Hey girls, the avatar is located at the user control panel here at 3fc.

Yeah judi and Alice, I know you are right about DD. And thanks for the advice. I don't really need to talk to her, I just need to hear from her. She didn't answer her cell phone all weekend - I know there could be any number of explanations. I just realized I don't have an emergency plan to get in touch with her though, I don't know her address, her roomates last names, etc. My imagination is kind of running wild, but I haven't sent out a search party yet. I hope that it's ok that I haven't.

In other news, well I am going to go for a hike this morning, though I might go back to bed first, not much sleep last night. Tomorrow I am going to help on the trail. I am on a volunteer committee that is building a trail at the lake I like to paddle at. It is a huge undertaking and I am only working a very little bit on it, but tomorrow is my day. It's cold here too. I'll have to bundle up.

Ya'll have a good day.

Ledom, you do need to know where she can be reached at all times that is for sure. She could have lost or misplaced her cell phone. Let us know when you hear from her.

How did the work on the trail go?

We are still snowed in here. I had some friends over for coffee yesterday and made a dutch apple cake with carmel sauce. I had the recipes in a cookbook we used in high school for Home Ec. "The Canadian Cookbook" it is called. It was published sometimes in the fifties. Has anyone ever got a cookbook and cooked all the recipes in it? I saw a guest on Martha who had done that with a Julia Child cookbook. Sounds like a fun project...I would have trouble with the sweetbreads recipes though.

Thanks Alice, I def. will look at the Slim Fast website. I have used Spelt to instead of flour sometimes. I like it. Now you can get a few cereals with Spelt in it.

Good for you LaDean resisting all the temptations at a pot luck.

I don't know what to do with myself today...I keep playing around with the printer and printing out more Christmas cards than I actually need to send just for the fun of it...I guess I had better go iron or clean or cook...just wish I could get out with the car. I didn't realize how much I love being out and about shopping. I don't need anything...just want to get out.

Well, have a good monday everyone. Let us know when you hear fromDD Ledom.

-Judi

hi, glad all is going good here. me it is to. hey where do you get your cute christmas advatars???? they do not have any on the site.. just curious there so cute... well scales just up a hafe after weekend. so not to bad. got up early this am and rode ex bike 5 miles and walked beau. so has gone good. had breakfast and lunch together so now lite rest of day.. good luck to all and ha ve a great day. LaDean

LaDean - at the bottom of this page where it say Forum Jump, scroll to the User Control Panel, then select Edit Avatar from the left of that page. The Christmas avatars are there.

So girls, without going into any further drama, DD is safe and going about her business. You are right, I just need to get on with my life which I plan to do.
Trail building is tomorrow judi, I'll let you know.

Ledom. thanks so much. these are so cute. i am so glad all is going good with your daughter.. yes we just have to let ourselfes be us. i know my daughter lives with us and all is going good. but we are lucky.. hey have a good day to all. my day has been so good. good luck to all. LaDean

Cute snowman LaDean.

My trail building has been postponed until tomorrow. It may snow here tomorrow night! I hope it does. Though judi it sounds as though you might be ready for a break from the snow.

I have never tried slimfast - good luck with it and let us know how it goes for you. I think I read about that person that made every recipe in the Julia Child cookbook. What a cool thing to do. I am in love with the cookbooks of
Deborah Madison - just love all the information she includes in the very thick "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone". I think it'd take a long long time to make everything in that book. Madison lives in a small community south of Santa Fe which I made a point of driving through on my trip. I read another article that the artist Agnes Martin also lived there before she died. This is a really tiny, historic place, that I now have fantasies of retiring to.

Have a good day all.

Since you all have Christmas avatars, thought I'd change mine. I was going to take another photo of my Flamingos with Santa hats, but couldn't find any Santa hats that were small enough for their heads.

Lacee & I got back a little while ago from our walk. I'm getting both of us acclimated to longer walks.

ledom, glad that you heard from your D. That must have been a relief. Glad that you've decided to get on with your life. Have fun with your trail building. Do you still go kayaking? You never mention it anymore.

judi, it must look like a winter wonderland where you live. I agree, you can go stir crazy not being able to get out. I remember it so well.

La Dean, I really like your avatar. You're coming along great with your exercise.

My eating went well yesterday. I stopped eating when I was full. Have to keep doing that so that it becomes a habit.

I heard on the radio yesterday that the Post Office wanted people to mail their pkgs. yesterday. I haven't even wrapped the gifts I'm going to send, nor have I written out my Christmas Cards. I've got to get a move on. I guess it still doesn't seem like Christmas down here.

Have a wonderful day.

ledom, we were posting at the same time again.

Hey Alice, we have the same morning routines it seems :-).

I am not going to do much for Christmas this year. To tell the truth I don't even know if DD will be here. I am trying to figure out how to spend time with my mother so that she doesn't feel lonely and still have a bit of self preservation along with it. If I had my druthers I'd be heading to a cabin in the wilderness by myself.

I like your avatar too Alice. Our whole little thread looks so Christmasy!

I do still kayak Alice, just not as often as before. I have a couple trips planned for the near future though. I plan to paddle with a group doing a bird count next Thursday. This will be on the bayou where the Ivory Billed Woodpecker was spotted and will be a new area for me. Then on New Years Day I plan to paddle with the same group who paddled on NYD last year. Maybe a bit of a tradition going here.

Hi so glad all is going good with everyone. yes i love these little christmas ones. hey aleka i debated on the one you have or the snow man. so my grandson loves snowmen so chose it.. yes this gets me in mood. Oh Ledom hope you get to spend some with your mother. wish i had mine to spend it with. i always take flowers to cemetary and that is my time with them. then my tuffy got to fix his little site up and all christmasy. he loved it so much. so cute i got lots of pictures. so hope beau does like it to. i will get pictures. I did get a picture of tuffy and i under the tree last y ear so i treasure that.. loss him jan. 5th so we had him christmas.. alot of m emories this time of year. but happy ones. hope your d comes around and you all. i love cabins would love to have one to go to.. so comfy.. well aleka yours and lacees walk sounds good. i had one with beau this am.. was chilly but not bad out. Oh the snow and all judi i know it makes it so holiday like. i am going to get my christmas things out today.. start getting in mood around here. ha ha i am up a bit on scales this am. over did yesterday. you all are doing great. we can and we will do it TOGETHER.. you all are the GREATEST FRIENDS. HAVE A GOOD DAY. LaDean

Our little corner does look Christmasy doesn't it!

Glad DD is back, Ledom.

You girls sound like you are all doing good....excercise wise you all amazing. I really need to get this weight off, my hip is hurting when I walk.

Yeah, I think I will try the Slim Fast in the New Year. Maybe 2 meals a day and a reg. meal twice a week and then count calories the other ones. I should get a new hobby part of my problem is I love cookbooks and then cooking so I am always making something everyday. I missed the meeting of the newly forming camera club because of being snowed in...but maybe if I get taking photos again I will spend less time in the kitchen. I would get more exercise too,

I am looking forward to Christmas. I have done all my shopping (which wasn't much), mailed the cards (which seem to get less each year as people die or drift off somewhere) and am only left with the baking.

The picture with Tuffy under the tree must be so sweet LaDean. I have a picture of Parasha in a Christmas frame that I bring out every year. She was such a sweet good natured little dog...I really miss her.

I had fun making calendars this year with my photos. The software that came with my digital camera had some fun things to play around with. Do you use Photoshop, Ledom?

Yes, New Mexico is one of my favourite places. My first interest in it when I was reading biographies of Georgia O'Keefe and was so thrilled when I got to go.

Alice...flamigoes in Santa hats that would be so cute!!!

Time to go find DH...we are going to watch "War of the Worlds'...we still haven't seen it.

Wouldn't it be fun if the four of us could get together for a little Christmas coffee party? I would love that, don't you know we would have so much to talk about. We might even get around to mentioning our animal babies ;-)

My trail work was postponed until tomorrow so I'll be up and out early in the morning.

Judi, the workshop I took last was on photoshop. I was in a class that was way too advanced for me! Kind of a love/hate relationship going on with photoshop here.

Things are going pretty well diet wise. I noticed that I was sneaking an extra cracker here and there the last couple of days. Last night I also had a dessert, a big one. While the crackers were somewhat uncontrolled, the dessert I felt totally in control with. Like I really crave this, I have been thinking of this for days, I am going to have this and put this craving behind me. Anyway, these little indulgences were pretty obvious on the scale, not anything major but just enough to remind me. So today I was absolutely perfect. I am going to a little christmas party on Sun. afternoon and I'll wait until then to treat myself again, and moderately at that. Things are going so good now that I don't want to screw it up.

Take care and talk to you soon.

Yes it would be SO much fun to get together.

Ledom, if photoshop is to advanced for you it would be wayyyyy out of my league...I was just thinking about maybe getting it. I am having quite a bit of fun with the software that came with my camera.

Good for you on the control thing...with all those temptations all around too.

Hi LaDean & Aleka

Today we drove for miles and miles looking for a place we saw last year that made real Ukrainian homemade Kolbassa...if I am eating meat again might as well have the best. We found it too...I bought various types of perogies and 2 rings of the sausage and am going to save them for Christmas eve.

Well, we watched "War of the Worlds". It was ok, I thought but it didn't match the fear factor in the original "Cape Fear" with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum that I caught on tv right after I finished watching the dvd. (Hollywood with its big budgets and special effects still can't match up to some of the old movies where the acting and writing does it all.)

I am going to go cook something...for the deep freeze.

judi - photoshp is too advanced for me because I don't have the patience for it. You would probably take right to it, also what I meant was the class I took was an advanced class and I am a beginner.

So today was fun. I painted the blazes for our new trail. I enjoyed it much more than the day I dug the trail. No blisters today. I had an interesting partner too who told me his life story as we worked. A retired jock who is still very much into working out, mountain biking, racing. I have met some nice people working with my citizens focus group. Too bad I am not retired, I would be the best volunteer ever.

All your christmas goodies sound so good. I have to make a sweet to take the christmas party on Sunday. I think I am going to make 2 things. Since I am way into my southwestern theme still I am going to make from the Nov. recipes of the New Mexico magazine. A pumpkin pinenut loaf and anise cookeis I believe.

My own get together is a week from Friday night and is now official as I have extended invitations. I'll be a cleaning and a cooking pretty much full time between now and then.

Hi oh your meats do sound so good. glad you found them and all. i am thinking strongly after first of year to get on atkins again.. i did lose on it. i was down .50 tonite so that was good for me. i want to have a loss every week lefted this year. so going for it. good luck to all of you also.. oh your plans sound good. and i am happy for all of us. have a great tomorrow. LaDean