Frustrations....

Yesterday was a day full of frustrations...first..we are changing our health care provider. We got our new cards and we called our old provider to make sure we weren't being billed with them after the first. Turns out they had not removed us even though we had talked and written to tWhhem. Then I called the new provider and they had also removed us even though we had just gotten our new cards. I spent over 1 hour on the phone with them re enrolling and then asking them to fax me the payment plan so it could be automatically deducted every month. They said they would send the fax within 10 minutes. It never came. I wanted to get to the gym and get back so Richard could go, so I left and had him call them back...yadda, yadda, yadda. When I got back we were still waiting for a call back from them. They did call me at 7 last night and everything is supposed to be taken care of today and they are going to call and confirm that. I guess I'll be playing the waiting game again today. Next...the guy who is doing the repairs on the house was supposed to come yesterday...he never came..never called even though when he came on Sunday we got on him about not coming Saturday and not calling. Today is going to be a nice day and he better show up! I am going to walk Wolfie this afternoon regardless of what else is going on!!
I'm reading a really good book...Plain Truth by Jodi Pilcout. Hoping to have a better day.
Maggie...How did rabbits get in your house?

Back to the Gym

The repair guy showed up yesterday...Sunday afternoon..go figure. Anyway he has a lot of work to do above the back deck. He's coming back today so I'll go to the gym about 11 and Richard will go when I get back. I'm ready to take down the decorations and get my house back together, but we'll wait until the weekend. I just straightened up this morning and vacuumed. I'll make a chicken pot pie from Paula's show for dinner. We had chicken left over from a rotisserie chicken and I have everything else.
Muir, I forgot to tell you how much we love the sheets. They are SOOO soft! I also wore my pjs Christmas Eve. We also want to see several movies and I have changed my mind about Benjamin Button. I'm off to fold laundry.....later...

Another Rainy December Day

At least yesterday was beautiful...sunny and warm and Wolfie and I had a nice walk. When I got home a letter from a college sorority sister was waiting for me. Sally had a 4 point throughout college and I Went to her wedding in 1960. The guy she married went to med school and is now in D. C and the head of the Cancer Institute there. They divorced and she is now remarried to another doctor. Her letter was about their last year. They spent last New Year's in Australia and from there went to India and toured in a private car and from there to Malaysia and a cruise to Singapore. Back in the U.S. they are very active in ballroom dancing and other dancing and go all over the country to do this. On a whim they flew to Nicaragua for 2 weeks and then took a cruise to Alaska. They just sold their place near Rochester and bought a house on Lake Ontario.These are just a few of the highlights! I really do feel like a country bumpkin after reading her letter. She looks forward to catching up with me at our 50th. I'm not sure what I will have to talk about.
Today I'll just putz around and get in some reading.......

Is This Really Winter?

It's going to be in the 70s today. Right now it is foggy and cool. I'm waiting for the fog to clear and the sun to appear so I can take Wolfie for a nice long walk. Other than that...the repair guy is due here any minute to finish up some of the repairs on the house. I also need to do a bit of vacuuming later.
Joe and Suzanne called last night and they are relocating to Savannah. They are going to keep their house in Richmond for the time being. More on that later.......

J.J's First Christmas

It's all about J.J. He's too cute and sweet to resist! Today is just a day to recover. We have nothing planned except going out to find fireplace tongs. Ours broke...they were old...more than 25 years old. I brought them from Cincy. Hope everyone has a nice day...rainy here.....

Merry Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas Eve. We mainly just listened to music and stayed up until 2! Yes, I'm tired today, but I have most of the dinner prepared. Richard will be over soon. Have a great day......

Happy Christmas Eve

It's been a busy morning. I have my appetizers made and my casserole for tomorrow morning done. Richard has gone to the store once again to pick up a few things we forgot. The house..especially the kitchen is a mess, but I'm about to do that and then dust. Richard will vacuum when he gets home and then make some more egg nog. We already had a bit this morning. I need to wrap a few things and get he doggie's stockings hung. Then I will dash out for just one thing and come back to relax!!

I'm feeling much better this morning...just a runny nose.

This is sweet little J.J. wishing you all a happy bath and a happy Christmas. Peace to all......

I'm Back

I had a very nice time in Cincy. I got to hold and cuddle with J.J. and I really didn't want to leave him. From there I went to Muir's and then to Anne's. It was a short but fun trip. I got home yesterday afternoon and just hung out the rest of the day. Today has been kind of crappy. First, I have a cold and really didn't feel like doing all that needed to be done, but I'm slowly getting there. I started the laundry and then we went to Knoxville to Sam's and the Fresh Market to get the makings for Christmas dinner. When I got home I continued with laundry and then made the dough for my Stilton/walnut crackers. I'll bake them tomorrow. I also did salted and buttered pecans. I have more to do, but now I have to go...we have a guy here doing repairs on the outside and its starting to rain and he is leaving and needs to be paid. I'll post some really cute pictures when I get a chance......

Tennessee Bubba

This is Muir and Jim's dog that came from Tennessee. We rescued him from the pound and Muir adopted him. He is extra sweet and funny.
I'm showered, dressed, packed and ready to head north. I won't leave until close to 10. I'm glad I hadn't planned to leave early because it is super foggy, but no bad weather predicted. I'll be back Monday if I don't get snowed in. Later....

Sweet Maizy

This is sweet, ornery Maizy...the Fales pooch.
Today I'm on weather watch. I'm hoping to leave tomorrow morning around 9 or 10. Down here is no problem, but I'm concerned about Kentucky. I'll check later to see what's projected. Other than that I'm just cleaning a bit so things will be neat for Richard. I'll pack later on.
Last night we watched Mamma Mia. I really liked it a lot! It was a lot of fun. I may or may not post tomorrow, but I'm hoping to get back home sometime Monday. Later....

Mollie

This sweet dog belongs to Trip, Susan and J.J. I really am looking forward to being with them come Thursday,but right now the weather seems to be jinxing my hopes. I'll keep a close watch. Down here we have mild temperatures and rain, but as I go north there is freezing rain and then snow. I go to Cincy every year at this time and have been very fortunate not to be snowed in or out. Keep your fingers crossed.

Dog lovers need to watch Dog Town on the National Geographic Channel on Friday at 9. It is a large shelter in Utah which takes all dogs, cats, any animal and gives them a second chance. They have 20 of Michael Vicks dogs!

Busy day today...haircut, library, pet smart, video store, vet, etc. When I get home I have gifts to wrap and chicken salad to make. Later.....

Our Tree

I took this picture of the tree this morning. It's not much like Christmas down here...kind of warm with rain expected. My usual Monday..laundry, ironing, going to the gym after lunch. Hope your day is more exciting than mine! Later....

Cheyenne

Would you believe that our sweet foster dog, Cheyennne is 17 years old. She is very spry for her age and a joy to have around. She is getting a bit deaf and she sometimes moves slowly, but at other times she comes sprinting up or down our hill. She spends every night as shown here on our couch.

The tree looks so nice. I'll post pictures soon. Today I'm going to make cookies, sweep the decks, iron and roast a chicken for dinner. I hope to get some reading in there sometime! It will be a busy week for me. I'm definitely going to the gym tomorrow, but on Tuesday I'll get a haircut and do a bit of shopping. I still have things to wrap to take to Cincinnati. Have a great Sunday!

I just finished decorating the tree..the great room is done and I vacuumed, etc. I haven't taken a picture yet because I want to wait until evening. I'm going to veg out the rest of the day. I went to Walmart early today and got that over with. I almost got caught in the Maryville Christmas Parade, but I just missed it. There were people lined up all over. You would have thought it was the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Our friends from Knoxville are coming over this afternoon and Richard has made some more of his famous eggnog. Tommie loves it! We haven't seen them for a long time...before summer. I'll post pictures tomorrow......Enjoy the season....

Caroline, Hayden and Moose

How about these cuties? I think this is their Christmas card. Speaking of cards..I mailed mine yesterday. Today is big time indoor decorating. I really do dread it, but Richard is going to help and is going to make eggnog. We always have that while decorating. I'll take pictures when we finish......I may make cookies if I have time. Muir sent me the recipe for Laura Bush cookies.

Sweet Max With Toy

Maggie and Charlie's English bull dog is so sweet. I hope he's keeping warm and dry on this nasty day. I need to go to the store for milk and I want to go to Hobby Lobby. It's raining cats and dogs and it's going to turn to snow so I'd better get moving.

Muir or Maggie....send me the recipe for Laura Bush cookies. I need to make some cookies and they must be good. Later...

Poor Wolfie

My sweet Wolfie wanted out at 2:30 this morning and Richard told him to go lie down. He kept scratching and we ignored him. At 5 he wanted out again and Richard let him out even though it was pouring down rain. I got up shortly after 6 and went I went to the living room I saw why he wanted out early...he had diarrhea several times. I've been cleaning up ever since. He tried to tell us, so we can't blame him.

I have designated this month dog month and I will be showing pictures of my dogs and my granddogs. Today we have Wolfie in the front yard.

I did my Christmas cards this morning. Our yard and decks and driveway were so clean and void of leaves yesterday as they finished the cleanup about 10. We went to Knoxville and we got back at 2 on a very windy day to find our deck and driveway littered with pine needles and the few remaining leaves. It rained last night and is still at it and my decks are messy once again. When it dries out I'll clean up. Keep warm and dry.....

The leaf people came yesterday and you can't believe the mountain of leaves they left in our driveway. They came back this morning to vacuum them all up. I had intended to walk Wolfie, but can't get out now because of their truck and vacuum machine. Later we're going to Knoxville with Richard. His van needs to have the ramp adjusted and we'll follow him in and while the van is being repaired we'll all go to lunch. I wanted to see a movie, but the one I wanted to see isn't here yet...Scumbag Millionaire. I also want to see Australia, but it is too long to see with Richard. Nothing else happening. Warm this afternoon, but very windy with rain coming tonight and tomorrow.

We Need Snow

These pictures would look a lot better if we had just a bit of snow. It is definitely cold enough, but tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 60s. Not much doing today...usual Monday.

Warm and Snuggly Saturday

After the gym we ate at Long John's and then ran some errands. When we got home Richard brought wood up and I curled up in my chair and read...finished The Chardonnay Charade. Later in the afternoon we had brie with fruit and apple bread with our wine and we watched Florida beat Bama which was a really good game...I watched/read and we watched more t.v. and even stayed up for Saturday Night Live. The fire was wonderful and the day was super relaxing.
Brunch is over, the puzzle is solved and I'm dressed for the Arctic. It's really cold, but we want to put out outside lights up. Richard will do most of it, but just thinking about going out is making me cold. I'd better get going before I lose my nerve. I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the outside.

Decorating

After we get back from the gym we hope to do our outside lights and such. It is really cold outside so this isn't going to be a lot of fun. Fortunately for me, Richard does most of it. I do just a bit. Nothing else going on...might go to Pigeon Forge tomorrow. Later....

More of the Same

I have even less to say today that I did yesterday. Nothing going on except the coldness!! With all of the rain yesterday we have ice on the deck. The dogs don't understand. I'm just going to read until lunchtime and then go to the gym. I'm making potato soup for dinner tonight...haven't had that since last year. Muir..have fun with Maggie......

Nothing..........

I really have nothing to say...at least nothing that is interesting. I cleaned by great room this morning and the kitchen...talked to Maggie...watched Imus while I cleaned and am now about to shower and make dinner for tonight....tuna rollups. It's raining here so I'm glad I took Wolfie to the park yesterday. I started a new book...The Chardonnay Charade..it looks really good. Takes place at a small winery in Loudon County, Va where Tim and Stef live. The author is Ellen Crosby. I read her last book and liked it a lot. I got lots of yummy books yesterday so need to start reading...rain today and tomorrow is conducive to that. Later....

Imus is Back

We really have missed Imus since he was fired from MSNBC. Regardless of what you think of him, he had a great program with authors, musicians and politicians from both sides and, incidently he is a registered Republican and loves McCain. Well, he was picked up on another station but we didn't get that station. Now we do..as of the end of October, but we just realized it. Yesterday he had Harry Conick, Jr. on and he was very funny. It is so nice to be able to be able to turn him on first thing in the morning.
I am almost finished with my book and had to get to the library. I can't be bookless! I ended up getting 7 books. I did get a Jerry Spinelli book which is actually Juvenile fiction, but Stephanie was reading it and really liked it. I thought I would read it so I can recommend it to Madison if I like it. After that I went to Ross and was able to get what I wanted to get for Madison. I love that store and prices are to die for. Last week I was looking for pillows (decorative) and didn't get them because they were about 30. Ross had some beautiful pillows marked down to 3.99. They were excellent quality, but in the color I wanted they didn't have 2 alike. I'll keep looking there.
I'm going to put my fall things away now and later today I'm going to walk Wolfie. I want to walk him once a week and the rest of this week is supposed to be rotten...rain and cold. Today it is going to 53. Right now Richard is at the grocery store and he took Wolf with him. Later....

Why Does it Feel Like January?

This interim between Thanksgiving and Christmas makes me feel like it is January! I still have my fall decor in place and it's dreary and cold outside. I have not a bit of Christmas spirit yet and am in a bit of a let down after everyone left. Yesterday it snowed, then sleeted, then more snow and then some hail just to really tick me off. At the time of the sleet we both decided we didn't want to leave the warmth of our house so didn't workout. Today, however, is a new day. It's still very cold, but no snow and the sun is actually trying to come out. I'll put away my fall stuff in the next few days. We also heard from Bob and Heather and that makes us feel much better. We were worried about them. Later......

Our First Snow

The weather man said we might get a dusting of snow but right now we have a blizzard going on. It's a wet snow and is definitely sticking. We still have our awning out so Richard lowered it. We can't close it because it is wet.
Laundry and more cleaning up today and then back to the gym. It is likely to be a difficult workout today! Later.....