Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

                                                        Hope you all had a great holiday
of fun, food, festivities, family and friends.  Fellowship is part of God's plan to draw us together and help us grow in love for each other.  I sure enjoyed all of my time with family over the holidays. There is a certain camaraderie existing between our family members that is delightful.        

     Last minute wrapping Friday before Joe's two sisters arrived.  Abbey entertained herself by inspecting and playing in the boxes.

     Saturday was sunny, but windy.  We had a leisurely morning chatting and eating sweets with our coffee and tea.  Food prep started early because we needed to skew shish kabobs. 

      Courtney and Mike came for "Christmas dinner," nontraditional grilled kabobs.   After opening gifts, we went to tour Courtney and Mike's house.  Courtney's kitty Wash is waiting to be fed.  Then it was off to Christmas Eve service. A Christmas movie was a nice way to end the evening.

     Christmas morning was peaceful.  I treated myself to a second cup of caffeinated tea for my Birthday/Christmas goody. 

 

Then we worked on framing my special portrait of Amiga that Carlos (our artist friend in Guatemala) had painted.













     I was so excited to have found the frame for $15 at Goodwill and finally get this wonderful painting framed and hung on the wall... long overdue.

     Patty and Mary left after lunch and I hurriedly did two loads of laundry and packed.  Then at dinner time, Joe, the girls, and Mike headed to Florida in the Expedition taking my suitcase along.  I was too busy with last minute stuff to enjoy the quiet peace of being home alone. 

     Monday I was up before the 4am alarm and did most of the chores with my extra time.  Then Angie would not have as many when she came later in the morning.  My flight lifted off on time and landed 20 minutes early in Atlanta.  The chocolate I had stuck in my pant's pocket on the way out of the house, had completely melted and made a mess, so with my extra 
                                                      time, I worked on clean up in the rest 

room near my next departure gate.  I ended up cutting the time a bit close and loaded right on the plane as soon as I came out of the Ladies' room.    

     Sister Jean, with Mom and Brianna in tow, picked me up in Tampa and we were off to Long Boat Key.

     It was a great time in Florida!
Like last year... I'll just post pictures:

     Our activities included eating, drinking, swimming, napping, gaming, chatting,
walking, and just hangin' out.

All the gifts were placed under the tree.

The snacks on the counter so all could see.







The eating began...



And continued all week.





Some napped by the pool...




others snoozed on the beach.





Joe gets some shut eye on the couch.




We swam at the pool.




And many played games.






At the beach was more swimming.



And body surfing in the big waves.

People read in the sun.
And on their computers.









Computers were used for gaming while      watching TV.  Each morning I worked on old (2009) Blog posts while people came through for breakfast at various hours.

Many games were played... Phase Ten, Monopoly Deal, and other card games.

 Britney was helping everyone learn Monopoly Deal.












A Texas Hold'em tournament was played almost each day and Mike and Joe golfed two different times. No photos of these activities though.

Dave helped his three get bait on their lines for some fishing.


  















     Tuesday we had our only rainy day.  We were going to Skype with Dan for our White Elephant gift exchange, but were unable to get connected.
                                                     So we played Charades while waiting.

The crowed started getting restless and dwindled.





But then we got connected with Daniel... come to find out his internet had been down. 



It was too late to do the gift exchange, and too many had moved on, so some of us just chatted with Dan for a bit.






     It was colder at the start of the week... but then really warmed up.  We walked on the road after dark, looking at Christmas lights each night, and walked on the beach during the day, sometimes looking for shells.

     Friday before lunch we finally did our White Elephant gift exchange while Skyping with Dan.  This was the Good, the Bad and the Ugly scenario.

Britney gets a bag and some frames.

Courtney opens a Beatles bag full of toys.







Dan chose the heavy unwrapped box that Michael opened for him.  Surprise... It was full of old computer drives.

Chris get's Dan's contribution which has some chocolates and an IOU note.










After Joe steals Dan's gift from Chris, Michael steals it from Joe.

J.J. does the third steal, ending up with the prized package to take home... now he has to wait to see what Dan brings him.  



    
New Years Eve day, Mom took us all out to eat for lunch.  Many enjoyed great sea food... while others chose land lovers cuisine.















     Joe took Mike and Courtney to the airport before dinner and "went for a drive"... bringing home his largest winnings ever.  Whoot whoot... Happy New Year.  The rest of us ate a bunch of good snacks Patti brought, joked around while watching TV, and did an early toast with champagne for those of us who couldn't make it until midnight.  Like birthdays, the new year comes all too fast, and I don't get overly excited about celebrating either.  But it was a merry ole time.

                                             
     Got this photo off Dan's Face book.  He looks to be going through one of his gift boxes.  He shares a lot of the excess of snacks he gets with his fellow comrades.  The soldiers in his unit do a lot together to build camaraderie... that bond found in shared blood, sweat, and Gatorade, or a box of Christmas cookies passed around in the office.
.

Survivor Christmas

      Joe and I watched this season's Survivor South Pacific, with the grand finale lasting 3 hours Sunday night. As I watched, I contemplated where the next season would be. I know there have been jokes of sticking the two battling tribes in New York or some other large US city. And I imagined other scenarios... like Survivor Farm Life, or Survivor School Teacher. But more appropriately for this time of year, I came up with this week's Blog title. When I Goggled it for a picture... I was amazed at how many others had thought of it before me.  (Is it original if we have never heard of it and thought it up ourselves?)  I kind of imagined the Home Alone Christmas episodes to begin with.

     In our own way, we all have struggles to deal with throughout the Christmas season.  I had survived the decorating with uncooperative lights, which was probably my biggest nemesis. Although Christmas without Daniel was going to be my biggest hardship. There is also all the extra calories (weight) to slough off from the holiday eating I started a month ago at Thanksgiving.  But, lets face it, we should look at the positives, which far outweigh the negatives... and realize the struggles make us stronger and more appreciative. Like Charlie Browne, we should do the best we can with what we have.
    
     It was supposed to be sunny Saturday... but it started out gray and gloomy.  Perfect for finishing up all my school work needed for the week we return.  I was done at 9 am and did a happy dance.  What a relief.  Then it was on to laundry, putting flannel sheets on the three guest beds, and doing
                                                                                   all my once-a

week, weekend jobs. After filling the bird bath and feeder I had my normal visitors... not your usual song birds.  I also continued work on flower beds so I wouldn't have to look at the dead stuff all winter.

     Sunday we went to early Church so we could spend the nice day outside working.  I used the tractor to move lime from the storage pile to the gate by Amiga's stall that was a muddy

mess from all the rain and horse traffic.  Before I had gotten all the lime moved, I encountered tire problems.  :-(  Then Mark arrived with the round bale he was willing to sell us and we unloaded it back by the wood shed.








You can see how soggy the ground still is.  Unloading went quick and easy.  :-)

     I had to switch to a shovel to neaten up the lime pile by the round bale.  This was much more work, time consuming, and taxing on my wrist.  The cows had been closed out of the paddock while we were working.  Once the
                                                     gate was opened, they were quick to
come in and check out the new round bale, while the horses came to see what all the excitement was about.



Norman always leads the way while Babe brings up the rear.  Roni is standing on the new lime, not mud.


     Zorro watches Frankie




To the right, with Norman at the bale and Frankie approaching, you can see the nice neat lime pile.

The cows explored the new hay bale, circling it,
trying it out for a scratching post, and tasting it.

Frankie on the left, Norman and Babe on the right, finally decide to dig in.











     While I was working in the paddock, Joe was in the chicken coop, completely cleaning it out... 6 full wheel barrow loads to the manure pile. 
                                                         Then I went in to fill the feed bin.
Betty is always "helping" me out... especially when it involves food.
With her messed up beak, I view her as a real survivor.







I was using the blue scoop to take feed from each of the three bags.

As I poured the oats, cracked corn and layer feed in, I mixed as I went.  Normally I pour it from the bags, but my wrist does not allow for such weight lifting yet.







     Baby, who was near by, was second (after Betty) to sample the new feed mix.  Notice how well her new feathers have come in.

     After giving and grading an exam Monday, I headed to therapy and then did some Christmas shopping on the way home.  We did not have Growth Group, so I puttsed around during chores, enjoying extra time with the animals.  Below, Baby and Blackie are hiding in the ornamental grass.



     I had tried to get some artsy pictures of this grass which really looks pretty this time of year.  Wish I had the photo abilities of sister Carol.  Part of my problem is my cheap camera.














     Tuesday I gave, graded, and posted grades for my last exam.  Then Joe and I headed for Chicago.  We picked Britney up at O'Hare but unfortunately 
                                         her luggage did not arrive with her.  Here she is
waiting at baggage claim. We checked in to the airport hotel and then went to dinner.  Settling in back at the hotel, still with no suit case, Britney slept in her travel clothes.

     We were up Wednesday morning by 5am... but there was still no suit case.  We bid the hotel, with it's blue Christmas tree good bye...















and were off to Children's Hospital. 
After Britney's 7 am MRI, we walked to the Zoo and toured it for over 2 hours.

 It was cool, over cast, and damp... but we still enjoyed our walk and watching the animals.







....and I thought 3 ducks were messy.




 





As always, the apes were my favorite.

We had a nice lunch before heading back to Childern's to see the results and Drs.  They were all happy to see Britney and said everything looks good.  The shunt tube in her neck has been bothering her.  It is made partly of barium so that it can be seen in scans.  The body's cells typically are attracted to and tend to grow around the barium. So it makes the shunt a lot less flexible.  This is what Britney
has been feeling in her neck. 
It can cause the shunt to fracture or crack.  This is not a concern yet but may become problematic in the future... and will then need to be replaced.  The doctor said it should be fine for some time, but as soon as she gets hydro-cephalic headaches, it will be time for surgery.

Britney saying good bye to Dr. Goldman for another year.  It has been a huge blessing to have such a wonderful Dr. The image below links you to a great video about him.
  click on picture

    
     Dr. Tomita who has also been a huge part of Britney's treatment is also seen in this video.

     Once done at the hospital, we checked back with the airlines who still did not have Britney's suit case located, so we headed home without it.

     Britney was glad to see her pets, and they to see her.  Abbey, who always likes to be part of the action, decided she should join us for dinner.

     Thursday morning Britney dropped me off for my therapy appointment and she went to her eye exam.  Then we went to the B/N airport to pick up her suitcase which had finally arrived.  After a long shopping trip, we returned home and started in on wrapping gifts... with a little help from Abbey.

     We both actually stayed quite busy all day Thursday and Friday with preparations for Christmas, house guests, and Florida vacation... and we survived it all:  laundry, packing, picking up around the house, cleaning, wrapping, trip to post office with letters and a package for Dan, met with Angie our house sitter, food preparation, etc.  We managed to make it
through feeling quite merry, with

Christmas carols playing and snacking on Christmas goodies. 
By the end of it all, we were pretty tired... ready to relax with the cat and dog... but then Joe's sisters Mary and Patty arrived and we proceeded to celebrate life together, having dinner and chatting into the evening. 

     We look forward (in spite of the busyness) to seeing many of you, along with participating in all the fun and festivities.  Hope you all have a Blessed Christmas and can relax, enjoy, and survive the holidays.

.