandpa, that is called a living room."

Our Thanksgiving was quiet and nice. We did brunch with Jeremy & crew in the morning and Nick, Rebekah, Zach, Avery and I in the evening for dinner. 

I will have to get the photos from Rebekah and Zach. But here is some humor to make you smile.

hahaha that would be me. But we live ten minutes from the big amazon center and five minutes from the other one. People can talk the talk all day long but they deliver quick and their drivers are first class people.

This is a good example of using Christian curse words thanks to Tim Hawkins. Like son of a Southern Baptist preacher!

"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive yours," Matthew 6:14

Do not forget to read Luke from Dec 1 to 24. On the 25th you will have read the life of Jesus.

Tuesday4 Happy Tuesday Maxine Cracks Me Up

Tuesday4 

October

 Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.  So glad you are with us and I hope you will enjoy this week's questions.   Let us know if you have any ideas for themes.

Here on the sea coast the weather is very chilly.  We are in the low 50s by night and the low 60's by day. Leaves are turning and will be falling soon.

1.  What does this picture make you think about? 

I think about finding calm and peace here with the small pond and all the beautiful trees putting on their autumn finest. Indeed quiet in my life. I have never been around drama and chaos and the world is just getting so hard. I would love to escape here.

2. If you could spend a week in that cottage would you do it and who would you bring along with you?

It may sound selfish but I would only take my sweet husband along with me. He works so hard and would love to be here at home. So enjoying quiet and resting in the fresh air would would do wonders for both of us. The world is just too busy and most people are unhappy unless then are running here, there and everywhere. I have lived a long time and I will take peace, quiet and a country walk down an empty road anytime. 

3.  What kind of meal do you think represents October best? How about cookie or cake or dessert? We makes lots of soups and stews and chili as the weather turns colder.  Our son-in-law Zach is our house baker so today he made a batch of toffee chip and cream cheese chip (yes there is such a chip) cookies. They are delightful. My sister-in-law Lucy gave us three mini loaves of her famous banana bread. So we are most happy having tea and cookies or banana bread for a snack.

4.  Thinking of October, what song would go well with the month? What song would go well with this picture? I love the hymn Blessed Assurance by Frannie Crosby so that song would suit this photo best for me. The hymn would do well to be my theme song during the month of October too.

Happy Tuesday

This Happy Tuesday is perfect since I was very happy to complete my Tuesday4 post. Everything in that post made me happy. We have had some busy months behind us and more ahead of us but enjoying a quiet day, drinking London Fog Tea and waiting for the sun to shine was a nice calm day. I am happy heading off to bed. I am hoping for sweet dreams and praying for all of you.

Maxine is apparently not a fan of hayrides. I use to love them. Romance in the air on a cold and crisp October night and if you were lucky enough, you would see a Harvest moon.

 

Sunday, October 22, 2023

Automobiles

 Hey there... welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

We rely on cars to get just about everywhere today, so maybe we should talk about them a bit. Okay?

1. What is the earliest car you remember your family owning? My father was an Oldsmobile man. We always had one and my mom loved green so dad made sure he ordered green for her. I wish I had one of their cars today. What sweet memories I have. Do you recall the color or the plate number? No,  I wish I had those plates too.

2. What does your states license plate look like? Do you like it? We have 30 different designs. Originally we had the green and white plates to resemble the mountain ranges. We still have the traditional ones but our oldest girl has the Breast Cancer Awareness plates and our son has the Denver Nuggets and our daughter-in-law Brittany has a black car with the new black plates with white letters.

3. What color is your car now? Silver and it is boring. I love the red and black cars and even the green. My dad had a '69 Chevy truck. It is was bronze in color and he kept it immaculate. I wish I had his truck. Good memories and mom taught me to drive in it at the cemetery.

4. Did you have a car as a teenager?   If yes, what kind was it?

Yes I had my brother Ed's old two door Chevy Impala. It was cherry red with a white hard top. It had a 380 engine and that was a super cool car. 

We have new lap tops so I have been missing for awhile. Good to see you all and  forgive my lateness. I will be around to visit too. Thank you all for being here. 

Aw...Mondays love is.... Sparks

 Aw...Mondays

This shirt belonged to my late father-in-law. My sister-in-law Lucy came to Hannah's baby shower on Saturday along with her driver, one of her 4 daughters, Jamie.  I love how Jamie drives her mom, making sure she gets to where she is going safely. I think this reminds me of Driving Miss Daisy except Jamie is driving Miss Lucy!

My sweet Avery  is thrilled to have this shirt. His dad was of smaller stature  so we might put this is a frame with this cool photo Lucy included.

I am not sure what year this photo was taken but he was a handsome young man. My husband is very much like him as well as our son Nick. Funny how genetics work. Our oldest son Jeremy reminds me so much of my own dad.  His boys have many of his traits so we will see who they look like as they grow older.

I will be blogging about the shower too as it was a blessed and beautiful day. I am going to blog about my late mother--in-law Rita's beautiful quilt she made that  Lucy also gifted us.

If you want to read my other blog post go here PHAMILY BLOG

Since Avery was off last week, it is hard to see him go back to work. Grateful as we are that he still works and has a good job, it is hard being away from him.  love is...knows it best.

"Nothing ever happens in the world that does not happen  first inside the human  heart." Fulton J Sheen

Feline Friday and Pink Saturday with Friendly Fill In's

 

Feline Friday

Mister Kitty is happiest when he can sit by me and sometimes talk to me. 

"One reason that cats are happier then people is that they have no newspapers. Gwendolyn Brooks

Cats, as you know, are quite impervious to threats. Connie Willis

Ellen and Lorianne co host the blog hop Friendly Finn In's  Each week they think of four questions to share with us.

1. Before winter arrives, I need to stock up on __________________.

2, Only _________________until ______________.

3. I was relieved to find out ____________________

4.__________________was a shocker.

My answers are here:

1. Before winter arrives, I need to stock up on ingredients to make soup.

2. Only  72 days until CHRISTmas.

3.  I was relieved to find out the snow did not arrive in our area yesterday.

4.   The price of a new GMC truck was a shocker. I cannot believe they cost over $100,000. That is utterly absurd. 

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday to all!

Wordless Wednesday

 Wordless Wednesday

Televison

 

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Televison

 It's time for  Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 and I am glad you have come to participate.

Tuesday4

A Family Affair

Television has become a large part of people's live so it might be nice to discuss it and it's impact on our lives.

1.  Do you have a TV in your home or perhaps more than one?  We do have more than one TV. We watch lots of things together, all five of us, like Sports.

2.  Which programs do you like to watch?

We watch Sports and we have favorite shows. Always fans of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. We shall see if any newer programming returns since the strikes.We never get our hopes up. Direct TV was feuding with some local channels, of course, the ones we love. So I do not expect or depend on anything anymore.

3.  Could you do without your TV or is it on most of the time when you are home? Yes, I love music so listening to it helps my mood. My husband has a pet name for me. He studied some French in high school so he calls me Mon Annie, which is simply, My Annie. It melts my heart.  I started to listen to music in French and I enjoy it immensely. I read a lot of books too so I keep busy when I don't feel like listening to the TV and all the annoying Big pharma ads.................

4.  Is there a TV character that stands out in your mind for any reason at all? Maybe there is more than one or maybe there is a cast of a show you found memorable? Years ago, Life Goes On.....that was such a remarkable show and the cast was perfect for the characters. I am a fierce defender of the disabled or special ed kids. My friend has two girls, ages 8 and 10 that are Down Syndrome. They are such cool kids for having the extra chromosome.  Smart and one is super sassy  . She could be a very dramatic diva. When my husband was new at the firm he works for there was an attorney with Cerebral Palsy. He wrote the law regarding businesses having the doors for the handicapped. It is sad many businesses still do not comply. I always fondly think of Joni Eareckson Tada who use to always say on her radio show.  Kareem Abdul Jabbar is physically challenged. I am crippled. I have a handicap and one day when I get to heaven I am going to dance with Jesus! We know Jesus could care less about all the PC in the world. 

Thank you Annie for all you do keeping this going. I am so grateful I could be here today. 

Happy Tuesday

I have had a rough couple of weeks. The devil has been hanging around and he is not leaving. He is putting a burr in my saddle so to speak.  If I stop talking about God, praying to Him and  sharing Him, I am going to be harassed by the devil and his demons. I am most happy when I read my bible, pray for others and study the Word. I am happy because at those times Satan has no where to go in my life. 

Oh Maxine You are stealing my thoughts today!

My husband has asthma and the trees and the wind and often the weather really give him a hard time. I bought him a canister of Hot Apple Cider Tea by Republic of Tea. It is the best tea and has the most delightful taste. I am going to buy more of it because today I drank two cups with some honey.  I am going to make him a cup as he is watching some Monday Night Football. I am so happy today. It has been a good day.

Aw....Mondays and More

 

Aw...Mondays.....\

Friday Rebekah and Zach took me to Guanella Pass with them. We had a wonderful time and the Aspen's were perfectly golden. We stopped in Idaho Springs to have lunch at Beau Jo's pizza and while waiting for our table did some Miner Street shopping. I always had a bag of those polished colorful stones when I was a kid so I treated myself to one there too. 

The pizza was delicious and we ordered the Motherload. You tear off the crust after you finish your pizza so you can pour some honey over it. That way you avoid ordering dessert too.  It was a gorgeous day. We will go back up once Hannah and Jake get here this weekend.  We are in full Baby Shower mode so getting all the goodies ready. 

I can not begin to describe the golden glow these aspen trees put off. I brought home lots of falling leaves so my sweetheart, who could not go this time, will make me a few bookmarkers.

God's Graciousness 

We really had  an awwww......moment. A phamily of deer crossed the road up the pass in front of us. The mother deer looked at Zach as if to say thank you for slowing down. It was breathtaking. 

Lori Lynn Simms posted  with this message  I saw at Pinterest.

Prayers asked for Beckham and his daddy Jeremiah. Thank you. 

My Sparks today:

The book of nature which we have to read is written by the finger of God.  Michael Faraday, scientist

LEO

 Wordless Wednesday

I have so many words today. My heart is breaking and I hope you will bear with me. Yesterday at approximately  10:28 A. M. this beautiful gentle giant went home to the Rainbow Bridge. It is hard to rest, to think, even the tears are hard to find.  But I can only find goodness in  the life of this virtuous boy who I loved to call LiLo. 

We had a rocky start. He was big, he was stubborn and I am strong willed. It was like fire and gasoline. But I loved him, I truly did. We just butted heads so many times. One  day  in 2016, I came around the corner and he was lying on our bed, always Avery's side, I said to him, what do you think your doing? He gave me that look, what does  it look like, I'm resting on this huge comfy bed! Leo loved his comfort. 

My favorite story of Leo is one morning, after we bought our new adjustable bed, Avery had left for work and I decided to get more sleep. I woke up to a feeling that someone was watching me.  When I opened my eyes, I was staring directly into those big amber colored Leo eyes!  We were literally nose to nose and he gave me that grin, ha, this bed is more comfortable then the old one! 

A gentle giant, a prince among the vast breeds of canines. He was a genteel boy, never allowing puppies to get underneath his feet. I was under those feets a time or two and he was big and strong but he had a kindness you do not often see in the world as much. 

As much as I would rather have him here, I would not want to see him suffer. I am grateful to the Almighty that his suffering was not long and he drifted off to dreams of chasing rabbits I am sure. Of running free with all his friends, Smokey, Bandit, Rose, Tinkerbell, Boots, Spats, Trek, Layla,  He will forever be missed by his precious brother Franklin when he comes to visit and search's the house and yard for Leo!.

Those long legs, huge paws and that precious, sweet and innocent face. He gave more love than most can accumulate in a lifetime. My heart hurts for our sweet boy Finn. He was at Leo's  side constantly. He loved to clean his ears. He ran the yard with him, he chased those rabbits, cause he learned from the master.  His passing was the most peaceful I have ever seen. He knew how loved he was. He knew each one of our faces, He was a people person so why would we leave him in his most trying hour.?

Monday night, Finn was up here on the love seat and he waited and watched that front door. Seeing his best buddy carried out by Zach and Nick and unable to to know what happened and where he was going made this boy so sad. 

The vet who came to our home was a good and very kind soul. He gave us all the space we needed to say our goodbyes. Even the pups were able to come up and love on this boy Leo .Heartbreaking as it was, we knew Leo needed this send off. I think he will stop at the Rainbow Bridge, see his perfect healthy body able to run and play and he will stop and remember all of us.

Goodbye my Lilo. I am going to be so sad without you. 

  And I heard every created thing which is in heaven, or under  the earth , or on the sea,  and all the things in them, saying,  "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the  blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever. " Revelation 5:13

Wild and Wacky Thursday and More

 Yesterday was a wild and wacky day! We had flooding. What started out as a simple rainstorm turned into a torrential rain with water down into 2 of our basement windows, one in the bathroom close to the vanity and one in the laundry room. 

We spent a great deal of time holding buckets under the windows and catching what we could and using nearly every single towel in the house to clean up the mess. Now my phamily should be fully aware of why I have extra towels!

I had taken a day of rest since we had our two grandsons last night and they are busy boys! They were very good and even found a dry section of cement on the front porch to draw with the outdoor chalk. 

I am not sure if this rain is over but we hear warmer temps for the weekend.

Thankful Thusday

Thankful four of us were home and could take care of the flooding. 

Thankful knowing God said He would not destroy the earth with water again.

So whoever is making Him so angry, I pray they would knock it off! 

Ellen and her co host Lorianne select these questions that we fill in our answers to. Thank you ladies for your selections.

1. _______________is something I accomplished this year.

2. _______________is something I have yet to accomplish.

3. I would ___________if I found _____________________..\

4 Recently, _________________piqued my interest.

My answers:

1. Starting a great purge of things we no longer need is something I accomplished this year.

2. Continuing the purge is something I have yet to accomplish. 

3. I would jump for joy is I found a sack of money! (Our grandson Brody found a five dollar bill against our fence, inside the yard during the last rain we had and we told him it was his to keep.)\

4. Recently, studying other religions piqued my interest.

Feline Friday

Did you know a female cat can be referred to as a Queen or a Molly?

Aw...holding hands or rather paws! So cuddly and cute!

Pink Saturday

The pink house rue Cremieux Paris, France.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Wordless Wednesday 

Almoural Castle

#Portugal

Tuesday4 Happy Tuesday Maxine Cracks Me Up

 

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Your Garden

Its Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 once again and I thought it might be nice to talk about our gardens or house plants.  After all, houseplants are indoor gardens and fish aquariums can be water gardens.

1. Do you have a garden indoors or outdoors?   Houseplants count I think.  If not, why don't you have them? We did have potatoes and tomatoes this year. Rebekah and Zach grew potatoes in containers. They did not grow as large as they did a few years ago but they were happy with the little bounty. My tomatoes did not do as well, could have been all the rain. But next year, God willing, I will try a few new tricks. I just pluck the cherry tomatoes off the vine since I don't use any herbicides, pesticides or sprays I also have lots of house plants. My sister-in-law Lucy recently gave Avery, her brother, a  cutting from her 30 year old philodendron. It took off  and looks lovely! 

2. Have you visited Longwood Gardens or any of the large gardens and horticultural sites around the world or your state? Tell us about it. We have visited the Denver Botanical Gardens.  When our oldest was a little girl, about 3 years old, I went there with a friend. some friend. she was! My little girl picked a Colorado Columbine. It is illegal to pick them! I was mortified, my friend laughed and laughed until I said if they saw that I will walk away and tell them she is your child! Then it suddenly wasn't so funny anymore. They are very beautiful and in Las Vegas, you can visit the gardens in the Bellagio Hotel. It is gorgeous too. All the detail and artful designs make a person feels so serene. It is always fun to find unusual plants and flowers too.  There is no cost to visit the gardens at the Bellagio. 

3.  Most people really enjoy a little garden but I think we sometimes make too many excuses not to do things we really would enjoy.  Too busy, not enough space, etc.   But if we put our minds to it, anything is possible  Do you believe that? Absolutely! We have a large yard and half of it is filled with weeds as we could not contain them this year with all the rain we had. But we also have a baby rototiller and a huge one so we have a nice area where we could plants at least 4 kinds of veggies and another area for a larger patch of potatoes. You can not plant potatoes in the same area every year they have to be moved. 

 4. Ideally, what flowers, shrubs and trees do you want in your little garden real or imagined? We have a lilac bush but it has not liked the rain everyday so it is struggling and we need to feed it more manure. The  smelly stuff is the best to help them flourish. We have a bridal bush which I always have loved as my grandmother had one in her front yard. we have a lone rosebush that is doing well but I would have more of all these things. I like tulips and daffodils in the Spring too. 

Happy Tuesday

A face that should make you smile!

This sloth looks like he is a good photographer!

Oh Maxine.......

Aw...Mondays Love is.... Sparks

Aw...Mondays 

Kell's Library Dublin Ireland 

This love is...tells our yesterday story. We literally fell into bed like this after a super busy day. With Avery perfecting my mom's Texas Hash recipe she would be smiling at him. 

Sunday Wish It Were A Funday!

 A cool and breezy day with rain, lots of rain. But we worked hard from the time we woke up until we retired to watch some football. 

I should have snapped a few photos but Avery has perfected my mom's Texas Hash and he made a double batch today. He made a pot of green chili and we had burritos for dinner since we ate Texas Hash at lunch. 

We have so many projects and I am not sure when we will get them all done. 

We bought ourselves mattress toppers and  we have to wait until tomorrow to put them on the bed. They look comfy already and we are excited to try them out. 

September friends who have birthday's wishing you a blessed and beautiful day. My sister is born in September, along with our grandson Andrew, his son Jayden and my niece Kate and her youngest brother Matthew. 

A joy to know all of you whether September is your birth month or not. I loved this meme from Country Living so I wanted to share it here. 

Saturday: September 9, 2023

 Lots of prayer requests here. Today was the Scottish Festival at Estes Park but we did not get to attend it. Our son-in-law Zach is helping his mom move back to Michigan. They left yesterday and should be at her house shortly. Pray for safe travels when Zach comes home later this week. Also please pray for the Stubbs phamily as they really need an extra dose of prayer this week. Thank you. 

Rebekah is sad without Zach here. The weather was perfect for the festival but it was not meant for us to be there this year.

LuLu's Farm Chili Fest 2023

We had delicious brisket sandwiches and we were hungry so we devoured those. Rebekah had jalapeno mac n cheese with her's.
They had a really good band, Narrow Gauge and they were older guys and sang some great music.  Rebekah bought the funnel cake and we shared it.  You never outgrow those! We also had a giant lemonade which was fresh and delicious too.

Here they are cleaning the chilies. If you have sinus problems, you won't once you take a few breaths of these medium Hatch's chilies! We have to go to Pueblo if we want Pueblo Chilies. I may just buy some frozen Anaheim's so I can make a few dishes, Chili Relleno's The good news is, the chilies are usually available frozen year round and chilies are the one food you can thaw and refreeze. I thought that was an interesting fact from a lady selling them at the Farmer's Market last month.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Thank you for being here too. 

Feline Friday and Friendly Fill In;s with Pink Saturday

 Feline Friday

These kittens look like twins. I love that they are hugging.  Thank you Mimi for hosting Feline Friday.

FRIENDLY FILL IN'S

Ellen and her co host Lorianne each think of two of the sentences to share here. Please join the fun and answer these questions. I will be back tomorrow to answer mine.

1.  Take care of yourself or you won't be good for anything or anyone else.

2. My plans for September include finding some Fall foliage and putting green chilies up for the winter. 

3. Having several cooks in the house has made my life easier.

4. Life really complicates things. But you have to roll with the punches and do the very best you can. 

  Pink Saturday

I posted Pink Saturday twice at this blog. hahaha so if you aren't into pink houses, which I posted at the earlier post, maybe you like a touch of pink, on the door. This looks really pretty and inviting to me. Happy Pink Saturday. 

Chanel is pretty in pink too. 

Thankful Thursday Friendly Fill In's

 Thankful Thursday

Quick and simple Thankful Thursday - thankful for the healing in our house with colds, and sinus and asthma attacks. Thankful for all the delicious juice and smoothies we had to help us heal. Thankful that I was able to get better simply by doing all the old school things my mom did when I was a kid. Rest, Hydrate, Vicks, Juice, Steaming my face. It worked than and it still works today! I also used my essential oils for my headache and not only does it smell so good it goes a long way to control headache pain.

Several people that I know personally have healed things like eczema, sciatica, insomnia Using natural things like fruits and veggies and eating healthier.

Thankful to have knowledge to use all these things. I look back on my childhood when my mom made us take Castor Oil! Oh that awful stuff, but it gave us good health and mom always knew best.. When I had my children I called my mom first before the doctor. I had a friend who was advised by her pediatrician to lock her daughter in her room so she could not get out and let her cry herself to sleep at night. I asked her how many kids he had she replied, oh he doesn't, he's single! who you going to listen to, your mom who raised you right or some goofy doctor who read a text book!? Oh that doctor, he dated one of my great cousins who was a nurse, last I heard of him, he couldn't make a marriage commitment either.

and Isaiah said,  take a lump of figs, and let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover. 2 Kings 20:7

Other examples of using natural things to heal Psalm 51:7 

7 Purge me with hyssops, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to her joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine  iniquities.

NASB Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a gift, a little balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds,  Genesis 43:11

FRIENDLY FILL IN'S

Ellen and her co host Lorianne each think of two of the sentences to share here. Please join the fun and answer these questions. I will be back tomorrow to answer mine.

1. Always love your favorite people and pets. 

2. My plans for September include  going to the Chili Fest and getting chilies to freeze for the wintertime.

3.  Ordering groceries ahead of time and picking them up or having them delivered makes life a little easier.

4.  Things of this world really complicates things. People begin to find fault with others. Everyone wants their opinion to matter but they don't want to hear yours.

Here is some really good advice today: 

Pink Saturday

This Pinterest pink house find is located in Oakland(California) I presume. The person who snapped the photo started to snap photos and collect pink buildings, apartments, houses.  I am not sure I would like those steep steps but otherwise this house is super cute. I would love to peek inside.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 Wordless Wednesday

Blackrock Castle Observatory