I'm Back!

I just wanted to let everyone know I'm back from our Spokane trip.  I've had several comments and e-mails asking where I've been.  I really appreciate being missed.  We had a great time seeing and visiting my son, DIL and beautiful granddaughter in Spokane.  It was cold but gorgeous out there.  Now we're back in beautiful Pennsylvania and winter has arrived here.  In the last two days we've had snow, ice, sleet, rain, thunder and lightning.  Needless to say, I go outside as little as possible.  But I love looking out the windows.  There really is something very warm and cozy about being inside and looking out at this kind of weather and scenery.  Ask me about this again in February, though.
I have pictures that I'll get up as soon as I'm a little more caught up and organized.  I plan on getting my Christmas shopping done this weekend.  Then next Thursday again we leave for Cincinnati for a long weekend to celebrate Christmas with all our family there.  For those of you that know me by now, I must continue with my lists and staying organized.  That's the only way I can get everything done without getting too overwhelmed.
My mission for this Holiday Season is to appreciate and enjoy the season for what it should be.  I'm letting my whole family know that I am limiting the gifts and the stress.  The gifts that I do give are going to be useful and/or needed and not just something to fill a pretty box so the skirt under the tree is covered in piles.  Not happening this year and I have such a good feeling about it.  Christmas is about celebration and love of family, life and appreciation of what we have.  Not about things!  This is my mission statement for this wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season!

Thankful That Christmas Trees are Done

Oh my, I'm getting tired.  A very content kind of weary.  I finished my Christmas decorating today.  I put away all the boxes and vacuumed and swept the mess left on the floors.  The only minor details left are some new fake poinsetta bushes for the window boxes outside the second floor windows and some adapters that are needed for the outside extension cords.  That's on my schedule for tomorrow, along with a haircut in the morning and Thanksgiving dinner grocery shopping.
 There will only be four of us for dinner this Thanksgiving.  I usually have around ten to thirteen.  Now with son #2 and family in Spokane, son #1 and family in Germany for ten days,  Grandma and Grandpa now in the nursing home, that just leaves my Mom and Dad and My Bob and me.  The four of us are also leaving the day after Thanksgiving to visit the kids in Spokane.  Packing for that trip is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday evenings.  My Bob suggested that with so much going on we should order out or eat out for our Thanksgiving dinner just this once.  I just can't do that! I love preparing Thanksgiving dinner.  I love the smells and watching the parades on TV while I cook.  My biggest challenge is going to be in trying to prepare small portions.  I'm not used to that.
Because of the Spokane trip is the reason I had to (wanted to) get all the decorating finished before we leave.  As I promised earlier, I have pictures.  I just have to say, though, that after looking at the pictures I don't think they do justice to the real thing.  It's hard to get a picture with all the lights lit and have it turn out good. 

This is my Victorian tea room tree.

My dining room tree - all crystal and gold

Angel tree outside my bedroom

Shoe and purse tree in my loft

Living Room tree in gold, burgundy and old fashioned blown glass ornaments.

(I think this tree is leaning now that I see it in a picture.  Note to self - fix that)

This is my foyer - with flash

Foyer - without flash

I didn't get pictures of the front porch tree or outside yet.  Not quite finished there.

So that's my Christmas tour so far.  Will show more of the tour later, that doesn't involve the trees.

I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  I am very blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Making a List and Checking it Twice

My "To Do" list is getting long.  I'm trying not to get overwhelmed.  My problem is that I'm slow.  What would take a normall person one hour to do, takes me three hours.  I am very particular, I get distracted, and I sometimes have what I call "paralyzation by analyzation".  I make lists to try to keep myself on track.  I wanted to write about it, which takes time, so decided to kill two birds with one stone and post my "to do" list.  That should really keep me accountable.

1) Finish decorating the last of six Christmas trees by the end of the day. (I'll have pictures of them all when I'm done)
2) Dust and vacuum as I go
3) Clean the guest bedroom and bathroom for weekend guests getting in tonight.  It's my cousin and family and I always enjoy when they are here. 
4) Buy butter for cookies I need to bake for girlfriend's clothing party tomorrow
5) Clean little powder bathroom - DONE
6) Make arrangements for dogs with doggy sitter for next Friday while we're in Spokane for a week. - DONE
7) Finish knitting neck warmer that's almost done and make at least one more pincushion for Open House art show on Sunday
8) Should brush my teeth and wash my hair just so I'm not so disgusting for hubby and guests.
9) Finish garland and lights on foyer railing
10)  Put away more Fall decorations.

OK, lunch time is over, so back to work.  This little list will help me.  I plan on the remaining 8 items being done before I go to bed.  I wouldn't normally be rushing the Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving like this, but we are leaving for Spokane to see Son @2 and family the day after Thanksgiving.  We'll be gone for a week and I don't want to have to do it when I get home.  I like it to be done no later than Thanksgiving weekend so I can spend the month of December enjoying my efforts.  I love to sit in the living room in the evenings in December, with a glass of wine, with all the Christmas lights on, a fire in the fireplace, and Christmas music playing.  Even if I'm all by myself, nothing feels more comfy and cozy and content.

It's a Birthday and I'll Cry if I Want To!

I don't get down or depressed too often, but today I am a little bit.   I really have no reason to.  I'll get over it quick.  My feelings have just been hurt by my girlfriends.  I thought they were my best friends.  I'm probably blowing it way out of proportion and I'm going to be the bigger person about this, but my feelings are still hurt and I'm feeling a little sorry for myself.  Here's what happened and maybe some of you can help me look at this in a different light. (I'm going to use initials for names)
My birthday is next week and my very good girlfriend's birthday is the week after.  There is a group of five of us  "girls" that have been friends  for about 20 years.  We all became good friends when our kids all started the same school together about the same time.  Our kids now range in age from 18 to 33.  Over the years we have tried to celebrate most major birthdays, you know 40, 50, and now Ch's. 60th is in two weeks.  Over the years we would sit at the pool with all of our kids in the summer.  We all took skiing lessons together years ago.  We all took golf lessons together.  We would get together every Friday after work for wine.  We still try to do that on Friday's once in a while, but not near as much.   Now everyone's life has shifted slightly in one way or another with children getting married and grandchildren and some of us no longer work outside the home and some of us have gone back to work after years of staying home.  But we have all remained very good friends and talk and get together as much as we can.
Yesterday I was getting a pedicure and my friend, the manicurist, who also does the nails of one of the friends I'm talking about (keep in mind, this is a very small town) asked when we were leaving for Pittsburgh (100 miles south of us).  I told her I didn't know what she was talking about.  Then she didn't know what to say but I made her spill the beans.  I could tell by the look on her face that she now knew she said something she shouldn't have.  So she told me.  C. was in getting her nails done and told D., my manicurist (I only get my toes done about four times a year) that "the girls" were going to Pittsburgh on Friday night (tonight) to spend the night to celebrate Ch.'s 60th birthday.  Well, everyone in town knows who that group of "girls" would be and it usually includes me.  I knew nothing about it.  I was shocked and came home and called P., one of the other "girls".  Now P. is in Pittsburgh already because she travels for her work.  She hesitated when I asked her about it and I told her I wasn't angry mad, my feelings were just very hurt and I didn't understand.  P. told me that it was just one of those things that evolved into something other than what it started out to be.  C. wanted to take Ch. to Pittsburgh to dinner and shopping as a birthday present.  Then she found out that P. was there working, so she called her and told her she should plan on staying an extra day to go with them.  Then it was found out that F. was taking her mother back home to Pittsburgh today, so they called her with the same invite.  That's how the four of them ended up getting together tonight in Pittsburgh, so P. says.  I believe her and it's very possible that's what happened, but I have talked to Ch. almost every day this week and she never mentioned a word to me.  I didn't even care not being asked because I don't really feel like going to Pittsburgh, but why didn't they even tell me?
As Dr. Joy Brown would say, be cheerful and stupid, and just act like it doesn't matter and it doesn't affect you at all.  And that is exactly how I'll act and talk to them next time I see them, but my feelings are still hurt.
I hate when women, especially mature women, get catty and I won't be like that, but I've cried to myself a few times today.  My Bob doesn't get this kind of thing and he's almost mad at me for being like this.
The only thing I did do, just because I had to do something, was send an e-mail to the four of them and said that I hoped they had a nice evening in Pittsburgh and I would talk to them next week.  I wasn't mean or nasty ---but I hope they feel bad.
Thanks to all of you good friends out there for listening to my sad story - Ha!Ha! , I know it's no big deal - but I had to talk about it.   One more reason to blog. (See yesterday's post)

Why Do We Blog?

I told myself I wanted to blog everyday.  I decided that if I would do it first thing, while I'm sitting with my first cup of coffee, before I checked email or Etsy, that would work out great.  I got up at 7:45, not bad, let the dogs out, fed the cat, made the bed, threw in a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, took a few pictures to download, got My Bob out the door with his bottle of water, apple, cell phone, and a package to deliver, now I'm ready and it's only 9:45.    I'm making progress.  The best news in all this is My Bob is on the road for the day.  You know how I love the day to myself. 
So here I sit at my computer, in my little kitchen office, and I'm so happy.

Why do I feel this obsession to blog?  I've been thinking about this.  Of course, anyone reading this is also most likely a blogger (still don't like that word, it isn't pretty).  Why do we do this and why do we love it?  I feel good after I write.  I feel more organized in my head.  So I guess one answer to this question for me is that I like to write.  That leads to another question:  why not just write in a journal and keep it to ourselves?  Why do we feel the need to put it "out there"?  We have strangers read about and look at our lives.  Now I don't feel like you are all strangers.  In fact, some of you are like good old friends and I love "talking" to you.  Is that why we do it?  To make new friends?  That wasn't my goal at all.  I even tell myself sometimes that I don't need any more friends in my life.  I enjoy my cyber friends now as much as my tangible (for lack of a better word) friends. I miss you if I don't hear from you.  Do we do this in order to stay in touch with family?  That's not it, either.  My immediate family doesn't even know I do this.  For some reason, I don't want them to know right now.  Maybe some day I'll surprise them with it, but not now.  Why?  I don't know.

Is this maybe like our own little reality show?  Maybe.  Although I would never want to be on one of those.  Why do people do that?  For the money would be one answer.  Well, that's certainly not the reason for blogging.  I guess there are some that actually do make money through ads on their site, but that's not happening for me right now either.

For me, I think the two reasons I do it is because, 1)  I like to write and "they" say you should write about what you know.  I know me and my life.  2) It is cathartic.  It calms and relaxes me and organizes all the thoughts in my head.

My other blog is for different reasons.  It's about my art and crafts and creations.  I like to share this.  It also keeps a record of what I'm doing from start to finish through pictures.  I then go back and look over my own blog to see what I've done, because I'm getting very forgetful the older I get.   Especially if I've sold something or given something away.

Here's my studio that I promised to show.

 

 Sorry these pictures are a little dark.  I should have edited them a little better.

This room gets very cluttered and it's the only room in my house that I feel good with the clutter.  I'm very much a neat freak in the rest of my house.  These pictures should also go up on my other blog, since this is where I make the things seen there.  I'll do that later.

As far as reading blogs, I know exactly why I like that.  I am amazed at the interesting and talented people out there.  The writing and pictures from most of you is better than most magazines and books. I love the insights, thoughts, and life coping skills that I read about.  I love seeing pictures from other's lives and pictures of other's homes and creations.  I feel like this is a secret little world, well, not so little, that those that don't know about are really missing out on.

So why do you blog?  And is there a different word we could use for it?