Save My Life by Sidewalk Prophets

Chimney Fire

Tori called to tell me that her house was on fire and that four engines were there to put it out! This was most upsetting for a few hours but the damage was minimal and it was not their fault. The house was able to be occupied that afternoon, and had very little smoke residue. I played Command Central, updating the family by text message.
I guess Tori and John might do well to adapt our motto,
"Never a Dull Moment".

Lost and Found

John came over to chop firewood and unfortunately lost his hunting knife. We each took different turns trying to find the open bladed knife in the wood pile so that 1) he could have it back and 2) so that no one would get hurt on it.

Finally, he found it himself  by working with John and Allyson to move the whole wood pile.
Yay!
They then took turns throwing the knife into nearby stumps and alas! It broke into two pieces!

Little Cuties

I brought Handsome two little clementine oranges in the hopes that he could peel them himself.

Greg and I discussed the secret to the universe while visiting, and he showed me the Christmas projects he is working on in his woodshop.

Painting on a Deadline

Our Collegetown folks had finished most of the work on the basement, and the carpet was due to be installed on a Tuesday. Juby and I took the challenge to travel up to help the ladies get the whole basement painted in one week-end!

Chelsea has painted many times in the past and was a terrific team leader for this project. The walls had already been prepped with many layers of drywall mud and sanded, but there were still more spots to treat in this way before we could paint. That and the taping were done first.

The fresh drywall had to be primed on the ceiling and the walls. Then painted with two coats of color.

Juby was a huge help and painted along with the rest of us,

and helped a little with Amiable.

Natalie's friends, Justin and Marissa came over on Friday night and did a great deal of painting. Their help was invaluable in getting this project completed on time!

The scope of this home improvement included painting a bedroom, bathroom, family room and three hallways, including the trim.

Between coats of paint we allowed for drying time while watching Property Brothers on NetFlix. All together, we watched about seven episodes throughout the weekend and enjoyed every one! Talk about some motivation to get the house looking sharp!

Jeff planned to pull up all the old carpet and take it to the dump on Monday after he returned home.
We remembered to tape a trash bag over his nice projector before we got too far into things!

It was certainly worth the drive to see my newest granddaughter again, dressed for success.

The weekend consisted of a lot of hard work but it was great fun and I learned how to paint! There is probably no reason why I can't paint my own basement with some help from the family after the Holidays.

Fun at the Farm

We all went out to the Farm where Tori lives to be outside and watch Juby ride.

Long shadows are typical of late fall.

So many pretty sights delight the eyes when on a farm.

The girls didn't need sweaters on this particular day.

As evening came on, we couldn't get over how gorgeous the light on the top of the barn was!

Fall Ball

Larry and John like to throw the football around the yard.

This is another one of Autumn's outdoor pleasures!

Book Fair

I had a wonderful time perusing through some of my favorite things, Books, while volunteering at the school Book Fair.
This was very pleasant work. The kids came in and looked at everything the first few days and the volunteers helped them to write down the titles of certain ones they were interested in.

Parents and kids were able to make purchases in preparation for Christmas presents. I learned how to scan an item and process a debit card. I also bought a gift for two of my nieces! You probably know who you are!

Along the same line, my job for the year is to help the teacher put together the Scholastic Book Club paperwork to hand out to the students. There are some good deals on these paperback books. A parent has to be choosy though. Not all of these titles are worth reading. It has been my pleasure to do this volunteer work because I love books so much :)

Thinking of Sally

When I saw this can of Maxwell House coffee in the store, I had to buy it. The can is decorated in a winter snow scene and it says "original roast".  The can has such a nostalgic feel to it. It reminds me so much of my late mother-in-law who drank Maxwell House every day that I knew her. I don't think she ever had a cup of coffee that you could call "mocha grande latte" or some other such foolishness. She was a coffee lover. Just an honest to goodness cup of coffee. Juby and I toasted to her memory as we shared a cup of Maxwell House coffee together talking about her many unique and wonderful qualities.

Who says coffee stunts your growth????
Juby has been drinking it since she was two!
I really need to get some friends my own age!!!

Frozen Princess

Patience, like every other little girl on the planet, loves the movie Frozen. Her very simple family birthday party had these plates to serve cake on.

She received these Frozen plastic high heels to wear with her Ana dress. Ironically, this was the first day in a month that we saw her in street clothes since she wears her Ana dress every day.

This reminds me of olden days when folks only had one or two serviceable outfits for daily life. It really makes life easier, and it just makes sense. Perhaps we could all simplify more in this area if we had a dress like this!

Hunting Buddies

Hunting is one the greatest pleasures of the fall for Larry and the guys.

 We love to have Greg come hunting early in the morning  because it is an opportunity to see this busy family man! He usually stops in to drink a cup of coffee with me before he heads out for the rest of the day.

Although almost every hunting excursion provides a good story about the wildlife that was seen, sometimes they get lucky and provide meat for the table.

When Sam and John headed out to hunt together, I was reminded of this old picture:

Same spot, different weapons.
They made the bottom guns themselves out of paper towel tubes.
Please keep them all safe, Lord, if it be thy Holy Will.

Baking Sisters

No visit is complete without these two sisters baking a cake. That's how they party!

Let the good times roll!

American Ride

Sam doesn't always take the truck to school, but when he does, he decorates it with a flag!
Many other guys do the same thing and meet at the local gas station to drive into school together in a parade. Pretty cool! It could be so much worse!

Harvest Party

Sam held his third annual Halloween/Harvest Party on a Saturday night. Sam, Larry and I worked hard to provide lots of good food, a safe environment and fun decorations.

 There was not as much dancing as there could have been had we remembered to ask Matthew to turn on his super cool truck which he brought for that purpose. I don't know how that got forgotten!

The newly expanded bon-fire pit was a hit and the fire provided much needed warmth on this November evening. Both of my sons-in-law trimmed wood and kept the fire going .Everyone had a safe time and I hope that they enjoyed themselves. Many of our adult kids were here as well as Aunt Cecilia's family so I had a great time!

Happy Halloween

Halloween was spent with our dear friends and their cousins.

You are never too old to go Trick-or- Treating! Just ask Sam, Robert, John and Allyson!
Free Candy! That's a no brainer!

Kit was a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy and Juby's costume which she changed four times before we went out,didn't have a name!

Allyson got enough candy to satisfy and took her own car home! The boys were hard-cores and kept going to fill their pillow cases. This fellow was playing his guitar on the stoop and played a song for these guys.

Don't Robert and Sam look cute fishing for their treats?
One man started talking to Sam man to man about hunting while he was out there!

It was such a beautiful night to be out walking around!

This was the cutest costume of the night! This little guy was adorable, and a Santa so unexpected on Halloween!

My friend, Allison had decorated cupcakes for some fun refreshments when we got back to their house.