Thanks Susie :D This cheers me up,too! Hey Kirk, that's what the tree looked like when I was growing up. We planted hundreds and hundreds with our mother it seemed like,even staying out in the woods til well past dark with all sorts of wild animals jumping around at us out there,(back then it was moonshiners you ran into on your property, now it's meth labs) and it was scary when you're only about 6 or 7 years old! I never inherited my mother's ability or want, to wander alone in the woods til wee hours of the morning. After I was married and lived here, we still cut down our own trees, until trespassers stole all of them(to sell, I guess)one year. Some grew back up from the trunks, but we didn't feel like fooling with them any more after that. The smell is great, there's no comparison to a live tree, but we broke down and got an ARTIFICIAL pre-lit one :D lol Too many allergies, they dried out quickly,too. Boy could I tell you some FUNNNNY stories us and the kids endured with live trees ( one year involving a crazy Himalayan cat we had :D ) I can't wait til next Christmas!oh and I see Carol's tree skirt! It's just perfect. Cherry/Kudzu

Sheryl, your house looks beautiful! :-) My MIL isn't ready to "pass the baton" on holiday dinners yet, but neither is she willing to invite my folks to their house (or come to my folks' house). So we had two thanksgiving dinners this year - one with DH's family at MIL's house on Thurs, and one at our house for my family on Saturday night. I really enjoy having my family over to our house - we have more room, a bigger table, I have a dishwasher. ;-) Our table is big enough for 6-8 place settings, plus all the various serving bowls and platters, so serving things "family style" isn't a problem. It all worked out very nicely this year at my house, and everyone had fun. I let people bring things into the kitchen from the table, but other than that I do all the clean-up. My mom and sis stood out there chatting with me, but I assigned any tasks and made sure things were done how *I* wanted them done (and *I* loaded the dishwasher...I have a system for fitting lots of stuff in there. LOL). They're still amazed that we don't actually have to wash dishes by hand after a meal at my house (I use dishwasher-safe dishes for just about everything...and the pots and pans are fine in the sink until everyone leaves). After I get the food put away, I gently "drag" everyone *out* of my still-messy kitchen back to the table, which has been wiped down, or into the living room to chat. The nice thing about my kitchen being closed off from all other rooms is that the mess is "out of sight", so it doesn't bother people. ;-) It all works pretty well, really, and I finish cleaning up when everyone goes home. Christmas is going to be...uh...interesting this year. *eyeroll* Christmas eve we *have* to be at the in-laws house, so that's that. I have the priviledge of having christmas eve off, so I may stop by my parent's house that afternoon for a bit to drop off some goodies for their evening meal. Christmas morning we're having brunch at my parent's house at 10am - I expect some dissention from the in-laws for that, but oh well, my parents deserve our time too. Then Christmas evening we'll probably end up back at the in-law's house again...*sigh* Wears me out just thinking about all that time spent between two houses, and very little spent at home. Thank goodness we both go to a friend's house for New Year's eve, and have for years now, so neither set of parents expects us for that, and we'll probably just split up on New Year's day...DH can visit his parents, and I'll visit mine (and my grandparents, who generally come up then). *sigh* Holidays are the only thing that really stresses me out about being married...not that I didn't expect it, but I was hoping that everyone on both sides would get along well enough to spend holidays *together* in one place, since we all live in the same city. Maybe someday...

Glenda, wish you were closer--we'd share the cornbread and the soup! I like chicken salad and make it more ways than Monday. Sometimes curry, sometimes tarragon--but it's all good. Kath, sometimes I think it hurts us parents just as much as our kids when they're hurting. Not a good time to tell your GF you want to break up. Thank God for girl friends!! YogaLady, both stews sound really good. Nothing better than a lot of veggies (and meat, in my case) on a cold winter night. I don't drink coffee any more, but that pumpkin spice sure sounds warming and calming. (Which I could use a little of right now.) Jasdip, "just" cabbage soup?? I love that stuff and have it in the winter for a meatless meal--don't know what you put in yours though. It's delicious! Don't even make me think of our car. It's just awful! How was that chipped beef, Shirley? I've seen it and I've never tasted a bad Stouffer dish. Haven't tried that one, though. I like chipped beef over toast.

I'm still decorating too and hope to get finished tonight. I don't have any fresh greens in the house so I will probably bring out a piece of homemade lasagna from the freezer and reheat it in the microwave. I like your idea of salmon and peas though. Maybe I will make a white sauce and throw in a can of salmon and frozen baby peas and serve it over egg noodles. I think that is what I am going to do.