Three Days of Christmas...Part 2...Post Views...21,683

 Christmas afternoon the sun broke through for awhile....a great time for a walk around Deb's neighborhood.  

   Holly trees decorating the roadway....

 Monkey tail tree......





   

Christmas Treasures.....

                                                                         Louisa, Olivia, Emilia

Baby Berklee











                                        Angie and JJ (Jake)

                                                                 
                                                   Jude and Gemma....
                                                   Allie and Sophia....



Cory, rock climbing near Anchorage, Alaska  where he is attending college...

Are they related??  Waiting for Star Wars movie

Gerry and Jude




     


   

                Ryan, Angie, Austin

Santa Chuck (2nd to left) with 
Santa Rampage Bike ride in 
Milwaukee, WI 

Full moon over San Diego Beach Christmas morning....

(Gerry Schmidt photo)

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  After a dinner of ham and watching part of a movie I returned home to sit in front of the TV.  The movie Coat of Many Colors was airing.  It portrayed a time in Dolly Parton's early life about a patchwork coat her mom made for her.  Excellent movie to see.
     I stayed up until midnight in order to call Louie.  He told me a few weeks back that he is awake most of the night and sleeps most of the day.  Sure enough, though it was 2 AM in Park Falls, he was wide awake when I called.   We chatted awhile and wished him a Merry Christmas.  (He doesn't do much these days other than watch TV and sleep.  He doesn't get out of bed and is fed by a feeding tube.  He is content.)
     Going to bed at 12:30 I suddenly felt sick and spent a restless night.  Wasn't sure if I could keep my invitation to have family over for dinner that evening.  Come morning I swallowed some Tylanol, said a strong prayer and got on with the day.   

 Herbed New York roast....precooking....

Yum with mushrooms, fried onions, mashed potatoes and gravy....

And family.....

Frank and Carole.....

                      Zach and Jake






How do you like my halo?

Keys and Deb...





I ended up a bit sick on             Sunday....stayed home, rested and napped 3 hours while rain fell.  

 Gram G's bodacious Christmas soup.....

What does one do with 2 roast bones with chunks of meat, left over au jus  sauce and a bowl of fried onions?

One makes a pot of soup using them, a few carrots, potatoes, peas and barley.....
Oh wait, one doesn't have any barley.  How about red quinoa?    The soup is quite tasty.....

      Monday was a get back to routine day by doing laundry and watching two Lord of the Rings movies while catching up on blogging.   

       Today, Tuesday, started with water aerobics, cleaning off pink mildew stuff from my shower unit...(lots of moisture out here), more laundry, and watching the 3rd Lord of the Rings movie while blogging.  
       I have an annoying habit of buying 3 small slightly green bananas at the beginning of the week.  Bananas are suppose to be good for you, but I am not totally fond of them.  By mid week they are ready for eating.  By Friday they are over-ready.  By Saturday they end up in the freezer.  Come Monday the pattern starts all over again.  
      There is an up side..

banana bread on occasion.....

after 9 or more black bananas collect in the freezer.....



This banana bread is for a special event... 
check back in a few days and find out what!!



The sun is forecast for southern Washington for the next 5 days....
Time for winter break.....Oh, yah!!

This has been a good 2 "days of Christmas part 2" in the life of Grandma G.

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God."  (Psalms 100: 1-3)

Three Days of Christmas..Part 1.....Post Views...21,636

Christmas Eve day was time to do a little baking.... 

I made the best ever apple pie.  I know I did because the recipe said so.  The bottom crust dough was bought, but the rest was homemade. 

I had gone to the grocery the day before.  I felt a bit foolish because even after 60 years of baking I had to ask what is the best pie apple.  The produce attendant said, granny smiths.  I haven't baked with them and I consider them sour.  Eventually I decided on 5 granny smiths and 5 gala.  Top that with a crumble topping mixed with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Nutmeg makes everything yummy....Yep, the best ever apple pie.  Debbie said so.

This was also time to get out an old trusted friend... Homes and Gardens New Cookbook , been with me 50 years.....a wedding present, I think.  Found my favorite powered sugar tea cake recipe.  

        And mixed up some peanut butter kiss cookies....yum!!

(When the kids were still young I remember we would bake cookies for days...especially the cut out and frost ones.  No call for that these days. Was fun.)

4 0'clock here was time to call Indianapolis which was 7 PM there. Gotta let them pass me around by phone to wish a number of my family a Merry Christmas.  

Christmas Eve tradition....
tacos and presents at Carole's (Keys' mom) and Frank's 

I've always wanted to be the center of attention.....

(Frank)

The Christmas Eve Gang......

Gram G tradition.....sleep-over at the Millers.....

This year help Jake decorate the tree while Micki wraps gifts.....

Merry Christmas morning....

Angie, Debbie, Gram G, Micki, Bentley

Mom G present from Debbie and daughter, Angie.
For Christmas and 70th B-day

Paid for trip to Cancun....Woo!




Angie's Fiesta starters    

 Embarrassing....I'm not girl

 Packer Backer....

Presents for Keys and Deb.....






Double perfect presents from Angie Miller and JJ......

Aye, Maties, is this what I think it is?

 Do you know how many years I've waited to be.......

......Accepted into Star Fleet Academy???

Look what else we have for you.....

a selfie stick....

double perfect presents.....

  This has been a good 2 Christmas days in the life of Grandma G.

"The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteous to the nations.  He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." (Psalm 98:2 & 3)

Deck the Deck!!.....Post Views....21,575

  

     On Friday, the 18th, we enjoyed a break from all the rain.  We even saw blue sky.....
a great day to "deck the deck".  
      A few weeks back the painters managed to get one coat of paint on before the rainy season moved in.  (It will need another coat when the sunny season returns.) With the deck looking so nice I decided to fashion a winter outdoor living space.  I had found some attractive blue/white snowflake lights that can stay up till springtime.  It doesn't look like much work, but it took time to figure out the spacing and the re-spacing.....

There were old plants that had to be lugged away somewhere   .....and a dried out tree that will sit in the back corner until spring fix up.  

At one point two low flying flocks of squaking geese flew over. Something had startled them as they winter in the wetlands adjacent to the park. Folks say coyotes do that.    

Yep,  I have holly berries in the Hobbit garden....

Night view of decked deck.....

A Whole Lot of Decking Going on....

What is the Christmas season without cards to 19 grandkids and several cards to adult children and friends?  And a gift poinsettia from my church?

A PACIFIC NORTHWEST CHRISTMAS

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Monday we were blessed with a few hours of "sun break"... a great time for a 2 miles walk around the park to view some winter flowers and green grass.

      For the most part here in the Pacific Northwest we are in the throes of rain forest rain.....

     This is my 4th winter living here. And the most rain I have experienced so far.  The temperature is mild...high 40s.  Where I live I am alright.  The drainage is good, though Hobbit Village is in degrees of flooding.  It just sort of feels like living under a shower or waterfall.   

     There are areas suffering real floods, landslides, sink holes, dangerous driving conditions, power outages, avalanche threat and even a tornado.  Lots and lots of snow on Mt. Hood for winter sports!

     

The winds  picked up
Tuesday afternoon but my patio umbrella did not blow over.  (It did a few weeks back.  It would be in the garage but Gram G doesn't quite have the umph to hoist it up and out...) (No, those are NOT UFO lights....reflection from inside the house...But then, maybe they are.)

Hobbit yard did not get much decking because of flooding.  It did get new fake stepping stones.  They fit over the top of the crumbling plaster ones.  Also, they are suppose to glow in the dark when there is sunlight to shine on them...appropriate for a hobbit habitat.  Woo!  Woo!  We just need to wait for the sunshine to come back.   

Word is getting out among the avian folk that Gram G now serves 24 hour outdoor dining in the hobbit garden.

See his little black head to the lower left of the feeder?


Gram G is happy to be on the past side of the winter solstice.  We can look toward more daylight as the days go by...
It is a grand time to observe all the colorful lights that people display. 

This Christmas season has been a fun, pleasant one for me to be busy decking.  Last year I didn't even put up a tree.  Don't remember why.  I think I was cleaning house in preparation for Lou to come visit.  
Also have enjoyed listening a month of non-stop top 8 favorite Christmas CDs.   Merry Music to you all!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

JESUS BLESS YOU THROUGH 2016!!

This has been a good 7 "deck the deck" days in the life of Grandma G.

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (Isaiah 9:2)