tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48831068924919217142024-03-28T23:29:54.461-04:00Miss Merry's House with the Picket FenceWelcome to my little gray house with the picket fence. Thank you for visiting!Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-26839971612314934792024-03-17T13:04:00.002-04:002024-03-17T13:04:55.009-04:00Getting Over Ourselves<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My husband and I both think we look much younger than our actual ages. When we see classmates, we snicker when back in the car - "can you believe we went to school together?" "he looks twenty years older than me". </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This week I caught a cold. We have had a number of sick children scattered over past weeks, but this is not a bug they shared. Mine started with a sore throat, not strep or covid, and moved to a sinus infection that knocked me out. I don't seem to rebound back like I did when I was younger. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A week ago Friday all the kids got picked up early and hubby decided to show me his knee. A quick trip to urgent care showed that he had a severe case of bursitis which started when he smacked it into something three weeks ago. Of course he waited three weeks to mention it. He is now in the recliner with his leg raised on pillows, alternating ice packs. It is getting better, but he is very frustrated with trying not to bear weight. And now he has caught my cold. Of course it is much worse than mine because it is a man cold. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And I can't talk about him because I haven't been to the doctor either. There were two late nights I thought about it, but I find my doctor so frustrating I have decided to weather it out. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We are feeling our age. Today, instead of grocery shopping, I clicked a list at our Aldi, drove over and a nice girl put it in my car. I don't know why I resist this. I was even thinking other shoppers in the lot were looking at me, thinking why can't she go inside and shop for herself? The big baby. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Tomorrow three out of five of my grandkids schools are closed for a teacher thing. I usually have big plans (I will share this year's edition of Chopped soon). But I am just worn out. I have no plans for the kids, no trips planned and told the parents we will not be preparing dinner or sending any food home like usual. I am just too tired and old. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Tuesday is yet another election in our state. Actually the first one of 2024. Last year we had at least three. I need to be there at 5:00 am because I am on machine set up and I stay until almost 8 pm as I close out the machines (with a member of the opposing party as a teammate). The good thing is that many in the community have "early voted" so hopefully it won't be the same madhouse as the last election. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Okay, done whining. I guess this old lady will fix another cup of tea. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I forgot to mention my youngest daughter. Put fiancé's house up for sale, sold in 6 days, closed Wednesday and had to be out Friday. Bought the new house on the same time table, moved in on Thursday. Today they took our vehicles to move some things from her house. Once dad is better, he is going to paint and take care of the small things so they can list that too. Wedding countdown is 18 days. Then it's 4 days until the big eclipse with house guests. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-4207239158862782052024-03-10T18:55:00.004-04:002024-03-10T19:05:21.265-04:00Recipe Contest<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My god-daughter has a beef farm in Wisconsin and sponsors a recipe contest every year. She provides the recipes and, if you live near her, you can purchase all the meat and some of the specialty items in a package. I had previously shared week 1 and week 2, here are the rest of the recipes. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HZKfZdzekWjxg8tQHC4dLq0C-0B-YDZwTFlplEdwYteqdDEgQ_PJkyojcGN3NfRjn9mED3dynii6bXb7kpV1fDqvz_7dbYKM0ZsAnnb1VesGf1je4p7MUrPQ5fKhezaIL57NY_b4aSg_OyYaWUjvgHzPjHTNd5zIehbFAd6i9ICO5SyzHTOY59GcEHEn/s1440/432419006_10220778281241434_2297731980059942192_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HZKfZdzekWjxg8tQHC4dLq0C-0B-YDZwTFlplEdwYteqdDEgQ_PJkyojcGN3NfRjn9mED3dynii6bXb7kpV1fDqvz_7dbYKM0ZsAnnb1VesGf1je4p7MUrPQ5fKhezaIL57NY_b4aSg_OyYaWUjvgHzPjHTNd5zIehbFAd6i9ICO5SyzHTOY59GcEHEn/w640-h640/432419006_10220778281241434_2297731980059942192_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Week 6: last night. We really enjoyed the Pesto Butter Skirt Steak with Crispy Garlic Butter Parmesan Potatoes and Asparagus Spears</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvo1SYK18DhjVnzvS8viwZ4mtCcvkt8cOw5eTRd6NXqSoCzYll6jeJ9AL_wiOmpEnJsUsHr3zd2KEok5OYKgpXOXXDXeSCU2hIEuIbBuUCya4RFNezAqP5T31hBXgBV7Lzj9wnZ41Is4s7BCn3-aGuOJiwC2jOcCJ6KWBiIMVbA-x1snnS9pA-Y496LvkV/s1440/429573196_10220771962483469_1898801155885277411_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvo1SYK18DhjVnzvS8viwZ4mtCcvkt8cOw5eTRd6NXqSoCzYll6jeJ9AL_wiOmpEnJsUsHr3zd2KEok5OYKgpXOXXDXeSCU2hIEuIbBuUCya4RFNezAqP5T31hBXgBV7Lzj9wnZ41Is4s7BCn3-aGuOJiwC2jOcCJ6KWBiIMVbA-x1snnS9pA-Y496LvkV/w640-h640/429573196_10220771962483469_1898801155885277411_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Week 5: Beef Shank Asian Lettuce Wraps. Good, but our beef shanks were a little greasy. Where is the lettuce?</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtWdyUo_6IANtrIm_-QNOn5bvnQUAJhBK0Ml9gXKl_rG2tB60vQqdQ3HRPKMX70iZMazRqfFJJHyxMZa8RskTLx2XQPDPaW5BrSOuvfb3Bcr7ggobze12CL_TPdZ2gtFoEVj5ZT5LLOc_KvIlFP9sBNwpTbkQ5RrTwFF9zCVtrT2KUIOvchKjWg1lzEvO/s1440/429564100_10220771962523470_1471693060553383860_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtWdyUo_6IANtrIm_-QNOn5bvnQUAJhBK0Ml9gXKl_rG2tB60vQqdQ3HRPKMX70iZMazRqfFJJHyxMZa8RskTLx2XQPDPaW5BrSOuvfb3Bcr7ggobze12CL_TPdZ2gtFoEVj5ZT5LLOc_KvIlFP9sBNwpTbkQ5RrTwFF9zCVtrT2KUIOvchKjWg1lzEvO/w640-h640/429564100_10220771962523470_1471693060553383860_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My hint to keep grocery prices down is to shop at one store. And this was what lettuce looked like when I was there. The fancy ones were brown and the iceberg was doll sized. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFirN5zkXu4pHePZSJT_Obl4655e60T2hPWF74F4Rcli474I7u6Pq03EOKb_nbXqEZpAhu-e0UKKET8pON5OHlVhXXXzUmmDJvKKLq4_fGCh1IMZHHSapMpZ-Tqfj2m0SUuVZnYM-dmeNoBdSrLFu7Ey3DdSAX7CoSZPl1OncOGt77QbEcSLzPfgaPPg4/s1440/430465558_10220771962563471_1347606465472496458_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFirN5zkXu4pHePZSJT_Obl4655e60T2hPWF74F4Rcli474I7u6Pq03EOKb_nbXqEZpAhu-e0UKKET8pON5OHlVhXXXzUmmDJvKKLq4_fGCh1IMZHHSapMpZ-Tqfj2m0SUuVZnYM-dmeNoBdSrLFu7Ey3DdSAX7CoSZPl1OncOGt77QbEcSLzPfgaPPg4/w640-h640/430465558_10220771962563471_1347606465472496458_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My husband had his on hamburger buns. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeNBxQMr8esFTc_AKaTI9cSkN17nSyBN5cmAN6WIabbxhhu6oE7v7hTsdq-yBKSQnqx3FzRPcUqgIiMahJ7ddpUlpfrflJ_757W_37fKwBCv_LtQEka6vNn4qPs6Lg6vXWmWZUgI_BiFg_JRH4Tsz4zD9_PfBgGv0y7PNhPeMO1eYspsdrInEOhixLGBr/s2048/425299730_10220730246240589_3535745576523478705_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeNBxQMr8esFTc_AKaTI9cSkN17nSyBN5cmAN6WIabbxhhu6oE7v7hTsdq-yBKSQnqx3FzRPcUqgIiMahJ7ddpUlpfrflJ_757W_37fKwBCv_LtQEka6vNn4qPs6Lg6vXWmWZUgI_BiFg_JRH4Tsz4zD9_PfBgGv0y7PNhPeMO1eYspsdrInEOhixLGBr/w640-h640/425299730_10220730246240589_3535745576523478705_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Week 4: Smothered Italian Sausages. This was another big hit with my husband. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7OICD6pNnY1zyCHEG0rlUVFRTpaFyZEOrzAvYNPZl7xM-lOpHROcJKwor9uBr0skD9l86vTObUbMA4uzDEzQZvfXsV3J-MiufQOK1gfKirD2ldcRgGHnLoH2Di6LF3OzEEiWCOKKWNRh_cKZXK3SGXxLecqn8F00gCDDKy1kUxQSaMtf177uzTmDQXLe/s2048/425374062_10220726993239266_6887979526572154107_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7OICD6pNnY1zyCHEG0rlUVFRTpaFyZEOrzAvYNPZl7xM-lOpHROcJKwor9uBr0skD9l86vTObUbMA4uzDEzQZvfXsV3J-MiufQOK1gfKirD2ldcRgGHnLoH2Di6LF3OzEEiWCOKKWNRh_cKZXK3SGXxLecqn8F00gCDDKy1kUxQSaMtf177uzTmDQXLe/w640-h640/425374062_10220726993239266_6887979526572154107_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Week 3: Raspberry Balsamic Pork Roast with Mascarpone Polenta. Well. First, her package provides the polenta grain from a small farm near her. The only grocery in my small town with polenta was (gasp) (groan) Walmart and all they had was premade polenta in a TUBE. I found directions to make it creamy. I truly hope this isn't what polenta is supposed to taste like. I also had to search for mascarpone cheese. All in all, this was a very expensive dinner and neither of us really cared for it. But it was pretty on the plate. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">That is the end of the recipes (I had shared 1 & 2 earlier). Now I have to think of what to have for dinner all by myself! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When I was going through my food porn, I found a few more pictures. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivflDNrlDaTfC-s5kCrNKdO8rsUUZlcZ4dbDieH5igjnnQOxb3pdmC6HxyLiQTCgQUvyFOT5KzLmKwomNA_IQJtCBvydATFNQBOs9wM9xFYFX9x74-n-BqSw5ZFktYA3kbkRo7CV5l_66bIpL28_mwgmiqUuRNLMd5M6n22QQ4KnLk7oYitPnYfjIYE3FH/s2048/425280807_10220715531992742_8360214719290264793_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivflDNrlDaTfC-s5kCrNKdO8rsUUZlcZ4dbDieH5igjnnQOxb3pdmC6HxyLiQTCgQUvyFOT5KzLmKwomNA_IQJtCBvydATFNQBOs9wM9xFYFX9x74-n-BqSw5ZFktYA3kbkRo7CV5l_66bIpL28_mwgmiqUuRNLMd5M6n22QQ4KnLk7oYitPnYfjIYE3FH/w640-h480/425280807_10220715531992742_8360214719290264793_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbgKDLKubA6tVwnMAgQM0Z2DDfJ1REW8cM6E83_sKKQ10eRYVz12IWsD_u52TveR4y7CVeXwjkpkOnIttkLEB-pVGMnIXLfCoHK954WNFAYMWsBCtnOdazBk71EpfHV0oMzAHJQ5R1uIS3cx7pccMi-iEdxwIamEX5KcRWlvAg8fStx5xil4Va1NKDDwr/s2048/424975155_10220715526192597_3717964223334240604_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbgKDLKubA6tVwnMAgQM0Z2DDfJ1REW8cM6E83_sKKQ10eRYVz12IWsD_u52TveR4y7CVeXwjkpkOnIttkLEB-pVGMnIXLfCoHK954WNFAYMWsBCtnOdazBk71EpfHV0oMzAHJQ5R1uIS3cx7pccMi-iEdxwIamEX5KcRWlvAg8fStx5xil4Va1NKDDwr/w640-h640/424975155_10220715526192597_3717964223334240604_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A itty bitty village near us has a cafe with new owners. They are the cutest couple, both named Adam, and this is the Tuesday Special, chicken and biscuits. And tea comes with a teapot! I do lunch once a month with my "glass class" girls, who were in my stained glass classes at the senior center. After covid the classes never resumed. Neither did most of the other classes. Now they are building a four million dollar senior center with Biden bucks which is requiring a new higher operating levy on our ballot this month. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I run a diner for grandkids and grampa on weekday mornings. Some teachers hear about the menus and threaten to join us. I took these pictures to stop them in their tracks. As I ran through the choices one morning, these two chose leftover spaghetti from my frig for breakfast. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggA2UV1uA7hK3epCITNkUDwPstAdNhDw3OzlJrJ7ShpaDzIgU3xxW3I0_hx0h-C9SIl_hxejIM7mUUXNZ_80Nyn5gpno3HS6JF1w_E6CUXzzvfONnRIArx6HLMEK1NzLMGncZhZQSqTwnHOLYpzIqfDtKMVUKGnfCJUOo_OIrB9vn5_uKgzktRjgHY67ju/s2048/431183929_10220762814734781_1808920103699196206_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggA2UV1uA7hK3epCITNkUDwPstAdNhDw3OzlJrJ7ShpaDzIgU3xxW3I0_hx0h-C9SIl_hxejIM7mUUXNZ_80Nyn5gpno3HS6JF1w_E6CUXzzvfONnRIArx6HLMEK1NzLMGncZhZQSqTwnHOLYpzIqfDtKMVUKGnfCJUOo_OIrB9vn5_uKgzktRjgHY67ju/w640-h640/431183929_10220762814734781_1808920103699196206_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz6xWhfarvnKBSQyTs94ydXQUoFRZysNWZTINPm-oVu50xM_lr5SJpGbDuk4pcQsqWDXJCqwAFMzPyaLSDvy93LjhPN_hvfmBvQWMV45Zs0k6Sjx6VsG3vOs8NbW5u9ZBm4bz0Zu9yxpgJqqRFU6944wb3PPqaA8h7W9bbZTezBRgGT8z4ugG4UK8NZ3H/s2048/431047965_10220762814254769_7076033522562125794_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz6xWhfarvnKBSQyTs94ydXQUoFRZysNWZTINPm-oVu50xM_lr5SJpGbDuk4pcQsqWDXJCqwAFMzPyaLSDvy93LjhPN_hvfmBvQWMV45Zs0k6Sjx6VsG3vOs8NbW5u9ZBm4bz0Zu9yxpgJqqRFU6944wb3PPqaA8h7W9bbZTezBRgGT8z4ugG4UK8NZ3H/w640-h640/431047965_10220762814254769_7076033522562125794_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This morning we had an inch of snow. Tomorrow we have a forecast in the 60's. Yes, it's March! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-66688396702691654862024-03-04T23:27:00.002-05:002024-03-04T23:32:33.395-05:00Missing in Action AGAIN<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Still here - somewhere! </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">I had some ideas and photos for posts. Maybe someday. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">I am still working on recipe contest entries for the contest for my goddaughter's farm. That might be a post, someday.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Grandkids keep having days off school - we had a cooking contest on President's Day. I took pictures!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">The weather has been crazy. Today we were in the high 70's. Our normal weather would be snow drifts. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">With 38 days before the wedding, the ladies of the family went shopping for a wedding dress - and found a gown on the rack that fit perfectly and doesn't even need a hem (hint: tea length). Today is day 31 days on the countdown.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">It's 9 days until they sign papers selling one of their houses and papers buying a house together. Then we get to get the other old house ready to sell. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Oh, and they have 10 days to move after that. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">During those 10 days we bought tickets to "Beauty and the Beast" at one high school and "Nemo" at another high school. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Sunday I competed in the preschool's Chili Cook-Off. I did not win. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Today I "early" voted in our state's primary election and I'm set to work the polls in two weeks. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">My best friend's second mastectomy (after chemo, a mastectomy and reconstruction five years ago) is scheduled tomorrow morning. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Our small town is one of the best places to witness this very special solar eclipse that is happening on April 8. We have been officially warned about the expected crowds (at this point there is one bar renting parking spaces for the day for $75). And now we have out of town relatives making reservations to park at our house (it's free). My concern is if and when they will be able to depart, lol. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Tonight I attended a preschool concert and art show. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Another former co-worker passed away. My friend and neighbor Diane and I are now referring to ourselves as "funeral buddies" since we keep attending visitations and services together. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Do I sound all over the place? Because I am all over the place! Maybe I can get my act together soon. Maybe. Meanwhile, I enjoy reading everyone's blogs in the evenings. </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-83418970133088875872024-02-12T23:28:00.003-05:002024-02-12T23:32:07.415-05:00Taco Tarts<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My goddaughter is a very successful woman. After graduating from THE Ohio State University with a master's degree in nursing home administration and starting a successful career, she married a great guy, added two lovely daughters to the family and settled in a lovely home. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Then her husband was offered a fabulous position out of state just as the nursing home where she was employed began to downsize and - she was off to a new adventure! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYC4NVWVu-Y0OvJ2wT4SdU3Rv55TP-2opnArq3AGkkq-woe4lPm2Rpa-vKMHaqkbgf7rtDSuRBK2SRpzl15-5Qp1nKlQtt08oc5dfeKJDJ55DqMQusPQEzD7At8vYtNdome534YaQg8TgzL6beVvEOL4kwh69LVi3mbf0shhTGdAFCpqXMh6CviAMexCrt/s1440/426870365_10220686987879157_8944859375830805893_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYC4NVWVu-Y0OvJ2wT4SdU3Rv55TP-2opnArq3AGkkq-woe4lPm2Rpa-vKMHaqkbgf7rtDSuRBK2SRpzl15-5Qp1nKlQtt08oc5dfeKJDJ55DqMQusPQEzD7At8vYtNdome534YaQg8TgzL6beVvEOL4kwh69LVi3mbf0shhTGdAFCpqXMh6CviAMexCrt/w640-h640/426870365_10220686987879157_8944859375830805893_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">She grew up on a beef farm and decided to start her own! She (and her husband and lovely daughters) began raising beef, selling quarters and halves and manning an adorable booth at farm markets to help market her homegrown, superior, straight from the farm beef products. The farm has also branched out to pigs and chickens when the lovely farm girls joined 4H and I have spotted some handpicked bouquets at the farm markets, too. My goddaughter even offers home delivery in her area if you order from her website. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__xf3TmLyqR9IH0j3ripXs2blmQllnmc_H4brSYAA2HvMa2Whq0ARXG57EWDTAo-2PnODcDk_tsb2D06T99yq8RDccInABXg3bDfYaZX8eNrqXvFOz8Z3GreNzU-uY9mpG5JhKOIlRWUq-HzI2Oqe7YW3maaWOx-Y1Fotu73FjFTqGzXdpnohpLvYevm9/s1440/427915374_10220686987839156_3910290441889128647_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__xf3TmLyqR9IH0j3ripXs2blmQllnmc_H4brSYAA2HvMa2Whq0ARXG57EWDTAo-2PnODcDk_tsb2D06T99yq8RDccInABXg3bDfYaZX8eNrqXvFOz8Z3GreNzU-uY9mpG5JhKOIlRWUq-HzI2Oqe7YW3maaWOx-Y1Fotu73FjFTqGzXdpnohpLvYevm9/w640-h640/427915374_10220686987839156_3910290441889128647_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A few years ago she started a recipe challenge contest and if you live close enough, you can purchase a meat bundle for the recipes. We are on Week 2 - and to my pleasant surprise the recipe is one I gave her at her bridal shower when we filled a recipe box for her! </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCABAlDllKrdlGRftfn02q5piJEnMaAiA4AkUjBb4pN2b_rxZAWmKxtJ8oMQcPMz7xVBUMZXZXoicu8F_QhDIOcSVMwNPY514AOCLfPifYz6UvjJ1SK8WiLoiAegaSaBqh2pBQCspXeHxBTjuPDrnxw-Kk7tgsAoa3WKCcYXuVlmNBJSx5_5VzUuoAtuz/s1440/428000699_10220686987919158_2617256710286862257_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCABAlDllKrdlGRftfn02q5piJEnMaAiA4AkUjBb4pN2b_rxZAWmKxtJ8oMQcPMz7xVBUMZXZXoicu8F_QhDIOcSVMwNPY514AOCLfPifYz6UvjJ1SK8WiLoiAegaSaBqh2pBQCspXeHxBTjuPDrnxw-Kk7tgsAoa3WKCcYXuVlmNBJSx5_5VzUuoAtuz/w640-h640/428000699_10220686987919158_2617256710286862257_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I found the original recipe in Taste of Home recipe back in the late 80's I believe. I think I slightly altered it - but it has been a family favorite from the first time they tasted them. Here is the recipe I shared with her and the recipe I made for this year's entry: </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAD0yQU0qwPxbvTUNrOFabzVqpG6ZsLMViEhr1BiwfbxGbeigtGMzWRVmh2CbdpE095H81BDLJ9LaQfWnGD_HtaunHC8V4K8OH_SSDfA9W13nUETNo3sQQ1TXcb4O-bw03UyhGihB3_ZPwTtRIGj8R2pff6oXGmyB5GDRrHKwP_EEZ6S0gG10IB8gQrFT7/s2044/416557850_1061745895092479_5272250991931036444_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2044" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAD0yQU0qwPxbvTUNrOFabzVqpG6ZsLMViEhr1BiwfbxGbeigtGMzWRVmh2CbdpE095H81BDLJ9LaQfWnGD_HtaunHC8V4K8OH_SSDfA9W13nUETNo3sQQ1TXcb4O-bw03UyhGihB3_ZPwTtRIGj8R2pff6oXGmyB5GDRrHKwP_EEZ6S0gG10IB8gQrFT7/w338-h640/416557850_1061745895092479_5272250991931036444_n.jpg" width="338" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had planned to have these as our Super Bowl snack, such as it is. My husband watched football, I was set up in the kitchen for the season finales of Miss Scarlett and the Duke and Funny Woman as well as the latest tear jerker episode of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS. Somehow the Diocese of Toledo decided to schedule confirmation for my twin grandchildren and 92 of their classmates at 3pm on Super Bowl Sunday. This meant I had to leave my house at 9:30 am, drive 1 hour and 45 minutes to their house for a luncheon, then to a church in the middle of a city (by drive I mean I was driven), then sit in a wooden pew for about 2 hours, leave the church and drive home. We were home by 7pm - I don't think he missed much of the game and my shows didn't start until 8pm. But instead of taco tarts, we picked up tasteless burgers.</span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">But tonight, since it was Monday, we celebrated with taco tarts. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I wanted to update everyone on the young man I mentioned in my last post. I had interviewed him at my volunteer position. He was homeless, but employed loading produce trucks overnight. His boss was letting him "sleep" in his car in the parking lot during the day (in broad daylight with semi trucks driving in and out). He was pretty depressed with life and so very tired. I called from the church phone to check in with him and he has connected with an agency that I referred him to that is actively contacting landlords to find him an apartment he can afford. He was so much happier, hopeful and thanked me for my help the previous week. We have put his application on hold in case he needs help with his deposit or moving expenses. It's always nice to have good news. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This week's clients held more challenges, but I think we can stick our fingers in the dike for them. </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-18244633188711781582024-02-02T15:59:00.002-05:002024-02-02T22:57:03.647-05:00Ground Hog<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: verdana;">Wow. I just can't get away from the ground hog. Here is a ground hog made from homemade salt, pepper and sage ground hog from our local butcher. I have a 1/4 of a steer being processed but they took the employees for a winter getaway last weekend and it is taking a few extra days to get to me. We ran out last night since I did such a good job clearing the freezer and I picked up a few things. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMDmNJh5jjmdlsozipWucM-xIqOX5i5qvcFBcYfKCCXgD1ZoH3bmINKK0twclULagRNwuPRgO_24drgNxabCWSp4S3qe40w3l_xKNJWc67VbyVYdQPUaLKJI3gjSQ-UP_117xQ2QCyrRWnZJg7AdGM3OD5Uw_ghWWb8LvqDAfB42EwBf8P7-tE9pY5Igb/s2048/ground%20hog%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMDmNJh5jjmdlsozipWucM-xIqOX5i5qvcFBcYfKCCXgD1ZoH3bmINKK0twclULagRNwuPRgO_24drgNxabCWSp4S3qe40w3l_xKNJWc67VbyVYdQPUaLKJI3gjSQ-UP_117xQ2QCyrRWnZJg7AdGM3OD5Uw_ghWWb8LvqDAfB42EwBf8P7-tE9pY5Igb/w640-h640/ground%20hog%202.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I stayed up late and made some chocolate chocolate chip mini muffin groundhogs to celebrate, too. They were a hit! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When I worked in an office, I would organize potluck lunches with a Groovy Groundhogs Day theme. Then I would invite my family over for a Groovy Groundhog Dinner. I had a file of themed recipes. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Now I just make a few breakfast items for the bus kids. Must be getting old. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">These darn kids keep passing germs around. I have had a least one school kid home all week. Today a mom stayed home to see if she could get one into the doctor and got a call from the school about kid number 2. Meanwhile, two preschoolers and another "sick" school kid have completely taken over the living room and constructed a fort. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3sVv9COTgQT4RVNsw8OogNP8Qv_xfaOcU0fNq3fh4JEeXx5DiekiFWIdk3WF6Esh6yI6xEJ8whfIpIhewew2pnSbzFUYI1VOSmeuJYqVA-Fm0bgaXJfKeO8mCa1krrnmV4HgaLyeEhHSDmk2-mFOVuNam7O0cnW2z5talQkZ7LZRn064YvVG-owoY3jG/s2016/ground%20hog%20fort.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3sVv9COTgQT4RVNsw8OogNP8Qv_xfaOcU0fNq3fh4JEeXx5DiekiFWIdk3WF6Esh6yI6xEJ8whfIpIhewew2pnSbzFUYI1VOSmeuJYqVA-Fm0bgaXJfKeO8mCa1krrnmV4HgaLyeEhHSDmk2-mFOVuNam7O0cnW2z5talQkZ7LZRn064YvVG-owoY3jG/w640-h480/ground%20hog%20fort.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was a rough week at my volunteer job. We had two families seeking help and I am calling it immigration week. We are a rural community. That said, we had a woman come in who is married with 2 teenaged children born in this country. Her mother has cancer. Her husband, who has been here since he was a young child, was recently deported. Because he worked here without a permit, he has zero path to apply to ever come back into the country or be with his family who are citizens. He had worked for over 20 years at this job and supported the family. Now mom is trying to move her mom in to take care of her while trying to find full time employment to support the household alone. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The second family, a little younger, has a citizen who married a man who came here at 6 months old and who has a work permit. He has been working with a lawyer for many years to try to establish a path to citizenship. He has to pay $1500 (this is to the government and in addition to the lawyer on retainer) every two years for the permit and apply 6 months before it expires. Unfortunately it can take 6-12 months for a new permit. And that is where they are again. His permit has expired, the new permit has not arrived and he has to sit home not working for up to six months and hope it shows up. Luckily his employer is willing to hold his job. Mom is trying to pick up extra shifts to pay the bills and had even put some money aside in anticipation of a late work permit. Then her father died unexpectedly and tragically and she had to pay for a minimal funeral. They have two small children, also born in this country. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We periodically get these cases of people who paid the money, sent in the renewal on time and then have six months with no paycheck. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">There has to be a better solution for honest, hard working people. I have no idea what it is but surely some smart person can come up with something. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Then my last client (after 2 more horrible stories) was a young man who just turned 30. He came up here with a family member seeking a better job. He has a job nights loading semi's for a big produce dealer And has worked there for a few months. The problem is housing. There is zero affordable housing in my area, apartment rents are astronomical and there are no openings. His employer lets him sleep in his car in their parking lot during the day, but he is exhausted and is having trouble sleeping 1. in a car, 2. in broad daylight in a car, 3. in a his car in a noisy parking lot full of trucks. He was almost in tears. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It was challenging because all I can tell him is that he is doing everything right and the situation is wrong. He tried a hotel but they took extra money and he had to call the police to get reimbursed. And if he stays there, he can't afford to buy food. He was already aware of something I just learned - that if you go to our city recreation center, they will let the homeless take a shower in an old locker room at the back of the facility. This is a word of mouth kind of thing with our mayor's blessing. I spent lots of time talking with him, trying to come up with places he could call for help, not sure if they can help. He did calm down and was so grateful. At Christmas I bought a ton of $10 gift cards to area fast food places for prizes in games at family Christmas and I did give him two, one for a pizza and one for Subway. He was so grateful. I also talked to him about just being upfront. If you go to a food bank, say you are living in your car temporarily. A box of mac and cheese won't help. Neither will things that need refrigerated. It isn't their first rodeo and they can find food stuffs that you can use. He is one of those cases that haunts me. He has no one here. I do have a phone number and can call him from the church on Monday and check in on him. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have a "metro" office that qualifies people and issues vouchers for free or reduced housing. Unfortunately, that doesn't create housing. In December almost 100 local metro vouchers for my county expired because the families could not find an available apartments. Then they have to reapply, all the paperwork needs redone and then they have another 90 days to try to find one. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Actually a lot of landlords have turned our rentals into Airbnb places that generate a lot more income than a rental. I don't know the answers, I am just venting. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The week before I had a woman who walked 3 miles on a 19 degree day to come to my office and fill out an application to help with the deposit for a metro apartment they found (she is 40's , disabled, a niece who is 20 and has 2 small children). She was frozen. I let her warm up, charged her phone, gave her coffee and then gave her my hat and gloves when she left. I was in the middle of too much to give her a ride, so I made her a map home and marked stores, the library, the police station - places where she could go inside and warm up. We were able to help her move in the new apartment - it's a 2 bedroom and they were hoping for 3 (impossible) but they are just so grateful to have a place of their own. She almost cried telling me about begging people to stay on their couches or use their bathrooms. And as nice as some people can be, you always feel horrible about it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I don't know if I mentioned I have joined the county homeless task force as a member from my agency. I attended one meeting and I am mostly there to gather information. We have no homeless shelters or anywhere that they can stay in our county. We are near two entertainment areas - a NHRA sanctioned racetrack and an amusement park and our hotels and motels are expensive and booked. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">ANYWAY - Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Have a great weekend! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-63202375733934080212024-01-28T23:05:00.003-05:002024-01-28T23:06:24.445-05:00Sunday Funday<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I finished frying the sauerkraut balls. I got all the frozen balls out of the freezer and went crazy. Please remind me to never go that crazy increasing a recipe again. I have a bag for my middle son, a bag for my youngest son, a bag for a friend who has been patiently waiting and a bag for my husband and I for later this week. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-y2hPpPUH_r33OspqCQ34QwPJWiHi3tlZnrSOOj1mX-bxupuwkhh8mmUU2ALrTVeM9OmtHNrCmK8wg7xi5PecSkQiSHCpSuMLs_FO-EWPp8c_r1Aw2CHfVElNOsbYI2TfPSpGdW_gN7Nt3KeuuQqbjFQbaWDH4n7z1DVBDOtuen-3Zq2QNT_GPW9Zz9G/s1913/jan%20blog%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1267" data-original-width="1913" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-y2hPpPUH_r33OspqCQ34QwPJWiHi3tlZnrSOOj1mX-bxupuwkhh8mmUU2ALrTVeM9OmtHNrCmK8wg7xi5PecSkQiSHCpSuMLs_FO-EWPp8c_r1Aw2CHfVElNOsbYI2TfPSpGdW_gN7Nt3KeuuQqbjFQbaWDH4n7z1DVBDOtuen-3Zq2QNT_GPW9Zz9G/w640-h424/jan%20blog%202.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">They are a lot better fried in oil. Less Healthy I am sure, but much better. I will reheat them in the air fryer. </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My grandchildren had school on Friday! No weather warnings! Monday, however, is a planned two hour delay for teacher meetings. I do better with a heads up before they are here. I am planning a snow theme for tomorrow's breakfast. I am hoping to make some snowman pancakes, snowman cinnamon rolls (from the tube) and we are serving blue polar frost juice. Doesn't that sound delicious? And of course we will have the regular menu of eggs, sausage and cereals. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pWy1Pp60e7QEEC4PU6q1dr5iNHOhNzuWPFFKhXs5W9DjDNsooZhGy0D9MkvKPxy7qHsxigSmU_kAwweaoVZbGYxa4nIH7pOWbhq8KOlRY6Dty0PXv7hYlSG6M_Uk8bJlCLgsE-X0scQBecqIrrwekYFJ-UhEORqZuMG7xcesKifr9CxioDHKH8LDqD3I/s2016/jan%20blog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pWy1Pp60e7QEEC4PU6q1dr5iNHOhNzuWPFFKhXs5W9DjDNsooZhGy0D9MkvKPxy7qHsxigSmU_kAwweaoVZbGYxa4nIH7pOWbhq8KOlRY6Dty0PXv7hYlSG6M_Uk8bJlCLgsE-X0scQBecqIrrwekYFJ-UhEORqZuMG7xcesKifr9CxioDHKH8LDqD3I/w640-h480/jan%20blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am hoping I remember to make hot cocoa for the thermos carafe, too. And I hope I serve enough foods since I think they go to lunch the minute they finally get to school. I am not a fan of these announced delays either. I am glad they have grandparents who can care for them and make sure they can get to school two hours late. When I was working with small children, I am not sure what I would have done. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I would say I have 90% of my Christmas decor stowed away until next year. The remaining 10% are items I keep spotting as I walk through rooms. I even had the kids wander around in a circle looking to make sure I didn't miss anything. I guess they are as blind as I am. There was an interesting time today when I took all my Christmas dishware and glasses out of my cabinet so I would replace it with pastel dishware and glasses and got distracted and emptied two drawers onto the table, too. I wondered if I could even catch up to where I started, but I prevailed. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">All the Christmas things are stored in the bottom cupboard (I hope all of it) and all the pastels are behind the glass doors. And it all fit. I did break one bowl, but I don't think I will miss it. I don't believe it is an heirloom and it isn't the Easter egg colors I have been amassing. I think it was a vintage Goodwill find. It is what it is. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I have my 100th sinus infection of the season with clogged nose and ears. I think I am on my 99th zpack of drugs which I am sure I am immune to by now. This has been a very long winter for only being January. In the words of Taylor Swift, It's me, Hi, I'm the problem, It's me. We messed around and never got our vaccines in time. We did finally get the covid and the RSV, but it was only 5 days before my grandson was diagnosed with RSV (and who knows how long he had it before the appointment) and it takes two weeks to take effect. That was how we spent Christmas vacation. We were going to get the flu and pnumonia vaccine that week, but since we were sick, we waited. And I swear we have continued being sick with something every weekend since. Next year we will be vaccinated against everything in sight by October 1. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My friend who is battling with breast cancer for the second time was diagnosed this week with Influenza A. It was just days before her chemo and infusion, but due to being vaccinated and approval of Tamiflu from her doctors, she was able to go to her treatment. Her doctors told her the vaccine meant her case was a mild one (thank goodness). Her son and daughter in law welcomed a new baby girl this week, too, so she is waiting until she is given the all clear to go visit. </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-55294176022424387092024-01-23T22:50:00.002-05:002024-01-23T22:50:30.436-05:00Still Frying Sauerkraut Balls<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A quick note of thanks for all the comments on the sauerkraut balls. I forgot they are kind of a German-Ohio thing. I think our great grandmas were looking for something to disguise yet another leftover dinner from the New Years Day pork roast and sauerkraut and knew deep frying anything carries it an extra day. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">You really can order these in any restaurant from an ice cream stand to a sports bar and even restaurants as an appetizer. And I hope that no one else did the recipe times 5. At this point I still have 9 dozen still frozen in my outside freezer. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My recipe, which is my family's and also in several other families since I see it in church cookbooks, is the cream cheese version. I meant to ask my friend for her family recipe which has sausage, ground up ham, sauerkraut and other items that are not cream cheese, LOL. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My mother never made sauerkraut balls (her family wasn't German) but she did make "sausage balls" which I can only remember as very dry. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Anyway. Last week we had Martin Luther King day -so no school. Then we had snow days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. This means I had the elementary grandchildren in addition to the preschoolers. I replenished my cereal, sandwich and snack supplies just in time for today which was a 2 hour delay for my local elementary bus kids and a day off due to ice for my three further away elementary grandchildren whose mother teaches at a school that did not delay or cancel. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am hoping that our schools are open the rest of the week. Fingers Crossed. </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-63706671841510598192024-01-17T20:42:00.009-05:002024-01-17T20:47:41.144-05:00Sauerkraut Balls<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We love Sauerkraut Balls. We especially love Sauerkraut Balls on New Year's Eve. When my kids were little I had come up with a way to make enough for five children and two adults for our celebration even though I always had to work the week between Christmas and New Years. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This is the recipe that I submitted to our 4-H cookbook. And it is the recipe I still use. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwUOMILchgsnFSHtm8eyjTGY9iPdI9ZoRacE-ZEYbA-7nx5Qu_Spze0ZOxzKwexWiBNz5eWQFRReQ6Sl2yT3OXWGSp9jOrSlX9JcqqaVvP_BFdbJGtEjELgZibQvTdqyLdejgpx1TdI78vk1ASRH4f4MJiFeeVIbiEoGfji1X8Vt4Ghs0gGNFYtNu2y-H/s1080/sauerkraut%20balls.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1080" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwUOMILchgsnFSHtm8eyjTGY9iPdI9ZoRacE-ZEYbA-7nx5Qu_Spze0ZOxzKwexWiBNz5eWQFRReQ6Sl2yT3OXWGSp9jOrSlX9JcqqaVvP_BFdbJGtEjELgZibQvTdqyLdejgpx1TdI78vk1ASRH4f4MJiFeeVIbiEoGfji1X8Vt4Ghs0gGNFYtNu2y-H/w640-h424/sauerkraut%20balls.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I would work on each step at night when I was washing the supper dishes. Chilling in between the steps is really important. The recipe is easily doubled or tripled. It is messy to bread them all so I always did a huge batch and frozen some before frying so I wouldn't have to make the mess twice (or three or four times). </div></span><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I haven't made them since before 2020. Every year my kids beg me to make them. This year I told them they could come over the week in between Christmas and New Years and help me. I bought supplies to make the recipe times five. Yes, 5 lbs of sausage, a case of sauerkraut, etc. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Then Mr Merry and I had a really bad respiratory infection the week after Christmas and they did not get made. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I got tired of tripping over the case of sauerkraut and decided I would make them this week. Sunday I thawed the cream cheese and browned the sausage. After mixing the recipe, it completely filled a Tupperware fix and mix bowl (just so you can estimate quantity).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Our schools have been cancelled for weather for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday I had a house full of children and the recipe remained chilling. Tuesday I began to roll the balls. My ten year old grandson helped for a little bit but it took me HOURS to roll them all. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I spent all day today breading them. It turned into an endurance test very quickly. I knew if I tried to do half today and half tomorrow, I would never be able to stand and do it tomorrow. I kept estimating when I would be finished. It was almost 2 more hours than I thought. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Now they are all in more Tupperware waiting to be frozen, fried or packaged for pickup. I did come up with a science experiment where I tried to use the air fryer. My solution was 7 minutes at 400 degrees. My middle son took his already and said he sprayed them with cooking oil before cooking and I am going to try that tomorrow. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BmOfYhMu69PeMejH9VUCjp1WkSZqgt5JhKy3p4U_GrzFuo17v3A2zoioZOGtXjqAzQ5W3wWXpky6S2OUyxW_GZNT-TJNK6e-C2ySA7JWNacejQrFazDc19rolUcDiQFkVFtSfQ_yVHm3k7RV94j-d-6YEOI63c-8vZOBVYZ5LrV_bOvOPqxqHzeqb-NG/s1390/415273558_3795239314025988_6861828253306091679_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BmOfYhMu69PeMejH9VUCjp1WkSZqgt5JhKy3p4U_GrzFuo17v3A2zoioZOGtXjqAzQ5W3wWXpky6S2OUyxW_GZNT-TJNK6e-C2ySA7JWNacejQrFazDc19rolUcDiQFkVFtSfQ_yVHm3k7RV94j-d-6YEOI63c-8vZOBVYZ5LrV_bOvOPqxqHzeqb-NG/w498-h640/415273558_3795239314025988_6861828253306091679_n.jpg" width="498" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">I hate to say it, but they are good in the air fryer. But they are GREAT deep fried. So tomorrow I am going to deep fry some for Mr. Merry and I when we watch tv in the evening.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">I am also having a stern talk with myself. Between the arthritis</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"> in my hands and bone spurs in my back, I cannot stand and roll all those sauerkraut balls. I had a big reality check of Miss Merry in her early 40's vs Miss Merry in her late 60's. My first thought was never again. But now that I have taken a bunch of meds and am sitting in my chair, maybe the sane choice would be to just make one batch of the recipe. I always overdo!!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">I have a funny story and a sad story. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">When I was making the sauerkraut balls, I told my eight year old grandson that a local burger place has sauerkraut balls on the menu at 6 for $15. He was stunned. He wondered why people would pay that much when they can just ask their Mimi to make them for them! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Last night was an exciting night on our scanner. There were reports of a mass shooting at a little country bar, out past us at a crossroads. They have a great fish fry on Fridays and lots of farmers stop there during the day for lunch. Tuesday night was pool league. Evidently a young man had too much of something and got into some arguments. He decided the way to settle it was to shot into the bar. Two people were seriously wounded and life flight had to come and pick them up. Today's news is better and they are both expected to make it. Unfortunately guns are very prevalent in my state, open carrying is what the cool kids do and in my gun sanctuary county, you can even bring guns into bars. You just aren't supposed to drink if you have one. I'm pretty sure most of the guys there last night were armed. And yet they took down the gunman with a punch and a whack with a bar stool. </span></span></div><p></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-70897171686204831132024-01-11T17:12:00.002-05:002024-01-11T17:12:48.446-05:00Behind the Scenes<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I thought it would be fun to share my "shopping process" for the Christmas Getaway (30 minutes from my house). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I was googling Christmas dresses for chubby grandmothers on Amazon and came upon this one. I was thinking I could sew up the vee neckline and wear it as a tunic top over black slacks. It was the only one left, 80% off and 2-3 sizes too big for me, which I liked because I did not want it to cling. I figured it was worth the 9.99 and ordered it. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicc3oSWXrAJhEmR121ho32ytZ3NA9YbQ65lmJvsqlx-Tkg5rNGS-szH50CYGomVIV99Bq8peNOGFzAI9oBHkqTA3PZBxx0MdY_WnHUuqBB_rV3gZ9Ya6ctvlQnwUfsuYXKbJkrxjL343LV2qa32O9Ov94DpG5oSrUUc34Suhc1iS2aWmkSnR0DwsQhF6Ez/s820/red%20dress.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="473" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicc3oSWXrAJhEmR121ho32ytZ3NA9YbQ65lmJvsqlx-Tkg5rNGS-szH50CYGomVIV99Bq8peNOGFzAI9oBHkqTA3PZBxx0MdY_WnHUuqBB_rV3gZ9Ya6ctvlQnwUfsuYXKbJkrxjL343LV2qa32O9Ov94DpG5oSrUUc34Suhc1iS2aWmkSnR0DwsQhF6Ez/w370-h640/red%20dress.png" width="370" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">This is what arrived: </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mF-hsuaPZnAYvkzdHYESWsdRVi6_2NX_fB86CODTszRtOKQnkP-9VKjfYAG51OeK3Ntu782cA020iLQHiVuuo7r2OagEEEmyLeuPNcvpnLCpSS76VnDQyYflNCaYxx6D55XoKdxAYzZMJ93hKLoNeMf_pFBboz9dSrYO0fzTWbUW-jNmqCn8DEDVb6NI/s1476/christmas%20dress%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mF-hsuaPZnAYvkzdHYESWsdRVi6_2NX_fB86CODTszRtOKQnkP-9VKjfYAG51OeK3Ntu782cA020iLQHiVuuo7r2OagEEEmyLeuPNcvpnLCpSS76VnDQyYflNCaYxx6D55XoKdxAYzZMJ93hKLoNeMf_pFBboz9dSrYO0fzTWbUW-jNmqCn8DEDVb6NI/w468-h640/christmas%20dress%201.jpg" width="468" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It weighs a ton, and is fully lined. The neckline was cut down past my belly button and the length was past my knees. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5SchROcfLFr6qC3Mj7A5ncAX2ZwdXgB4mS11Ph2KtsJiqeyxy-F0MsQaHBh4_vomgp6FEM63xUpl05VnWL4TdS_p4qOK4flzxFbuTNt2zlpG-c6GRI3o124An1T1oCnjsxaZSoO28v8ppMWfQ1P5QKC9ISiNTZOswG8glNWiEuiwdLFBugHb_-4qBzOe/s1518/red%20dress%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1518" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5SchROcfLFr6qC3Mj7A5ncAX2ZwdXgB4mS11Ph2KtsJiqeyxy-F0MsQaHBh4_vomgp6FEM63xUpl05VnWL4TdS_p4qOK4flzxFbuTNt2zlpG-c6GRI3o124An1T1oCnjsxaZSoO28v8ppMWfQ1P5QKC9ISiNTZOswG8glNWiEuiwdLFBugHb_-4qBzOe/w456-h640/red%20dress%203.jpg" width="456" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It was also slit up to my belly button and the dress only closed with one tiny button. This was not going to work! </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I did not want to try to sew the heavy sequins on my sewing machine. I actually put on the dress and marked the middle. I did some folding and arranging and sewed up the middle by hand. I put it on again and decided to raise the shoulder seams by 2-3 inches. Every time I put it on, I would pin higher up the neckline. I think the weight kept pulling it down. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYKdWwPnTKe3GEEZcixXgSivSRCH0vVSIvDwArn0GADfzmMKfw3n87oIr3g-inhStdYi8cppjKiWIvzIzsqhGoM1-u155E7xBpNv0rtjPJ2N9P2XcXsx3obPf6g5E48X1IxWihdPT5pu3akkYbqPiKCftJY1FH6A9pqfZ7TJ_5zMQuf7D_TCYhuypxCST/s2016/Christmas%20dress%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYKdWwPnTKe3GEEZcixXgSivSRCH0vVSIvDwArn0GADfzmMKfw3n87oIr3g-inhStdYi8cppjKiWIvzIzsqhGoM1-u155E7xBpNv0rtjPJ2N9P2XcXsx3obPf6g5E48X1IxWihdPT5pu3akkYbqPiKCftJY1FH6A9pqfZ7TJ_5zMQuf7D_TCYhuypxCST/w480-h640/Christmas%20dress%203.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I decided to use the sash to try to change the shape of what was now a red sequin sack into a more fitted look. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVUzffC8M92zD7hfJapll3HZfmsYAZYFsqxYSf_xDGk1bBcBldJNYkQ5mWM8sVO16zghRHBU-Tw_qFO6GjXIymqGnSsxi4QQwXQOuY8vVMEJ5xu7hMaJHIoImgnVwknffCLgKgmNASfRa6io0v0xesoLHsfCx13gssbIIxa6QB8BPFdY9jQREXGTUOXvz/s2048/Christmas%20dress%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1854" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVUzffC8M92zD7hfJapll3HZfmsYAZYFsqxYSf_xDGk1bBcBldJNYkQ5mWM8sVO16zghRHBU-Tw_qFO6GjXIymqGnSsxi4QQwXQOuY8vVMEJ5xu7hMaJHIoImgnVwknffCLgKgmNASfRa6io0v0xesoLHsfCx13gssbIIxa6QB8BPFdY9jQREXGTUOXvz/w579-h640/Christmas%20dress%204.jpg" width="579" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It worked! Just don't look too close at the stitching. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And here I am in the dress. I was pretty satisfied with my ten dollar creation! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPN1LT7yrtnWmtheb3sfthvvxIw60hyphenhyphenghEXMw5gEJtX8BuGmlWPhAa_K0uRxCOG7Zw6f9Xc8F15X2e5FzMW9tf6BW4qD3fJcvjT17PlRb1nGGtVJN2wazl41I3_3k1ePdQeTMHBdJkm-o_tujuPrQgPrYMbSlwLpCanjcBJP-Lm9qMZgLVJKRc0gjGuqW/s4032/20231202_191758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPN1LT7yrtnWmtheb3sfthvvxIw60hyphenhyphenghEXMw5gEJtX8BuGmlWPhAa_K0uRxCOG7Zw6f9Xc8F15X2e5FzMW9tf6BW4qD3fJcvjT17PlRb1nGGtVJN2wazl41I3_3k1ePdQeTMHBdJkm-o_tujuPrQgPrYMbSlwLpCanjcBJP-Lm9qMZgLVJKRc0gjGuqW/w480-h640/20231202_191758.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I think I could have added a few more stitches at the neckline that night, lol. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-71079674715151310162024-01-09T19:40:00.008-05:002024-01-09T19:55:43.244-05:00Missing in Action in December - Sawmill Creek Resorts Season of Joy<p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I think I'm realizing I can't participate in activities and document activities at the same time. I am really in awe of how often you all post and all that you share. I love reading your blogs! I wish I could do the same! I do want to share this is not a sponsored post. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">During Covid when I was online way too often I learned that Ohio has several Christmas Inns, you know, like Hallmark! I started decorating my bedrooms for Christmas because I realized my dear husband would never ever go to a Christmas Inn. A nearby resort even had a special event last year. I was talking to my youngest daughter in September and she mentioned she wished she had gone too! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFApmc4cay4ZQej1OMfGzfaHY7wBFdEhxAW7M61nYepk_-G_szXVZkDsOkPCe4MFVh8fh1not3edGvW-9t1hsUtLar-icf2yP0OOvyPTnRrbu0SIL2s57tl0rG3GUeHcjU_kyayRyiVb-pz-mFWFp9Ji-0q1Kup6eRFPsn67Ai7pncwY25utuNKwlciD0A/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-130456_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="1080" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFApmc4cay4ZQej1OMfGzfaHY7wBFdEhxAW7M61nYepk_-G_szXVZkDsOkPCe4MFVh8fh1not3edGvW-9t1hsUtLar-icf2yP0OOvyPTnRrbu0SIL2s57tl0rG3GUeHcjU_kyayRyiVb-pz-mFWFp9Ji-0q1Kup6eRFPsn67Ai7pncwY25utuNKwlciD0A/w640-h476/Screenshot_20240109-130456_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Well. I had money burning in the envelope in my undies drawer, earned from working the three elections Ohio decided to have this year plus my money from serving on a practice zoom jury for a law firm. Reservations were made. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I knew this would be my opportunity to live my Hallmark dream so I spent all my free time drawing up a schedule of our activities, planning meals and outfits, even making several calls to the resort to clarify as they were rolling out the event. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96RYyeYu7KWuGzGDUbqJylkHdGhsXzN8nAzAOJu1GnNhDrrTzcSNsv3R5a5PCTxLo8FDAktzk61WCdC-s7OIMp1x56PFaxA1bfGGs_bpmmHpW9nVO14AivmFtouLpHqlJ40A-En0My3XfKNwxbulJxJ8JmwvFXovxL8_VV2gbWgFAMdhFAPcS_Vhgu4O9/s1427/Screenshot_20240109-130336_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1427" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96RYyeYu7KWuGzGDUbqJylkHdGhsXzN8nAzAOJu1GnNhDrrTzcSNsv3R5a5PCTxLo8FDAktzk61WCdC-s7OIMp1x56PFaxA1bfGGs_bpmmHpW9nVO14AivmFtouLpHqlJ40A-En0My3XfKNwxbulJxJ8JmwvFXovxL8_VV2gbWgFAMdhFAPcS_Vhgu4O9/w484-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130336_Gallery.jpg" width="484" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">My partner in crime, my seven year old granddaughter, was totally on board with the Hallmark magic. Luckily we already had sequin dresses for our Taylor Swift concert in our car at the drive-in and I was busy shopping sales to outfit us all. Including her four year old brother who is still able to be talked into things. I drew up a complete schedule of events with little Christmas trees to mark our many outfit changes during the two night event. Excessive? Why, yes. Have you ever counted outfits in a Hallmark movie? We even noted necessary accessories. We also made sure her doll had appropriate attire. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gnFQFI47mX8TuxhnzLGyaOiFR3xOnRnlwB1o4Vb46xYOFBxPhk5DpIjxO-IcEwflX38rouHJT-yD7irwghQo90FWw1G0S18H9MlORa9DzsaryYvrZ7Po33UpwP5uHYM6Npuokh6_koeNFP3hLY6zjv5GoWAuGoqC8Ex0PdnLsUFCiv6tmxAW4UfhsqAP/s1108/Screenshot_20240109-130927_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gnFQFI47mX8TuxhnzLGyaOiFR3xOnRnlwB1o4Vb46xYOFBxPhk5DpIjxO-IcEwflX38rouHJT-yD7irwghQo90FWw1G0S18H9MlORa9DzsaryYvrZ7Po33UpwP5uHYM6Npuokh6_koeNFP3hLY6zjv5GoWAuGoqC8Ex0PdnLsUFCiv6tmxAW4UfhsqAP/w624-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130927_Gallery.jpg" width="624" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">My advice, if you want to plan something like this, is to go into it with the attitude it will be totally magic and wonderful. It will convince everyone else how wonderful it is too! We could not have had a more special experience from the moment we arrived. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fXVtfSkxCFFtnhTGKv7QV4I_0B0IqykAyS3EYl8oFRPXCFf-2m0OIdzAldBrUulWjDKyjYYCKZhhuMY9hSdFti8ufq-OkfeeFUbuSKaXKwGJrDBFFkUKhLmRRxlWX9MikgtKyEoucr0xj1fLuExkBLfamwBNVeL28tzg1homl-RvSfJQBS47ZE7jhfir/s1317/Screenshot_20240109-130703_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fXVtfSkxCFFtnhTGKv7QV4I_0B0IqykAyS3EYl8oFRPXCFf-2m0OIdzAldBrUulWjDKyjYYCKZhhuMY9hSdFti8ufq-OkfeeFUbuSKaXKwGJrDBFFkUKhLmRRxlWX9MikgtKyEoucr0xj1fLuExkBLfamwBNVeL28tzg1homl-RvSfJQBS47ZE7jhfir/w524-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130703_Gallery.jpg" width="524" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I would recommend Sawmill Creek Resorts "Season of Joy" to everyone of any age group. The vibe is defiantly adult, but with your planning I do believe it is perfect for everyone. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hC4oVko_rCLn-wdMp3Xd5cvMgGxAv4teirTXsTJ27SUNKYOuJgSaGne8IQefquwqyzkkGAzEFAumtqhuHKgyuTrilFfyjRCa3D6PzY-wkJuSZ4dalVcBlvxAdldzNY6nvbKc3thWgr41kTvpmX2KwTy7U3DdgCS29kDimNqa3GZ4nEh62AHz2BMyS980/s1401/Screenshot_20240109-131108_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1401" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hC4oVko_rCLn-wdMp3Xd5cvMgGxAv4teirTXsTJ27SUNKYOuJgSaGne8IQefquwqyzkkGAzEFAumtqhuHKgyuTrilFfyjRCa3D6PzY-wkJuSZ4dalVcBlvxAdldzNY6nvbKc3thWgr41kTvpmX2KwTy7U3DdgCS29kDimNqa3GZ4nEh62AHz2BMyS980/w494-h640/Screenshot_20240109-131108_Gallery.jpg" width="494" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We started with the most polite and helpful check-in on Friday night when we arrived in our semi casual Christmas outfits. I had made reservations at the Millers Table, their best restaurant. I studied the menu prior to arrival and we did see sandwiches for our first night. We planned to split a plate for the children. We were pleasantly surprised to find they had a children's menu!. We also met the most wonderful server we have ever seen, Laura. She made our whole experience extra special and was so wonderful with the kids, too. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kpILRUBm2OTlw_XaPpS0AjMigjgrTihvaAH9yKWStuPoNndVUJq40PQUtbRRrYZn3Ny4NVfRyA0CUSHcATkOr8fqBHAtuI4hT8XTtHIClmpG6BzCV9KNww1Ut56TazH8Z318_56sbl_EWZuIh_iW6IrfUGuEiCglKCQC4M5myTtXwQ54uCJXlqF3XJBn/s1076/Screenshot_20240109-131243_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="1076" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kpILRUBm2OTlw_XaPpS0AjMigjgrTihvaAH9yKWStuPoNndVUJq40PQUtbRRrYZn3Ny4NVfRyA0CUSHcATkOr8fqBHAtuI4hT8XTtHIClmpG6BzCV9KNww1Ut56TazH8Z318_56sbl_EWZuIh_iW6IrfUGuEiCglKCQC4M5myTtXwQ54uCJXlqF3XJBn/w640-h470/Screenshot_20240109-131243_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Our gourmet burgers were delicious and the kids felt very special. During dinner we spotted two elves that we did not know would be part of the experience. As you can see, both Candy and Cane were part of the magic we will never forget! </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVwDC2Bv5Cn73yWzoCMxSvHwugXfc9j1g2pRJk9Gl1cOvN1yNUJN30HORgERCMD-PXk6NY3-tHjRp6eTif4i1yYAUdxkQ-UcSfXwS33SZ8K-P1RqOaSQjtYFeAQbW33vR5Acd0qcbhOErTVgsDwgY7zk2IgW7h6Gc-RNVRiHecSw4Z7fCPYb59Cf_m_7b/s1430/Screenshot_20240109-131224_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1430" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVwDC2Bv5Cn73yWzoCMxSvHwugXfc9j1g2pRJk9Gl1cOvN1yNUJN30HORgERCMD-PXk6NY3-tHjRp6eTif4i1yYAUdxkQ-UcSfXwS33SZ8K-P1RqOaSQjtYFeAQbW33vR5Acd0qcbhOErTVgsDwgY7zk2IgW7h6Gc-RNVRiHecSw4Z7fCPYb59Cf_m_7b/w484-h640/Screenshot_20240109-131224_Gallery.jpg" width="484" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I rarely drink alcohol. My children kid me because I buy a six pack of hard cider in the fall and bottles can remain in my refrigerator by the next summer. But, as part of my vision as a sophisticated Hallmark Christmas heroine, we did order the special Christmas Cocktails when we got a chance. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Nde73E4ptZRSYJyop8ZNBHVyOHd3IUGfjWBjl1EWDu4eBR4qTwuGBQvwKDTIU0o5BNZHTAXuwKElrSyMSBVp4LKNQ3WjN6aoGIIoETkYUVpZcXg0-4HfJAlzX2u389xf3UTc4g2ivULJMUHJhU6rnyHbKcTf_Nu9-C_ukn_PssrE18eEWMZxkLzhxbUQ/s1362/Screenshot_20240109-130405_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Nde73E4ptZRSYJyop8ZNBHVyOHd3IUGfjWBjl1EWDu4eBR4qTwuGBQvwKDTIU0o5BNZHTAXuwKElrSyMSBVp4LKNQ3WjN6aoGIIoETkYUVpZcXg0-4HfJAlzX2u389xf3UTc4g2ivULJMUHJhU6rnyHbKcTf_Nu9-C_ukn_PssrE18eEWMZxkLzhxbUQ/w508-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130405_Gallery.jpg" width="508" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">After dinner we remained in our casual outfits to attend two music events, The Misteltones and the Fireside Family Christmas. My normally shy grandson even answered a call for volunteers, although I think he regretted it the moment he got up in front of people.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR3m0k0i9-yU_QUT-mZ0iAt-uzbJBnuwSO4DJ0f1Tn797r_mHVIBmy0fB-GbOym2uNbnPXjJ8Qt3vHfv6Zabh5ADgBphnTTvauV7RGWhON_7ANHxPSxKZ3jMRS35tUtiX-AjaR8452GOYCEeLlFM7iPYzmm-r-KP_KPzFiXBtZo3Gg-1YiRcGZPW5gV9c/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-130346_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1080" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR3m0k0i9-yU_QUT-mZ0iAt-uzbJBnuwSO4DJ0f1Tn797r_mHVIBmy0fB-GbOym2uNbnPXjJ8Qt3vHfv6Zabh5ADgBphnTTvauV7RGWhON_7ANHxPSxKZ3jMRS35tUtiX-AjaR8452GOYCEeLlFM7iPYzmm-r-KP_KPzFiXBtZo3Gg-1YiRcGZPW5gV9c/w640-h632/Screenshot_20240109-130346_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4ewrXyjLturAsapEsHHVfblstbi3d1e5SGqb7u76DcC8xSmU0egYxO7PRk04PbbBFM0xdihnHYZyACdKm-DELs6wOX0aWPfvRtTt1kLkqAcG702vS0kx2FjO21nFKefow1O78x_RGD2DF-fjhIMzF3eaFrqCdDYTPwiP7xouL1jHWptlVFjNXaBAZXOw/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-131148_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1080" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4ewrXyjLturAsapEsHHVfblstbi3d1e5SGqb7u76DcC8xSmU0egYxO7PRk04PbbBFM0xdihnHYZyACdKm-DELs6wOX0aWPfvRtTt1kLkqAcG702vS0kx2FjO21nFKefow1O78x_RGD2DF-fjhIMzF3eaFrqCdDYTPwiP7xouL1jHWptlVFjNXaBAZXOw/w640-h606/Screenshot_20240109-131148_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We retired to our room to put on our matching pjs (of course) and it turned out the movie "Home Alone" was on television. The kids pretended to watch it as I think it was a little over their heads. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWIdUOp15aLHlqGxeCzgWRLFgQ9cjT0YzMHjCyYy0wQAdI_sPS83vbZlDoo8vsk-LSPd-7Yhp1NgZmSPCqJUmRaLF7dhToxKfxYbXF0o0jgX49GAbcY2i9MlmbvVukeOO-tir-fKSHoIOetEHbyonshuJchfSjlDz0vFqAsM6580HRdIztT5MVAh-2SzD/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-130425_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="1080" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWIdUOp15aLHlqGxeCzgWRLFgQ9cjT0YzMHjCyYy0wQAdI_sPS83vbZlDoo8vsk-LSPd-7Yhp1NgZmSPCqJUmRaLF7dhToxKfxYbXF0o0jgX49GAbcY2i9MlmbvVukeOO-tir-fKSHoIOetEHbyonshuJchfSjlDz0vFqAsM6580HRdIztT5MVAh-2SzD/w640-h468/Screenshot_20240109-130425_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The next morning we put on our Saturday daytime attire and went to the buffet breakfast. As early risers, I think we were the first ones there. The staff could not have been more friendly and helpful, even serving the kids. As more people came to breakfast we realized we were really getting special service. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dN8ibFecnVbMvji6_ej_UR69fraaRWIp92mBb-ry-xXIixYhzA0ZwpDRO1QncrELyWmWjkhDCGqiN61MhOtdobs5riTbmBL05dZJZMv2AXwF8FhGXtXHeIeb6QdMt5p5LOyR2ZJkqixGZaCFYkc-lapNnuWU763cujhjK3JMNKi9Mr9eo65gHqehRzIl/s1206/Screenshot_20240109-131042_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1073" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dN8ibFecnVbMvji6_ej_UR69fraaRWIp92mBb-ry-xXIixYhzA0ZwpDRO1QncrELyWmWjkhDCGqiN61MhOtdobs5riTbmBL05dZJZMv2AXwF8FhGXtXHeIeb6QdMt5p5LOyR2ZJkqixGZaCFYkc-lapNnuWU763cujhjK3JMNKi9Mr9eo65gHqehRzIl/w570-h640/Screenshot_20240109-131042_Gallery.jpg" width="570" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately a friend's mother had passed away a few days earlier and I wanted to attend her memorial service. My daughter had found a nearby box store was having a gingerbread house activity so we did leave late morning and returned in the early afternoon. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvM-QoATjPIe_xlAWgMS35HoYodUhTJ_XcA5HSicd0BpXri5ckXYoPEDjE6S70NSoegDiH0iRyMFjErAg3lKipbOIRdYPgdydqYbsIYvRzGbcgzgOauMGWovfMH9HBm8Uho5PqitkppjFtVk9MQQDC5o15QKWAOVkr7JUBIf_xyiuWh_bVjSWluJvTqjS/s1269/Screenshot_20240109-130319_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1269" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvM-QoATjPIe_xlAWgMS35HoYodUhTJ_XcA5HSicd0BpXri5ckXYoPEDjE6S70NSoegDiH0iRyMFjErAg3lKipbOIRdYPgdydqYbsIYvRzGbcgzgOauMGWovfMH9HBm8Uho5PqitkppjFtVk9MQQDC5o15QKWAOVkr7JUBIf_xyiuWh_bVjSWluJvTqjS/w544-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130319_Gallery.jpg" width="544" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The resort offered a series of "Christmas Boot Camp" activities for an additional fees such as cookie decorating, charcuterie board making and cocktail mixing, all geared more toward adults. I did ask the children if they would like to decorate cookies, but they had seen the pool and we spent the afternoon swimming, mostly by ourselves. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z56yYKRPkCasa2Z7bwfOOkCgj-HnmcSeWckING5LtvT5RanYsKrBXmmyuRF_cilLTJla7295dyw9S8piKqUobCa9-9sZBt5awCPWOalV2ukTqDMwqOVFpW1E1c1fx9Gq2CqhJ5O4F-IZj-ihWwep0mZd_flT9AjPfqMCwM8BlVAGa4EcA8e7wCtHgS6D/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-131011_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1080" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z56yYKRPkCasa2Z7bwfOOkCgj-HnmcSeWckING5LtvT5RanYsKrBXmmyuRF_cilLTJla7295dyw9S8piKqUobCa9-9sZBt5awCPWOalV2ukTqDMwqOVFpW1E1c1fx9Gq2CqhJ5O4F-IZj-ihWwep0mZd_flT9AjPfqMCwM8BlVAGa4EcA8e7wCtHgS6D/w640-h626/Screenshot_20240109-131011_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a great way to get their wiggles out and I think they enjoyed it more than an organized activity. We toured the entire resort which was decorated to the nines and they posed for us in front of every setup. Later in the afternoon Candy and Cane began to appear in various locations, too. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzG_3w6jolhSU-b9pC4vVdeaRI-s0xwuCfVOzWFd1azbMbFHRUf9ktbTqZrwDyL9v3yOT_CuRdcSvc_oVDfxZzlgonvat11rI5OzxN8PGSRS3rUyBATRu7kDsK9o8ilKj75wOnmh3niaF1Iqhv26lEONm2lgI2fX8QKpzamHul00J_4_gVna9_ChMV0tc/s1380/Screenshot_20240109-130440_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzG_3w6jolhSU-b9pC4vVdeaRI-s0xwuCfVOzWFd1azbMbFHRUf9ktbTqZrwDyL9v3yOT_CuRdcSvc_oVDfxZzlgonvat11rI5OzxN8PGSRS3rUyBATRu7kDsK9o8ilKj75wOnmh3niaF1Iqhv26lEONm2lgI2fX8QKpzamHul00J_4_gVna9_ChMV0tc/w500-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130440_Gallery.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The resort offered s'more kits and hot cocoa for an outdoor activity in a decorated terrace. Unfortunately it rained the entire weekend, but we did sneak a peek at the decorations. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX0lK1Cq-UXUZK9s13QTJVdfjzC_XhvHQqteZRE7I8f83O_CBqtCuzl1RfP02O8GYfQRxJter0NaSMRYN45SJq9HXNFwaYK2gwZo9ZtDkqVmnvNRdeNq857PzCYCYvQzKZqhQQm2_2uivSRa5NG4Zh5B1u3ZNARva_up9IE5rHSBjNOjaD51EM6f7VExS/s1419/Screenshot_20240109-130642_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1419" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX0lK1Cq-UXUZK9s13QTJVdfjzC_XhvHQqteZRE7I8f83O_CBqtCuzl1RfP02O8GYfQRxJter0NaSMRYN45SJq9HXNFwaYK2gwZo9ZtDkqVmnvNRdeNq857PzCYCYvQzKZqhQQm2_2uivSRa5NG4Zh5B1u3ZNARva_up9IE5rHSBjNOjaD51EM6f7VExS/w488-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130642_Gallery.jpg" width="488" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Again we made reservations for the Millers Table for our special Fancy Hallmark Dinner. We retired to our room so we could wear our Fancy Christmas Clothes and headed to the restaurant, attracting lots of looks and smiles from other guests. There was a long line at check-in for some corporate Christmas parties and they were all quite taken with my grandson's tie. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OOYPKLIGqbEELA0MoPHkVj44mh8YCvi2PfXV-ZSe3hwnAtSgq0uaz8JXyhSflln4WV9_qF-PENPnt8I8RcsklSfHZwnnOMFq2jK_roko80_8vRWNMCqXL6TuZSkgBFkdzugqvgrXiJOSxkW0PEWA0XORrcv7oY0OUjkjRqHpCDXOT-M4ZejU8FMogRgI/s1403/Screenshot_20240109-130435_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OOYPKLIGqbEELA0MoPHkVj44mh8YCvi2PfXV-ZSe3hwnAtSgq0uaz8JXyhSflln4WV9_qF-PENPnt8I8RcsklSfHZwnnOMFq2jK_roko80_8vRWNMCqXL6TuZSkgBFkdzugqvgrXiJOSxkW0PEWA0XORrcv7oY0OUjkjRqHpCDXOT-M4ZejU8FMogRgI/w492-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130435_Gallery.jpg" width="492" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The hostess greeted us and admired the outfits so much she begged to take our picture in the restaurant lobby. Note for next year - lose the purse. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvjQ39jg7zDy7sdDDCads2CXxd3nByeYq4oXxwh_rWQPHECSl3OVOzBUyK4b6M43ebZTzunzQ8B5RgBXK2lYoeI6fza8lxi5mRN_CQVlz9LffBzYJtjPs9ptOmza0nYr9jLORA3P4Ygt7cXO5pmAmt47VUSbUs__634qtsUyp8uNOW6FftVo_Ni55bnHT/s1241/Screenshot_20240109-130856_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="916" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvjQ39jg7zDy7sdDDCads2CXxd3nByeYq4oXxwh_rWQPHECSl3OVOzBUyK4b6M43ebZTzunzQ8B5RgBXK2lYoeI6fza8lxi5mRN_CQVlz9LffBzYJtjPs9ptOmza0nYr9jLORA3P4Ygt7cXO5pmAmt47VUSbUs__634qtsUyp8uNOW6FftVo_Ni55bnHT/w472-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130856_Gallery.jpg" width="472" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We were then seated directly in front of the Christmas tree and discovered our favorite server Laura was assigned to our table again! </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhka9sWtD85D7NSVU2Q9Ml6S-gYeb_IugTct-PyTjZ9fFxYkoSCLhcHAPdBqBmo9n-8FEBmYflBUkC4JR6Mj1qm8q2uCveRmO6ifjKrynC9QVmqsXytUg5Rcg8un3t2rbDi00eG-lXQABq35Xx4x4XfpOkPUr8sW5uqO62IqgznTwDFYrGN2kehLfOZn18/s1079/Screenshot_20240109-130827_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="1079" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhka9sWtD85D7NSVU2Q9Ml6S-gYeb_IugTct-PyTjZ9fFxYkoSCLhcHAPdBqBmo9n-8FEBmYflBUkC4JR6Mj1qm8q2uCveRmO6ifjKrynC9QVmqsXytUg5Rcg8un3t2rbDi00eG-lXQABq35Xx4x4XfpOkPUr8sW5uqO62IqgznTwDFYrGN2kehLfOZn18/w640-h480/Screenshot_20240109-130827_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We had studied the menu knew our order. We started with a fabulous charcuterie board. My granddaughter abandoned the children's menu for a big girl meal. Luckily her brother had extra chicken tenders to share since grownup food was not what she had expected. I cannot tell you how delicious the food was. I am still dreaming about it. All leftovers were safely packed and stored in our room's refrigerator. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHNRLgun1QrXZDhQW0CmKUwYgQrI1Q2a5SKeLHmvAkAFwXX0NafwU9h65tMfWpdWWGS6OZIasLKa80Q08RR6qOw0HSpNik8rUoFfhFGz4HbmHBp0o1XXgtk1-l8kva0V9dvsNlKe3iExjdE5a8seuTB52KUszcHhV-FSjzVh3mlDUs9EB-9CGlXPaF8XZ/s1123/Screenshot_20240109-130800_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHNRLgun1QrXZDhQW0CmKUwYgQrI1Q2a5SKeLHmvAkAFwXX0NafwU9h65tMfWpdWWGS6OZIasLKa80Q08RR6qOw0HSpNik8rUoFfhFGz4HbmHBp0o1XXgtk1-l8kva0V9dvsNlKe3iExjdE5a8seuTB52KUszcHhV-FSjzVh3mlDUs9EB-9CGlXPaF8XZ/w616-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130800_Gallery.jpg" width="616" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF1hCnCfmSd2C328QhjdxFvtm_BPHar7BZoQqbhHfmZiKUSQVW_W74AGxkmtZneLxfX0AsqzKB1t2pGs-iSZHFICyQpmZwiPMcrp2OfsC1WlwKbUSZXll8ZUkyObsvj1usHAhnZ4_CLauz9TziryCDPzAjWtNFzFLitlYlNEkb1XZ6wCqjmcy10UzFJhyphenhyphen/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-130804_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1080" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF1hCnCfmSd2C328QhjdxFvtm_BPHar7BZoQqbhHfmZiKUSQVW_W74AGxkmtZneLxfX0AsqzKB1t2pGs-iSZHFICyQpmZwiPMcrp2OfsC1WlwKbUSZXll8ZUkyObsvj1usHAhnZ4_CLauz9TziryCDPzAjWtNFzFLitlYlNEkb1XZ6wCqjmcy10UzFJhyphenhyphen/w640-h632/Screenshot_20240109-130804_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_dWJ2tyPvn9pQ_ILAPPpQUe_G6X_iUTg43buXTzvoFkk7eu8T2R6aukl9DYGW7B8uijVCZtO1DW1FdEMrKQKBCTIKNrmzy7ps0QSABIa9zpU9wBSty1XU4e3BmEwby-WxVfj4Z59ylZrd24mxO9MlXGL3kWms-tXQ2zUzhBoSFm-RBZvoflkg6HYTJoX/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-130549_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1080" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_dWJ2tyPvn9pQ_ILAPPpQUe_G6X_iUTg43buXTzvoFkk7eu8T2R6aukl9DYGW7B8uijVCZtO1DW1FdEMrKQKBCTIKNrmzy7ps0QSABIa9zpU9wBSty1XU4e3BmEwby-WxVfj4Z59ylZrd24mxO9MlXGL3kWms-tXQ2zUzhBoSFm-RBZvoflkg6HYTJoX/w640-h600/Screenshot_20240109-130549_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">After dinner Laura asked if she could take pictures for us and paraded us all over the dining room in front of every Christmas arrangement. We felt like royalty.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixf85TicQFbHzoeAtHJ9JyShJFx0D_TmyF6xVSA4__m68Xn5hMLAFvYGtjtJblLnshYXjbbeZ8CMeAy9_ygZs5aeKhW9i-GToaHGRYdGyNLY5JR6rrQGotbGGdOQcQ82ZQ-CZCVUNYqRzaIn-nxxPCo0iM9is48MP847oD8NyLMS5XirXdQWs644b8-exx/s1439/Screenshot_20240109-130532_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1439" data-original-width="1078" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixf85TicQFbHzoeAtHJ9JyShJFx0D_TmyF6xVSA4__m68Xn5hMLAFvYGtjtJblLnshYXjbbeZ8CMeAy9_ygZs5aeKhW9i-GToaHGRYdGyNLY5JR6rrQGotbGGdOQcQ82ZQ-CZCVUNYqRzaIn-nxxPCo0iM9is48MP847oD8NyLMS5XirXdQWs644b8-exx/w480-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130532_Gallery.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We returned to our room for our Saturday evening wardrobe change and then attended three music events, The Carolers, The Mistletones and the Fireside Family Christmas. </span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-ZC3ZkLzuS6OIW-nUZ00YZyIfCzlKjvTW4kVUUQE8-nhxJw6yJ-HnJxT0JoGLeofhBDx8w52Soo4WrAuDt8JdHZlacCBy7V97p1iCf33bb8eyKEKqm1otLYiKoOhw-91eaqJApUqNlRN2DOrsE8QAEFB5wzmROMl3pqeDPeuG9gA8rWjZzbnOkD5uJS9/s1080/Screenshot_20240109-131203_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1080" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-ZC3ZkLzuS6OIW-nUZ00YZyIfCzlKjvTW4kVUUQE8-nhxJw6yJ-HnJxT0JoGLeofhBDx8w52Soo4WrAuDt8JdHZlacCBy7V97p1iCf33bb8eyKEKqm1otLYiKoOhw-91eaqJApUqNlRN2DOrsE8QAEFB5wzmROMl3pqeDPeuG9gA8rWjZzbnOkD5uJS9/w640-h536/Screenshot_20240109-131203_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We were pretty tired after all the festivities and slept well. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtvp5kQ4v9eMPqfKxDkOVtZnk2pzdZar4fHjXUEikAtY4Ji2aeMi_KqXKi4617MaBl1qoEzq06Aedztzi0NMj6GGAC0cbag_Ea9hS_lwEwoKnxh1GylYdBmYqmV-vupRLqqeE-LRy-qoIHOjUK8Bm3mgBOfvbjTCDgxZVjgaiT1l1ej7VM3fagPPPpyfz/s1399/Screenshot_20240109-130541_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1399" data-original-width="1078" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtvp5kQ4v9eMPqfKxDkOVtZnk2pzdZar4fHjXUEikAtY4Ji2aeMi_KqXKi4617MaBl1qoEzq06Aedztzi0NMj6GGAC0cbag_Ea9hS_lwEwoKnxh1GylYdBmYqmV-vupRLqqeE-LRy-qoIHOjUK8Bm3mgBOfvbjTCDgxZVjgaiT1l1ej7VM3fagPPPpyfz/w494-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130541_Gallery.jpg" width="494" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Again in the morning we dressed in our Sunday casual Christmas outfits and were first to arrive at the luscious breakfast buffet which we enjoyed greatly. After breakfast we returned to the pool until shortly before checkout. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zyLr0aolG7mlEvW2QPRsAdoSNVhzeTiK4JPIjag6ZYZvc702CoBKMZkZne95N4N5ofgA_KSyQoKkZSrhNuahfBY_GlYbYZWINRLlVouRXJCJg5-R0gO_L7c_LWFpHM3GT0SIs-1F_u_iTzVqNoJv1OqUBGEOaSrsSXoG3fkJiviB6N1AzaFEPUGQPhWB/s797/Screenshot_20240109-131049_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="797" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zyLr0aolG7mlEvW2QPRsAdoSNVhzeTiK4JPIjag6ZYZvc702CoBKMZkZne95N4N5ofgA_KSyQoKkZSrhNuahfBY_GlYbYZWINRLlVouRXJCJg5-R0gO_L7c_LWFpHM3GT0SIs-1F_u_iTzVqNoJv1OqUBGEOaSrsSXoG3fkJiviB6N1AzaFEPUGQPhWB/w640-h640/Screenshot_20240109-131049_Gallery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">He loved breakfast - this is his "Grinch" face.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEbDtYZL8eP8vZ_FowoxC6iqev3M0yHh6BhzAU7VFPJ00n6e03WExxVHsAc4Y7SENPYDZXvJ72rZkH8WoQTWOl8bi6e25PR6nSmv2zwCguwc_6qE4phHf6PpSPsCwWRvb8Dt0CgEeNsCcykC1q3VSw11pwoU2Lyrox1fl9QJHAgzLeRaItPkiKm8qI_Me/s1372/Screenshot_20240109-130725_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1372" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEbDtYZL8eP8vZ_FowoxC6iqev3M0yHh6BhzAU7VFPJ00n6e03WExxVHsAc4Y7SENPYDZXvJ72rZkH8WoQTWOl8bi6e25PR6nSmv2zwCguwc_6qE4phHf6PpSPsCwWRvb8Dt0CgEeNsCcykC1q3VSw11pwoU2Lyrox1fl9QJHAgzLeRaItPkiKm8qI_Me/w504-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130725_Gallery.jpg" width="504" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Our Christmas getaway was exactly as I had hoped and pictured it and I couldn't wait to make my photos into a scrapbook. I worked on a Shutterfly album and I decided there was no way I could justify the cost. I remade the book at Walgreens and picked it up on Monday. Then Shutterfly ran a very good special with half off and free extra pages and the price went from unaffordable to astronomical and I ordered it too. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9_K5XB-yIgvSvxo20DmmvvQUdYyy6qN1OPO-kvleZPLpMCLLua8ZFEw0fJIbZXu9Hozmb8BBSlC03T0jaCRrbSfH42CjbB0ZKSZ9ms0la3vxu93UmmEP3WkW4k4zTvNztkDqLtVWakanZHD5bmAz8n4Y61JExGsgUbWZE9h37gTJVQoqQbOANF8cY7lp/s1420/Screenshot_20240109-130509_Gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9_K5XB-yIgvSvxo20DmmvvQUdYyy6qN1OPO-kvleZPLpMCLLua8ZFEw0fJIbZXu9Hozmb8BBSlC03T0jaCRrbSfH42CjbB0ZKSZ9ms0la3vxu93UmmEP3WkW4k4zTvNztkDqLtVWakanZHD5bmAz8n4Y61JExGsgUbWZE9h37gTJVQoqQbOANF8cY7lp/w486-h640/Screenshot_20240109-130509_Gallery.jpg" width="486" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Hopefully I will be back soon to share the events after December 3rd! Yes, this was just the very very first of December! </span><p></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-49326232943475041902023-12-11T21:48:00.004-05:002023-12-11T21:53:20.239-05:00Gingerbread and Hot Cocoa<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I had to reschedule to a later time slot due to sports, one still had back to back practices and the three oldest grandchildren had numerous conflicts, but we did get the houses made! </span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYgbQfj1uxmvWrLTt1Xl4tHzsGmPWXjbSONvor5c9bNsv9uOR9XlWda8zGbwvaZCRidzZOi4H-SBz34KSW0oCWuGup6T2ETnP43HQmCYA6Mf5SpNr7HavKmNBSP4XYgdNvDgH2Q0NcwXhqoP2hwhEM6kGHdNYILW0bt-xyQeBMmDHWhcIsnhLbfLeOltL/s2048/408895621_10220478182339149_6771989837282098340_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYgbQfj1uxmvWrLTt1Xl4tHzsGmPWXjbSONvor5c9bNsv9uOR9XlWda8zGbwvaZCRidzZOi4H-SBz34KSW0oCWuGup6T2ETnP43HQmCYA6Mf5SpNr7HavKmNBSP4XYgdNvDgH2Q0NcwXhqoP2hwhEM6kGHdNYILW0bt-xyQeBMmDHWhcIsnhLbfLeOltL/w480-h640/408895621_10220478182339149_6771989837282098340_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I cheated and bought box kits. These came from Family Dollar and were only $5 each. They came with candy, icing and all the prebaked pieces for the house and roof. I was more than impressed. The pieces were thick enough that they did not break, they were cut with slots like giant puzzle pieces and the icing dried quickly enough that they did not collapse while being decorated. </div></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg249TWcix7WVS_SE6YCep2YlN1c8hnxPstwCBUOm27Mf69WmYqLsCdNUxwwGZ8dBSAor1eTKN3hDXcXR1RFFXvwH0MbQBTaDCFTrE8qpdO9JnLdFCF_ctGeWp2PfeiKLKS1oJBdMe5xRfphyzOdRnYEoC5-8pjsMmlmTK-3PX1-ZVBSlUsqhRHr8Ro-L7l/s2048/408782876_10220478182099143_451844218515573534_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg249TWcix7WVS_SE6YCep2YlN1c8hnxPstwCBUOm27Mf69WmYqLsCdNUxwwGZ8dBSAor1eTKN3hDXcXR1RFFXvwH0MbQBTaDCFTrE8qpdO9JnLdFCF_ctGeWp2PfeiKLKS1oJBdMe5xRfphyzOdRnYEoC5-8pjsMmlmTK-3PX1-ZVBSlUsqhRHr8Ro-L7l/w480-h640/408782876_10220478182099143_451844218515573534_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">To kill some time while the walls set up, I prebaked some cut out cookies from GFS for the kids to decorate. </div></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_20pQLbPIk-v15ck8cfpAS3Zaoq5HiaYn0lp8cS-nIiQj_yF2rUfUbfFeXwDyr89o08MQTM_8oe0mTqPaowDfJKzn_MKpQknPG1lRrh1ZUpnOM6spasYW9iWFlyprMofiRLOJEjYoeDYraWzoLFZ7Kip0Sr6cS3r8tij9qfU-5Xyz3TGy9MEM05wrnmU/s2048/408857508_10220478184899213_6772164090688699609_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_20pQLbPIk-v15ck8cfpAS3Zaoq5HiaYn0lp8cS-nIiQj_yF2rUfUbfFeXwDyr89o08MQTM_8oe0mTqPaowDfJKzn_MKpQknPG1lRrh1ZUpnOM6spasYW9iWFlyprMofiRLOJEjYoeDYraWzoLFZ7Kip0Sr6cS3r8tij9qfU-5Xyz3TGy9MEM05wrnmU/w480-h640/408857508_10220478184899213_6772164090688699609_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The white foam trays for the cookies and houses helped keep other people's fingers out of your icing, frosting and candies. </div></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOQuKIrE_RrflDApaLaBV2HF4RRmhPlNUUxqjXSn8Mnr5lYP88qV98v69HDlxqtCBd4dYbc5tmgna4apzCMRzeUJG12Um3UQZ5sP_-vHj2ZM_4ttmGeC14o9LbuxuBLBUr-vpyYqw7V77qFeX259ZBMFra9Kny9ZMsgd85D9KXuECKfcbYf36oZGyDejt/s2048/408820494_10220478184819211_7875733631945310760_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOQuKIrE_RrflDApaLaBV2HF4RRmhPlNUUxqjXSn8Mnr5lYP88qV98v69HDlxqtCBd4dYbc5tmgna4apzCMRzeUJG12Um3UQZ5sP_-vHj2ZM_4ttmGeC14o9LbuxuBLBUr-vpyYqw7V77qFeX259ZBMFra9Kny9ZMsgd85D9KXuECKfcbYf36oZGyDejt/w480-h640/408820494_10220478184819211_7875733631945310760_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I was so excited at how seriously they undertook the tasting of the hot cocoa. Everyone got three of the tiny Santa mugs I purchased at Big Lots. #1 was Salted Carmel, #2 was raspberry, #3 was original, plain old hot cocoa. (I don't have an adventurous bunch). The tasters voted and it was very close between Salted Carmel and original. </div></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdp538S18QxlOg1egFxqQubXahwm3sSNlgx17-Wx-TJ_18t0m9rzvY1rlYSMJkqQkQwXi7b8tHZmM2K2WWVdn5EShTo4NOB0YlmiPDhuVqWpmfPTBciFC2C6Zbso1y1ipBkfYRAaBGfPibIGSx47Mfw2O2KiNkLeO5L4FS149rgUsUqa0hCM8YaAjS81Og/s2048/408777053_10220478182499153_1064949964062939060_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdp538S18QxlOg1egFxqQubXahwm3sSNlgx17-Wx-TJ_18t0m9rzvY1rlYSMJkqQkQwXi7b8tHZmM2K2WWVdn5EShTo4NOB0YlmiPDhuVqWpmfPTBciFC2C6Zbso1y1ipBkfYRAaBGfPibIGSx47Mfw2O2KiNkLeO5L4FS149rgUsUqa0hCM8YaAjS81Og/w480-h640/408777053_10220478182499153_1064949964062939060_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Even the little guys were proud of their creations. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I baked a ham, put together a macaroni salad, a pasta salad and a crockpot of chili for the parents and children. After all their hard work, they put about 5 ornaments on my tree (the decorating plan was a failure). They wrote a short play about leaving Santa milk and cookies; we were treated to a performance. Then they just enjoyed being cousins. I am going to try to upload a video which shows a brief minute in the chaos that ensued. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It went very well! I love getting as many of my grandchildren together as possible and creating memories. I think they all really enjoyed the evening. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I had some meetings today - I don't want to share a downer - and tomorrow I guess I will decorate the tree. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy6xjn7AMGWpFt3ZBub_7sv_KMzuzBRf_BhefJO7RnEis_6peyaioXDoEa0Err1kjg8LEqq6ownTwk1lviw6w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-44559156451138420302023-12-08T21:49:00.003-05:002023-12-08T22:04:45.313-05:00Head Above Water<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's been a very busy December here at the Picket Fence, but the elves did move into the dollhouse 45 minutes before my youngest granddaughter arrived, so I am counting today as a win. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">First thing this morning we put a grandson on the bus and then took the two youngest grandsons three towns away to see a holiday model train exhibit. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">After my granddaughter inspected the dollhouse for any changes or improvements, her mother and baby brother joined us for our annual uptown walk to see the Christmas store windows. Somehow it was sixty degrees this evening which made this activity much more enjoyable than previous years. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Tomorrow I am hosting 7 of the 10 grandchildren for gingerbread house making and hot cocoa taste testing. I am hoping to bribe them into decorating my tree which has been barren since we set it up the day after Thanksgiving. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I hope you all will enjoy some great December photos come January. </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-84315922657864425182023-11-21T20:32:00.004-05:002023-11-21T20:38:48.863-05:00Thankful Tuesday<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I have a feeling many of us will be otherwise occupied on Thursday, so I decided this week will be Thankful Tuesday. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am thankful that we had very prolific tomato plants this summer. I can't can on my glass stovetop but I did freeze gallon bags of whole, cored tomatoes that I am cooking into pasta sauce. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiID40BEODhNSubFFIDU8cLiIoDCXtAXxNvUY15gyAspLVXMGWAza1risSqudN6kt6OguYUSJXlkZpHb42O_FADLPfGJzlz_WwLar0BZBHI6ZPyL_Hs4WG1dT0Xd2ZafjSPJv0ef1lw_jVxX1LioheNNB1rwyxxjPMD_VEaK7aTr7g2OLW4pEXv1rCJI5/s2048/385551367_957048029111226_6263523560592979955_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiID40BEODhNSubFFIDU8cLiIoDCXtAXxNvUY15gyAspLVXMGWAza1risSqudN6kt6OguYUSJXlkZpHb42O_FADLPfGJzlz_WwLar0BZBHI6ZPyL_Hs4WG1dT0Xd2ZafjSPJv0ef1lw_jVxX1LioheNNB1rwyxxjPMD_VEaK7aTr7g2OLW4pEXv1rCJI5/w640-h640/385551367_957048029111226_6263523560592979955_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of my pot and add diced onion. You can add garlic, but we like just onion. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvUhlkiOzMSzCWX3yonEiGR-RkTW8AlB-3K0ALDBFNJ32hsy8mJNdcnBcff-0GXvew8pWGr5HuF-QJcMSBzsjT9KChOy0hBnBAPHPfM-rYoYWQ6kiPzJ03YqG6N7awo6fEcjhNwN-k_NVfodKFxMKj027wgAxOciS_v90TubfUzqq8RBfaNeGCngXRAxM/s2016/387518149_1788739114977358_444324073147051709_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvUhlkiOzMSzCWX3yonEiGR-RkTW8AlB-3K0ALDBFNJ32hsy8mJNdcnBcff-0GXvew8pWGr5HuF-QJcMSBzsjT9KChOy0hBnBAPHPfM-rYoYWQ6kiPzJ03YqG6N7awo6fEcjhNwN-k_NVfodKFxMKj027wgAxOciS_v90TubfUzqq8RBfaNeGCngXRAxM/w480-h640/387518149_1788739114977358_444324073147051709_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I sprinkle with lots of salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, extra basil and oregano. </div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2eimlBHQZeW2F-qHDw1W2XoKV3saW49aoLgEjwBUOrCf_n3t16ZiOFTgBQHDoy4kp7OnJ26zRoj_SxSCa_1AJv6CQZX-fElhf8oHBUyjM06grqyfYIRl7v-wW5pI71nsQAbMY1PvQeq1HcF74qCjg1CaeHzZ9dRWvj1BNNaTTudRjF3E1C4yVt7TU8tp/s2016/371491716_1767537820356079_4442788851602081161_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2eimlBHQZeW2F-qHDw1W2XoKV3saW49aoLgEjwBUOrCf_n3t16ZiOFTgBQHDoy4kp7OnJ26zRoj_SxSCa_1AJv6CQZX-fElhf8oHBUyjM06grqyfYIRl7v-wW5pI71nsQAbMY1PvQeq1HcF74qCjg1CaeHzZ9dRWvj1BNNaTTudRjF3E1C4yVt7TU8tp/w480-h640/371491716_1767537820356079_4442788851602081161_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I heat to boiling, then let simmer for an hour or two, occasionally mushing them with my potato masher. </div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Here is tonight's offering with some ground beef over ravioli. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJd20xePkP_ChNBVT4LIG2n9exk2r4eqYhhJ1yXz1ZL2WXy_zSIiimXIQQTzJEXCGxABtENxEtrrjqgN_GWk0gwGW1ngbHDebicyVgGaq91zFvo_I-uCuYdCrf3hsLrjaQ60oJArNoxPnC8TJdMEiDE9KBUK6zD6WWChUHMqhI1dTfyaqNWA2IyZulvNDy/s2048/387549256_703442268415019_7755674701632417918_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJd20xePkP_ChNBVT4LIG2n9exk2r4eqYhhJ1yXz1ZL2WXy_zSIiimXIQQTzJEXCGxABtENxEtrrjqgN_GWk0gwGW1ngbHDebicyVgGaq91zFvo_I-uCuYdCrf3hsLrjaQ60oJArNoxPnC8TJdMEiDE9KBUK6zD6WWChUHMqhI1dTfyaqNWA2IyZulvNDy/w640-h640/387549256_703442268415019_7755674701632417918_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Right now I am trying to cook down a bag a week since I need to clear space in the freezer. Today I was able to put my holiday supply of Christmas Tree ice cream bars in, but we are hoping to get a beef quarter in January and I need the space. </div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Here is a comforter that I ordered a few months ago. I actually ordered a twin size and a full/queen. They are heavy comforters, but I didn't like the way they look in the room. I washed them, put them in a closet and forgot about them. Until I needed Christmas decorations. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5sBb9pmqx8fsJYDxzpvXd6XtwQk2IXqwX_INxXD4EpAWOhtPo1EpgvcHR-13s0SFUZNBLNKMpHVX6r3KOq13WKua9mVX9XXBFVAIfEUnfjYjM90qQN-R4gYElRyxzsXMRTyH0XF3thKB7LxVWuID8l9OHw1iaELPyIzDwoRymQGoVzHGJC66hWKSzYaw/s727/387477866_709377094622464_4402427198215705193_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="727" height="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5sBb9pmqx8fsJYDxzpvXd6XtwQk2IXqwX_INxXD4EpAWOhtPo1EpgvcHR-13s0SFUZNBLNKMpHVX6r3KOq13WKua9mVX9XXBFVAIfEUnfjYjM90qQN-R4gYElRyxzsXMRTyH0XF3thKB7LxVWuID8l9OHw1iaELPyIzDwoRymQGoVzHGJC66hWKSzYaw/w640-h622/387477866_709377094622464_4402427198215705193_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I am thankful we have enough warm blankets and when I found them, I decided they needed to go to someone else. My daughter contacted a social worker who is moving a homeless shelter family with two boys into an apartment and is passing them along. I am thankful for the social worker, a home for the comforters and so happy that these boys will have a home for Christmas. </div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am thankful for the time I can spend with my grandchildren. Many of my friends think we are crazy to be full-time daycare providers for the grandchildren (and sometimes I do wonder about us, too), but the youngest had some solo days this past week and helped me bake. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixLBzEEJvG7HO3lH-BQG8MTwlS4eLnNaQcfNN9Hvv46JHM0iHVfbWN7BTegLTi4CCrnLgKgvrD0KHEExe2sm-cylMeslzkH5MHajNJCRw5IEklFd5i99a-vGVO4LQimCq9XvOmn9d9Kt910FV9O1-XuvIm28cUe1-Im_IITJ7lqXvyQGQ3mmwaCHmEgeN/s1964/371540361_1059398378847306_5287322431311235770_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1964" data-original-width="1506" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixLBzEEJvG7HO3lH-BQG8MTwlS4eLnNaQcfNN9Hvv46JHM0iHVfbWN7BTegLTi4CCrnLgKgvrD0KHEExe2sm-cylMeslzkH5MHajNJCRw5IEklFd5i99a-vGVO4LQimCq9XvOmn9d9Kt910FV9O1-XuvIm28cUe1-Im_IITJ7lqXvyQGQ3mmwaCHmEgeN/w490-h640/371540361_1059398378847306_5287322431311235770_n.jpg" width="490" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">He was very happy to help make brownies from scratch. Who knew you didn't need a box!</div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJikPOEgh7Nxg1NkAZjJ-nOEbV38q6uk5JIU6FM9sm26mFvA44Ig4Dm0VzxxFU_8Eiq1s1_BOrfGFrl5GT7oBxrctfFMAwlUy45RxJFpesd67Z2kbmbscX9KaBZeAKD12jVE-j7uR2t7tW7msAJiD5SYNvIzYrrxwemqB7YdG63AsyZjVWJKnGOA-eA8Ck/s2016/386873165_1040190807228504_4138171898608456551_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJikPOEgh7Nxg1NkAZjJ-nOEbV38q6uk5JIU6FM9sm26mFvA44Ig4Dm0VzxxFU_8Eiq1s1_BOrfGFrl5GT7oBxrctfFMAwlUy45RxJFpesd67Z2kbmbscX9KaBZeAKD12jVE-j7uR2t7tW7msAJiD5SYNvIzYrrxwemqB7YdG63AsyZjVWJKnGOA-eA8Ck/w480-h640/386873165_1040190807228504_4138171898608456551_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The next day we made apple breakfast bread and he was very good at mixing. </div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1pADJHbb2GI17zGzvnZCMF7AGZpvZ3IqGCwIP2HdCv25S9Z5Ui03kWdZbgvGoZUEYDv-egNfjFvawPuPXTMGDmVF5ovQqGk9yiROQBM4gnF0e392oJZTv2eyMSKwlT1RxAPm3kfDBH7jvb1i4g768LBOYYnQiVS-p7v0ON9_YtLinx9ABOvqvOWLWuUn/s2016/387488402_896415348551485_3263358014769568143_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1pADJHbb2GI17zGzvnZCMF7AGZpvZ3IqGCwIP2HdCv25S9Z5Ui03kWdZbgvGoZUEYDv-egNfjFvawPuPXTMGDmVF5ovQqGk9yiROQBM4gnF0e392oJZTv2eyMSKwlT1RxAPm3kfDBH7jvb1i4g768LBOYYnQiVS-p7v0ON9_YtLinx9ABOvqvOWLWuUn/w480-h640/387488402_896415348551485_3263358014769568143_n.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Next year the next to the youngest will enter all day kindergarten and the youngest will attend preschool from 8:30 to 2:30 four days a week. And the year after he will attend all day kindergarten in another town. Our daycare time has gone by so quickly. </div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am thankful for the bounty of food and family we will enjoy this year for Thanksgiving. And I am thankful we have the resources to provide this. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">One of my favorite Thanksgiving stories was when I went back to work when our five kids were in elementary school. I could not afford Thanksgiving groceries until I got paid on Wednesday. I left work at 4:30 and went straight to the bank. Then I went and bought everything for the meal the next day, including a frozen turkey that I knew I would be thawing in the bathtub all night. The store was the normal madhouse you would expect and when I got back to my car, it turned out that customers had started a new row and I was trapped in a triple parked lane with a row ahead of me and a row behind me. And there I sat with a frozen turkey to be thawed, 10 pound bag of potatoes to be peeled, 5 loaves of bread to be diced with a bag of onions and a bunch of celery, cans of green beans and mushroom soup and pumpkin pie filling. Waiting for someone to move a car. And waiting. And waiting.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am thankful I have the funds to shop ahead. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have mentioned before that I am on </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a board that assists clients with financial challenges. This really gives me an opportunity to appreciate all my blessings. I had a particular client this week that needs a few prayers for her health and some doors to open for some assistance to put her and her family back on their feet. Even with the improving economy, many families are struggling with working enough hours with health challenges and childcare challenges, retired families with a limited income and other circumstances that are unplanned and expensive. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am thankful our community and businesses work together to try to assist those in need. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone! </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-78847765730063107672023-11-16T11:49:00.004-05:002023-11-16T11:49:53.400-05:00Thankful Thursday<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I decided I needed to post more often, so here is a try from my phone while sitting in my office. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I also decided I need to be more thankful!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am thankful for my volunteer job and thankful for the businesses and individuals that make it possible. One day a week I sit in my office, accept walk-in applications and interview clients who are facing financial difficulties with paying for housing and utilities. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am thankful that the street project in front of the office is nearing completion. Today I had to walk 2 blocks, turn left and walk two blocks, cross the street and walk 6 blocks to the building because they are filling on lane in front of the building's driveway with 14" of asphalt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am thankful that my friend is handling her second round of breast cancer with such positivity, determination and spunk. She is a member of a literary guild and volunteered to host a vintage tea party this week. She is the Victorian woman on the left. The woman in the vest is her sister who is a breast cancer survivor.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IsXZJzr0UT1q-LSr-nIo9IgIo3Yb7k_cWu1oTsExpZELUSfs47jPPeu4IofYWHhseVwLZ9o3MiI9eI6dOO2PIzMjA0AnwjfqwMGJhiLXAiZ4nJ_bYFSIKINsfR3H0e7I2N6qAoIFjlk_4C56vI9NgN77YIasyGeiLJU5CRS4UXI_eoeFxjrmkfQd3aPX/s677/IMG_8663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IsXZJzr0UT1q-LSr-nIo9IgIo3Yb7k_cWu1oTsExpZELUSfs47jPPeu4IofYWHhseVwLZ9o3MiI9eI6dOO2PIzMjA0AnwjfqwMGJhiLXAiZ4nJ_bYFSIKINsfR3H0e7I2N6qAoIFjlk_4C56vI9NgN77YIasyGeiLJU5CRS4UXI_eoeFxjrmkfQd3aPX/w568-h640/IMG_8663.jpg" width="568" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Okay, adding a photo was a challenge. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am thankful that at this point in our lives we have too much food in our freezer. My grocery money went to the preschool can drive. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am thankful the health situation of a family member seems less critical than first thought. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I'm thankful my grandchildren are happy and healthy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> That's probably enough for now and I have convinced myself to return to posting from my laptop. Have a great weekend. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-26683807674079345392023-11-08T23:48:00.000-05:002023-11-08T23:48:09.342-05:00My Charcuterie Cups<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Well, we survived voting day. Our county had over 49% of registered voters cast a vote and at my precinct we averaged 1 voter every 1.5 minutes. I want to thank Mr. Merry who answered my 911 call when I was 12 hours in and brought me some ugly comfortable shoes to replace my cutie girl boots. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We do a "pot-luck" which means try to grab some food when you can. I decided individual cups would work well. We set up extra tables near our stations to set our food and drink on so that we did not mix with anything official. I found the cups on Amazon.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQn7VqjmgZc3pYsHQdQ1xpZ2L8Qxk63tSTymZcoBRRLVQ_z7qKPrCuKIWdlHMaj5-rf5QVs6TvN7pxt_1JMme6-SYEN5SPSmZ5dcmVNIbHDiJOIjee5oI5244fisFViH0ycUTafS6I6BTMgnvuTdeOxjGgstTJ7vemOhxWuNkKy9YvpOLhQlWATJchfzM9/s1655/b1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1655" data-original-width="1137" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQn7VqjmgZc3pYsHQdQ1xpZ2L8Qxk63tSTymZcoBRRLVQ_z7qKPrCuKIWdlHMaj5-rf5QVs6TvN7pxt_1JMme6-SYEN5SPSmZ5dcmVNIbHDiJOIjee5oI5244fisFViH0ycUTafS6I6BTMgnvuTdeOxjGgstTJ7vemOhxWuNkKy9YvpOLhQlWATJchfzM9/w440-h640/b1.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Here was the tray. I made 15 cups for our 12 workers. Three people raved about them. Two others grabbed one and I brought the rest home where my family fought over them. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmvpBDoPLCWPgTlxHnQTzQBndfY81EYGigKrJtG26CemmJamMbw73UtZF-Nk8sMqMFlHBot4Qzj78qE-uBuXalOSzy4iBrydtNbPXKm00G0qNF8btLLxyqIw0JqDE_h0fcMfgULryYgKGI3OH1WeN5NkZ2aOWGkevVH1pgaJIzlXTbl1IQjX7VprhWnVl/s2016/b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmvpBDoPLCWPgTlxHnQTzQBndfY81EYGigKrJtG26CemmJamMbw73UtZF-Nk8sMqMFlHBot4Qzj78qE-uBuXalOSzy4iBrydtNbPXKm00G0qNF8btLLxyqIw0JqDE_h0fcMfgULryYgKGI3OH1WeN5NkZ2aOWGkevVH1pgaJIzlXTbl1IQjX7VprhWnVl/w640-h480/b2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And here we are all sparkly to watch the Taylor Swift movie at the drive-in. It was so much fun! </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7LTwbZLnCLoBLu1ggo4LNPtJr2DtwEZA-MhC0Nv-FBMmGJrNpLwf-TZm3isKCxqlEpSBwVXM1Jxra5byHvdgIuAaf6DQ6yc1b86C4EHnqpFZhpgQkgpzpXn5DCKz-CZ4dZoJULXQTCisEUqUGtX8dBfTf60tw5edY5czrHQShEaZTeX8ZpMO2yxujg0-/s2048/b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1197" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7LTwbZLnCLoBLu1ggo4LNPtJr2DtwEZA-MhC0Nv-FBMmGJrNpLwf-TZm3isKCxqlEpSBwVXM1Jxra5byHvdgIuAaf6DQ6yc1b86C4EHnqpFZhpgQkgpzpXn5DCKz-CZ4dZoJULXQTCisEUqUGtX8dBfTf60tw5edY5czrHQShEaZTeX8ZpMO2yxujg0-/w374-h640/b3.jpg" width="374" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My grandson stayed home with grampa. And - the drive-in sold light up rings at the concession stand! </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEY75JySXTLOqGJdhMIemzyOCuTK2JBXVM3B8MkhaWK301jWhmy4KQGtybw3SP4MKmB8E59Mi_LSNs2padc3TbwUSO_xT78tD5AAA_5WWqkvfsRg4Sg2bZOjFKu0JGv8aPUQH4JlOEIGJ1MVhJCYDbGTqJUkQyqzybfoMbMyC52zWIoLr9B2WKTHh3WKT9/s2016/b4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEY75JySXTLOqGJdhMIemzyOCuTK2JBXVM3B8MkhaWK301jWhmy4KQGtybw3SP4MKmB8E59Mi_LSNs2padc3TbwUSO_xT78tD5AAA_5WWqkvfsRg4Sg2bZOjFKu0JGv8aPUQH4JlOEIGJ1MVhJCYDbGTqJUkQyqzybfoMbMyC52zWIoLr9B2WKTHh3WKT9/w480-h640/b4.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A bonus picture. Grampa and Mimi at the Nursery School Trunk or Treat. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJH3UGZt8QQqZJLp7YUonyPTlGl8W09VbaUjJUmvitfH-2KrLisNFX5eL3435ZNH-ZjEC6eInbkTX9wB6XuSK7OfPIm6ioHhqM1Bg2GvdAgfBQkvtwZf-afD0W5Qf6awjLhMxMJaHV7wFEc4HgTtx8nV2x5WJvoafvFqIyFLm7a2HpLmhusDm0973GHSTy/s2016/b5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJH3UGZt8QQqZJLp7YUonyPTlGl8W09VbaUjJUmvitfH-2KrLisNFX5eL3435ZNH-ZjEC6eInbkTX9wB6XuSK7OfPIm6ioHhqM1Bg2GvdAgfBQkvtwZf-afD0W5Qf6awjLhMxMJaHV7wFEc4HgTtx8nV2x5WJvoafvFqIyFLm7a2HpLmhusDm0973GHSTy/w640-h480/b5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-49508507699514969582023-11-04T15:27:00.002-04:002023-11-04T15:33:58.779-04:00Nothing Special<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: verdana;">Just another Saturday. Mr Merry was busy all day with his rakes and leaf blowers loading up the truck for the compost pile. My dead flowers in the hanging baskets made the cut, as did the last of the tomato plants. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I don't know if I shared the story of the truck, but when he retired he used his work truck for his twice a month, May-Nov, trips to the compost pile. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One memorable</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> weekend, the truck conked out at the compost pile and had to come home on a flatbed trailer. When unloading it, I took a look UNDER the truck and it looked like rusty lace! I forbid him to get it fixed again (if that was even possible). Somehow this morphed into a brand new truck, complete with everything his work truck never had, with air conditioning, upholstered seats (do they even make vinyl seats anymore?), automatic transmission, back up camera, dual temperature controls. . . On a truck that goes to the compost pile twice a month. I've told myself he worked very hard, mostly outdoors, on the railroad for almost 40 years and he deserves it. Sometimes I tell myself that. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">So - ignore that paragraph because I just wanted to share the power of a smile. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I was out foolishly wasting money today and stopped at a store. I was smiling because I was reminding myself how lucky I am that I have the money to foolishly waste on trivial items that make me happy. A woman older than me was unloading her car and I offered to take her cart back. She smiled back and we talked for a while and she gave me a big wave and said "Have a Happy Thanksgiving, too". </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This made me smile bigger just as I was passing a tired looking young mom with a baby and toddler in her cart. She saw my big smile and gave me a big smile back. I swear she walked taller, too. I let someone pass in front of me and they smiled and waved. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It really does brighten your own day when you smile at others. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">What trivial items was I buying? I hope they are cute enough to show you, but my plan is to make charcuterie cups for my fellow election workers on Tuesday. I think they will be easy to snack on and other people won't be fingering all the food. Of course I had to have special cups and cute skewers and individual food bags to package each one in addition to special foods and garnishes. The hardest item to find without leaving our small town was individually packaged plain crackers. Dollar Tree had one package of 6, but I need at least a dozen. So much more expensive elsewhere, but I guess I am set. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I also picked up gingerbread houses for the youngest seven grandkids so everyone can have their own at a decorating party. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Have a good weekend. I need to dress up in my sequins because I am going to the drive in to see the Taylor Swift concert! And - we are going to drive THE truck because three of us can sit on the front seat. So I guess it was a wise purchase after all. </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-62068041781848436512023-10-31T14:44:00.002-04:002023-10-31T14:44:33.014-04:00Spooky Supper<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I have no idea when I started serving Spooky Supper. My Facebook memories tell me that it was before Facebook. My goddaughter used the idea when her family moved to a remote farm twelve years ago and had no where to take her young daughters to trick or treat. So, it has been a while. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of work (especially yesterday when we had three young children underfoot all day) but my grandkids all look forward to it! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I will share some dishes from last night: </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueWUrQlTXSJQEWhwv4GeEvJh9WrCT4oq1FgRVgC-hZSquuQj87PXhkgjWDR4smiEWe0RnmiJPKbJpRcNmYPW9E-atVIeYp4KFBBzM4PiLy7cT4uSWsQN0KWL4OX_NrPqjMYwsRcvZ-3fBSX2r9CCBGTzBcSHEbSbLkIMEd1tXGmAba_Cg73dzBRrl9ADR/s2048/398094627_10220361335058040_5244571930204300682_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueWUrQlTXSJQEWhwv4GeEvJh9WrCT4oq1FgRVgC-hZSquuQj87PXhkgjWDR4smiEWe0RnmiJPKbJpRcNmYPW9E-atVIeYp4KFBBzM4PiLy7cT4uSWsQN0KWL4OX_NrPqjMYwsRcvZ-3fBSX2r9CCBGTzBcSHEbSbLkIMEd1tXGmAba_Cg73dzBRrl9ADR/w640-h640/398094627_10220361335058040_5244571930204300682_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This severed chicken hand doesn't look too bad, but I used to make them from the marinated chicken breasts from our local butcher. Now the breasts he sells are trimmed into a filet type shape (instead of the large raggedy natural ones) and they were out of marinated when I was there so I threw some bbq sauce on them. I think this is our last year of chicken hands. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGAalidIF9iYR-pQJeLNom_k6NkeidFJUWjKjNawkwlRzIzeJkFFN2bCIAlYJrOxeBEbU80F01kz54kETu3rAnGzHEU4kFkf_ou9SYYEqh4vxJkH-DWSMqg-1MohrahdRiLevoVdXi9wt5faRIPMmg3bpGtXJEX1wYl1nWyyR872nRR0AqJXWmw04PulZ/s2048/396964376_10220361335258045_2677262906258008203_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGAalidIF9iYR-pQJeLNom_k6NkeidFJUWjKjNawkwlRzIzeJkFFN2bCIAlYJrOxeBEbU80F01kz54kETu3rAnGzHEU4kFkf_ou9SYYEqh4vxJkH-DWSMqg-1MohrahdRiLevoVdXi9wt5faRIPMmg3bpGtXJEX1wYl1nWyyR872nRR0AqJXWmw04PulZ/w640-h640/396964376_10220361335258045_2677262906258008203_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">First year for this Kraft Mac & Cheese dish I saw on Facebook. It was a hit, but I am not sure why it looks so dry in the photo. The kids loved it.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzezoenZp4gqlGSQBjHigzWFffa6XXBprCJutJshSnCRV5si8aNeB8xi5h9wx2yUh3-CAUzYYK4s7YeIy3i4J10WBtkNjWcWxHP43HvkaKB6ujucf8Xnph7LzYQAff4c59hup9fGcTXiQO-65RUITqkEJ5Liy4ozNoN1RRwUiOKnk3uU5IJjl8eooRBsmX/s2048/397004389_10220361336218069_5053375538308963583_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzezoenZp4gqlGSQBjHigzWFffa6XXBprCJutJshSnCRV5si8aNeB8xi5h9wx2yUh3-CAUzYYK4s7YeIy3i4J10WBtkNjWcWxHP43HvkaKB6ujucf8Xnph7LzYQAff4c59hup9fGcTXiQO-65RUITqkEJ5Liy4ozNoN1RRwUiOKnk3uU5IJjl8eooRBsmX/w480-h640/397004389_10220361336218069_5053375538308963583_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There were two meatloaf feet complete with toe nails. The kids were leery but this was a hit with the dads. Behind are cobweb stuffed eggs. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNs7jKILyizJxg3qjCBnS88wR1Lz7GgJLbtfv3RkINlsKFc_FAk-NcFXva62GIoMwU5l-mK_7Ure5_yHnfWzALlgTpkhIa6264qLVdGYgJSOLOJycyn_yfq5cU9ITwQhwDCCSmJLjYnAMLJSZ9IJyEz2aYEhvmCvrBohpSiRHnzGdclnp7AbKosAHlxCb/s2048/396988918_10220361338658130_500795862981251960_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1585" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNs7jKILyizJxg3qjCBnS88wR1Lz7GgJLbtfv3RkINlsKFc_FAk-NcFXva62GIoMwU5l-mK_7Ure5_yHnfWzALlgTpkhIa6264qLVdGYgJSOLOJycyn_yfq5cU9ITwQhwDCCSmJLjYnAMLJSZ9IJyEz2aYEhvmCvrBohpSiRHnzGdclnp7AbKosAHlxCb/w496-h640/396988918_10220361338658130_500795862981251960_n.jpg" width="496" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Ham and Cheese mummy calzones and hot dog fingers. No one really ate either at the supper, but the calzone was popular at lunch today, as were the hot dogs cut up for preschoolers. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLKu3Qec2vJ1yTjrMrW5OeOflB27U5NzGF8WbXyf9VqaJjU4Ef9D6nu6eolbDTpg4cTlNGY-ar3-ga9jGYPrNCPxuHCMsraPgDnbaF_zcD_Z1j2iEtxcElYFkP8bFI3azDE5zrrszQDRjr1g4tZ65cJYPjkU7sQ66E4Go55OhqQbA6Q9-unjxe3zjhHgB/s2048/396963824_10220361336978088_1912114968910626846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLKu3Qec2vJ1yTjrMrW5OeOflB27U5NzGF8WbXyf9VqaJjU4Ef9D6nu6eolbDTpg4cTlNGY-ar3-ga9jGYPrNCPxuHCMsraPgDnbaF_zcD_Z1j2iEtxcElYFkP8bFI3azDE5zrrszQDRjr1g4tZ65cJYPjkU7sQ66E4Go55OhqQbA6Q9-unjxe3zjhHgB/w640-h640/396963824_10220361336978088_1912114968910626846_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />Moldy potatoes. This was just cheesy (funeral) potatoes made with Potato's O'Brien instead of shredded potatoes and topped with frozen purple cauliflower. Again, a big hit with adults, children not so much. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXB8N2wQQpdIcL85vZ-kunwEX4GgHhVVRDDCaDMou0PtVPTH2gkRm8LZkZIIiH6lJmNfkO85J5Ju8tKeaDoH3IhePgjKF7U-BfBmcTfBHPPh9Vfsd5jLW4yDtVKDlAQ0lFlRtNgb7ZQeg9Fv01MQsTIGIFS2p9VnXxloTXAKHNLJD3V9rMDPy3qFNolN8/s2048/396953651_10220361337938112_6091475460499422295_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1935" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXB8N2wQQpdIcL85vZ-kunwEX4GgHhVVRDDCaDMou0PtVPTH2gkRm8LZkZIIiH6lJmNfkO85J5Ju8tKeaDoH3IhePgjKF7U-BfBmcTfBHPPh9Vfsd5jLW4yDtVKDlAQ0lFlRtNgb7ZQeg9Fv01MQsTIGIFS2p9VnXxloTXAKHNLJD3V9rMDPy3qFNolN8/w604-h640/396953651_10220361337938112_6091475460499422295_n.jpg" width="604" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Jack-o-lantern mini pizzas. I ended up adding more cheese and pepperoni shapes after baking since they blended in the oven. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCuXMx8wm9RSPs2SPKlgEeCDatEPERj9r18z9e6dq1ugx8rUyGvTNIylyRnMKnfGKxisWVAjDshISUxH9u2-hHvSUwJpu3TkpByy1AkujaiBf0lUygQKm4SIEnxBXI0Ki4sPAUAopogKB6_wZIEUyG-FejdFKJ4mgDWwP-Y8UPI_nRtwY1yUUQp3Rxnc3k/s1877/398083303_10220361337578103_2346955375833935373_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1877" data-original-width="1877" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCuXMx8wm9RSPs2SPKlgEeCDatEPERj9r18z9e6dq1ugx8rUyGvTNIylyRnMKnfGKxisWVAjDshISUxH9u2-hHvSUwJpu3TkpByy1AkujaiBf0lUygQKm4SIEnxBXI0Ki4sPAUAopogKB6_wZIEUyG-FejdFKJ4mgDWwP-Y8UPI_nRtwY1yUUQp3Rxnc3k/w640-h640/398083303_10220361337578103_2346955375833935373_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">All those entrees and the kids preferred peanut butter and jelly cut with my pasty cutter with pretzel legs. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qMYh8TBgY8ve_bE65dI6Fgzby6zqz2FR-XYHIbMPMH9mexyyLFzwv4sFDxSl3SzLbnroI1ulHxwzoXGcRjbnhL8ZVhabUQ66VGzoVK5uVYSXqx06Dbt01jflDNLXnTNX8my8PDbpiViroii4B8JJQ64PWE0UTb86FL3Ib9pm6c3qmw4Wu7m7S_u-Hm8z/s2048/398100407_10220361339498151_1856815485978496787_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qMYh8TBgY8ve_bE65dI6Fgzby6zqz2FR-XYHIbMPMH9mexyyLFzwv4sFDxSl3SzLbnroI1ulHxwzoXGcRjbnhL8ZVhabUQ66VGzoVK5uVYSXqx06Dbt01jflDNLXnTNX8my8PDbpiViroii4B8JJQ64PWE0UTb86FL3Ib9pm6c3qmw4Wu7m7S_u-Hm8z/w640-h480/398100407_10220361339498151_1856815485978496787_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The crew looking scary. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzDNSeOZz-sajSVrr08OBxZgNj8NaV1YqDVAZ-Zwgvh6fT2tx6zXL3I419gHMdHN7plxgEkv_b3Q9MaHbs71zvtKjnsH2zivKpdQav1FuYKBGQvMvfw7jYDFp6FlIyP3NX_6ar6j7eHEsplZci_N_BqF_2_7OWlJIkvrvxD2wot4sc6fCHOm5ttw2Ynir/s2048/396988845_10220361337418099_3939295839180479445_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzDNSeOZz-sajSVrr08OBxZgNj8NaV1YqDVAZ-Zwgvh6fT2tx6zXL3I419gHMdHN7plxgEkv_b3Q9MaHbs71zvtKjnsH2zivKpdQav1FuYKBGQvMvfw7jYDFp6FlIyP3NX_6ar6j7eHEsplZci_N_BqF_2_7OWlJIkvrvxD2wot4sc6fCHOm5ttw2Ynir/w640-h640/396988845_10220361337418099_3939295839180479445_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This was going to be a spider web dip except I ran out of time. I was also going to do a monster fruit tray and a Hocus Pocus vegetable tray and those did not happen either. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNfoFfU54EntGQ3FkS9QQto-_oNx-POMrUPa4kKw9S23YtplP9lMGYh0Qmefzc4DtQjaEmP8GUVhCxBLWSdNqS2rHupWgDTMGYpMrwGTBiAVHpFF5oB3FUoBj1voTDanA4Qc5lhpa28DlcP4jTr35m4dmUfbvpgJTIbDpJphoOecp59IlMjCvgVX2g_PQ/s1460/396971054_10220360238790634_4295840619059392689_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="1169" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNfoFfU54EntGQ3FkS9QQto-_oNx-POMrUPa4kKw9S23YtplP9lMGYh0Qmefzc4DtQjaEmP8GUVhCxBLWSdNqS2rHupWgDTMGYpMrwGTBiAVHpFF5oB3FUoBj1voTDanA4Qc5lhpa28DlcP4jTr35m4dmUfbvpgJTIbDpJphoOecp59IlMjCvgVX2g_PQ/w512-h640/396971054_10220360238790634_4295840619059392689_n.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For Muffin Tin Monday with my preschoolers we had the favorite Spider Sandwich, with an orange pumpkin and ghost banana. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Happy Halloween! </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-18090398719151903322023-10-24T21:07:00.005-04:002023-10-24T21:09:02.247-04:00Still Here<p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Just letting you know I'm still here. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">October has been a whirlwind of grandchild activities ranging from the 10 days I spent out of town with teen grandkids to pediatrician visits with grandchildren with strep throat which ended with a two-hour ER visit for a child with a brand new penicillin allergy. Oh, and a bunch of kids went to state in various sports and contests. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Our town had a Halloween decoration contest so we have been shuttling overnight guests in car seats to see the sights (with the windows rolled up for safety). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Tomorrow night is our youngest grandchild's trunk or treat and we are decorating my SUV in a Grinch theme because I already have Grinch decorations. A pleasant surprise today when I looked in the box and found a Grinch costume I bought last spring on clearance for $10. It's my husband's size and I am not sure he is as thrilled as the four year old. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Tomorrow I attend my second election worker training for the election in November, our third election this year. I feel very well trained at this point and hope the people in state offices could keep the same procedures for a while so we don't have to keep being trained. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The city is in a mad race to complete some major street projects on most of the streets that lead to my house before the asphalt plants close for the year. The main route on the way to my house has HUGE road closed signs and what I call a moat in the middle of the lanes. This has not stopped people from racing up my street and dragging their vehicles over it to cross the intersection. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I had lunch today with my friend who is battling breast cancer for the second time. She is so positive and determined and I am so proud of her. She really is an inspiration. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I'll leave you with this funny. So true, especially since I am trying to clear out closets holding years and years of craft supplies. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94Su8PsTAio5Ityw6vw9QzAoeHHUnXPI9ca1lc-GDtoF9rjEL0m7QAHzE6YWIsFHxdKX5tCDB6G7ukVg2hVUXms7Df0Pbn7GDwgspWFIv1rnHILte0UaiCakqLCj7XgPn8PCoDMBkaxDOx6yFzaWrxff_aAD2kPCNJgVFtjjA8ML7Viu1W8j5e_3kWJ16/s971/don't%20do%20crafts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="971" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94Su8PsTAio5Ityw6vw9QzAoeHHUnXPI9ca1lc-GDtoF9rjEL0m7QAHzE6YWIsFHxdKX5tCDB6G7ukVg2hVUXms7Df0Pbn7GDwgspWFIv1rnHILte0UaiCakqLCj7XgPn8PCoDMBkaxDOx6yFzaWrxff_aAD2kPCNJgVFtjjA8ML7Viu1W8j5e_3kWJ16/w640-h480/don't%20do%20crafts.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-12011373146638025562023-10-05T19:35:00.007-04:002023-10-05T19:44:52.575-04:00It's My Cabinet of Curiosities! <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Many moons ago I was the girl scout leader, the 4H advisor and the Sunday School Teacher. And the mom of five and the party planner of the neighborhood. Halloween was always a fun time. I used to have fun houses in my garage before trick or treat, and after I was promoted from first grade to the confirmation class, my middle schoolers and I would do a "barely scary" haunted house for our church little ones following a costume contest. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Thanks to the inspiration from my friend decorator extraordinaire Debbie-Dabble who blogs at </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">(I'm sorry, it won't link so I guess you will have to cut and paste.) I created my own curiosity cabinet. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">https://debbie-dabbleblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2023-09-29T10:42:00-04:00&max-results=7&start=2&by-date=false </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJt1-tVYJ1Uyg0wsc5510locrgRqSU8wcJbPAGYDmg19XUX4OpYVJlc0ggBQrdT5d8CbhZztIueYTXN_cVtIV_G2TlrsVPsleWicZJY4VMWhjM01RHxTcUe7LSgVETgedrV2YFR5Wiwn1YTZupAgRO1wU3vN9oH3EyOzo4BN3_P9Fr8CMDSGOvmZORs7yQ/s1804/cabinet%206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1804" data-original-width="1231" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJt1-tVYJ1Uyg0wsc5510locrgRqSU8wcJbPAGYDmg19XUX4OpYVJlc0ggBQrdT5d8CbhZztIueYTXN_cVtIV_G2TlrsVPsleWicZJY4VMWhjM01RHxTcUe7LSgVETgedrV2YFR5Wiwn1YTZupAgRO1wU3vN9oH3EyOzo4BN3_P9Fr8CMDSGOvmZORs7yQ/w436-h640/cabinet%206.jpg" width="436" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though it was a last minute project, the grands love it and I already have some better ideas for next year! I had disposed of most of my barely scary items, but Dollar Tree and Dollar General had some perfect supplies for less than $3! </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I will share some close up of the shelves. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQjUJiVM9WDhiol67q98LoELbO1fsEmiBqFpn-LS3i4q6ez-0_cmhUB69ECbvxuNQ_ccuWB-gOJfHztlSvdp6wv8HnIUhcs7y6Ctv8ETzqP_ouX3vPdBItz_LeoyQnLpibuFO9EGXVExtegEz35gpAASi3IfEiW1sJhRVls11LnleeCkfsn8mFvu6ccSI/s2048/cabinet%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1467" data-original-width="2048" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQjUJiVM9WDhiol67q98LoELbO1fsEmiBqFpn-LS3i4q6ez-0_cmhUB69ECbvxuNQ_ccuWB-gOJfHztlSvdp6wv8HnIUhcs7y6Ctv8ETzqP_ouX3vPdBItz_LeoyQnLpibuFO9EGXVExtegEz35gpAASi3IfEiW1sJhRVls11LnleeCkfsn8mFvu6ccSI/w640-h458/cabinet%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: left;">Dollar Tree still had one of the inspiration signs for the top remaining in stock!</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ShOcSpp_LX4fP1J0aOUes7vGL7tHhOTXPIRMRNydB3z5nETV2mGF8nQOgzjqGGefHHoQ9lQa5R8WJdxCWVMUZ4hU274ReiilJF8qlumSt4VpJQcnN4bqr_x0d2bJJMMsIgwJn0EIFwDxXa2zRS8kWD1A_K3dvgluR6ol6A8YAArDd-e7q3QFS9qLIS-i/s2048/cabinet%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1510" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ShOcSpp_LX4fP1J0aOUes7vGL7tHhOTXPIRMRNydB3z5nETV2mGF8nQOgzjqGGefHHoQ9lQa5R8WJdxCWVMUZ4hU274ReiilJF8qlumSt4VpJQcnN4bqr_x0d2bJJMMsIgwJn0EIFwDxXa2zRS8kWD1A_K3dvgluR6ol6A8YAArDd-e7q3QFS9qLIS-i/w472-h640/cabinet%202.jpg" width="472" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Next year I will start by clearing the shelves instead of shoving to the back, LOL.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPahUo4ojqRWmUNPG1E5s-VGJ_OyRV7SyLdzEDewjzzhk3XLonEKfmsV4c-L7YPqZKR0Jldj46ajBCSfsyEVIRTpmUoeiZ8MMK2QlsPImJZBwQH9YKJHC0UCpEPTNij6Wm5g2wHplZCB6Cd58r3fLqqPQF9Elrg_dT6grPvdOe21iTckiWrT73fQ2XNUK_/s2048/cabinet%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1472" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPahUo4ojqRWmUNPG1E5s-VGJ_OyRV7SyLdzEDewjzzhk3XLonEKfmsV4c-L7YPqZKR0Jldj46ajBCSfsyEVIRTpmUoeiZ8MMK2QlsPImJZBwQH9YKJHC0UCpEPTNij6Wm5g2wHplZCB6Cd58r3fLqqPQF9Elrg_dT6grPvdOe21iTckiWrT73fQ2XNUK_/w460-h640/cabinet%203.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I have been finding more Halloween items as I go through boxes so some of these shelves are scarier already. This hand used to move on it's on in the olden days, now it is just "curious" to see. And the skull is resting on it's "microphone" and the kids used to be able to have him "talk". </span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZ2Sc2lxWFYalh_4uEAB8YnHeiFhmBkgCtkY_TDsWLHSJ5YjkOxwx_v-LR3zArp1Qzj6OhtMgtrkVLHc5Es8aq9matknm4BlQn0ai9U48ypsNlUi_1s9Ojkdpfr2JcoEk4zGiYClynkMDyfSqgEo1gGLRGMZLRIlfNL2dOgo3oLzXM_je5te7Qx-IGuZb/s2048/cabinet%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1477" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZ2Sc2lxWFYalh_4uEAB8YnHeiFhmBkgCtkY_TDsWLHSJ5YjkOxwx_v-LR3zArp1Qzj6OhtMgtrkVLHc5Es8aq9matknm4BlQn0ai9U48ypsNlUi_1s9Ojkdpfr2JcoEk4zGiYClynkMDyfSqgEo1gGLRGMZLRIlfNL2dOgo3oLzXM_je5te7Qx-IGuZb/w462-h640/cabinet%204.jpg" width="462" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">I bought the beaker at Hallmark at least 10 years ago, the cat is a bank filled with dimes that used to sit on my Great Aunt Betty's vanity. We use the plastic goblets for juice in the morning. </span></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjme6_JtwRA4rBTlu5rjw8qDoYPd48f9WSGhy_0SNHOgw2VOD4AUW11Y61AHAsK1hvKoilg1yZr4WYMs0EPHBqPQPxU5jGbTUlgkh2TjiWRKPNSoEDJFnk1y4o30wnyw4cRWDh1SMEJf4XUsk-T0ewEC-gPf5uqjztJvHGnLUmQnA3XYorSo9XlVmrMIulQ/s2048/cabinet%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1388" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjme6_JtwRA4rBTlu5rjw8qDoYPd48f9WSGhy_0SNHOgw2VOD4AUW11Y61AHAsK1hvKoilg1yZr4WYMs0EPHBqPQPxU5jGbTUlgkh2TjiWRKPNSoEDJFnk1y4o30wnyw4cRWDh1SMEJf4XUsk-T0ewEC-gPf5uqjztJvHGnLUmQnA3XYorSo9XlVmrMIulQ/w434-h640/cabinet%205.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I created the scary jar by adding cooking oil to water but did not get the effect I wanted after making it "too purple" with food coloring in a pickle jar. I was not disappointed enough to waste more cooking oil. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Thank you again Debbie for the fantastic idea! The kids all spotted it the minute they entered the room and it is just enough that the four years olds are not afraid. I will take some more of her advice and see what might be available after Halloween at sale prices. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Now I am off to supervise my three oldest grandchildren - TEENAGERS - for 10 days while their parents travel to an island. I am a little intimidated as I know they are smarter than I am, but mostly because they live in a big city and I am terrified to drive there. Wish me luck! </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-36316907332437114442023-09-23T16:19:00.001-04:002023-09-23T16:20:42.610-04:00It's the First Day of Fall<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It is the First Day of Fall and I am ready for summer to be over. We had a humid and hot few months which waivered between draught and flooding. Now we are under attack from legions of mosquitos, day and night. Some communities have added extra spraying. Our town doesn't believe in spraying at all so it is hard to make it from my house to my car without being bitten. I'm one of those who swells up like I have been afflicted with tumors. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBs9J4I10IC8jkicAHhAyikGbXR2V4B2iZEdFFvgi_X_DVVAHO6CATrB96ZK9sy119XgcncAC2QFr6U0pBrVARWp3sx6TDBGkJAtZAs_gxC_PsbYjNUYX4RDxhzJ5-QYFfLdyQ-7rbG-wOV9jClJaj2TG_fjd6u_c06wv3-ZxTyZAyQze2i7F54sfC_Ba/s544/autumn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBs9J4I10IC8jkicAHhAyikGbXR2V4B2iZEdFFvgi_X_DVVAHO6CATrB96ZK9sy119XgcncAC2QFr6U0pBrVARWp3sx6TDBGkJAtZAs_gxC_PsbYjNUYX4RDxhzJ5-QYFfLdyQ-7rbG-wOV9jClJaj2TG_fjd6u_c06wv3-ZxTyZAyQze2i7F54sfC_Ba/w588-h640/autumn.jpg" width="588" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">(My favorite artist and author, Susan Branch.)</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">In honor of Fall, I went to Big Lots and bought mini Santa mugs. Billed as "expresso" cups, the miniature Santa mugs were on sale for 20% off and I thought they would be perfect for a Hot Cocoa Tasting Party with different flavors to try. I have 10 grandchildren and my local store had six four-packs of the mugs. I think that comes out to 2 1/2 mugs per child, but I don't think they will all be here at the same time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCHew5ccXeab18-21OStadeZx-QXiGa6IAHZp9x3kWuqNjohG1ZrhPJo99Vb-edu8FMxDpABc5z_oJZik0z2I_ge7JhczyyshdiFrLYa2ZN_Am0zRhpXWxi74tTKP_AOqKB22gGrT0AkqtL4gG_utQiqOhR5NPbwNTGXuaQW7V0TumL0QLrB76p2B2ICY/s1606/mini%20santas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1369" data-original-width="1606" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCHew5ccXeab18-21OStadeZx-QXiGa6IAHZp9x3kWuqNjohG1ZrhPJo99Vb-edu8FMxDpABc5z_oJZik0z2I_ge7JhczyyshdiFrLYa2ZN_Am0zRhpXWxi74tTKP_AOqKB22gGrT0AkqtL4gG_utQiqOhR5NPbwNTGXuaQW7V0TumL0QLrB76p2B2ICY/w640-h546/mini%20santas.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was looking around for little ceramic trays for the cups, but have thought the better of it and will keep my eye out for a little rectangular</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> appetizer plates, hopefully in paper. I could write the flavors on the plates while they are tasting. I might need to invest in a third carafe to make sure the hot cocoas stay warm. Can you tell I am a little excited about this? I believe I will pair the tasting with some cookie decorating too. </span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Nothing like rushing the season! </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-28590364438532246182023-09-13T21:48:00.001-04:002023-09-13T21:48:16.640-04:00September This and That<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We are keeping busy at the House with the Picket Fence.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As you have had to hear about over and over, I broke my humerus in 2020. Last Friday one of my co-grammas tripped at work and broker her humerus. She is waiting to see the surgeon, hopefully this week. And on Saturday morning one of my eight grandsons fell off the monkey bars. He was pacified by a frozen treat, but couldn't move his arm the next morning. You guessed it. Broken humerus. He is in a temporary cast from shoulder to fingertips and will see a pediatric orthopedist in 10 days unless there is a cancellation. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Last January my husband was just nodding and not listening and gave his agreement to purchase concert tickets to a show in Shipshewana, Indiana last weekend. We left on Saturday morning, arrived for lunch, visited several shops and didn't buy anything. Put an Amish dinner in the motel frig, went to the concert and ate dinner at 11 pm. Left after breakfast and were home before lunch time on Sunday. We sure do know how to celebrate an anniversary. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My best friend who beat breast cancer five years ago, is battling again. Our friend group took her to lunch today as she starts 12 weeks of once a week chemo tomorrow, then another 12 weeks with once every 3 weeks chemo and then surgery. I really don't think it is fair that she has to do this again and am pretty mad about it. And I admit it is helping me be less sad to be mad. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Our youngest grandchildren (the four year olds) are back in preschool and loving every minute of it. And we have 2 hours to ourselves in the morning now after feeding the elementary kids and putting them on the bus and then driving to preschool. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am not allowed to talk about details, but I was asked to serve on a "fake jury" like in the movie "Runaway Jury" and the tv show "Bull". It was a very interesting experience and they even paid me for it. Today they reached out about working with them further. I wish I could tell you all about it! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am calling them "side gigs", but now I have two checks waiting to be cashed, the fake jury and my poll worker stipends and I have decided to start a fund to renovate my dollhouse. By renovate, I mean travel to cute dollhouse stores and purchase materials and have my sweet husband serve as contractor. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My fall decorations are officially out of the closets and laying all over the guest room. I am hoping fairies arrive some evening and decorate the house while we are sleeping. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And that is it for Mid-September! </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-10330116799913415502023-08-27T21:11:00.004-04:002023-08-27T21:27:45.687-04:00My Dream Laundry Room<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">How do you know you are really old? When you have a dream laundry room! I dreamed up my new laundry room many, many years ago. It took many steps to get here. Remember I have lived in my house for 44 years and I have been planning changes since the day we moved in. Creating a laundry room started with my husband constructing our 500 sq ft addition which moved the living room and created a dining room. Then cutting my kitchen by one third (and my husband completely remodeling the kitchen) to create the space for the new laundry room.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Y-6Y2GTboyLt0Z5B4YFTMREDW2PbbLv8GBC49VIo8kNjk5hA57H4qutnbpdUbflYBUteegTu20PKRbIpswkEh6mavL4TktCfCKseYVZeDeYyCWa55kFM9odsFuuv7uaE01vGWChEF1MkW0AIVVIuucQo92GHL4rJoMxX0q6Xs9CER-UxguEIwNrlyinM/s1865/370122458_777081407498589_2137582979704083703_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1865" data-original-width="1208" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Y-6Y2GTboyLt0Z5B4YFTMREDW2PbbLv8GBC49VIo8kNjk5hA57H4qutnbpdUbflYBUteegTu20PKRbIpswkEh6mavL4TktCfCKseYVZeDeYyCWa55kFM9odsFuuv7uaE01vGWChEF1MkW0AIVVIuucQo92GHL4rJoMxX0q6Xs9CER-UxguEIwNrlyinM/w414-h640/370122458_777081407498589_2137582979704083703_n.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I created this idea board for the new laundry room about eleven years ago. We don't move quickly around here. My parents passed away and the empty, drywalled space worked well as a storage space for the many boxes I took way too long to go through. Then, you know, covid and I filled it with shelves and created a pandemic pantry/small grocery store. To finish the laundry room, I have had to move those shelves all over my house and it is hide and seek to find groceries and supplies.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As you will see, there were a lot of changes along the way. The appliances remained the same. But I soon realized there is no way a short person can reach a cupboard over a very deep front loading washing machine. I was also concerned that the tall cupboard would block the doorway and make the room feel smaller. My husband constructed shelves along the top of my enclosed porch for my blue canning jar collection and I needed more grocery space. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6bhdsUgBEsCjGDD5829g7E8QbJASoRE6Ch9ct_sd63n9czN8c54fttrZ7ItHtgqFs9yfCoLuiN-J1uEfCK8H8cZnMg81gF5I95Zft3nVEzapVrvMb_bhLPxvUChdRUQCe2s9-6kH0RUaMW5ASxFfihyMkiRD6YLoZIjSY_RPbgfjAcJLv3dhrlQ760f2/s4032/20230701_102653.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6bhdsUgBEsCjGDD5829g7E8QbJASoRE6Ch9ct_sd63n9czN8c54fttrZ7ItHtgqFs9yfCoLuiN-J1uEfCK8H8cZnMg81gF5I95Zft3nVEzapVrvMb_bhLPxvUChdRUQCe2s9-6kH0RUaMW5ASxFfihyMkiRD6YLoZIjSY_RPbgfjAcJLv3dhrlQ760f2/w480-h640/20230701_102653.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When I got home from Michigan, this was happening. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqAjRGH7Ysx2_xwWJDXNdQGF923uo74wZxn3McorC8DUwCStjpZ1wUHTlzhXKL15PosPYLPIzBwh3leyC24mz44vPKsGZMAl6bqY9TyPMW-GeATaojXjnEIAuZ9aowINicC2zmu-7KPapdqtJF4UbI-sVOctmF7bmNXbqK5f-ud2weDHJYxp0oiOHPCCL/s4032/20230816_145959.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqAjRGH7Ysx2_xwWJDXNdQGF923uo74wZxn3McorC8DUwCStjpZ1wUHTlzhXKL15PosPYLPIzBwh3leyC24mz44vPKsGZMAl6bqY9TyPMW-GeATaojXjnEIAuZ9aowINicC2zmu-7KPapdqtJF4UbI-sVOctmF7bmNXbqK5f-ud2weDHJYxp0oiOHPCCL/w480-h640/20230816_145959.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I was already trying out paint colors. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRThElC3oqvLSG26crfhozcXzWBk0cm8r6bVbEsZXBg-CSVpWll7vb68Xtf6FIpsIXnROidsLb94pNrFl4bDdAahSbn5rOq-i9l_CUA4qjUii2KwCh70FZPv3UXij331iLmh-rKtVZ-ygCd0VvmESeQ6hApqF0M-CWi0pP1SHxz0Ijcqcigt2-7ZTZKI8/s4032/20230823_103320.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRThElC3oqvLSG26crfhozcXzWBk0cm8r6bVbEsZXBg-CSVpWll7vb68Xtf6FIpsIXnROidsLb94pNrFl4bDdAahSbn5rOq-i9l_CUA4qjUii2KwCh70FZPv3UXij331iLmh-rKtVZ-ygCd0VvmESeQ6hApqF0M-CWi0pP1SHxz0Ijcqcigt2-7ZTZKI8/w480-h640/20230823_103320.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Grampa and assistant finished the soffit. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHxXsav_x4gow4dCJflwayFwxMlWuRqalsPBAJYAP4royZ9qQEbgybWzJECrT_NbpjkhjvmYAemJG8FxzW5t4JwilAxDiv7UsoqBS3JhrzHPBJzpVOotFtMvpiWNRm-AiD72aKph9IY8Oun4ubcnsXqN-ylxGaovoyD2j5_eIUfBZZPajzO3ZZw5lIiDTr/s2000/Resized_20230824_134735.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1126" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHxXsav_x4gow4dCJflwayFwxMlWuRqalsPBAJYAP4royZ9qQEbgybWzJECrT_NbpjkhjvmYAemJG8FxzW5t4JwilAxDiv7UsoqBS3JhrzHPBJzpVOotFtMvpiWNRm-AiD72aKph9IY8Oun4ubcnsXqN-ylxGaovoyD2j5_eIUfBZZPajzO3ZZw5lIiDTr/w360-h640/Resized_20230824_134735.jpeg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The painting assistant did a great job on the wall behind the appliances. I decided to do just one wall "cupcake pink" and my husband painted the other two wall and ceiling a bright white. </span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sjvYyF09Lb4KwhpEe3rijeBZM7XCbru_sxnuWdX_QIV8KBaXrFTUXZLR0AV9vC4wSQUwPy3FFGS_C3oI3uerPlvNBwL2aGktiPDCOczIGi4EA67HxkzHtqpnu5NooywPXTD580G9aqRfv_UPgFS_eTZiP7v5W2x3OK4cvzSjkse_ECocOpTOAcXoANN3/s4032/20230824_140657.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sjvYyF09Lb4KwhpEe3rijeBZM7XCbru_sxnuWdX_QIV8KBaXrFTUXZLR0AV9vC4wSQUwPy3FFGS_C3oI3uerPlvNBwL2aGktiPDCOczIGi4EA67HxkzHtqpnu5NooywPXTD580G9aqRfv_UPgFS_eTZiP7v5W2x3OK4cvzSjkse_ECocOpTOAcXoANN3/w480-h640/20230824_140657.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I think the arm on the right is putting his two cents in on how it is going to look. Since I am not privy to the contractor's time table, I was glad I was caught up on laundry when he disconnected the appliances and moved them. </span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-C2W1I7-9asqgeePQXfKC5o_OhDJo0_Z5JGnLZX04vnwvKUlWbyWOOLWozefnrN-XhEBBZ6TFYcTIzmQ6bxCafcUnCGD6mcADbOf0R9zfIR5gLLxHD4G0K416enfkFKJeBFo5XGO286f1kLhrVei7iDxO2aYONXiG2I41bXIIMZpgtxdmomuiRR-h2Pa/s4032/20230826_084720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-C2W1I7-9asqgeePQXfKC5o_OhDJo0_Z5JGnLZX04vnwvKUlWbyWOOLWozefnrN-XhEBBZ6TFYcTIzmQ6bxCafcUnCGD6mcADbOf0R9zfIR5gLLxHD4G0K416enfkFKJeBFo5XGO286f1kLhrVei7iDxO2aYONXiG2I41bXIIMZpgtxdmomuiRR-h2Pa/w480-h640/20230826_084720.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I went with open shelving so the room wouldn't seem so small. We measured shelf height by my elaborate drawings of what would go on what shelf and how high a short person can reach. I can reach the clothes baskets because they stick out far enough on the 20 inch shelf for me to grab. My roasters and other rarely used items will be on the top shelf. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRNEjMfzOf_sP6y0kSSczsHIDmftBjNB-rrCxi_0pL8wTiL27Xnc5ylX9zau_jtHrBq_eJsrOwIjTpH3vwljzH7PgBJrqvMFRk_QxcordEGmv2ZUki1-oq-tFRKwl_JsSx6KCP2e5gaOCB0z86RO6L8hlWdsn48DIOXqkXJlJCwpzup0R6GQXsKOO3tf6/s4032/20230826_111422.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRNEjMfzOf_sP6y0kSSczsHIDmftBjNB-rrCxi_0pL8wTiL27Xnc5ylX9zau_jtHrBq_eJsrOwIjTpH3vwljzH7PgBJrqvMFRk_QxcordEGmv2ZUki1-oq-tFRKwl_JsSx6KCP2e5gaOCB0z86RO6L8hlWdsn48DIOXqkXJlJCwpzup0R6GQXsKOO3tf6/w480-h640/20230826_111422.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's hard to believe from the short photographer perspective, but the top shelf on the right can hold rolls of paper towels. There is a hanging rack on the edge of the bottom shelf. </span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJIoAJQli-pibxaq9IySr5o60ZEUSZaqlNtJKrfby4UX_jE5HdirJ_udRjbMM4d9pAfetT_rxZAIpvqV9YUVmOyPBjZJ1r_9J-_Stzv6pQZAQ0D3whewcsPm3E2roYRFa_XA6DF5Ce4jAKPRHZdWUvQyedKnDNpWgj-_MqJAaq7msCoJr5SMwi4OiDcQh/s3448/20230826_145405.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3448" data-original-width="2164" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJIoAJQli-pibxaq9IySr5o60ZEUSZaqlNtJKrfby4UX_jE5HdirJ_udRjbMM4d9pAfetT_rxZAIpvqV9YUVmOyPBjZJ1r_9J-_Stzv6pQZAQ0D3whewcsPm3E2roYRFa_XA6DF5Ce4jAKPRHZdWUvQyedKnDNpWgj-_MqJAaq7msCoJr5SMwi4OiDcQh/w402-h640/20230826_145405.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Proving I can put paper towels on the top shelf on the right. It is a little high for me, but hubby is the one who replaces paper towel rolls so it works just fine. I also have cute baskets marked "beach towels" "sun screen" "bug spray" and room for other miscellaneous items. </span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBkXKkouktmmpwDj-9M7uukjybCYYiqNKWXAaXv-yP-ioGI12HBpqKfP-s9LiPMfzxg3OFaOPt3DapnAVoykQckeK9DpNymtFiuL33y8iMOGejaQLBxeCXae5K9mp1ULy25r9X6xEx10BVYt7AaEmTTeLlzwsx6BqFR8jCyK9gpHFMk9X7-afeM2r1YQS/s4032/20230826_144937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBkXKkouktmmpwDj-9M7uukjybCYYiqNKWXAaXv-yP-ioGI12HBpqKfP-s9LiPMfzxg3OFaOPt3DapnAVoykQckeK9DpNymtFiuL33y8iMOGejaQLBxeCXae5K9mp1ULy25r9X6xEx10BVYt7AaEmTTeLlzwsx6BqFR8jCyK9gpHFMk9X7-afeM2r1YQS/w480-h640/20230826_144937.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I think the color is closer here. It is more of a pink than an orange. I took lots of pictures like this as I will soon be cluttering it up with small appliances, grocery and paper items and all kinds of treasures of a kitchen nature that I have scattered all over my house. Oh, and laundry items, too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I thought we bought at least triple the brackets needed for supporting the shelves, but it turned out we used them all to make sure the shelves are supported since I tend to overload. We also placed extra of the vertical (things) that are screwed into every stud. </span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am absolutely over the moon. I have dreamed about this laundry room for a long time and it matches what was in my mind perfectly. I am so happy! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Next up is the total remodel of our ONE bathroom and changing the tub/shower to a walk in shower. We are also putting in a higher, old person commode, replacing the basin and cabinet and another project I am still working on. When we remodeled the bathroom in the 70's, we eyeballed a built in shelving unit with a built in cabinet and it is not standard size. We would like to purchase a standard size cabinet to replace it but I'm not sure that can happen. I'm still measuring, but the project can start without it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">THEN the former washer/dryer space is going to become our new half bath. Whew. </span></div></div>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-37094889695072000252023-08-13T21:57:00.002-04:002023-08-13T21:57:39.577-04:00Mimi Camp Finale 2023<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am finally getting to the final Mimi Camp post. This day was inspired by two new-to-me favorite reality shows of mine that I found on the Tubi tv app. It is called "Portrait Artist of the Year" and "Landscape Artist of the Year". I came up with the concept at the last minute, made one shopping trip before camp and - the kids enjoyed it as much or more than I did. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8MtV8KKGufeVMDRAiU-iw3SPkJ4B6ybZpxhTK9uGvrtG8saOpI-geEySkI9Vjj7fauueDTes52pjMADazhbtr7Pc7TLaVMtjvEmdvRyuHSy0hKWp6GH5YjdDbC4B6K_2kq-m9mcPS4bNatPxu8c9HyAvDLc8V4woSqvxxdtFBMYUNkfGbRtITuDxS20R/s2048/photo%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8MtV8KKGufeVMDRAiU-iw3SPkJ4B6ybZpxhTK9uGvrtG8saOpI-geEySkI9Vjj7fauueDTes52pjMADazhbtr7Pc7TLaVMtjvEmdvRyuHSy0hKWp6GH5YjdDbC4B6K_2kq-m9mcPS4bNatPxu8c9HyAvDLc8V4woSqvxxdtFBMYUNkfGbRtITuDxS20R/w640-h480/photo%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Grampa graciously agreed to be our model for Portrait Artist of the Year. Our easels were tv tray tables with Dollar Tree plate holders. Artists could chose flat canvas boards or stretched canvas in various sizes. Everyone had a plastic palette and could request acrylic paint colors. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BRiinNqf5vQy31H2Xics4o4ygeLBqh-Yaw6frlZL3BLqMVuf-owiXQ6FV6hjvsblYZG3xkkBPXZderpuYjZ1IIsksb-_lOLBce7Ngh7R13kMesbrkrliaAY8mZoz36ysUPbB5WaciCvk6Cuc0qomVCiUK6hTXVDgXXlYK2K412BJsG3QuJYu8tQnVta3/s2048/lyd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BRiinNqf5vQy31H2Xics4o4ygeLBqh-Yaw6frlZL3BLqMVuf-owiXQ6FV6hjvsblYZG3xkkBPXZderpuYjZ1IIsksb-_lOLBce7Ngh7R13kMesbrkrliaAY8mZoz36ysUPbB5WaciCvk6Cuc0qomVCiUK6hTXVDgXXlYK2K412BJsG3QuJYu8tQnVta3/w480-h640/lyd.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My youngest granddaughter in progress. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3jFsmlZgWFBohB8RcSYTY6ayBcfcoQZPPU_G_eV_6iKsPffb0v3_CiuGmRmRpIeln4zwM0NsyQn0fU3OZkYH1lrzZen0901rXdKvNGpin8fkt7gY925kZu-cST_fBhhEp5k94NInGiXeY9gQblzrEv9cZldPoJpO7-2WPPPvIctHer7KJU4YRgVFy0Tg/s2048/lyd%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1982" data-original-width="2048" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3jFsmlZgWFBohB8RcSYTY6ayBcfcoQZPPU_G_eV_6iKsPffb0v3_CiuGmRmRpIeln4zwM0NsyQn0fU3OZkYH1lrzZen0901rXdKvNGpin8fkt7gY925kZu-cST_fBhhEp5k94NInGiXeY9gQblzrEv9cZldPoJpO7-2WPPPvIctHer7KJU4YRgVFy0Tg/w640-h620/lyd%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Finished portrait "Grampa in a Red Chair"</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGxqmQNXUzUdNAU8uZVyZiWAk8xD3nX7cySLgPu0KfKJACdbztvs3vRQnl1Bj2qf-WSURUxzfO4zsUCrRatcfSPV_qXHBcXRDUc5kGkF6M65dcfRoIzrzWor1Oaq7q7BbOPUXkRfTlXfGEyevJ1YrPGa3MMSO7nRRF9BbV6drWl9MNNtL6WQ5zYhdAKPn/s2048/seb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGxqmQNXUzUdNAU8uZVyZiWAk8xD3nX7cySLgPu0KfKJACdbztvs3vRQnl1Bj2qf-WSURUxzfO4zsUCrRatcfSPV_qXHBcXRDUc5kGkF6M65dcfRoIzrzWor1Oaq7q7BbOPUXkRfTlXfGEyevJ1YrPGa3MMSO7nRRF9BbV6drWl9MNNtL6WQ5zYhdAKPn/w480-h640/seb.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Sebastian aged 8. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkTzSjcPhBdFpaaEXANwMw3rugOcV2tt1qCSx8c5CQxvxaEMXige5teNVg0lJ7GIa1rlBkY5rCefztvekWqE7tfpnuE149G5piWleSGnoTiDJNoB54FENzhdcVb26t0-BrMTqqc7cpTwHD97TuXNR3wR8NX7YbERfBwadsK9FV0uoRF25ekqZsWSvp1_C/s2048/leo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1546" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkTzSjcPhBdFpaaEXANwMw3rugOcV2tt1qCSx8c5CQxvxaEMXige5teNVg0lJ7GIa1rlBkY5rCefztvekWqE7tfpnuE149G5piWleSGnoTiDJNoB54FENzhdcVb26t0-BrMTqqc7cpTwHD97TuXNR3wR8NX7YbERfBwadsK9FV0uoRF25ekqZsWSvp1_C/w484-h640/leo.jpg" width="484" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Leo aged 4</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfxwxA3r6b1B03V_QhNKGnfxZPAjz7PMgwwpHy7W0hAJp6ldl_kEPpxwJl5oCm8-4F0rRE0MpdEhLsPltpv-tysHzzkVCP1PNocti5qj_ziVKDGyTYI8hwnS7-rXjKFceXpl66I3bRlgX9F4BDM8tu2TCNfhaaG7xN2HUSIfkXH32PjuYjpe117BA8zfZp/s2048/drew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfxwxA3r6b1B03V_QhNKGnfxZPAjz7PMgwwpHy7W0hAJp6ldl_kEPpxwJl5oCm8-4F0rRE0MpdEhLsPltpv-tysHzzkVCP1PNocti5qj_ziVKDGyTYI8hwnS7-rXjKFceXpl66I3bRlgX9F4BDM8tu2TCNfhaaG7xN2HUSIfkXH32PjuYjpe117BA8zfZp/w516-h640/drew.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Drew aged 10</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqcyf5lZsvovjNs5xgrodNLgAv95TApPEord8GohHuIJmQ_llm2OYGeCEY8XTA112AFXG-ZLlo-_HAWGkuPTyCcuvilSUOm_RQOFdF8QRzyuctUiOXOz5HmgvkEm4yCcmmLyMvWAPOcQsebYc1k2oeH9DXBh_hlR9DB01oFba9a4-CeR7SrUZPQ9fi5jq/s2048/oliver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqcyf5lZsvovjNs5xgrodNLgAv95TApPEord8GohHuIJmQ_llm2OYGeCEY8XTA112AFXG-ZLlo-_HAWGkuPTyCcuvilSUOm_RQOFdF8QRzyuctUiOXOz5HmgvkEm4yCcmmLyMvWAPOcQsebYc1k2oeH9DXBh_hlR9DB01oFba9a4-CeR7SrUZPQ9fi5jq/w640-h480/oliver.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Oliver in progress</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzhQ0bmPTmdL-dDFCaAy_kknfSm-bKjW6VnTqV26TDS55usZJcpephiO8ba3BWwPPeA9krmSTzcb8gMcnYUaYRIEniibMUbXMEi7YrkVNo01xxxcH5PHxGmNIeWFgjuNNIxST7l0oFklSPtXm-F571MejGwG9jN2Rr42W2fyLrTYVwpvD_GA1sI4ejBOA/s2048/355500366_10219722373404398_3084206728452083076_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzhQ0bmPTmdL-dDFCaAy_kknfSm-bKjW6VnTqV26TDS55usZJcpephiO8ba3BWwPPeA9krmSTzcb8gMcnYUaYRIEniibMUbXMEi7YrkVNo01xxxcH5PHxGmNIeWFgjuNNIxST7l0oFklSPtXm-F571MejGwG9jN2Rr42W2fyLrTYVwpvD_GA1sI4ejBOA/w480-h640/355500366_10219722373404398_3084206728452083076_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Oliver ended with a scenic background</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0EJtgStkU0U8nq6qFXRb4DLHI4IE6dFdbXPb2_-oZg4YgNKhqeow0VeqXPSrnlU25bHxmp2gCICbdnhQAX-k7smRGmW3acF6--nWiuL7hT5WjHq-feb18VOK0aKd_Im4mnal6MtDy4ltRhX7VCRt7HTEMuLSrY0KFTyKIZb7ZJX-h-dF69KHe0ow0ZuE/s2048/lou%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0EJtgStkU0U8nq6qFXRb4DLHI4IE6dFdbXPb2_-oZg4YgNKhqeow0VeqXPSrnlU25bHxmp2gCICbdnhQAX-k7smRGmW3acF6--nWiuL7hT5WjHq-feb18VOK0aKd_Im4mnal6MtDy4ltRhX7VCRt7HTEMuLSrY0KFTyKIZb7ZJX-h-dF69KHe0ow0ZuE/w480-h640/lou%201.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Louis, aged four, paid great attention to detail. You can see the red chair, blue shirt and jeans and the fact that grampa was wearing white socks. He later painted over them with brown for grampa's boots. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZYtj4Hm_Q4pO8SbDl8-Al6ylAaqeARc_wasDgpxB9x7z7HfN1dhOSZgI9_IupDFXMXzc4QvJWCaR68d1RosMqh4CWoYnGf9BcBtG92xh01HISBKQ8BDCIZY93kjiFjXc9qzipoz7ix0Qi7hRO93Ml9_D0YhPuHgI9XfLP9JJLEK9ruJBsvpS6uAMmVam/s2048/claire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1693" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZYtj4Hm_Q4pO8SbDl8-Al6ylAaqeARc_wasDgpxB9x7z7HfN1dhOSZgI9_IupDFXMXzc4QvJWCaR68d1RosMqh4CWoYnGf9BcBtG92xh01HISBKQ8BDCIZY93kjiFjXc9qzipoz7ix0Qi7hRO93Ml9_D0YhPuHgI9XfLP9JJLEK9ruJBsvpS6uAMmVam/w530-h640/claire.jpg" width="530" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My oldest granddaughter truly is the Portrait Artist of the Year. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxqr4Y-IvJuzN0YtkNFwpHpbkB4dnqflNL6X0oebK5ugS5zH3rlqQKuU0EbgHeL89vUHeBh9_zJi30QPgJuWoCojdJsfSGoF7DzXdSLB-IiI7NjLRD1du2dBgOjRNofXKFa37j2ISFLL58TyfcW1ElWPhXXGTAIN2kvfjp3ba2RWhVjqwD62a2fn9Ore1/s2048/bryce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxqr4Y-IvJuzN0YtkNFwpHpbkB4dnqflNL6X0oebK5ugS5zH3rlqQKuU0EbgHeL89vUHeBh9_zJi30QPgJuWoCojdJsfSGoF7DzXdSLB-IiI7NjLRD1du2dBgOjRNofXKFa37j2ISFLL58TyfcW1ElWPhXXGTAIN2kvfjp3ba2RWhVjqwD62a2fn9Ore1/w640-h640/bryce.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And my other eight year old veered into Michael Jordan. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We had a special lunch and then headed out to a local park for "Landscape Artist of the Year". </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrXJdfDlxpFwSOJaZRPJ_EpB0F7ZLCEy-cRCjJXeyCp5W70THV275jU-cA7nEUDDbZvca53tnWw0Vm9NYMu3bVv_k8n3JartpxOE3NtePesFwfkuLNEnJJkW_5g6fiMFY_sueNzYnRPSa22AlM4qRGgo6SxRXeyaX8K9iFN91izR75Wk7sW8dxlOKGJuo/s2048/355312169_10219722438366022_1141528338556027334_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrXJdfDlxpFwSOJaZRPJ_EpB0F7ZLCEy-cRCjJXeyCp5W70THV275jU-cA7nEUDDbZvca53tnWw0Vm9NYMu3bVv_k8n3JartpxOE3NtePesFwfkuLNEnJJkW_5g6fiMFY_sueNzYnRPSa22AlM4qRGgo6SxRXeyaX8K9iFN91izR75Wk7sW8dxlOKGJuo/w640-h480/355312169_10219722438366022_1141528338556027334_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPKkvOl77iJ3OeoW5yZCCGwF3TQxCarXbymWJIKQNByv8_lpFnzMyWd4L2tLl_BW6Tud6M5He_Q0Mt7PuW7Esuf3cBw-SP0SjoWxFo9gdR8IkgnT-7Gew2_18aFQFGfKH6BEXmoekBn3wAPPPnIBXoXGFkpEQgXqTjfg5q55garnllC7gHu7K9IwdbOmZ/s2048/car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPKkvOl77iJ3OeoW5yZCCGwF3TQxCarXbymWJIKQNByv8_lpFnzMyWd4L2tLl_BW6Tud6M5He_Q0Mt7PuW7Esuf3cBw-SP0SjoWxFo9gdR8IkgnT-7Gew2_18aFQFGfKH6BEXmoekBn3wAPPPnIBXoXGFkpEQgXqTjfg5q55garnllC7gHu7K9IwdbOmZ/w640-h480/car.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The littles were over art competition which is why I selected a park with a playground. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0R_zab4CwAhgSSD8S8J_xDELEhgxhzXC8sujzgsqDPwpjAKTSjiJc2wuYizWYILawpSk1AZT_amUetvYPr-Kp7RsQfuShN1Gad7DgsE45Lf8EweemSj7rWJHslzb-kSBfOuJ98WwfbxLujVvmh_rnRBZ6WywRCSLGyIXxrMkYBpPEywJOB41Jk5HxBCkh/s2048/355503384_10219722437205993_8977087937638526600_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0R_zab4CwAhgSSD8S8J_xDELEhgxhzXC8sujzgsqDPwpjAKTSjiJc2wuYizWYILawpSk1AZT_amUetvYPr-Kp7RsQfuShN1Gad7DgsE45Lf8EweemSj7rWJHslzb-kSBfOuJ98WwfbxLujVvmh_rnRBZ6WywRCSLGyIXxrMkYBpPEywJOB41Jk5HxBCkh/w480-h640/355503384_10219722437205993_8977087937638526600_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3AvAlvnnf1iCv0K1oYSRxAAMfnWVD1B47DyRYZyWaz8rdcbsuqcxO24Q_e3dr5j6qO8zzA0zI5JfIKsB9XvfA5BoYGcId4MlAoBpiozOcdKAAtqXzG4jdhawz9Kxb8SVnSO2p0clfzi1RZqomj_FRWXl2B1dadZJ42xQFyvchgmH5PVMlDKF6CosVWgX/s2048/355491306_10219722428325771_5613603068531332131_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3AvAlvnnf1iCv0K1oYSRxAAMfnWVD1B47DyRYZyWaz8rdcbsuqcxO24Q_e3dr5j6qO8zzA0zI5JfIKsB9XvfA5BoYGcId4MlAoBpiozOcdKAAtqXzG4jdhawz9Kxb8SVnSO2p0clfzi1RZqomj_FRWXl2B1dadZJ42xQFyvchgmH5PVMlDKF6CosVWgX/w640-h480/355491306_10219722428325771_5613603068531332131_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My bigs were on top of the hill overlooking the lake. I will share their art work with no commentary, except to explain what looked like a dinosaur to me. It is the water tower. There is also a boat with fishermen in one picture. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYn-JNFTsCciQub_sBtyGi8ciUVUweVxpTcdk4Wz2SPIghvqiygJSIuexWzrcoK5F6GiwL2ffNYot6e49wqk1Hm-xc78LvPOXGdxiIVtqjY6wsu3y0-P77sUvypl3FCql1SaJCD76Wog7UBZaOBVcDFa7Qx1t755_bdF3WG4-hBHDzg-KL1WxBu9Ii_0R_/s2048/355321632_10219722429965812_2053083566968461253_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYn-JNFTsCciQub_sBtyGi8ciUVUweVxpTcdk4Wz2SPIghvqiygJSIuexWzrcoK5F6GiwL2ffNYot6e49wqk1Hm-xc78LvPOXGdxiIVtqjY6wsu3y0-P77sUvypl3FCql1SaJCD76Wog7UBZaOBVcDFa7Qx1t755_bdF3WG4-hBHDzg-KL1WxBu9Ii_0R_/w480-h640/355321632_10219722429965812_2053083566968461253_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vA_zpu4UvMFGVCPijmpF7UFn7HZ57bvjWZsDSqkJVSN5HMiKv5fzKShdFsnA5iGPW3g8EVBBxK4ovfYlpF4fpTNQ63YcOf4NHif6D0ZGuicNWNh2aW4gnPqJmMmc6wF1KrB2psEwF_OdiQ2CmsmlVl21gKzRRWv7oFvtjJNTSh2xraIQTVAtmj_Ettxd/s2048/355472291_10219722437686005_4643506895216708330_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="2048" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vA_zpu4UvMFGVCPijmpF7UFn7HZ57bvjWZsDSqkJVSN5HMiKv5fzKShdFsnA5iGPW3g8EVBBxK4ovfYlpF4fpTNQ63YcOf4NHif6D0ZGuicNWNh2aW4gnPqJmMmc6wF1KrB2psEwF_OdiQ2CmsmlVl21gKzRRWv7oFvtjJNTSh2xraIQTVAtmj_Ettxd/w640-h316/355472291_10219722437686005_4643506895216708330_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH97bXWcqn8g40yul2CMsFTOdJTX99mKZV_xtyT6UzhMinTn-UxA3ZpMrfwmOamRXUUwEm41wqWomQkTRqbp0x9aF2ASkKEKVFowiRnppbevlL8VwrmF7_1OTOFrWsGFd-BEkxWo9v0zdmbMkpd9jwovrF9WdBz_T8jAXbZSdVCZgg6vPdh0V_VDzaYYMZ/s2048/355483206_10219722437486000_6717923614425510509_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="2048" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH97bXWcqn8g40yul2CMsFTOdJTX99mKZV_xtyT6UzhMinTn-UxA3ZpMrfwmOamRXUUwEm41wqWomQkTRqbp0x9aF2ASkKEKVFowiRnppbevlL8VwrmF7_1OTOFrWsGFd-BEkxWo9v0zdmbMkpd9jwovrF9WdBz_T8jAXbZSdVCZgg6vPdh0V_VDzaYYMZ/w640-h444/355483206_10219722437486000_6717923614425510509_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogbsFAG8CmWTyXHIQEqhsx0SA7Gk2GXWmLJNKltUemAKZk8Gfp-trfYpnjGjEPe2aud3wNJHs1Ixw6IT3YcithpC_JieLTFyQFw4ncZhuwacozLh2X6RsVspNejsd2mAVgW9r4kbhKSQ26KTDbW_TYEJtsiVQaoHBmCSJeOdXSfsVfhJwH1xe98mzzB0j/s2048/355492397_10219722436565977_5194051439213023440_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogbsFAG8CmWTyXHIQEqhsx0SA7Gk2GXWmLJNKltUemAKZk8Gfp-trfYpnjGjEPe2aud3wNJHs1Ixw6IT3YcithpC_JieLTFyQFw4ncZhuwacozLh2X6RsVspNejsd2mAVgW9r4kbhKSQ26KTDbW_TYEJtsiVQaoHBmCSJeOdXSfsVfhJwH1xe98mzzB0j/w480-h640/355492397_10219722436565977_5194051439213023440_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3FeFl6gKy0AIrIhN3NhxINwdB9wyHXfyGU0ogdckGvpeUyLBc0ZzbaQtNXSH4E7EuD3Y_XV9Sko3znRALZh1bpP5iKo9cUTiFD2ASWeOZZX3QdYPl46HRlczmhttxlFSGlSW-0ZhUvZlWX2JgbCW4SyqF2AIoD9q52f7C8Luab7Dhe6GO9zLEmAIm5nV/s2048/355663398_10219722438046014_3235204187771330799_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="2048" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3FeFl6gKy0AIrIhN3NhxINwdB9wyHXfyGU0ogdckGvpeUyLBc0ZzbaQtNXSH4E7EuD3Y_XV9Sko3znRALZh1bpP5iKo9cUTiFD2ASWeOZZX3QdYPl46HRlczmhttxlFSGlSW-0ZhUvZlWX2JgbCW4SyqF2AIoD9q52f7C8Luab7Dhe6GO9zLEmAIm5nV/w640-h336/355663398_10219722438046014_3235204187771330799_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWzXQHaHunGLXncOEqlGey6BF3b4iqfeDywizbSKZx5GFyBTp5tVnV03BUFdfHSbQlKRTWzI1ZEzC6tidifF6cCeZ5cTQzmPMVl4ntp2PIvSYz3ZVL6EKO9ySnv-4TSgoi6JWNHMXndEQUnvfNd7HTEJh05WrpmbCB0RUTVTfaL26lCCN8a8XkZXvfs8v/s2048/355707179_10219722438126016_5827755240297607137_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="2048" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWzXQHaHunGLXncOEqlGey6BF3b4iqfeDywizbSKZx5GFyBTp5tVnV03BUFdfHSbQlKRTWzI1ZEzC6tidifF6cCeZ5cTQzmPMVl4ntp2PIvSYz3ZVL6EKO9ySnv-4TSgoi6JWNHMXndEQUnvfNd7HTEJh05WrpmbCB0RUTVTfaL26lCCN8a8XkZXvfs8v/w640-h336/355707179_10219722438126016_5827755240297607137_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My middles were down by the playground. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7Q8-ZCnuAgYY8Sfymd-lz0xvth9xenl7w8v_sjz41RaEOaVHpnGq5H__29UjiBayMKjhlKHbs-W6AGTw3EKdEHSDc_oXGLmowDWGcFbAHeODFNSWjj9hYSpqaMb7Bzl-uCervUySwuJniTYUUCeU5VEvD977uYStETQrwrnkvAdiXMiE0j5Km_WVX68C/s2048/355657058_10219722436725981_3146990228557450045_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7Q8-ZCnuAgYY8Sfymd-lz0xvth9xenl7w8v_sjz41RaEOaVHpnGq5H__29UjiBayMKjhlKHbs-W6AGTw3EKdEHSDc_oXGLmowDWGcFbAHeODFNSWjj9hYSpqaMb7Bzl-uCervUySwuJniTYUUCeU5VEvD977uYStETQrwrnkvAdiXMiE0j5Km_WVX68C/w480-h640/355657058_10219722436725981_3146990228557450045_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHLTHenKceeEKNgya6G6vNvuIe0VPFvvEvUqT1bAEhE7dzXPNqyRt7lFeK0yG_MgGAx_sP_q7d37IAeuAgB1UoCJHpi-XFVQT3ZgnxJEzBQ6o-eJ5Up1COYlIQ76WeBMAEaSeTxL1j6E6jY-fmvHoAjzuBuo2p7L-kwycEZ4R6OW5zIGsSnr_MgEH1Ibe/s2048/355470054_10219722437285995_7255510318551443100_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="2048" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHLTHenKceeEKNgya6G6vNvuIe0VPFvvEvUqT1bAEhE7dzXPNqyRt7lFeK0yG_MgGAx_sP_q7d37IAeuAgB1UoCJHpi-XFVQT3ZgnxJEzBQ6o-eJ5Up1COYlIQ76WeBMAEaSeTxL1j6E6jY-fmvHoAjzuBuo2p7L-kwycEZ4R6OW5zIGsSnr_MgEH1Ibe/w640-h336/355470054_10219722437285995_7255510318551443100_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW0kxXj-SvhntGmnZ0viWoaAfBTmbaLnZiVjE6nRWkWKFh40wQh8ewtBwo-73bGFAoWHF9FPObyzRefNY6smOiKMwe0vhfcTGOhhkv7ZgNjaP6UwgQUbqp4Zkhr2t_Bsqd9Wen2do7Kc1hYh9yWUmpXmQcSDGE4kBGcx-R0RnvEUd228GChP6WUZLGHKw/s2048/355651561_10219722436885985_5655086311376471145_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW0kxXj-SvhntGmnZ0viWoaAfBTmbaLnZiVjE6nRWkWKFh40wQh8ewtBwo-73bGFAoWHF9FPObyzRefNY6smOiKMwe0vhfcTGOhhkv7ZgNjaP6UwgQUbqp4Zkhr2t_Bsqd9Wen2do7Kc1hYh9yWUmpXmQcSDGE4kBGcx-R0RnvEUd228GChP6WUZLGHKw/w480-h640/355651561_10219722436885985_5655086311376471145_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPNKOYb-p4JalACr13QHbeT7vT3fXtjvylBQs-UiiorEVfjJSXPMpWdR3Z0V97WKFY791MCepOx3VcmlJuTAN0p_Ga-vQcR_U6K9hLcwk_mpSp7LHqGpCnTpDd9aPRJUf3MF1H-JYU6ITklgKivWQIJXy8FUvqGbTCiwB032-vD_Ap2lebaDV1C3K4yse/s2048/355615537_10219722437806008_563202206366951918_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="2048" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPNKOYb-p4JalACr13QHbeT7vT3fXtjvylBQs-UiiorEVfjJSXPMpWdR3Z0V97WKFY791MCepOx3VcmlJuTAN0p_Ga-vQcR_U6K9hLcwk_mpSp7LHqGpCnTpDd9aPRJUf3MF1H-JYU6ITklgKivWQIJXy8FUvqGbTCiwB032-vD_Ap2lebaDV1C3K4yse/w640-h346/355615537_10219722437806008_563202206366951918_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The painting above includes the colorful playground equipment. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This is one of my most favorite Mimi Camp activities ever. All of the children enjoyed it as much as I did. I have taken down all the art work in my house and replaced it with these precious artworks. And some of the kids have requested another painting day in the future. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Despite covering my carpet with plastic tablecloths, a few palettes were flipped and the paint splattered in gaps of the tablecloths. And stained the carpet in one large blotch and two smaller ones. And it doesn't bother me at all. Every time I walk in the room (because they are in the middle of the carpet and I can't cover them) I smile. </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-53851521467338542792023-07-14T10:46:00.006-04:002023-07-14T16:19:13.489-04:00Medicare. Bah Humbug. <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I swear I am going to share the photos from the last day of Gramma Camp. But I am postponing the post yet again. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We have been getting some rain - the good kind. A nice gentle rain with no tornados or flooding or hail or winds that take the trees down. And it has been very pleasant! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My friend has gone to heaven to join her husband. I attended the memorial with her large group of friends and we spent a lot of time reminiscing and sharing fellowship with her family. She was in my dreams the night before, looking as healthy as she was a year or so ago, talking to me while I cleaned out my purse. I am sure there was a lot of "dream meaning" there, but I am happy to ignore it and just think of her. She faced so much adversity her whole life and what we all remember most was her positive attitude and sweet laugh. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am leaving in two days to spend a week at a beach rental two states away that my daughter has arranged. I have not yet started packing, but did refill my "vacation" pill box this morning. And now I am frustrated, again. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My husband was able to retire at age 60. The master plan was that we would have all our debts paid, including the house and that I would continue working until age 65 for the health insurance. We were successful with the bills, not so much with my job. My mother was diagnosed with ALS when I was in my early 50's (and passed a few years later) and my dad was suffering from congestive heart failure and leukemia when he suffered a massive stroke. We were blessed that I could leave the workforce and become a caregiver. And a grandchild care provider when we gained 7 more grandchildren in the 5 years following his death. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Since I am a few months older than my husband (call me cradle robber), I was able to claim a spousal pension that covered the payment for a self-pay health insurance policy with great prescription coverage with a reasonable co-pay and major medical (they paid almost $40,000 for my arm) and we were able to afford office visits, labs etc not on the policy. But I was looking forward to Medicare. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I spent way to much time making spreadsheets, requesting information from Medicare, supplemental providers, speaking with "experts", etc before making our choices. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We have Part A which pays who knows what. We pay for part B which pays for other things. We have a supplemental Part F, only available to a select group that my husband belongs in. I had no idea that you have to reselect a Part D Plan every year until I spent all these energy on a Plan D that started in September when I turned 65 and got a letter that November that raised their rates and deductibles by over 100% for the next year. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">For those new to Part D, which is the prescription coverage, every city (zip code), county and state figure into your rates so that even talking to a neighbor in a nearby town, our costs for the same policy are different. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">An Advantage plan does not work for a variety of reasons in our circumstance, so I do need to select a Part D. First let me tell you about previous prescription coverage. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My husband had the same job for almost 40 years. Our insurance coverage varied. When we had five young children, we had high co-pays with no vision or dental coverage, which is why I went back to work at an employer that did offer that coverage for five children with teeth and glasses. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">As soon as we ran out of children (they all graduated) his plan began to offer dental and vision as well as lower deductibles</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and more coverage. Which benefited middle aged people with eyes and teeth, too. It did carry an affordable prescription plan. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The gap insurance we purchased had the same prescription policy that we had previously. The policy had an online option where they kept track of everything for me, sent me emails when it was time to renew to approve shipments and even contacted the doctor for me if I ran out of refills. The cost was unbelievable - $3 for generic, up to $10-$14 for the name brands for a 90 day supply. They arrived with free shipping in my mailbox.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Then we went on Medicare Plan D. I make a spreadsheet when they release prices for the coming year. I take into account deductibles, what tier the prescriptions are in so I can see if there is an alternative, my co-pays, etc. And the monthly bill for the privilege of having insurance. The cost for online prescriptions in my zip code are way over budget. The first two years, I did not meet the deductibles for co-pays until December. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am still paying so much more than I did when we were under my husband's employer's plan. One of my prescriptions has a $100 copay which I know is miniscule compared to others, but is so much more than it used to cost. Another copay is $70. My blood pressure medicine is only $2. I am grateful we can afford to pay these copays. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My designated drug store has a service where you can pick up all your prescriptions at the same time in the same trip. I joined so that they could keep track of refills. I just picked up my prescriptions and not all were refilled. One is a 90 day supply instead of whatever the others are so it can't be on the plan. So now I need to keep track of that one. Another was just written and is something I will be on forever. And there are no refills on the original prescription. And it's me that has to leave messages in my doctor's automated system - so you can imagine how that is going. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">If you are still here, I appreciate you reading through my rant. I can see how the elderly (I'm still in my late 60's so let's say elderly is 90) get confused and don't take their necessary prescriptions, can't afford to get their prescriptions, take the wrong prescriptions and give up on prescriptions. It is a confusing mess. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My neighbor did join an advantage plan that includes vision insurance. She needed an emergency vision procedure and her plan required appeals and more information from her eye doctor. She had to sit with her head still, in the dark, for several days until it was approved. Her doctor shared that it is automatically approved on Medicare. This mishmash of requirements is not fair to anyone trying to make an educated choice, either. She was very satisfied with her plan until this happened. I think that is where we all are. Health insurance is great until you have to use it. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Lucky for you all I am leaving for a week of R & R! And I am planning to come back in a much better mood, LOL. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">*Update: the prescription has been filled. And I only owe an additional $45 as a copay. . . . </span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4883106892491921714.post-35170317879854079042023-07-09T12:09:00.003-04:002023-07-09T12:09:20.984-04:00Pies<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhIHjjlFFvz0fkkaK5Fg9XsYe47qjPqFR07WC-DTlIyzEnUxR7NEb4cBavXfkFTKxSP0yNNB9wjqqhZM_acfm1ES8DgSMRs-7gsZSJFp1CSddTEhf9DcpJwk_aO3hCim4mLu9H1GvSM_HJ_-mZtPkLRwSweghjrxd-CZ-zev6DNY3EFYa_2jJJzY69_as/s2048/2023%20pies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="2048" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhIHjjlFFvz0fkkaK5Fg9XsYe47qjPqFR07WC-DTlIyzEnUxR7NEb4cBavXfkFTKxSP0yNNB9wjqqhZM_acfm1ES8DgSMRs-7gsZSJFp1CSddTEhf9DcpJwk_aO3hCim4mLu9H1GvSM_HJ_-mZtPkLRwSweghjrxd-CZ-zev6DNY3EFYa_2jJJzY69_as/w640-h421/2023%20pies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4 pumpkin </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4 cherry</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3 apple</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2 blueberry</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">48 cupcakes</span></p>Miss Merryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691152819794851137noreply@blogger.com11