[GailR]

Good mornin'!

Mission accomplished last night. DD1, DGD1, and I drove back up to King of Prussia to shop. DD1 bought another Christmas present and a pair of beautiful boots for herself with some Christmas $$$ she received. I bought some Teavana tea and all the gear that goes with that to make a "perfect cup of tea" (their words; not mine), a Soduko electronic game, and some bath 3-in-1 stuff by Philosophy (looooove this stuff...I bought "cinnamon buns" scent). DGD1 did not buy but got a trip to the Disney store and the candy store right beside it and she was happy. It was a fun night. Got home at 10:30pm. Not bad considering how far we traveled.

Jean, I know you're happy to leave school/work for the holiday season. I'm here today until 1pm. Tomorrow until 1pm. And then that is it until January 3. It is quiet here. No students. No faculty. Quiet. In fact, I'm going to drag out my knitting in a few minutes.

Faye, I hear you when you say your feeling miserable. Last week there was so much food around and so many parties! Glad this week is quiet. Christmas Eve dinner at my house will be very controllable. Have fun on your casino trip!

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! It was a quiet day at school for a nice change. The restricted kid who was supposed to spend some time with me never showed up so I was able to finish up my own projects. I cleaned all of the first semester stuff out of file folders, ran some copies for second semester, went for a haircut after school, had bell practice at 6 for a half hour which was hardly worth the drive into town, and here I am!

The temperature is warming up and it is supposed to be in the 40s by the weekend. I'll believe it when I see it!

'Gma' -- Your cookies sound so good! I always use butter when I bake, which is seldom. I just read an article that compared margarine to eating plastic. I prefer butter on toast or bread myself. I am on sugar overload again tonight . . . treats in the lounge and a couple of the teachers gave me gift packages of candy and cookies. Just what I don't need and I am too stupid to leave it alone. Sometimes I think I would be better off to bake on a regular basis. Your Christmas weekend away sounds like fun.

Gail -- You are lucky you can sit and knit at work when you are not busy. I have written letters or read the newspaper but that is about it. The teachers who knit, do it in the lounge during lunch. It sounds like you had fun on your shopping trip!

Not much else is newsy from my corner of the world tonight. Have a terrific Thursday tomorrow!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning everyone. Well it is time to drag all the stuff downstairs to take tomorrow so will probably do that this afternoon. They usually let the guys go home right after lunch so I expect Jack will be home early. He had to work until 6:30 last night and was mad as a wet hen about it because it could have been done this morning with no problem but the mechanic foreman convinced Jack's boss it was an emergency and he made Jack stay (Jack's two other techs are both out on vacation so he is IT) One of the things that made him mad is he had to take time off to go to the dr the other day so he doesn't get overtime for the time he worked last night! I hope he holds his temper because he was pretty mad when he got home last night. His supervisor is a total dumb bunny but doesn't trust Jack about anything he tells him. The guy is about 15 years younger than Jack and a WHOLE lot less experience in the job. He spends most of his time in his office playing games on his computer I guess and when there is a problem will not back his guys up but skirts around the problem. I just keep reminding Jack he only has 10 years and he can permanently retire.

Got the cookies baked, but Jack got home so late that I didn't want to go out to get the p sugar so Jack is going to pick it up this afternoon. I rarely go out alone after dark around here. It just isn't safe to do, especially in this neighborhood.

I will be gone until Tuesday so hope you all have a great holiday and enjoy your families. We are looking forward to spending time with the kids and Thomas.

Faye

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun is shining brightly and it is 44 degrees in my corner of the world. There is 'slop' out in the street so I assume the snow is melting. I've been sorting through the junk mail, newspapers, catalogs, and magazines this morning and have a big pile to pitch. I need to run a couple of errands this afternoon -- one being to the grocery store.

'Gma' -- I'm kind of surprised that Jack's place of employment would let two guys be on vacation at the same time, in case an emergency were to happen. I hope Jack gets home early as he planned. Have a great time while you are gone and a "Merry Christmas" to you and yours!

Have a nice day! I need to keep moving!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! I'm waiting for a load of clothes to finish and then I need to get back to wrapping! Next year I will start earlier . . . . will someone please remind me of that come August??

I ran a couple errands this morning and washed the car. It's 40 degrees outside and sloppy. The sun is hiding right now but has been in and out this morning. They are predicting rain turning to snow but it is too warm for snow, I think.

I need to keep moving. Have a great day!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! I'm peeking in on my way by to put a load of laundry away. This has not been the happiest day in our household . . . we took Leonard to the vet this morning and came home without him. The vet thought he had a mass/tumor and was filling up with fluid; without doing alot of testing and expense to go along with that, the vet said he was certain there would be no cure for his ripe old age of 70+ in human years. I called the kids although I'm sure Maddy will ask where 'Leno' is. He would hiss at her if she got too close and she would hiss back at him. I still have a few gifts to wrap and a salad to put together plus getting dishes and tablecloth ready.

I hope you all are having a nice day and Merry Christmas tomorrow!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[nanacas]

Good Morning All!

Hope you all had an exceptional Christmas Day and were able to enjoy it without it being too hectic.

We went to DD#2 for Christmas Eve...it is now a tradition...for Sean's 14th birthday. He is now 14...how is that possible? I haven't aged It is just a small gathering them & us. But I think he looks forward to it. she was telling me that she worked that morning in the OR and when there was a break in the schedule the doctors call Sean and all sang Happy Birthday to him. I thought that was a nice thing to do. I can see them all in their scrubs singing and then the patient wakes up and wonders just where he is.....

Yesterday we had dinner with DD#1 and her family and that was special, too.
she made a Tenderloin Roast and twice baked potatoes that were to die for.

Last night when we got home it was just barely stay awake time then I gave up on that and went to bed....slept til 6:30AM....I must have need the sleep.

Faye: Hope when you get back and read this you will have had a very enjoyable Christmas at the Casino....do you gamble at all? I'll bet T had a ball not only Christmas but the pool and all the other doings.

Jean: It must have been an interesting Christmas at your house with all the new little ones. That is the fun of having babies in the family....seeing their faces light up at this time of year.

Gail: Hope all went well for you and that your trip to King of Prussia, PA paid off with gifts that were happily recieved.

Gloria in MA.....my drier just rang and I must take the sheets out before they wrinkle. Talk you you later.