Last Day of November!

Up early this morning to start decorating the house for Christmas. Here it is the very last day of November! I wanted to post some pictures of our very fun Thanksgiving before I say good bye to this month. For the last few years, we have been going to a wonderful buffet at Salty's on the Columbia River. Now before you turn up your nose, this restaurant puts on a fabulous dinner! Everything is wonderful...oysters on the half shell, crab, shrimp,steelhead, traditional turkey fixings, salads, pastas, prime rib...just to name a few goodies. Then there's never ending Mimosas and the dessert bar. All with a gorgeous view of the Columbia River. Don't you love the turkey place card holders that Ava made for us? I'm saving mine!

The day was just beautiful! Here is some of the gang, waiting for the Wirth family to arrive. We invited LaVonne's kids Juliana and Johnathan who live here now, from Montana. We like to call them our kids, on loan. Kelsie, our other daughter joined the fun too. It's nice to invite those who don't have family or a place to go for dinner! Cute bunch of kids plus the "elder" Jim! Funny new name from Chris.

Our Montana kids (on loan)  Juliana and Johnathan. Aren't they the cutest couple? They just make me laugh.

Kelsie and Gina have been friends forever! We like to call Kelsie our other daughter...always a pleasure Miss Kelsie.

Oh, our Miss Ava is growing up! I love this picture. Notice her earrings...a gift from last Easter. She is such a cutie pie.

Two handsome dudes! Otto got passed around a lot and he loved it. Notice his little pants and socks are off. It did get a bit hot in the restaurant.

Auntie Gina and Otto...looks like he's a lady's man. He just snuggled right in with her!

Jimmy and his SIL Eric. Note the bunny ears on top of Jimmy's head. Yes, we were all having a good time!

Looking good for new parents! Angie and Chris, so cute.

Grandma Linda finally got a turn to have the baby. He is always moving and always adorable. He's such a good baby. Love ya lots my Otto!

Jimmy with his other SIL. Chris is serious about cracking that crab. One of Chris' favorite phrases is
"whatever" and can't you just see he's thinking that as he's eating that crab? Let him eat Jimmy.

Look at Otto's face! He got to sample a bit of food and that boy likes to eat! His mommy was such a picky eater. I don't think she's going to have any problem with him.

Well, we all had a fun time together. Otto crashed as we were about to leave. I think we all felt this way.

It was such a great afternoon together. Just wanted to post some pix for my blog so I can remember the day and be reminded about being thankful for these blessings of friends and family. I hope you all had a grand time too.

On to Christmas now...I'll be decorating our little home the next few days. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Blessings and Good Wishes to you, your families and your friends. Enjoy the day and your time together. 

So Many Friends....

The day before Thanksgiving...already! This has been a busy week and the days just slip by so quickly.
Today, I am thankful for my friends. I was thinking about so many of you this morning as I enjoyed my  cup of coffee. I love this quote! I guess this is how I feel about my many friends. I found this quote so nicely done on Etsy. The Etsy shoppe is called LilyandVal. There are so many talented people out there and I want to give Valerie credit for this. Go check out her shoppe.

So on to friendship...who would have ever thought that we'd be making friends across the world without even meeting them in person? My blogger friends, FB friends and internet friends have become very special in my life. I don't want to discount my other friends...so many friends and I am thankful for them all! This post could go on and on all day, really. How do you say thank you to them all? Friends are the best. Don't you just smile when one pops into your mind? Friends make me happy and help me get through the difficult times.

It is my wish and my prayer that I can be as good a friend to my friends as they have been to me.
With a grateful heart, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Let's Grow Old Together

I woke up early this morning with too many things on my mind. I tend to do this at holiday times. When I got up, the fire was going and the house was all toasty warm. Jimmy had the fire ready and I really appreciate that! So with my coffee in my hand, I started thinking about what I am thankful for today....my Jimmy. It seems very fitting as this is our 40th year of marriage. I found this postcard online when I was snooping around and I like it!

♡♡♡ LET'S GROW OLD TOGETHER ♡♡♡

I am thankful that God has given us many years together. We have had that time to grow and become better partners. We have made mistakes along the way, we have faced hard times...joys and sorrows for sure! Yet we have always loved each other and here we are, still together and still having a grand time.
Becoming grandparents is a blessing and a reward and definitely a reason to be thankful~a gift for growing older.

Provide and protect should be my Jimmy's motto. He has always lived that from our very beginnings as a couple. Thank you Jimmy for taking good care of me for so long. I have a very thankful heart when I think of the past 40 years and I do hope we are granted many more so we CAN grow old together.

Home Sweet Home

I just got a nice warm fire going in my woodstove and am waiting for the coffee to be done. I was thinking about what I am thankful for today while I was beginning my day and it has to be my home.
I am thankful for my little cozy house where Jimmy and I have lived for 37 years now. If these walls could talk! We brought both of our girls home to this house and now a sweet grandchildren comes to visit.

It's a small house and at times, it was really stuffed when the girls were growing up and their friends filled the house to the brim. Now, it's just right for the retired folks who live here and it's all on one level. When you're young, you sure don't think of those things. No more house payments...it's all ours and that's a good feeling too.

I'm also so thankful that both of my girls have a home too. Eric and Gina bought their home in August in Seattle. It's a large spacious house and what a blessing that it was all ready to meet Eric's needs. We hope it will be filled with little ones someday.

When Angie married Chris, she moved into his amazing home. He is a collector and it is sooo fun to go to their home! I still haven't seen everything and it's so great to look and look and look. Best of all, our grandchildren live there and it's not even a half and hour away from grandma and grandpa's.

A happy home is such a blessing! It is our philosophy that our home should be a sanctuary. Come in from the world and it's business and relax. You will be safe here....recharge your batteries! As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz...there's no place like home.

Home Sweet Home

I Am Thankful for Freedom of Religion

Good Sunday Morning! The wind is still blowing here in Troutdale OR and the house was just shaking last night. As we move toward THANKSGIVING DAY and begin a new week, I decided to take some time and put down a few of my thoughts this week, as this has been a fantastic year for me and my family. So many blessings!

Sunday is a the perfect day to reflect on a very special right in America- freedom of religion.
I am thankful that I can choose to attend my church and am free to celebrate what I believe. I am a Christian and it has great meaning in my life. I am thankful that I can go to church and not be afraid to share my faith. Life is a journey of personal faith, one that I value and hope to grow in every year.

I have been attending a lady's bible study for a few years now at a little community church called Pleasant Home Community Church.Jim and I have decided to make this our church. It's a small church with a real commitment to community...friendly and open. My friend Nancy invited me to attend the bible study so I did! Most of the ladies are older and so sweet and mother me, which I love. We just finished a Beth Moore study on James. The book of James is a small book in the bible, but a very powerful one! We will be starting a new study after Thanksgiving on the book of Daniel. I have done this one before and it is excellent. I don't mind doing it again. If you have never done a Beth Moore study, I highly recommend them.

Take time to reflect on your blessings today. The holidays are so busy and we get so wrapped up in it all. Don't miss the real meaning of the holiday this week. It's not ALL about shopping, it's about being thankful.

Chilly Morning and Tea Time Thursday #28

Happy Tea Time Thursday on this chilly November morning! We had a couple hard freezes this week, which reminds me that fall is leaving us and winter will soon arrive. You know how I love fall and I really am sad to see it go. It is my most favorite time of the year. The woodstove is going most of the time now and I love the warmth of a wood fire.

This wooden item is called a dough bowl and it was used to make bread. I have always wanted one and Jim found it at a wonderful Estate sale filled with primitive goodies. It is quite large and looks like a baby bed! I wish I had a large harvest table, but I don't have room for that in my little home. Anyway, this is the little quilt I was working on. I wanted something to line the bowl with and give it a harvest look. Then I filled it with ornamental gourds and corn and a pumpkin...tucked in some leaves too. I like it.

Very homey and it was a fun project. I always seem to add more fall quilting goodies each year.

So for Tea Time Thursday, I am featuring a couple of my fall teapots. I have had this pumpkin teapot for years. I got it when I had my shoppe when it was hard to find fall items. I still remember the showroom where I ordered it in Seattle.

I have a lot of the blue Calico dishes and was thrilled when I found this brown Calico teapot at a thrift store about 5 years ago. I just got the little blown glass dishes you can see, also thrifting.

Jimmy and I are back into our tea time afternoon breaks around 3-4 PM. It's been nice to take a break together and enjoy a good cup of tea again. A nice habit! These are two we have been enjoying. I do like loose tea better, but these are good for tea bags.

I need to get ready for bible study. I took some pictures last week when we were working on our charity quilts. We sew the second Thursday of each month. They tie their quilts and they are just scrappy quilts. Nancy and I are trying to move them into something a bit different, but as you can see, these are older ladies and they are pretty set in their ways, but they are all so very sweet! They don't even know how to use a rotary cutter!

This is Nancy, my good friend who has started our quilting group that meets once a month. She is an excellent quilter and is helping me on my journey. She is so funny. She is learning to long arm and is really doing a great job. A fun retirement business for her.

Busy bees for sure! I just love these little ladies. So loving and so sincere.

The Beaver Full Moon

Good Sunday evening from a chilly and windy Oregon. Just checking in with a little full moon report.  One of the names for the November Full Moon is the BEAVER MOON. Maybe you like a different name~Frosty, White, Snow, Dark, Moon of the Turkey or Moon When All Gather In. The moon was so bright last night, but we have clouds hiding her beauty from us this November evening.It was a busy weekend for Jimmy and me. I am looking forward to a productive week ahead...the to do list is long, very long. I will leave you with a little haiku for tonight by Nancy Chambers.

Jack Frost comes calling
November's leaves turn golden
Chilly nights; Beaver Moon

Stay warm as you make your plans for Thanksgiving. It will soon be here!

Grandparent's Day with Miss Ava

Most of you know that Jimmy and I became grandparents this year. When Chris married our daughter Angie, we also got a little 6 year old granddaughter, Ava. Then we got our little grandson Otto, so we really got a "two for one" special deal! We were invited to our first Grandparent's Day this morning at Ava's school. We sure felt honored and it was really fun there. You can see that happy face on Jimmy in front of the school.

After an assembly, we were invited to visit Ava's first grade classroom. I was a first grade teacher so many years ago, so this was really fun for me. Ava's Grandma Kathy was there too, so Ava introduced us to her little friend Eleanor and said Eleanor didn't have a grandparent visiting today, so she was going to stay with Ava they were both going to read to us! So sweet.

Both girls are excellent readers and they read lots of stories to us. It was great and they were so excited.

Ava likes this one and actually, she had it memoried. She flew through it and had lots of laughs..oinky, oink, oink!

The  room was loaded with books, lots of books! In this day of computers and Kindles, it was just nice to see kids with real books in their hands.

A proud Grandma Kathy looking on!

Grandma Kathy and Jimmy were getting a kick out of the girls and thier books. Jimmy had to do a few magic tricks for them too.

Such sweet friends. What a joy to be at school today. We loved every minute of it Miss Ava. We love you too!

Ava will be spending the night with us tomorrow. We will be busy playing and hopefully reading!

Some Morning Thoughts on Friendship

Good morning! The winds have stopped and I woke up to a gentle rain outside my bedroom window. It's calm, quiet and peaceful. I love November and this season. I guess I get a bit reflective at this time of the year. I'm having my coffee and my mind has been drifting to so many of my friends today. Some are very happy, some are making changes in their lives, some are in transition as they move into retirement, some are busy raising their families, and others are facing difficulties. I keep them in my heart and in my prayers. I am thankful for them all! Blogging, quilting, FB, bible study and old time friends...the list keeps growing. I only wish I had more time to stay in contact with them all!

Yesterday, my dear friend LaVonne in Montana wrote a great blog on her day with some new friends who meet each month for a day of knitting. I had encouraged her to do something fun, something just for her. I am so glad that she has joined this group. I think women really need the support of other women. Maybe we just need to talk. Anyway, so happy that she took the step to do this! She's a very busy lady and it's hard for her to make time for herself.

So as we slip into Thanksgiving, take some time to think about your friends...maybe send them a little note or a card. We sure need our friends.

Road Trip!

On Friday, Jimmy and I picked up Angie and Baby Otto in the morning and headed north to Seattle...ROAD TRIP! We were excited to see Eric and Gina's new home and they were excited to spend some time with Otto. We had a nice drive up and stopped at the Country Cousins restaurant for a bite and a chance for the baby to stretch a bit. He is so good and he's a good traveler too! Grandma was loving it!

Eric and Gina have been in their new home about two months. It is just a beautiful crafted home, very mid century. It's all on one level, it's big and spacious, so it is perfect for our Eric. Eric has his roll in shower, cupboards are lower as are the appliances, and it's so open with wide haul ways and all. We are so happy for them both to have found a home that fits them so well.

This is our little tour around the outside of the home.

The home has been landscaped so well ....several different types of fruit trees too.!

Auntie Gina, Baby Otto and mama Angie....precious one and all! Don't they look happy?

The men folk having fun. They have been having fun together at the Expo shows so they are used to hanging around with each other a bit....funny guys.

This wonderful window is a favorite of Gina's.

We went inside to the party room, complete with a second fireplace. Such a cozy place to entertain.

Time to eat! This is a darling picture of these two, getting to know each other again. Gina was there with Chris when Otto had a difficult time getting out, so the bond is pretty special.

This is the rest of the party room. It has a mirror at the end so it seems like the room is bigger than it is.

Auntie Gina put on her Cookie Monster hat and Otto was enchanted. So cute.  My daughter is a very good mother. I'm so happy for her.

We had to put it on Otto too. He thought it was pretty funny. Cutie pie.

Kissy Kissy.....adorable. Can you tell we were having fun? Proud papa and grandpa there in the back.

A short time ago, my sister Debbie sent out an email to see if either of my girls would like to have my mother's china. Angie is the oldest granddaughter, but she has lots of wonderful dishes and really couldn't take it. Gina was delighted to take it. My dad's boss went to Japan on a buying trip for Woolworth and was able to get this china there for my mother. I think it was about 1958, so it's very mid century. The china is Nortake China and the pattern is called Sheldon. It's trimmed in silver and is a light turquoise, very nice. The girls had it unpacked before dinner!

Gina bought this china cabinet a few weeks ago, so she was anxious to have the china arrive.  She will take good care of it and it hope someday she will be able to pass it on in the family.

Jim and I drove home that night and left the young folks to enjoy the baby and each other.  Looks like they were having a grand time. We will be having Christmas in Seattle this year, so I hope to share more pictures of their home so everyone can see more of the house. Thanks you guys for the wonderful visit. Love you all lots!