My Life Might Have Been Different but I'll Take It

Christmas is a time of reflection for me. New Year's brings thoughts of plans, goals and things to be done. Christmas is a time to look back, embrace what has happened, give it a nod and move on.

This isn't a cohesive story, but a conglomerate of my Christmas's past visiting.

Christmas 19something. The childhood Christmas's are a blur to me. No one year stands out. What I can remember is punctuated by the giving nature of community. One year, in Texas, in our yellow house on the hill in Bois Darc that I remember returning from a drive somewhere. Where we went that day, I couldn't tell you, but on returning home, there were gifts in black bags sitting in our house. Now, I can tell you that our goat, Blossom could very well have let those kind strangers in the house because she was good with door knobs. Or it was more likely that we just didn't lock the door. It was the boondocks, it was the 80's and frankly there wasn't much to steal. We were sleeping in the front room on pallets at night because the wood burning stove heated that room and the back rooms were ice cold. We didn't have a TV or a telephone for many years. Anyway, that year I couldn't tell you what I received from the kind strangers, but I can tell you of the elation I felt as a child to see Christmas just pop up in our house.

Many years later, in Ohio, at our house on O'Neall Road, kind strangers came year after year to give gifts for girl age 14, girl age 13, boy age 10, girl age 9, boy age 7, boy age 5, girl age 4...Those tags. It is those tags that stick out in my memory. They knew our ages, they knew my family. After being in the community all these years, I still couldn't tell you who those kind givers were.

So, as I reflect on my Christmas's past, I look to my two babies and wonder what Christmas memories will hold for them. I suspect like me, they won't remember the gifts, but the spirit of giving. At least, that is my hope for them and theirs.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Outing

First off, can anyone tell me the significance of this picture? Has anyone heard of Goetta meat? Yeah, me either. Apparently it is a Cincinnati original. Been here 20 years and have never heard of it or tasted it. Guess it'll go up there with Thai food on the list of foods I need to try before I turn 33.

Now, this would have made a great Christmas card picture! The train display was wonderful.

See the ears on this horse? Yes. Okay, there isn't anything behind him that he is listening too. Wonder which kiddie he wants to taste? Two years ago, when we went to this event, this horse was in a foul mood, so when I saw him leaning over letting kids pet him, I wondered. That is Jesse in the white hat by his nose. Momma was nervous.

The headless chicken.

Baby goats were staked out for people to buy 1 cup of milk in a bottle to feed them. Jesse would have stuck this one in her pocket if she could have until he started eating her jacket.


Pony rides!!! J&J enjoyed their 60 second pony ride. Seriously, 60 seconds cost $3. Have I mentioned that I'm the Grinch this time of the year?

James, "OH! Ponies!!!!" Jesse is looking at the mini aviary. I tried to convince them there was a white partridge in there...Sing it with me!

Okay, here's my question..."Can a female sheep have horns?" And "Does this sheep look pregnant? or has he/she had too many niblets to eat?"

I love sheep. My first sheep was a little black one that I bottle-fed. The smell still lingers in my nostrils. Sheep stink. Wool stinks. Love it!!!

The outing occurred at the Beach Waterpark and they had petting zoo, pony rides, horse carriage rides, ice skating, sled ride (on an old water slide) and lots of fun things to do, if you wanted to drop $50 for the night on entertainment. We went with our season passes and they gave us six ride tickets. Total money spent was $10 at UDF for ice cream afterwards.



Peace and Have a Great Christmas!

The Christmas Card

As imperfect this picture is, it is better than our Christmas picture. What can I say? This picture was taken on Easter Sunday. Do I get points for using a picture taken on Jesus "birth" for a card on his "birthday"? Anywho, me, my kids and Jon do not take great family pictures. Jesse or James is always the scene stealer. In the demonstration above, they both were stealing the show. Ignore my girl's goods...My son squeezing my ear...Jon's pained look...My gay hand. (Yes, I said it and you were thinking it.) Overall, not a bad picture. Right?!

The topping on this picture? Pretty sure James is standing in cat poop in the Wishing Well. We rock.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!!

The Tree

It's huge, over the top and completely covered in decorations...It is all Jon's doing. This 14 foot tree is Jon's favorite Christmas decoration. Me? I am a bahhumbug person. I don't like to decorate the tree...I don't like to decorate...I don't like...EEK! I'm the Grinch!

The other "huge" item in the picture was Jon's Christmas present last year. J&J have really gotten into playing Pacman on the Playstation.

Hope everyone is getting into the spirit of the season. My cards went out Monday. Completely late on that. I have one more gift to be made and it will go out by the end of the week. Sorry, it's going to be late!

Peace and Tis the Season!

The One with K2 P2

My MIL and I need to have a talk. I specifically asked her what colors her grandchildren's jackets were and she told me the one was teal. I saw that jacket last week and it was NOT teal. It was blue. Baby blue. So I rushed off another order to TJ Unraveled on Etsy. Her dye jobs are beautiful.

Superwash means that this is the perfect yarn for kids.

I used the free pattern Child's Self-Striping Hat found on Ravelry. The hat is for J&J's cousin Reagan, who has light brown hair and blue eyes. I think the colors are perfect for her and will match her jacket. It's an adorable little hat and the pattern worked up easy. The only change I made to the pattern was the last 14 rows calls for an alternating decrease row and then knit row and I skipped all the knit rows and made the top decrease quicker.

Peace and Crunchtime for Christmas!

Personally.

Personally, I'd like to spend the next two weeks curled up with some homemade cocoa, lots of yarn and giggling kids running around. Oh, and add in Puppy. She seems to be my sidekick these days. Instead, I have two weeks of jam-packed work schedule. My blog is gonna suffer. I'm gonna so try to post some pictures and give ya'll some love. Please don't be running off giving bloggy love and finding your Handy Hooker fix elsewhere. Give me time. I'll catch up.

Work....4:30 PM on Friday, I received a call telling me a two week project was going to start Monday. I have scheduled jobs for every day for the next two weeks except for Monday, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Now I have to fit in this 2 week late notice project. Typically, one person is assigned to each job, but with my people taking vacations and other jobs scheduled, this job is going to be getting three or four different people assigned intermittently to it. I knew when I approved those vacation requests this would happen. *sigh* Work seems to be consuming more of my daylight than I like. That is life, though.

Home life is good. J&J are so fun. Literally, fun. Toddler fun. Who knew? Jon is great. He should be gearing up to start on those beds any day now. We go to our YMCA several times a week. I swim for 30-45 minutes then soak in the hot tub. Totally lazy like that. I weigh the same as I did in HS, but nothing looks right. Frankly, I can't bitch too much cause well, I'm lazy like that.

I miss my sister, Janne. I want to have her closer. On my low days (today is one of those days) I could easily cry and jump on a plane with J&J and go see her. Today is a low day, I'm in a lot of pain and have some work stress that is eating my optimism.

Sorry for the low note. Monday will be better...if I get a chance to blog on Monday. There are presents to wrap, hats to make, things to mail, cards to make, cards to mail, cookies to cook, kids to love on...It is going to be a busy weekend.

Peace and Love!

Transformers have Invaded!

James got way too many Transformers for his birthday. He is lacking TWO of the characters, that equates to him currently having 15 Transformers.

Optimus is a beast to transform. Josh tried his hand at it...

Papaw worked on Bumble Bee.

They worked on the Transformers...see the guy on the left? He's an engineer. Know how much mileage I got out of teasing him? LOTS. He worked on Optimus for over an hour without success.

Then "Sucker" sucked me in...

WHOOPS! I think I broke something.

Peace and for the Love of Toys, these are not for ages 5 and up!!!

Sebastian and the Case of the "Likes"

Momma, I just like you.

Otherwise, you can kiss my butt.

Or kiss my feet. But kissing is a little too close for comfort. I have a better idea.

Go find Guy, he'll give you some loving. He loves me. I love him. It's a full circle, Mom. We are good. Glad we had this talk. Now give me some tuna.

Peace and Spoiled Cats!

Sebastian, Sebastian...She is a 12 year old spayed female. She allows me to pet her once a year. She will purr and rub my legs, but if I try to pet her, she will scoot away fast. I've had her since she was a tiny palm-sized kitten and no amount of cajoling, loving or bribery has made her do more than "like" me. *sigh* She's an old lady now, she should be out of her defiant rebellious "I'm going to do what I want to do phase", right? I miss Oscar, Sebbers, brother. He was my buddy. Guess I'll make due with my two gay brother cats and Seb.

Caitlyn's Cape

My friend, Hannah, has a little girl, Caitlyn, close to Jesse's age and when Hannah saw the cape I made for Jesse, she really wanted one for her little girl. Months later we are chatting on IM and she tells me about lusting after one of those capes for her little girl. Wouldn't you know I had one sitting in the closet waiting for the perfect little girl? It's like God whispers in my ear and I make things and have no use for them, but then the perfect request comes along and YAY! I get to make a momma and her little girl happy! I love it when it happens.

Hannah is a left handed crocheter, but maybe in the coming year she will try her hand at knitting. I wish I could show you the difference in right and left hand crocheting. The stitches slant differently. I'm not sure on knitting, but maybe Hannah will give it a go and let me know! No pressure, Hannah.

This is made using Superwash yarn bare from Knitpicks. I'm pretty sure it was the worsted weight, but it is definitely on the light end of the worsted weight, almost DK weight after dyeing. I dyed the yarn with Strawberry Koolaid (Dyeing with Koolaid Link). I followed the Modello Giuditta pattern on Ravelry (Yarn Over link). Julia of Our Simple Life and The Apron Goddesses asked on that post how long the cape took and I said 20 hours, but in just 6 months I've gotten quicker at knitting, so I would say this could be finished in a good day of knitting.

Peace and Good Friends!

Fast Friday

Quick update on the bed making progress. Above is the headboard we decided on, minus the stacking knobs part. It appeals to us. Nice simple, bold in the color with a hint of country design in the scroll design.

Peace and Happy Weekend!

Lake Cumberland Pictures...Warning Cracks are Involved

One of my favorite picture sequences I took while hiking was this one of James helping Jesse down a particularly daunting set of rocks. Daunting for Jesse. It was like trying to herd water to get her to hike these woods.

"James says "Here, Sister, let me help you!""I gotcha!""Okay, Hold on!""Let me hold your hand, while we walk up these rocks."Sister says "Okay, enough help, Brother!"





We found a cave of sorts and I found out that my new boots were not made for walking Lake Cumberland hills.



Baby cracks are adorable....momma cracks...not so much. I'm even wearing a belt, dammit!



Boys are better pee-ers in the woods. Here is what happened at the next pit stop...



I'm always closer. *sigh*



We were almost to the end and Jesse boycotted. She looks thrilled, doesn't she? James was already at the top of the hill waiting on us. So, Jon gave his baby girl a piggy ride up the rest of the hill. That is love, cause I sure wasn't doing it! Hill climbing is hard!

Peace and Lovely Hikes!

Happy Birthday, James!

Imma mommy to a five year old!!! Wow. Where did the time go? I wish I could capture the mushy feelings and the wonderful memories I have with my first born, but what can I say?

In 2004 with a wiggle and a sigh, Jon and I accepted our fate. We were having a baby boy. God was listening, cause we really wanted a baby boy.

James arrived via an easy, pleasey birth. Yes. Easy. Pleasey. My first child and it was perfect. My SIL commented that "Maybe the next one will be harder." She was a little miffed. Humph. My advice to first time mommies, do the perianal massage.

James has been a delight in every sense of the word. His easy going nature, his happy smile, his inquisitive nature, his enduring energy makes everyday a good day in James world. He brings a smile to my heart.

Happy Birthday, James! It is Chucky Sneeze tonight and Family Party on Friday. Guess what he is getting????!!!!

Peace and Love Little Boys!

The Cabin

Or the Love Shack as it may be called (some hoodlums broke in and well "used" the cabin last winter) is located in Kentucky. We had GPS coordinates to find it and this friendly lady helped us reach our location...

Grandpa, Jon's Grandpa, purchased lots in the Lake Cumberland area in the 50's and built the cabin himself. It is quaint, cozy and you better love the people you are staying with because (did I mention this?) it is COZY. It sleeps 8 comfortably (that is a figure of speech and hopefully, you heard the sarcasm dripping). A decade or so ago, they got indoor plumbing and running water. A few years ago, the deck was added. But overall, this is the original cabin, complete with a bathroom, kitchen, two rooms and four bunk beds. Oh! And a basement. I did not investigate the basement for a variety of reason, but I basically put Jon off when he mentioned checking out the basement.

See that little itty bitty white dot at the bottom of the driveway? That is my Father-in-Law and I'm standing up at the end of the driveway. The driveway can be a beast to get out of if it is muddy, snowy or icy. The cabin sits back in a little clearing to the left of where my FIL is standing.

Isn't it COZY?!!!

It is a big world, my small child.

I'm standing about halfway to the spot in the creek where they use to go to collect water to use for cleaning, bathing and drinking.

It is all downhill from here! More posts on our weekend trip to Lake Cumberland later!

Peace and Peaceful Getaways!

Making Fun of Jon

We drove from Cincinnati, Ohio to the Lake Cumberland area near Somerset, Kentucky. Straight shot down I-75. During the drive we passed a large lake community that Jon claimed was "Lake Kentucky". I have a feeling his mom and dad gave that answer to the kids way back in the 80's when they drove the route to Grandpa's cabin on Lake Cumberland and Jon took it as the gospel truth. Instead of what it really was...a filler answer to a question they didn't know the correct answer. Parents do it all the time. It is a survival skill, never say "I don't know" to a kid, instead be creative and answer with a definitive answer.

Lake Kentucky is no where near where we were at....


View Larger Map

See Paducah? Yeah. Kentucky Lake is just south of that, it's the big blue lake....

See Somerset? Yeah. We were 12 miles south of that on Lake Cumberland.

We did NOT pass Lake Kentucky as we drove to Lake Cumberland....Thanks MIL and FIL for ruining your son's geographical facts.

See if you can see Jon scowling at me as I poke fun of this wonderful man of mine...



For the record, we hiked down that creek bed from on up the hill and then we hiked on down the creek bed. I'll post video of us trying to convince two toddlers to climb up that hill later on in the week. Good times were had by all...

Peace and Happy Hubbins!!!

Fast Friday!

It has been a while since I've done a Fast Friday, but my goal for Fast Friday's is just one picture of nature or some event captured in one picture that evokes a story or brings a sense of peace. So, to kick off my posts for next week, above is a picture taken during our weekend getaway at Lake Cumberland this past weekend. I think this picture captures and fulfills both my goals for Fast Friday.

Have a Great Weekend!

Peace and Keep Trucking!