Good morning to you all! It is cold here this morning. Yesterday was brutal because it was around 26 degrees and the wind was gusting at around 40 mph. We got our behinds out to the commissary and back home and stayed there. We got a few spits of snow, but nothing stuck at all. It was cold enough though that when a snowflake would fall it would stick and not melt. I stood outside long enough to enjoy a couple on the car. They are truly God's creation as no "big bang" could make anything so beautiful out of frozen water.

Jean: Thomas quit his violin, but he still really enjoys his piano. He sat and played for us when we got to their house on Thanksgiving. No one asked him to, he just sat and played carols while we fixed dinner. Jackson got in the act when they arrived so he might have talent too! lolol I don't know though, their house has no room for a piano he might have to practice out in the garage! lol Yi-yi-yi as Ricky Ricardo says, it is cold at your house. Glad you snow moved on. I guess Indiana is getting hit pretty hard in the northern part. It is coming across the lake and that is always bad. One area is so bad, Laporte County, which is the county next to South Bend's has issued a stay off the road. They said there will be no plows on the roads and people who do not heed the warning travel at their own risk. The wind is blowing so bad it is keeping the roads drifted shut.

Susan: The commissary wasn't horrible, but there were quite a few people. The problem was no cashiers so the line could get long. They only had 3 open. We didn't wait too long though and got our stuff, came home, put it away and stayed indoors. I knitted and watched Christmas movies and Jack took a nap! lol I'm tellin' ya, men are clueless aren't they? I told him I was sure he gave all the old ladies a thrill getting to look at his underwear!

I am up to my wazoo in laundry so it will be laundry day and dusting to get done today. We still haven't bought a dryer as I don't want to put it on the credit card but pay cash for it so it has to wait for our tax return as does getting the grand marquis fixed and replacing my recliner. I am trying to get as much debt cleared off as possible before Jack retires and not put anything of significance on our credit card so back to the laundromat we go. We go every three days, but this was a 4 days stretch with grocery shopping on Sunday and the recital on Saturday so it has piled up, mostly towels. I am not into reusing towels so it doesn't take long to have a stack.

I guess I should get out of here. I need to find my sister a birthday present as her birthday is the day after Christmas. I want to make her a pair of socks, but I need to get a move on with T's or they won't get done. Have a great start to your week all! Faye

Good evening, ladies! Its 32 degrees right now, up form 29 2 hours ago. It was 44 when I got up this morning. We had lots of snow! I still went to bee as did 6 others. The whimps stayed home. The ground was covered but the roads were only wet. Right now there is no snow to be seen. It's all melted already. What a day!

Faye, Thomas will be a true Renissance man. He is so talented, smart and well rounded. I'm sorry you have to go to the laundromat. I'd hate to have to do it. But your plane to pay cash is great. More power to you.

Jean, congratulations to Amanda. You have reason to be so proud. I saw your picture on facebook. I always pictured you with brown hair! Don't know where I got that from.

Maggie, you shouldn't have but I am so glad you did! Maybe you'll get lucky and there will be a new leader in the new year. We can hope, can't we?

I'm getting hungry so it must be supper time. Shrimp Scampi, brown rice and broccoli tonight. Have a good evening!

Good morning to you all! My shoes should come today and I sure hope they fit properly. If so, I will definitely order some more of this brand in different styles.

Maggie: Hope you find being back at WW beneficial to you. Thanks for the gift whatever it is. It is still really chilly here too. Jack said he hasn't had to work outside, but the buildings are pretty much just as cold. I just wished the wind would die down. It makes it so much worse.

Susan: Thomas is that. I wish the video had been clearer as part of the endearing part for me was watching him walk off the stage. You can tell he has no fear appearing before crowds. He gets up, bows, sticks his hands in his pocket and saunters off. lol He is so much like his dad he even has his mannerisms. Wow, I didn't think you guys would get snow just the cold and wind. We never did get anything that stuck. I always had this picture of Jean in my head and it was totally wrong too. I think it is funny how going by names and how people communicate you get a picture in your head. You aren't anything like my head picture either! lol

Jean: How wonderful for her. You must be so very proud. It is a great accomplishment trying to go to school and work at the same time. My sil has been a nurse for 30 years and she is going after her nurse practitioner licnese. She has always worked cardiac care and I guess will continue to do that.

I bought the most adorable slippers for my sister for her birthday. I ended up getting her pjs though I wanted to buy her a bathrobe they had none of the colors in her size. I just had to include a picture. They are pigs! lol I wanted the frogs, but they were out of stock. I am hoping she likes them as they are a bit quirky. I am making her a pair of pink socks though so thought they would be perfect.

I need to get started on work and getting the sock done so I can start my sisters. Have a grand day today. Faye

Good morning to you all! I am having intestinal issues today and don't know why. I just hope it works itself out today and that will be it. I am going to take some meds just in case it is diverticulosis, but I pretty much recognize that when I have problems and this seems kind of weird. Ahh well, what can you do?

We are going down to a local casino Christmas Eve and spending the night and the kids are going to come down, go to lunch then we will go swimming at the pool, T can open his gifts and we visit for a bit then they will go home. We will hang out until lunch and have lunch down there then come home. It is one of only two places you can eat out that is open on Christmas Day, the casino buffets and restaurants or IHOP. We kind of switch back and forth year to year. It is more enjoyable than making Christmas dinner for just the two of us. I had my holiday meal at Thanksgiving with all of us together so eating out is fine with me. Thomas wanted to go to the Paula Deen buffet but his dad nixed that so it is the Village Buffet at the Horseshoe. It is the biggest buffet of them all and has a great selection. I love their salad bar.

Jean: I have probably told this story before, but it is so cute I love telling it. Kelly was about 4-5 I imagine and it has been so long ago, I don't even remember the circumstances about how this came about but suffice it to say it did. Kelly hated waiting for Christmas. It drove her dear little heart nuts and she got the opportunity this particular year and she went and got all her presents and carefully opened up each one. She found she had a dilemma when closing them back up because she either couldn't find or we were out of scotch tape. She rewrapped all her gifts with masking tape! She had been so very careful that if it hadn't been for the yellowish tape she would have gotten away with it. It is one of those holiday stories that are always fun to retell. I told Thomas just this year that he was getting older and so his gifts were more expensive so I hoped he understood that Jackson would get more than he because I could buy more for the same money I spent on him. His mom called last night and we talked about Christmas Eve and she suggested lunch instead of dinner for a couple reasons, one of which was if they came down and we went swimming, then dinner, then presents he would want to go home immediately! She said she was going to have a hard enough time getting him to bed and normally she would let him stay up late to play the video game we bought him (it is Rock Band 3 with a real keyboard) but they bought him a bicycle and a smart phone and she has to put stuff out, etc and didn't want to be up half the night waiting for him to go to bed. lol

Magge: That pot pie stuff doesn't sound like it is very practical. I mean, if it is just the meat and gravy and you have to do all the rest of the work, you might as well buy canned chicken in sauce like Sue Bee brand or whatever it is called. Let us know how it tastes! lol Maggie, thank you so much for my surprise, I love it. It is adorable.

Well gals, time to get out of here and get something done. I saw my sister's birthday presents will be delivered tomorrow so at least she will get them before her birthday, which is a week from Sunday. Like I said I am making her a pair of pink socks but haven't even gotten them started so she is likely to get them late.

Have a good day all! faye

Good Morning, Flowers! A "wintry mix" is our forecast for the day. Right now it is just cold, cloudy, windy, and gloomy. I have lots of things to get done today and have bell practice at 5 this afternoon. Bob also has practice at the same time so maybe it will be his night to cook.

"Gma" -- I hope your meds 'work' and you are feeling better by now. Your Christmas Eve/day plans sound like fun. I don't think anything is open around here -- even WM closes for Christmas Day. I love the buffets that have all kinds of different foods available. That is a cute story about Kelly! I remember opening a package or two when I was a kid. I'm sure your sister will be tickled with her birthday gifts whether they are early, on time, or late.

Susan -- We missed you yesterday! I hope you were just too busy to post.

Maggie -- What is on your agenda for today?

I'm off to work on my Christmas cards! I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday; be thankful that you are walking and talking today!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good afternoon, ladies! Another cold day at 32 degrees. Tomorrow we are supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow which will then turn to rain, more snow on Saturday and then a big storm (blizzard) may hit Sunday night or might pass us by. I just can't believe this weather. It looks like the Farmer's Almanac will be right again.

Yesterday I worked - and an extra hour, went to the Y and worked out, had dinner with my friends, then had quild meeting. I had water aerobics this morning, we had our covered dish lunch at the Y at 12. It was reay neat because the lady came in with a huge trash bag and said a woman had dropped it off and it was swim suits that we could all take. I ended up with 4 suits. There were all brand new with the tags still on. We figured out the lady was from Newport Fashions which has a warehouse in Newport News. This evening is dinner with my friends at Olive Garden then my quilting bee. Tomorrow was supposed to be a covered dish at another quilting bee but that has already been cancelled because of the forecast. Some of our members come an hour each way to be with us.

Faye, your Christmas plans sound great.

Jean, I told you you didn't need to share your cold weather!

Maggie, that chicken pot pie mix doesn't sound like something I'd buy. It sounds like chicken and gravy and I can make that just fine. I like the recipe on the WW site and also their Shepard's Pie.

Well, I need to get a few things done before I'm off to the next round!