Christmas 2007

My first Christmas without my dear Rich and I got through it OK. I didn't really have much time to think and feel sorry for myself. I slept in as much as I could this morning, as the rest of the family drove to my nephew's house to watch the kids open gifts. Then I prepared the baked yams/apples/oranges and Brussels sprouts/onion/mushrooms as my contribution to the Christmas dinner (at my nephew's house).
We had English crackers and of course, only our bunch wore the funny paper hats! This is a photo of my sister and I (That's me on the right!)


There was a huge selection of food and several pies and cake for dessert .. and there were only 11 adults and four kids to feed!

Almost Christmas 2007

So far so good .. as long as I don't think too much about Christmas, I'm OK ... but I miss Rich very much in all aspects of my life. I seem to tear-up at the drop of a hat ... my poor dentist has seen that first hand! My down days are rare now and I'm actually getting used to living alone .. I never thought I would.

My plans are a Christmas eve dinner here at my sister's home (and my home), then Christmas dinner at my nephew's home .. only 20 minutes' drive from here .. then I'll get through New Year's alone as sis is off to AZ for a week.

Here are some new arrivals ... my four Mountain Minnows have reproduced .. apparently they give birth to live young .. I left for a trip to town and mama was still 'fat' and when I came back, these little dots and dashes were in the tank ... They're up at the surface .. there must be 50 of them .. there are bubbles on the surface of the water and the babies are the little 'dashes' ... a big cluster at the top left .. I'll be interested to see how fast they grow.



My sister had an office party here at the house and that was quite fun ... two blackjack tables, a palm reader and food for 5,000! Then some friends came over a couple of nights ago and I catered that! I made some English sausage rolls, awesome canapes and cheese log so if you're interested, I may share the recipe.

This is all for now .. more to come after Christmas ...

Found some cute photos

While going through some files, I found some cute shots of squirrels in my feeder .. I always have bird feeders out too .. regular seed, thistle seed and hummingbird juice .. and a bird bath.

Here, he makes himself at home, stuffing his cute little face..















It's like an oyster in a shell .. a gem that he's worked hard for ... look closely and you can see the peanut in the shell, waiting to be devoured! lol



Finally, there's nothing like getting right down to the nitty-gritty!














Hope you enjoyed these pics. Will try to get more posted soon.

Back to Square One ...

Well, my great volunteering gig didn't last long. My right leg/hip just killed me the next day and I went for an epidural in my spine. No help there, so back to the specialist and we're going to try a shot in the hip now .. they're having difficulty determining if it's my spine or hip ... but as osteoarthritis of the hips runs in my family, that's probably where we need to look. Once they have approval from my insurance, I'll go into the hospital for the shot which, hopefully, will give me some relief for several weeks to a few months .. then I'll be able to go back to my coffee cart.
I have not got my albums out of my storage room yet to post the animal rescue photos .. I've been working on my Christmas card for this year. Christmas is already very difficult for me .. I want to enjoy it as I always have (ever since I was a little girl, Christmas has been very special and Rich and I really enjoyed it too), but it's just not very easy this year!
Once I put my Christmas cards in the mail, I'll upload the front of the card here .. it's one of my photos taken from our house in Brookings (OR) .. plus a little editing to make it more Christmasy.
I will be back soon .. promise!