Other Blog . . .

And update on my other blog . . .

Party Time

We hosted our annual Holiday Party for the gang yesterday evening, and as usual, it was a success!

Jerry came over from Springfield, Curt and Judy, Cindy, and Paul came also. Jan had a conflict, so could not be there this year (and YES, she does know what she was missing!).

Since I am on Holiday Break this week and most of the others were working, I had supper all ready when then came over - - homemade Veggie Beef Soup, Sweet-n-Sour Meatballs (I used Chili Sauce and Cranberry Sauce to flavor them), and a new recipe - - Brie filled with seedless raspberry preserves, wrapped in a sheet of puff pastry and baked. I also had lots of leftover Key Lime Fudge and Peanut Butter Fudge. Cindy brought her "World Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Curt and Judy brought goodies also. But the kicker was - - Paul's Bourbon Balls, made by him and his sister, with some really fine Kentucky Bourbon in the mix. (They make your eyes water, but - - YUM!).

After food and good conversation and our gift exchange (including Jerry's "Mess With Your Heads" gift game!), we opened a bottle of wine and toasted the upcoming New Year.

It was a good time with good friends. Steve and I are so lucky to be blessed with friends such as they - - very blessed indeed.

We Survived Christmas! *Whew*

The Holidays were hectic, but it was worth it!

There was lots of fun, good food, good people, and the kids were wild!

The Orange Sour Cream Cake was a hit, as were the Key Lime Fudge and Peanut Butter Fudge at Dear Hubby's family gathering. I also made a pan of browning with Marshmallow Creme topping for the kids (they almost taste like a S'More).

The Lasagna was a big hit with my family on Monday! I left a couple of containers with Dad for meals this week, and sent the rest of it home with my son and his family.

The kids got lots of neat presents, and they were wound up beyond belief; but the Holidays do that to little ones, don't they?

Dear Hubby went back to work today, and I am off work until January 2nd. But, it's not like I don't have anything to do - - there is cooking and cleaning the house for our Annual Holiday Party with the gang this Friday. Since everyone else is working and I'm off, I'm treating them to homemade Beef Veggie Soup, Sweet-n-Sour Meatballs, Baked Brie with Seedless Raspberry Preserves in Puff Pastry, Summer Sausage and crackers, and of course Key Lime Fudge and Peanut Butter Fudge! I'm looking forward to getting together with the gang - - we don't see each other enough, and have so much fun when we finally get the chance.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Countdown To the Holidays

Today has been a crazy one, and it's not looking to slow down anytime soon!

Dear Hubby's family Christmas get-together is tomorrow evening (Sunday), and my family gathering is Monday evening. Lots of things to prepare for each . . .

I am bringing dessert items to Steve's family tomorrow - - the Orange Sour Cream Cake is baked and cooling, and tomorrow it will get its Vanilla Pudding/Cool Whip/Mandarin Orange topping. The Key Lime Fudge is made and cooling, and will be cut up tomorrow. Next on the list is Peanut Butter Fudge, which will also cool overnight and get cut into squares tomorrow morning.

The Key Lime Fudge is YUMMY, by the way . . . I got the recipe from a coworker, after she brought it into work and I absolutely raved about it! (The Peanut Butter Fudge is awesome also . . . YUM!)

Tomorrow morning I also need to prepare a large pot of spaghetti sauce, and prepare meat filling with Italian seasonings. I have decided to follow our family's Holiday tradition and make my Dad Lasagna! I'm using my Mom's sauce recipe, so of course it has to cook slowly all day, and then cool overnight to let the flavors blend. Monday morning I will build the lasagna and have it ready to take down to Dad's and bake in his oven. We will also have Sweet Italian Garlic Bread, and salad. My son and his family are bringing a cake, and Dad has a pumpkin pie for us to bake. It's been ages since I've made Lasagna, and I'm looking forward to it.

Tuesday I plan to SLEEP . . . as if the kitty-babies will let that happen? We'll see . . .

I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed Holiday! Spend time with your loved ones. Give your sweetie an extra kiss under the mistletoe (Hubby and I are about to wear our mistletoe out! ) Enjoy the season and all that it means - - love, togetherness, peace.

Merry Christmas!

Finally - - Stage Three!

The presents are all wrapped and under the tree, which, by the way, is STILL STANDING! After just a couple of minor incidents, the furbabies have decided they have better things to do than mess with the tree. In fact, Dear Squeak has decided she likes laying under the tree, where the heat vent points out towards the tree, and take a nap. I do believe we could put a bow on her and she would just blend right in with the rest of the packages!

So here we are - - Stage Three:



Nothing left to do now but sit there in the loveseat, hot mug of tea in hand, nice warm kittycat on my lap, and snuggle up with Dear Hubby and enjoy! And with my Holiday Break starting after work tomorrow, and not having to go back until January 2nd, there will be plenty of time to do just that!

Christmas Tree, Stage Two: Uh-Ohhhhh . . .

I was home all weekend.

Furbabies never ever paid a bit of attention to the tree. All day long, they acted as if there was nothing out of the ordinary in that corner of the sunroom.

"Nope, Mom, we don't see anything over there in that corner. Not a thing. You can relax!"

Uh-huh.

Today we go to work . . .

Instead of coming home at lunchtime as I usually do, we had a Holiday luncheon in my Division, so I stayed on Campus.

When Dear Hubby got home this afternoon, this is what he found:

The best we can figure is that the new little girl, who LOVES to be up high, and who LOVES to jump, launched herself from either the loveseat or the window bench into the tree.

Steve reprimanded both of them (oh yeah, I am SO sure they listened to him, and they have learned their lesson) and put the branches back in where they belonged.

I am determined to have my tree up this year, in spite of the little furry terrorists roaming the rooms of my home.

However, in the spirit of compromise, we have decided that the tree will have lights and garland (up from the bottom row of branches, of course!) but no ornaments except for some jingle bells along the bottom branches (that's our 'alarm system'!).

We also moved the loveseat back, and removed the bench from in front of the window . . . at least we have taken care of TWO of her launching points!

So, here we are - - Stage Two - - White Christmas Tree with blue lights and blue garland:

Stage Three will be adding the topper (I'm still looking for a blue one) and the tree skirt, and then piling packages underneath. We have also decided against putting bows on the packages until just before we take them somewhere - - Carmichael has a SERIOUS ribbon fetish, and our packages often arrive with bows filled with teeth marks . . . *sigh*

Christmas Tree - Stage One

It's time - - actually, way PAST time for my liking - - to put up the Christmas Tree.

In past years, we have not had much problem with the fur-babies and the tree. We knew how each one of them would act - - Callie would just lay under the tree, among the packages, and nap. In fact, if we had stuck a bow on her head, she would have blended right in with the rest of the packages! Carmichael's main problem was that his tail is so long, he kept brushing it up along the bottom branches and knockin goff ornaments. That problem was solved by moving them all up to the nex layer of branches. (Actually, I have some jingle bells that we hang on the bottom branches - - just to mess with his little kitty-head . . . yes, we are five.)

However, now that Callie is gone and we have this new little kitty-girl Squeak (formerly named Destiny) in our lives, it is anybody's guess how she will react to the tree. So, we have decided to put it up in stages.

Stage One:
Yes, I have a white tree - - wanted one for years, and finally got it last year!

Stage One is just the tree itself, with no lights, garland, ornaments, anything. Squeak showed a bit of interest at first, and had to be reprimanded a couple of times, but she is now not evey paying any attention to it.

Stage Two will be next - - either this evening or tomorrow after work. We will attempt to string the lights and add some garland, and see how that goes!

Wish us luck . . .

Great White Hunter

Well, another deer-hunting season is pretty well wrapped up for Dear Hubby and the rest of his hunting buddies. He had a very successful year - - had 3 tags, and filled them all. Yup, 3 deer.

Now I know a lot of people out there are totally against hunting, and under certain circumstances, I am also. I am totally against anyone who hunts strictly for the "trophy" head to hang on the wall, and lets the meat go to waste. But here are the facts for Hubby's situation:

He and his brother hunt every year on the same land that has been in their family for many generations. They spent a lot of time during their growing-up years on that land, and know every rock, tree, and shrub on it. His grandpa farmed it and raised cattle, and always had meat to feed the families.

Hubby's grandpa is gone now, but Hubby and brother still spend deer-hunting season on that same land 'grocery shopping' to feed their families. It has filled our freezers for the past 17 years with very good meat.

This year he got more deer than he usually does. Did we need 3 deer to feed the 2 of us? No. What did we do with the extra? Well, we donated A LOT of it to the Food Pantry of which my Dad is President of the Board. That will go a long way to help out some needy people who might be without otherwise.

Hubby feels really good about being able to continue to help feed his family from the same land that has done so for so many years, and we both feel good about being able to help others less fortunate.

I'm very proud of my "Great White Hunter" - - and I hope we can continue to eat good and also help out others for many more years.

WHY I HATE WINTER . . .

Scenes from the 2006 Ice Storm, one year ago:













Any questions? (I didn't think so!)

"Deja Vu All Over Again" - - Hopefully NOT!

SO - - this morning around 9:00 AM, it started . . . sleet, mixed with some drizzle. I left campus about 9:15, and decided to get to Walmart to pick up a couple of items before heading home, in case the weather turned as nasty as they were predicting.

By the time I left Walmart and headed for the (usually) 5-minute drive home, their parking lot was an ice-skating rink. So were the streets.

Uh-oh - - this doesn't look good.

As all of crawled slowly down the streets, I saw quite a few accidents that had already occurred due to the slick conditions. People were sliding around like crazy . . . there was no traction to be had anywhere.

But if I thought THAT was bad - - I was totally unprepared for the condition of MY road! Since it is consider a country road, it is "crowned" in the middle, and drops off a bit on both sides for water drainage. This crown also made the Jeep want to keep sliding to the edge of the road, and was a VERY uncomfortable feeling! I was traveling around 25 MPH for the mile outside of town where we live. When I reached home, I slowed to almost a total stop, and slowly turned left into the drive. Even a near stop was too fast for these conditions, and I almost slid off the drive into the yard. Fortunately, I was able to stay on the asphalt, but was almost sideways as the Jeep slid down the drive towards the garage.

I am now inside, with a hot mug of tea by my side and a nice warm cat in my lap . . . and I intend to stay here for the duration!

I hate winter . . . :-(

One Year Ago, Part II

One year ago today . . . the Great Ice Storm of 2006 hit Central Illinois

It started out innocently enough - - cloudy skies, breezy, then the wind took a turn from the North and the rain started. Then the temps started dropping - - like a rock. By the time I got off work, all the cars on the parking lot were covered with ice. We were all out there, in the blowing, freezing rain, chipping out our cars so we could get inside and get HOME.

Damn, it was cold.

I finally got the Jeep going and made it home. Dear Hubby had supper started, so I picthed in to help. We had the TV on in the Dining Room, and the local weatherman was giving out weather details in an ominous voice; that this was just the beginning of what could be a major storm.

Then the power went out, with a decisive "clunk" . . . I looked in the general direction of Dear Hubby in the dark and said, "This can't be good."

Truer words were never spoken.

You can read all about it here, here, here, and here.(that way, I don't have to retype the whole darned thing!)(and yeah, I had a lot to say about it, apparently!)

Enjoy the memories!

"I'm So Pretty . . . "

Destiny in her favorite place in the whole entire 2,300+ sq. ft. house in which she now resides:
Admiring the awesome beauty in front of her very nose:

What are YOU looking at?

One Year Ago, Part I

One year ago today, we moved into our dream house!

It was the Friday after Thanksgiving. We chose that day because we knew family would all be together, so what better way to share the feelings of 'togetherness' than to have a MOVING PARTY, right? Right?

Dear Hubby and I got up VERY early that day - - oh, not to prepare for the impending move;instead, we went to Circut City for the Friday After Thanksgiving Sale Event.

Yes, we did.

The reason? We had been looking at an electronic phone system for quite a while, and they had it as one of their Early Bird sales.

SO - - 5:00 AM found us waiting in line in Circuit City - - which wrapped ALL AROUND the inside of the store . . .

*sigh*

We were in line for almost an hour, but we walked out with our new phone system.

We then headed to Panera's to grab a quick bagel and drink for breakfast, then to the U-Hawl dealer to pick up the truck, then home to start getting ready for all our movers to show up.

It was a hectic day - - people brought food for lunch and snacks, trucks and cars and the big U-Haul were loaded up and made many trips back and forth between the two houses. We got it all moved in, then sat around the sunroom, eating a bite, and watching the sunset. We were all exhausted, but relieved at having everything moved to the new place.

It's hard to believe that we have been here for a whole year already. It's also very difficult to understand why our other house is still on the market! It is such a nice house; it's very roomy, and we did so many things to update it; the location is good, and there is a nice big yard. The neighbors are great. But, the market has slowed, and lots of people are having difficulty selling their homes. We just have to keep hoping, and praying, and trying our best to get the job done.

So here we are - - one year later. Things are pretty much settled in, and Dear Hubby and I are are so very happy in our new home.

Here's looking forward to many, many more happy years here together!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

Thursday we will be having dinner with my Dad, and then going to my aunt and uncle's house to visit with them and all my cousins and their families. (Ah, nothing like a big Italian family get-together!)

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Dear Hubby has to work . . . darn it . . . but, it's holiday pay, so it's money that will come in very handy until we get the other house sold (hurry up and SELL, dammit!).

Friday I will be going to the antique shop and setting up some holiday craft items in my booth, so that will be a fun, relaxing thing for me. Saturday and Sunday will be spent getting things done around the house . . . funny how I don't seem to get these things done when Dear Hubby is home - - guess it's just too much fun having him around, and I don't feel like working! :-) (Yeah, I'm kinda 'stuck' on him .. . . . )

Happy Turkey Day!!

Nap Time

Why is it - - every time I try to change the bedding, Carmichael decides it's NAP TIME?

Check him out - - looking at us upside-down with one eye open:


Now back to sleep:


Meanwhile, Destiny is asleep on the love seat in the Sunroom:




Ah, to be a cat!

Bazaar Wrap-Up

Well, our "First Annual Holiday Bazaar" was a success! People came in a steady stream all day, and we sold LOTS of things!

We learned a lot from this year's "trial run", and know what we want to do different next year - - so the "Second Annual" should be even better!

We also learned - - again - - how inconsiderate some people can be . . . someone apparently backed into my gazing ball on a concrete pedestal, knocked it over, shattered the gazing ball - - and left without saying a word. I don't know who did it, or exactly when it happened . . . I just know it happened this morning during the sale.

I just don't understand people sometimes . . .

If the person who did it had at least come in and told me, and apologized, I would have still been upset, but would have appreciated being told, because I understand that accidents happen. But to do something like this and just leave?

Inconsiderate bastards.

It's not like they wouldn't have known they did it - - heck, the pedestal is made of concrete, and is so heavy I can't lift it or carry it anywhere. I would be surprised if it didn't scrape the heck out of their bumper!

Anyway . . .

At least the rest of the day went well - - and the rest of the people were nice! :)

SO - - we are already looking forward to next year's Bazaar - - and you can be sure the new Gazing Ball will be in a different location by then!

Bazaar Time!

My friends Betty and Cindy are joining me in having our "First Annual Holiday Bazaar" this Saturday! We have all been very busy with crafting, baking, and sorting through all kinds of holiday 'stuff' getting ready for the Bazaar.

I have a lot of holiday items that we never use, and it has been sitting in boxes, just taking up vaulable storage space. A couple of months ago, Dear Hubby and I got the boxes out and sorted through all of it; one pile to "Keep", and the other to "Sell". I talked to my two 'partners in crime' and we decided a Bazaar would be a fun thing to do!

That's what I love about the house we live in now - - we live on a main county road, with LOTS of traffic. The two rummage sales we had this summer were incredibly successful - - we put up some signs, and people just poured in!

SO - - Betty and her hubby have been busy making alll kinds of wood crafts and items; Cindy has lots of holiday items she has not used in years, and is also baking her "World Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies" (which I may have to buy - - they are SO good!); I have my holiday items, plus have been baking up a storm and have lots of breads and brownies and coffee cakes ready to go. Plus, I have started getting into some crafting - - I have even learned how to use a glue gun! So I have some craft items to add to the mix.

We are even going to have holiday music playing, and have hot apple cider and cookies to munch on while people browse all the goodies we have to offer.

Dear Hubby helped out a lot by clearing out the garage and getting the tables set up, and helping get the signs ready. Tomorrow Betty and Cindy and I will be busy pulling it all together, then hanging up the signs late tomorrow afternoon. The forecast for Saturday is a good one, so we should have a beautiful day for the event.

It will be a fun day!

Strange Weekend So Far . . .

Got a phone call at 1:11 AM this morning - - Dad was not feeling well yesterday, and it was getting worse. He had severe stomach pains, to the point of almost being doubled over in pain.

So being the dutiful daughter (loves my Daddy!), I got up, got dressed, and drove the 40 miles to get him and take him to the Emergency Room.

We got there around 2:46 AM. They ran all kinds of tests, took all kinds of blood, took X-Rays, and a CAT scan. When we got the results of everything, it was apparently his acid reflux kicking up and causing severe heartburn. They got that under control, gave him a prescription for Prevacid, and sent us on our way.

By that time, it was 6:30 AM, and my day, unfortunately, was just beginning!

When I got back to Decatur, I went by the other house and kicked on the heat for the Open House this afternoon. Then it was a trip to the grocery store, then Walmart . . . and then, FINALLY, home.

It is now 12:30 PM, and I have still not been able to slow down long enough to get some sleep. I think I'm still running on pure adrenalin.

But when I DO finally crash, it's gonna be for a LONG, LONG time!

I'm relieved that Dad is doing okay. He felt bad about my coming all the way down there for 'heartburn', but he will be 83 this next Friday. I don't like to take chances when he's under the weather.

I want to keep my dear Daddy around for a lot longer!

Cat Wrap-Up

Well, that is all the posts about the Jackson Household Cats.

Writing these posts brought back lots of memories for me - - some happy, some very, very sad, but ALL of the memories included the love between us and our beloved pets.

When we lost our dear Callie, we were full of mixed emotions. We missed her, but we knew that Carmichael needed the companionship of another cat. Reactions to this by others have been mixed - - one asked if I were really sure I wanted to get another cat, because I always got so heartbroken when we lost one; another thought we may want to consider 'downsizing', and that Carmichael would adjust to being alone.

Well, I'm going to address both of these . . .

First, YES, I am ABSOLUTELY SURE that I want another cat! Regardless of the heartbreak that is sure to come at some point, there is no way I would ever want to miss out on the joy and love we and our dear pets share. Yes, I cried when Dusty passed away; and when Boo Boo Kitty got so sick and we lost her; and Callie - - well, that is still too raw and painful to think about for too long. But when I think of all the good memories we have, well - - if given the chance to go back in time, I would do it all over again, and not change a thing.

Second, NO, we do NOT think it is time to consider 'downsizing' to one cat; and NO, Carmichael would NOT adjust to being by himself, or if he did, he would never be the same as he was before - - some of his sparkling personality would be forever lost. So downsizing? NOT an option.

Dear Hubby Steve and I will probably always have cats in our lives, and we are sure to get our hearts broken again and again . . . but that is the chance you take if you ever want to find real, true love.

Carmichael

Carmichael came into our lives 7-1/2 years ago. He was an itty-bitty thing - - in fact, I could hold him in my cupped hands and still have room left over! Some friends of our had rescued him off their church's parking lot and brought him home. They already had numerous cats, and when Judy told me about him (all gray, almost a Russian Blue color), I immediately wanted to meet the little guy.

I went to Curt and Judy's house on my lunch hour the next day. Judy picked up this little bundle of dark gray fluff and placed him in my lap. He immediately purred, curled up in my lap, gave out a huge "groan", and went to sleep. And yes - - I melted. Judy said, "You're going to take him home, aren't you?" All I could do was whisper "Yes." (Didn't want to wake the little guy!)

The next day after work, I went and got him and brought him home. Callie was NOT happy with this intrusion on HER private property, and having this, this - - KITTEN - - getting attention from HER people! There were some tense moments over the next few weeks, but she finally gave in and got used to him. We think it was only his "kitten status" that saved his little hide!

We took the new kitty to the Vet to have him checked out. Although we thought he was only about 6-7 weeks old, because of his small size, it turned out he was almost 3 months old! He was so small because he was hungry! WELLLLL - - this is an Italian household - - NOBODY, not even a cat, is going to go hungry in MY house! We started packing the groceries in him, and he filled out in no time. (He's a big chunky boy now!)

We noticed right away that he had a bad habit of clawing things, so when we took him back to the Vet to get altered, we also had him front declawed. Hey, I love cats, but I also love my furniture, my drapes, and my carpet!

We were still trying to decide on a name for the little guy. I was thinking very strongly about George, for "Curious George", because he was so darned curious about everything, and getting into all of it! (I also considered "pain in the ass", becasus he was that, also!) But George just didn't fit right, and 'P.I.T.A.' was too darned long. What to name the little guy . . .

At work, I was clerical support for a team of caseworkers for Children and Family Services. One of my caseworkers, whose last name was Carmichael, real character; he was always walking up behind me, and was so soft-footed, he always wound up startling me. He didn't do it purposely (I don't think, anyway).One day, shortly after the arrival of the new kitten, Don again walked up behind me asking for something, and scared me half out of my wits! I told him that I had this new kitten who was always underfoot, always startling me, and was a general pain in the ass, just like he was, so I was going to name the little guy Carmichael! He just laughed and walked away. But I am a woman of my word. The next day, when I took the kitten to the Vet for altering, I gave his name as Carmichael!

Carmichael (or Carmie, for short), has been a trial at times, but has provided Dear Hubby and me with many hours of entertainment, and an abundance of love. He loves to run and play, and loves it when we take one of his toy mousies and throws it so he can chase it across the fllor.

Carmie adored his big sister Callie. She would always sleep during the day at the foot of our bed, on my robe, which I left there specifically for that purpose. I would come home at lunchtime, and would always find one of his toy mousies on the bed, next to the robe. He was always bringing one of them to her.

When we lost dear Callie, Carmichael became very depressed. He wouldn't run, or play. We would throw one of his favorite mousies, and he would just sit there and watch it go past him. If he did run after it, he would then just sit there and look at it. He wasn't eating like he normally did. He kept watching the doorways, looking for Callie to come into the room. The day after we lost her, I came home at lunchtime, and found one of his favorite mousies on the bed, next to my robe. I just broke down in tears. He and I were both totally heartbroken.

Steve and I had a long talk, and decided that even though we felt it was too soon for us, it was NOT too soon for Carmichael. He needed a companion, and he needed one NOW.

That is when Destiny came into our home. Carmichael hissed quite a bit the first couple of days. (Who is this? This is NOT my big sister!) We started calling him "Air Leak Kitty", and told him we needed to fix that leak before he went flat! But he got over that, and is now back to his normal, fun-loving, playful self. She is apparently just what the doctor order!

So there you have it - - the Jackson Household cats!