Happy Birthday, Jamie!

I couldn't have picked a better son-in-law than Jamie Taylor.

He's a great father and, bless his heart, he's put up with Melissa for 17 years - 10 of them married to her. I feel so bad I forgot to take a picture of all of us at dinner. But Happy Birthday, Jamie and remember - No backsies!

Girls Lunch

Every month I get together with some of the ladies I worked with. We've been doing this for about 10 years now.

I took a quick picture before leaving for lunch. The selfie stick came in handy again. This is the vest Melissa got me for my birthday.

And this is my group of friends. I hate being in the front and having command of taking the picture. I can't focus on getting the whole group in the photo, trying to smile without concentrating on taking the picture, and actually pushing the button.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Another year almost gone and another year older.

I really don't mind having birthdays as long as no one reminds me how old I am. Michael and Ashley gave me a selfie stick for my birthday. It comes in handy since I have so much trouble taking selfies. My arms just aren't long enough to get a picture that doesn't show all the wrinkles.

The family gathered at Rancho Grande for dinner. I should have put my sweater back on.

Even Lincoln got in the mood for a little birthday celebration with his party hat.

One of my best presents was another picture to add to my "craft" wall. This time it was mistletoe using Violet and Lincoln's foot. I just may leave this up all year. Happy Birthday to me!

New Look for My Bedroom

I've lived in my house for 9 years and I think it's about time for a little remodeling.

It's taken me almost a year to pick a duvet cover that I liked. After that, the paint color came pretty easy. There is a contrasting color you can see on the cut outs of the cathedral ceiling - is it called a cathedral ceiling? Anyway, the running feet of the trim is about 60' by 3" wide. It took me over 4 hours to paint that part. It wasn't that it was a hard job to do. But with the ceilings so high, I had to talk myself into letting go of the ladder every time I moved it. I probably could have asked for help in painting, but this is something I wanted to do myself. It's really modernized my room.

Jamie came by to replace the smoke detector. Lincoln decided to climb on the ladder and help. Like father, like son!

Christmas Parade

The Taylors headed out today to see the annual Christmas parade in Sedalia.

Violet wasn't much in the mood to get her picture taken. But with all the people roaming around, it was probably more interesting to people watch than pose for a picture.

I didn't go because.....well the temperature was well below my comfort level.

Lincoln was all decked out with his stylish hat and mittens. Christmas is getting closer!

Countdown to Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to get started on Christmas.

First came the outdoor decorations. Now that I look at this picture, I feel like I'm missing part of my menagerie. Where are my geese? Well, it's too late now. The weather is not conducive to me getting out again.

My newest addition is my giraffe. I think I got this a few years ago. I found him, new in the box. Part of him was broken, but with the help of small zip ties, he's standing outside with his buddies.

Putting ornaments in the tree was an idea I stole from a neighbor about 5 years ago and now just about everyone on my block has ornaments in their trees. My favorite is the neighbor who has a very small, almost dead, tree in their front yard. It has only one ornament on it and looks just like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

Then came the 20 trips up and down the stairs to put up my Christmas tree. I have two ways I decorate my tree - one kid proof and one not. Since Violet and Lincoln love to explore everything on the tree, I've opted for the stuffed animals instead of the expensive Hallmark ornaments. Each year for the past 30+ years, I've bought an ornament that says "Mom", "Daughter" and "Son". About 5 years ago, Hallmark started making a "Mother & Daughter" ornament. And with the addition of Violet and Lincoln, I have been collecting "Granddaughter" and "Grandson" ornaments. Notice these are positioned high on the tree so as not to be handled by small fingers. Now it's on to buying and wrapping Christmas gifts and planning Christmas dinner.

Thanksgiving 2016

Why I think holidays will be simple is beyond me. You'd think if you were going out to dinner, then all the hassle of preparing and cleaning up after a big meal would be stress free, right? Not if you're part of my family.

Leave it to say another Thanksgiving is over and I got this great picture of me with Violet and Lincoln. I don't care if Lincoln has a toy in his mouth, my picture turned out great! Happy Thanksgiving!