Christmas Trees

I have always loved decorating for Christmas and using all of the old traditional ornaments. Several years ago the home I lived in at the time was flooded by Hurricane Opal. A small amount of water in comparison to others but it still messed a lot of things up, including most all of my old cherished Christmas Decorations. The ones made by my children when they were growing up, etc.

Since that time I have enjoyed creating different Christmas trees. I have given my Victorian ornaments and my Teddy Bear tree to my daughter along with almost all of my other decorations. I usually go to her house for Thanksgiving and spend the weekend helping her decorate her house. She goes all out as I used to do and has a beautifully decorated home for Christmas. A wonderful place to spend the holidays celebrating with family. I love helping her, I get to see all of the ornaments as I take them out one by one to put on the trees and then she has to take them all down. For me that's a pretty good arrangement.

For the past few years I have not decorated a tree for my house, although I am always on the lookout for "Christmas decoration bargains". As a result, I have collected a few for another theme tree. This year I put a small table top tree up using some of the things I have selected. This "collection" is a work in progress and I will as time goes by find other things to add to the tree.

The star on the top is crocheted, light flows through it and there are transparent beads around the outside. There are hearts, one of my favorite symbols, dangling snowflakes, teacups and other crocheted ornaments. The pale pink balls are delicate and compliment the beaded flowers. A Christmas Tree should be something that you love putting up and don't mind talking down, otherwise why bother. This one suits me at my stage in life.

THE HUNT

This photo makes me laugh, aren't memories wonderful!

Here I am ready for my first time ever hunting trip (see previous post), all decked out in layers of clothes and ready for RAIN. I have my rain jacket tied around my waist and other rain gear under the porch with my bow. My bow vest is loaded with everything that I might need, and plenty of things that I did not.

Yes, we waited till the thunder and lightning was over and hunted in the rain until dark. This was my first time in the woods alone, my first time to climb a tree stand, use a safety harness and my first time to walk out of the woods alone in the dark to wait for the truck IN THE RAIN.

I loved it - the whole experience for the entire weekend. Up at 4am, breakfast on the run we were dressed and ready for the truck at 5. We met the truck around 11, came back changed our clothes, had lunch, dressed appropriately for the weather and headed out between 1 and 1:30 to hunt again until dark. Needless to say, it was early to bed so we could do it again the next day. I could not believe that the days flew by as fast as they did.

I got to know 17 other women from all kinds of backgrounds, all experienced hunters. Their backgrounds were varied; schoolteacher, cardiology nurse, health care provider, dental office manager, professional archer, physician's assistant, stay at home mother, retired school teachers, professional writer, illustrator, farmer, high school senior, medical trial supervisor and others. Needless to say these were very interesting women. Believe me there were some tall tales told some I believe and some well, the jury is still out on those. Who would think that I would meet a cardiology nurse who made her own longbow and with it successfully shot a doe the last day of the hunt.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO AGAIN.

Bow Hunting

I have just returned from my first Bow Hunt, a wonderful trip with friends. I wish I had a photo to post but there's always next time!

The plantation property was beautiful, the lodge was fabulous and the staff was first class. Our group had a great time and some of us were successful. We saw lots and lots of whitetails but most of them stayed out of bow range. I saw bucks, does, fawns, turkeys and other wildlife. Too bad it was not turkey season, they were in shooting range. I watched a little spotted fawn play in a food plot for 25 minutes while it's mother was feeding. It was a memorable experience.

Sitting in the tree stand I was able to enjoy the fall colors and nature at it's finest. I knew that bow hunting was a challenge and am more determined now than ever to continue. I have a lot to learn and look forward to my next opportunity.

My least favorite thing was the sound of the coyotes in the woods all around you while you were waiting in the dark for the truck to pick you up. Thankfully, they were not as close to me as they were to some of the others in the group. For me the fear factor would be influenced by the amount of distance between me and the coyote, especially since this was my first time to venture into the woods by myself!

Never in a million years would I have thought I would be shooting a compound bow, wearing rubber boots, camouflage and tramping through the woods by myself. I hunted in the rain, in the swamp, walked through mud, climbed trees and enjoyed it all. Just goes to show you that when you are open to new ideas and opportunities you never know where life will take you. I'M READY FOR MY NEXT ADVENTURE!

ANNIE IS NINE YEARS OLD

It's hard to believe that my "Sweet Annie" is nine years old. She is my roomie and is great company to me. A BARKER, by trade, a trait which I have not been successful in changing. She is a great watchdog so I really don't worry about it too much. I just keep her inside early in the morning. If she sees a cat her mission is to let everyone in the universe know that it is in her domain!

You don't realize how attached you truly are to your pet until there is a serious problem. Annie had a malignant tumor removed from her leg in September. Of course, there is always the chance that it will come back. We are living as if it will not occur because if it does the outlook is not good. She would face amputation and that would be a hard decision for me to make.

She has recovered from the surgery and is back to her old self, full of energy and life. She continues to go to work with me where there is always someone available to play tug of war and to give her little treats. LIFE IS GOOD FOR MISS ANNIE

Ghosts and Goblins

It's not everyday you go shopping for a scary mask to match your 86 year old Mother's costume. I settled for a zombie and we had a great time together.

My grandchildren were quite impressed when they realized their Great Grandmother was dressing as "Scream". Her intentions were to be a scary ghost, she had never heard of Scream.

We certainly were dressed differently from most of the others at the event, as they wore more traditional costumes such as clowns, ballerinas, witches, cowgirls and 50's poodle skirts.

We laughed at ourselves and at the reaction from others in attendance. Hmmmm wonder what we can do for next year's costume?

BASEBALL AT IT'S BEST

One of my most favorite things to do is watching my #2 Grandson play baseball. This season he has pitched a little, played first base and centerfield. He is a good hitter, a fast runner and loves to steal around the bases. He plays with a great group of boys and has good coaches.

His regular season team won first place and came in second at district. We have been to tournaments, with the travel team, where we have done very well and to others that were not quite as successful. Those we call character building experiences.

There is nothing better than to be sitting on the sidelines and watch your grandson slide on his knees on the ground to catch a fly ball in short centerfield and then pop up and throw the runner out at first. HOW COULD A DOUBLE PLAY BE ANY MORE EXCITING THAT THAT! In this same game he also hit his first over the centerfield fence home run!

I love baseball and I love the fact that he is passionate about the game and wants to play. I look forward to many, many hours sitting on the sidelines cheering his team on and watching him grow up. What more could a grandmother want.

A Visit from Parsey

This spring I had a nice visit from Miss Parsey. She went to work with me each day where she was in charge of the postage meter and the shredder.





We nicknamed her "Shred Zilla". and created a pile of stuff destined to be destroyed. She was definitely up to the task.

After checking out our wall behind the counter, she decided it needed some additional artwork. Using collage as her medium, she created enough pieces to have her first one girl show. The customers enjoyed commenting on the piece they liked the best.







After work, we did some of the traditional "tourist things" which were pretty neat. We also made time for some girlie things, like playing dress up, watching movies, baking, walking on the beach, blowing bubbles and shopping. Laughter was plentiful and our time together was as always too short.



























The Sand Castle cake was much more challenging than the ones we built on the beach - we were up to the task. Parsey was quite creative with the decorations and is a good little cook. Right now baking is her specialty and she loves chocolate as much as her Grandma. We always bake something when we are together.

Needless to say, we have big plans for her next visit!







I

There's A Deer In My Yard

I have been shooting my bow for almost two years and hunting season is just around the corner. For a change I thought it would be fun to try shooting at a 3D target.

This is a new skill for me which requires concentration and consistency. I am gaining confidence, learning to adjust my site and fine tune the bow.

I find archery to be a great stress reliever, although it can be frustrating. One small flinch on release and the arrow has a mind of its on.

I am working to perfect my skills and prepare for my first ever hunting trip.

Perfecting The Catch

This summer my #1 Grandson visited for a few weeks. Together we attemped to perfect the art of fishing. Spending many hours rigging rods, learning to tie knots and reading about making the perfect catch, he progressed from catching small bream, bass and catfish to using live bait which resulted in catching "The Big Ones". Since returning home he has caught a bass larger than the ones in these photos.

We had loads of fun and created memories to last forever. He has fish in the freezer, a tacklebox filled with the latest equipment and is ready to fish anytime he gets a chance. His casting skills are very good, his patience with fishing is to be admired and he cleans what he catches! I look forward to many fishing trips with him.

Happy Birthday Rufus

It's hard to believe that Rufus is already one year old. He has grown from a cute little fellow to 60+ lbs. of non stop energy. A friendly and uncomplicated pup who knows that everyone loves him. He is unaware of his size and greets customers enthusiastically by bounding to the front counter. He now has customers who come in and ask for him if he doesn't present himself.

Rufus is learning to sit and stay, at least for a few seconds and his exuberance for life has led to many a laugh in the workplace.

He is a rascal at times, taking things he shouldn't and getting into trouble. Rufus needs a little more practice in listening and coming when called.

As you can see from the photo he is quite the handsome boy and will probably be 80 lbs. or more when full grown. I'm glad he belongs to my son!