Thanksgiving Pics

While everyone was here, my son-in-laws were kind enough to agree to a few family pictures. Rob had the idea to go down to the Duck Pond near my house and that was a great choice! The cypress trees were showing off their autumn finery and the reflections in the water were just wonderful. We took Emmi with us, her first visit to the Duck Pond. As we posed for pictures, she was literally quivering with excitement as she saw the geese, ducks and children!

Just as we were setting up the camera for the first "timed photo", Jana said "Is that a rat swimming?" We all quickly turned to look out to the water. Fortunately, it was a nutria instead---(a rat that size would have been really disgusting!!!!)

Jana and Rob

Callie and Jordan

Dan

Jana, Callie and Emmi

And the whole group
Rob is a really great photographer and after I took my photos, he took some of Jana and other family members. I was able to snap this picture of him in action.

The Missing Piece

This is the puzzle Jana and Rob gave me for my birthday.

This is the way we looked as we neared the end of the puzzle.

This is the reason why----2 pieces left, 2 holes. Unfortunately, neither of the pieces fit into the remaining holes!!!

Solution, carefully scan each piece of the puzzle to finally find the pieces that were incorrectly placed and switch them out!

Giving Thanks

It's been a great week full of food, fun and family! One of my favorite things about a holiday is the laziness and lack of schedule. The first couple of days were filled with appointments, etc., but I managed to find time to cook these pecan bars (I even shelled the pecans!) while I waited for Jana and Rob to arrive late Tuesday night.

Emmi kept an eye on my cooking from the living room.
I went down to pick up Dan from his group home on Wednesday morning. Once we were all together, we could let the good times roll!

I prepared these paper decorations to be used on our table this year (I mean, it would hardly be a family get-together without some sort of craft project---don't worry there are a couple more I'll report on another day). Inspired by Elle's Studio, I used some paper scraps to put together these turkey place card holders.
I also created these "thankful cards". On Thanksgiving Day I asked each person to jot down a couple of lines for me which I plan to include in a Thanksgiving mini-book.
Everything looked really nice with my vintage turkey plates-- I was so excited to finally get a chance to use them!

Since there were just six of us together this year, I had enough for both dinner and dessert. They've been fun to collect and I plan to continue looking for additional pieces to add to my collection--after all, half the fun is in the hunt, isn't it?

Of course, we ate way too much, but it was all very tasty.

With the smells of turkey and dressing filling the room, it was almost too much for Emmi. Don't worry, though---she ended up getting some table scraps (a rare treat for her).
After dessert, Jana and Rob soon disappeared to their room for an afternoon nap. Within minutes the house became really quiet and this is what I found:

Seems I was the only one awake!


I'm so thankful for my family---for Jana and Rob, for Callie and Jordan, for Dan and Emmi and for David and Don and their families---and the chance to spend this time together! We are so blessed!!

Fifty-Two

I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday, than to be off for a week afterwards! Actually, this year, my big day coincided with the start of our Thanksgiving Break--something looked forward to by both students and teachers! I had so many nice birthday wishes from friends and family and even received a few goodies in the mail--such a nice surprise! Last night, however, I also had the privilege of helping at the annual Thanksgiving banquet for the Community Renewal International Friendship House near my church. This was the first time that I've ever been able to help because I usually have other commitment, so it was interesting to see how everything worked. Well over 200 people gathered in our Fellowship Hall for a meal with all the trimmings. It was nice to greet people as they arrived and to visit with them as we served their meal. (sorry for the grainy pics--I borrowed these)

Immediately following the meal, a couple of my workout buddies (Veda and her daughter, Robin) talked me into joining them downtown at the El Dorado to watch our instructor and his dancers perform with a popular local band. I had only enough time to trade my tennis shoes for a pair of boots and we headed out, hoping that we would get there in time to see the show. We shouldn't have worried, though, because upon arriving, we ran into one of the dancers in the elevator, who assured us that things were going to be a little later than Patrick had told everyone.
Since we had a little extra time, we slipped into the casino itself to let Robin have her first experience on a slot machine. Veda and I pooled our money and came up with a couple of dollars and watched as she took her chances on the 25 cent slot. Lo and behold, she won!!!


Huge win---25 quarters! Well, at least she won back what we'd spent--we divided the quarters and moved on to join some other friends for the show.

After a birthday beverage (compliments of Veda) and several hours of standing room only, I was wishing I'd just left my tennis shoes on.

The band Windstorm was good, but being 52 means you only know about half of the songs played.
I guess it's a good idea to go out every few years, just so you know more of the music! Patrick and his dancers finally took the stage and were really great. (Here he is as "Billie Jean").

I crawled into bed a good bit later than usual, but glad that I could sleep in a bit on Saturday morning!

Round Robin - Color Blind

Playing with Photoshop is fun---in fact, it could become an obsession for me, if I allowed it. The challenge for Round Robin this time is : Colorblind---basically, take a photo of something, change the color...make it interesting! The other photographers have some interesting entries---the linking list is over here.

The first is a photo of a Hibiscus I took this summer.

This one is of some flowers outside of my office (they are a soft yellow in real life).

And this one is my favorite---in fact, I think it would be kind of neat on a canvas hanging in my house!

Round Robin - In The Window

Way back in 2007, Tammie Jean, formerly of the blog Long Drives to Nowhere, suggested the topic "Windows." A year later, Momma of Sandcastle Momma suggested "Outside Looking In." Let's combine those two ideas, shall we? The topic for Saturday, November 6 is "In the Window". Be sure to click over here to see the linking list of all the others participating in this challenge.

From my archives, here is a favorite picture of the farmhouse B&B we stay in for Antiques Weekend in the spring. It is located near Round Top, TX.

This one was taken at the school where my office is located. In January, on a Friday afternoon, it began to snow. Here in Shreveport, snow is a rarity and we were all so excited that we got absolutely nothing done in our office as we watched it fall. Many of the teachers woke the children up early from their naps so that they could see that strange white stuff fall from the sky. They giggled and laughed as we threw snowballs at their window.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter and her husband a couple of years ago, peeking out of their first little garage apartment window. Unfortunately, it was an extremely hot summer and the herbs and flowers I'd bought for the window boxes died shortly after this picture!