Quiet here today!

Hi Milkdud, chilly here too, but very pretty.

Hope everyone had a fun weekend.

I am still busy with work, meetings, painting, life. Next week I have a meeting for next years Adirondack Chair auction - IS THAT POSSIBLE???

I will check in during the week.

Hi all!

Yep, chilly and pretty here, too. It's supposed to be 70 tomorrow, though.

Nothing much going on here, same ol, same ol.

Working on Christmas cards, and updating to-buy lists. I've already started shopping, and have finished 2 people so far. It's not going to be a great season for us; we're already missing FIL.

I asked this in a prior post, but maybe folks didn't read it (it was the last post of the week 10/11-well, BJ did)--does anyone want to do a Christmas exchange this year? (I'm so sorry I missed last year's-)

Hope all is well!

Hugs,

Maddie

Good Wednesday all,

I am back from a fabulous time in Woodstock. It was truly glorious.

Maddie, I am up for the Christmas exchange.

Where is everyone?

Good Wednesday morning!

Suzanne, glad you had a good time at Woodstock. Can't wait to hear more about it.

Raeanne, it's already time to plan next year's Adirondack chair auction? Yikes! That must mean it's soon to be time for my next summer's stuff to start then. It does take a lot of planning to pull off a successful benefit, doesn't it?

Maddie! It's nice seeing you posting. To answer your question about a Christmas exchange: I could participate in something like an ornament exchange. Our medical bills from hubby's hospitalizations are slowly coming in. While our insurance pays pretty well, we do have to pay for transfusions and the other 20%. Since he was in ICU for 5 days, we'll be responsible for more than we like, I'm sure.

I've been eating pretty well while babysitting. I brought all the foods that I'd be eating, so that has really helped a lot. Also, since I'm missing my TOPS meeting today, I have to have something to show at next week's meeting! I have to decorate a styrofoam ball as some kind of cutesy octopus for a competition. It has to have 8 legs for the 8 week competition. If you gain, you have to cut off one leg that week. The person with the most legs left at the end wins $20 that the members have donated. Any ideas?

We've had warm weather Tuesday and today, but a cold front is coming in later today along with rain. The mosquitoes had fun with us yesterday when we were out on the driveway after school so that the girls could draw on it with chalk. I don't know why I have to be so attractive to mosquitoes!!! LOL

Wishing everyone a wonderful Wednesday!

Milkdud - i posted a link below for a handmade cute octupus and you won't want to cut it's legs off, so you will probably be good. It is for kids so it looks simple haha. The mosquitos find me most attractive as well.

Maddie - I am up for a Christmas exchange too. I like Milkdud's idea of an ornament.

Suzanne - can't wait to hear or see photos of Woodstock, one of my all time favorite VT spots to visit.

Have a wonderful day.

Here is a link that might be useful: octupus

Good morning!

Well then, an ornament exchnge it will be! :) I've collected ornaments for years, so I'm always very glad to get more! (Particularly with 5 trees to decorate!)

I just washed sheets and towels and hung them out to dry--yum! I love that smell--and I think this may be about the last time to do it for the season.

Anyone reading anything good? (Bad, or otherwise? LOL) I'm looking for smoething to read between classes, and if anyone has any suggestions, I's love to hear them.

Also, I was wondering if anyone has heard from Jen, Amy, Gretchen or John? I went back to page 30 here, and was reading old posts from 2004, and they were there, and I got to wondering about them. Patti, do you ever hear anything from Happyto?

Gotta go--algebra homework is hanging over my head.

Hugs,

Maddie

Happy THURSDAY!

It's been a busy week for me, and I'll be happy to see the weekend.

Maddie, I'm up for the ornament exchange. I will need to be reminded more than once, because I think I forgot my part in the birthday card exchange. Cannot remember who I was supposed to send to (maybe you? or Jen?). Gosh, my mind is absolute mush lately, so apologies all around.

Well, it's almost vacation time for me again. We leave on Oct 31 to head down south again. Truth be told, DH and I (along with my sister and DBIL) are building a vacation house in NC! We close in early November and are very excited about it. It's a nice sized home with 2 master suites, so it will work for us over the next few years. Once we all start thinking about retiring, we may sell it or someone will move into it permanently...anything can happen. I'm just not sure I want to stay in NJ with this horrible government. But.......we have family up here and work, so I may downsize my current home and become a snowbird eventually. Once we get the NC house furnished, I'll take some photos and try to post them.

Big [[[HUGS]]] and hellos to everyone!
Make today count!
Dee

Good morning! It's pouring here this morning. I did get oldest DGD to school and the dog walked before it set in though.

Maddie, so glad that you like the ornament exchange idea. I take a stroll down Memory Lane every year when decorating my tree, remembering who all gave me what ornament.

Dee, how nice for y'all that you'll have a vacation pad! Sounds like a great idea.

Raeanne, I've decided to buy purple yarn and a little red hat and make my styrofoam octopus into a Red Hatter. I'll buy baby hair squishes with little 'jewels' on them to tie off each leg for the 'bling' that is so necessary for a Red Hatter. LOL

If it's not rained out, oldest DGD has soccer practice after school, then I'm heading back home when her parents get here. It's been an interesting week. I've accomplished very little, but Aubrie and I had a lot of fun playing together during the day. Nothing like a 3-yr. old to remind you of how important 'just being' is.

Good Thursday,

I too am looking for Friday to come.

I like the ornament idea the best too. It keeps it much simpler and more enjoyable for me.

Maddie, Amy checks in sometimes as does Gretchen. Jen has not checked in for a long time and either has John. Perhaps you can get them to come out and say hi!!

Dee, if you add a barn then I could come down and visit you with the horses! We love NC!! LOL

We are having Indian Summer here this week which makes me wish I'd stayed in Woodstock. Here are some photos of the great time we had. The pictures just don't do the scenery justice but it is gorgeous!

Along the Morgan mile which is a mile long stretch of dirt road that we do a trotting race on:

Friend Karen and Casey at the Top of the World - Mount Ascutney is in the background:

Some curious and beautiful Jersey's came running over to check us out:

After the cows:

Among the gray birches:

Suzanne, I'm SOOO glad that I came back in to check the posts because your photos are beautiful!!! You 3 women are so brightly attired, then you have the Autumn colors in the background. Did the horses love their ride, too? You always cheer me up with your pics, so thanks for posting them.

Maddie - I just finished reading Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" and enjoyed it. Angels and Demons is still my favorite, but this was entertaining.

Milkdud - great idea for the octupus.

Suzanne - you didn't disappoint me with those photos, how beautiful and it looks like everyone was enjoying themselves too. What a great trail.

Dee - Congrats on your house project - how exciting! I am very happy for you.

I need ideas for a Halloween costume for DH and myself. I would like to do a couples thing, but would like to keep it simple and cheap. I am not into renting or buying outfits. I was thinking of John Lennon and Yoko. I have always wanted to be Tippi Hendrin in Hitchcock's "Birds" but I can't think of anything for DH to be with that - maybe a bird watcher hahaha.

I'm counting on you BJ to come up with an idea haha.

Enjoy your day!

Hi all!

Suzanne--what gorgeous pics! And the cows, how cute! (I love cows). Thanks for posting them!

Dee--congrats on the NC house! A friend lived in NC and just loved it; she said she was 2 hours away from the mountains, and 2 hours away from the ocene--ahhh... :) I'd love to live the Raleigh/Durham area.

Raeanne--Melanie/Tippi, huh? Can your DH go as Mitch Brenner? With a stuffed black bird on his shoulder? And have you semi-covered in matching feathers? Or, you could dress like her after she was attacked, and have DH go as the man who got his eyes pecked out. (Well- you know--gory!) This will give me something to think about in English class tonight! LOL!!

Hugs,

Maddie

Hi Everyone!

Fast check in....life has been very busy but still no construction. Suzanne asked for a remodel update and right now we are now waiting for the township's permit and THEN we can get going...oh boy. As excited as I am I will be so very glad when this is done and I'm enjoying my new kitchen and dining room and then moving to my new family room and sitting in front of my fireplace sipping a very, very much needed cocktail.

Dee, how exciting!!!

Suzanne, great pictures as usual.

Maddie, nice to see you.

An ornament exchange sounds great to me, count me in.

Will check back over the weekend (another rainy Saturday) and will address everyone. This week has been absolutely gorgeous, a true Indian summer.

Love and hugs to all!!

Donna

Good Friday all,

Donna, the waiting is the hardest part! I hope you get going soon.

I was thinking about MIA's this morning and Jan came up! Where are you girl? Check in. It's not like you to stay away so long. Did I miss something? Are you on vacation? What's up.

BJ, I need my weekly dose.....check in.

All you others........please stop in before the weekend is over.

Okay, now I am getting worried. The last time Jan (Wodka) posted was on October 2nd. Her DH was having test, upper GI, etc. Jan, please check in and let us know how things are going.

Here I am. Thanks for asking about me.

Things have been hectic but are calming down. While not the best news, husband's health could have been worse. He met with the doctor on Wednesday - test results confirmed severe gastritis and two ulcers. They gave him more medications and will do another scope in approximately 3 months. He's finally feeling better, so something is working. Thanks for your concern.

I have been battling the blahs lately. Weight loss and all are still going good, (52 pounds) and now that I know my husband's health, hopefully, is manageable, I should be okay. It's just small stuff that I should know by now not to sweat, and I'm working on it, but some days (and people) get the better of me.

So, I will try to come around more and catch up. I'm loving the cooler weather and football. (New Orleans Saints are still undefeated - yea!)

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Jan

Yea, Jan's back!!! It's so nice to see you posting today. I'm glad to read that your hubby's health is manageable. As for the blahs, why is it so much easier to get those than to get the happies??? I fall into that trap too often, and it really takes its toll on me, too. (((Wodka)))

Well, back from the babysitting of the DGDs and into my real life which is crazy as of today. I met with my co-chair at the church early today to set up the "Sweet Shoppe" for our Harvest Moon Festival tomorrow. What was I thinking working around all that great looking food???? These women are obviously fabulous bakers as everything looks and smells heavenly! I wanted to buy everything that came in the door, and we've only received about half of the donations. The rest will come in early tomorrow morning. I MUST eat healthy breakfast before leaving home at 7:30 tomorrow!

Just came from our community center's monthly salad and spud luncheon. Going for a great haircut in a few minutes, then off to get prices on shirts for our service sorority. Home to finish unpacking, then we're meeting our friends for dinner at Peso's, then canasta at one of the couples' home.

We have cool temps today and it looks as much like Fall as SE Texas can look here. Wishing everyone a wonderful Friday!

This is too funny not to share....

My husband came home early from work today and realized he forgot to deposit an expense check. So I said, "let's run to the bank, I'll go with you, it's a gorgeous afternoon, blah, blah, blah." So we pull into the nearest bank (definitely post-Katrina built - basically double-wide trailer with very skimpy parking lot.) He goes in, does his business, and comes out. In backing up he notices a pickup truck that has parked crookedly in two spaces. In his attempt to miss hitting him, he grazes the car on the opposite side. That owner has left her car running, because she's had car trouble, and her son in the backseat. My husband gets out, with his insurance papers, and looks up, and this older gentleman in a Volkswagen Beetle is backing up and hits this woman's same car! The son gets out, and the doors automatically lock, with her car still running, keys in ignition.

It takes forever for Barny and Andy to show up and file a report. I stay in our car while my husband handles the rest. As things are winding down, I feel this "bump" and darn if someone hasn't hit US! Some jerk in a rental car with an earphone on the size of Dallas! Well, he doesn't even stop, so I jump out and alert everyone that we now have been hit. They stop this guy and read him the riot act (no real damage done to our car, so my husband says let him go.) I came home and quickly chilled a bottle of wine - to heck with Weight Watchers.

My husband is determined to find out if the parking lot was built to code. He had his camera and took lots of pictures, including one of the truck that took up two spaces.

Glad it was his car and not mine - ha!