Home Sweet Home On New Year's Eve

This Korbel Champagne was a present from my husband at Christmas, so I decided New Year's Eve would be a good time to open it up and enjoy some. I love champagne, but only a couple glasses. Brut is dry so you won't find yourself drinking glass after glass because of the tartness.....of course I drink in moderation. It's just fun to have champagne once a year. Thanks Ted!!!!

When I got home from work tonight, Ted was in the kitchen making Guacamole. What a surprise! I could hardly wait to take a taste. I didn't make supper tonight, but instead just feasted on Guacomole, chips and leftover Antipasto. We have no big plans tonight, but will just stay home and enjoy the comforts of a warm house (it's 4 below zero right now). So what are you doing for New Year's Eve?????

He Finally Moved His Ice Shack Today

I'm making up for lost time! I took this picture of Chris last night. Our son Chris is in his third year of college at UW-Stout, majoring in Material Science. He's on his winter break right now, so he's enjoying his time off and ice fishing everyday. Today, Chris finally moved his homemade ice shack into Menomonie so he could put it out on Menomin Lake. We haven't heard from him yet, but I'm hoping he got the ice shack out on the lake. It makes me nervous that he had to drive his vehicle out on the lake (sorry Mommoo) to get his shack out there, but I'm guessing Menomin has a foot or more of ice like Tainter Lake. That's the life of a young ice fisherman ya know!

Party @ the Ludwig/McCoy House!!!!!

Here's a series of pictures I took last night at our get-together at Mike (Ted's oldest) and his girlfriend Lynn's house. This will be the 3 or 4th consecutive year that Mike and Lynn have held this "New Years" family get-together. Both Mike and Lynn do most of the cooking, and the rest of us bring a dish to pass. This year we had a yummy spiral ham with all the trimmings. Mike even made spicy cooked shrimp since all the kids love shrimp. We also had pre-snacks before the meal, so we all ate quite well. I made a big bowl of Antipasto and Ted made Guacamole dip, but then we forgot to eat it!

We had a houseful of people last night. Lynn's parents were there, along with Lynn's girlfriend and her husband, plus their two children. Then we had Mikes's daughters, Rissa, Lena & Dria, and Lynn's three children, Melissa, Mandy & Nay-Jo! Chris came along with us, but Becca missed all the fun because she is on her Kansas City trip. We got home by 10 pm so it was a pretty full day. Thanks Mike & Lynn....the food was tasty

Unexpected Road Trip

It was my usual Sunday.....go to church at 10:30 am, stay afterwards to eat lunch and chat with church friends, pick up stuff at Wal-Mart and then head home. Well, as soon as I got home this afternoon, Ted told me his son Mike had called and his car broke down coming back from Northern WI so we needed to go and pick up all his kids from their stranded car along HWY 53 near Haugen/Sarona. So, we had an unanticpated trip north, but that was ok because I didn't want Ted's grandchildren stranded in the cold for hours. As it was, two of the kids has to go potty really bad and they has been sitting in the car for about two hours!!! Little Dria was all worried that it would get dark and they wouldn't be able to get home. Then I found out the kids were starving so after I stopped for gas, we saw a Mc Donalds down the way and we stopped to get some food. Everybody was happy and cheery after the food stop. Both Ted and I drove our cars to meet Mike's family along the highway. I took off first and got back to Boyceville around 6 pm tonight and Ted was only about an hour behind me. Everything worked out ok and they are all back home in their nice warm house. Thank heavens the weather wasn't bad today.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention we had an earlier surprise this morning. The electrican that did some work for us this fall called to tell us he shot another deer (doe) and wanted to give us the deer meat. Wow, how nice is that? So when I was at church this morning, Ted went over to the "e" house and helped cut the meat off the bones, and then brought the meat chunks home. The deer was very small so Ted figures there was around 40 pounds of meat. I'm sure we'll use the venison for chili and then use some for venison steaks. I'm just really excited because we haven't had venison for years. Maybe I'll have make our local electrican one of my fancy cheesecakes! That's the least I can do for him, right?

Kansas City & the Rest of the Day!

It was a busy day. We had two things going on today. First, our daughter Becca left early this morning to drive up to the Twin Cities and pick up a car load of friends and then they took off for Kansas City, MO for the "One Thing" church conference (IHOP...International House of Prayer). This is a conference the kids went to last year, so they wanted to attend again since it was "so awesome" in Becca's explanation! We got a call at 10 pm tonight from Becca saying they arrive....now I can sleep. I'm still a mom!!!



The other thing going on today was a trip to Eau Claire so we could go to Sam's Club for food supplies. I found out today that Sam's will no longer sell the big jars of green olives stuffed with jalapenos.....darn it (sorry Krissy). Guess I'll just have to buy the small jars.


After our trip to EC, we headed over to my mother-in-laws for a get-together. Ted's sister & husband drove up from Milwaukee, plus Ted's other sister from Green Bay, and one cousin (see the pictures above)! We had a nice time and the dinner was great. After dinner, Winnie showed us her exercises she must do during the week as part of her therapy. Wow, Winnie has really improved physically. Tonight, Winnie was up moving around and helping in the kitchen, plus she ate a whole plate of food. This is so great because 6 weeks ago she had just been released from the hospital and was very weak and needed transitional care. Tonight reminded me of the old Winnie I use to know! I'm so glad my mother-in-law is doing better. Let's hope this trend last through the winter months.

Tonight Was Movie Night

We celebrated "movie" night....tonight! My girlfriend Marilyn, and her daughter Lindsay, and my daughter Becca, and me of course, all sat down and watched Enchanted. What a funny movie. Enchanted is a real life version of a Disney princess movie....kinda like a parady of a princess fairytale. I highly recommend watching this movie, especially if you are female!!!


Here's a picture of Lindsay's dog Reggie. Reggie's been around for a long time. Poor Reg, he's deaf now but he's still a good doggie. Reggie loves popcorn so when we girls were watching the movie eating popcorn, I was feeding Reggie too. Reg is like one of the family.


Well, I made a cheesecake today since we have a family obligation tomorrow and I was asked to bring a desert. Everyone likes my cheesecakes so I made the Heath Bar cheesecake recipe....my family loves that cheesecake. Ted's sister is driving up from Milwaukee tomorrow to Ted's mom's house so all the Ludwig's are getting together for dinner. The cheesecakes I make weigh about 5 pounds so I should have enough to go around for everyone.

One more GIRL picture......

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of my girlfriend before the movie started. I promised the girls they would be "blogged" tonight!!!!!

I Finally Did It Today

Our Christmas Day started off with lots of sunshine and a morning low of 11 below zero! Brrrrr........

Later in the morning, we all headed over to Mike's (Ted's older son) house to see Mike and his daughters and to exchange some gifts.

After heading back home in the early afternoon, I finally got my snowmobile lesson from Chris. The both of us went down to the lake and Chris went over some tips on how to handle the snowmobile. There wasn't much to it, so I just put on the helmet and Chris jumped on the back with me, and I gave it a try. Whewwwww.....I started out at about 15-20 mph, and I then boldly bumped it up to about 30 mph!!! That was fast enough for me, at least for now. I actually had fun. I'm guessing I was out on the lake for about one hour. I did learn a lesson however....wear wool socks with my Sorrel boots. When I finally came up to the house and took my boots off, a few of my toes were white and numb. As my toes started to thaw out, it was very painful.....I should have known that would happen. Next time I'll put those little handwarmer things in each boot.

I took this picture of Timothy this afternoon. It made me feel happy that I could still see his face and the top of his head. I'm sure however that Timothy will totally disappear in a week or two as we get more snow. Hang in there Timothy, spring is only four months away!!!!!

Tainter Lake Christmas Eve

Wasn't long and we had help unwrapping our Christmas presents tonight. Who needs cat toys when you have real stuff to play with!!!!!!!

Becca and I went to church service tonight....Kris S met us there as well tonight because her church didn't have any Christmas church service. It was nice to have Kris & Becca there tonight...a special treat for me since I always go to church alone. The church was really pretty tonight with candles lit in the stained glass windows and big candles lit up front. The only problem was, the candles were really strong smelling (musty & spicy) and that made my sinuses start to drip! Oh well, it was a nice service tonight despite the bitter cold temps.

Hope you all had a good Christmas Eve night.

Sometimes You Just Have To Have Those Goofy Moments!

So I went to visit Cyndi in the Clerk's office this morning and here she was goofying around with her feet up on JJ's desk. Shame on her...what would JJ think? I ran back to my library, which is down the hallway, and grabbed my camera and took this shot! You see JJ is on medical leave so Cyndi is working all by herself and doing the work of two people (just like PAK ART was doing weeks ago)!!! So sometimes Cyndi gets a little slap happy being all alone in the office, and we share these goofy moments. Before I left her office this morning, she jokingly said "please don't use those pictures as ransom" for extra favors you want me to do for you! Ha, all I have to do now is say, "Cyndi, I need that print out of payroll for my library board meeting today," and she will snap right to it! We had a good laugh about that. "While the cat is away, the mice will play" (just kidding of course). Cyndi is a hard worker and can multitask better than anyone I know. A high five for "Deputy Clerks."

Chris Bought What?????

Yup, that's a sled alright! For years Chris always wanted a snowmobile and we would always tell him, "NO." Well just recently some friends of Chris offered him a good deal on a 1997 Skid Doo sled and it was really hard to pass up. Chris bought this nice machine for only $450! The first thing I did was give him the lecture about driving responsibly and not too fast...that's the mom in me. I can't believe we are now officially a "snowmobile family."!!!!! Chris promised to take me out Christmas day on the lake and give me rides....oh boy! I think I might try learning how to drive it. I'm afraid of speed, but I can just creep along right???

It Really Was Frigid Today!

I woke up this morning to 10 below zero with a wind chill of -10 to 20 below! The driveway had about 6-7 inches of snow and the snow plow hadn't come by the house yet, so I made a quick decision...hummmm, I think I will stay in the house all day. I really wanted to got to church but decided to just stay put in my warm house. My church (Jesus Fellowship of Believers) has a "live" webcam so you can watch the service online, so that's exactly what I did. I sat here with my laptop and listened to Pastor Tim go over Corinthians chapter 13 which talks about LOVE, and what it means to love through God, not through human love as we see it today. Before the online church service this morning, I was able to whip up some scones. The above picture is my pre-baked version.

Here is my finished product. I made one batch of Cranberry-Orange scones and one batch of Blueberry-Orange scones. I have some really good scone recipes from an older issue of Bon Appetit magazine. I've been making these scones for 10 years or more! The secret is lots of butter and buttermilk. Those two combinations makes scones really tender and holds in the moisture without getting dry and crumbly, (I think you would really like these Krissy). There's nothing worse than a dry tasteless scone...ick! My mom loves the Cranberry-Orange scones so I think I will make a batch just for her the next time I visit my parents.

I honestly stayed indoors all day...never stepped outside once! I know that's bad, but I just had a lot of things I could do inside today. Tomorrow will be back to work so I will be faced with a high temp of 5 degrees. Our daughter Becca was suppose to drive home this afternoon, but she called and said she will not be coming until tomorrow morning due to the cold temps and road conditions. At least I don't have to worry about Becca driving home in the dark....you know how mother's worry!!!!

What a Nice Hobby.......

A couple weeks ago, my sister sent me a box filled with candles that she made. The box smelled soooooo good when I opened it. Not too long ago, my sister "L" started experimenting with soy to make her candles. The picture I took shows some of the different candles L sent me. The tealights are perfect since L uses the clear plastic cups which burn clean but don't get really hot like the metal cups. The jar candles are really handy as well. You just have to remember to keep trimming the wick so it doesn't smoke as the candle burns down. L knows a lot about candles since she was a Party Lite candle consulant years ago. When she stopped working for Party Lite, then she just started making her own as a hobby. What a nice hobby. Even Becca and Chris get candles from their Aunt L!!! Tonight is a good candle night...the winds are gusting to 25 mph and the snow is blowing and drifting so it's nice to have the candles lite and filling the house with pleasant smells. Thanks L....I love my candles!

Yippee...Chris Came Home

I'm so happy! Chris came home late today after finishing all his finals at school. When I got home tonight after my spinning class, Chris was here relaxing with his laptop. Notice the decal on Chris's laptop...only a bicyclist would appreciate that, ha!

Tonight, I decided to make pan fried Walleye, plus that big Northern Chris caught a couple weeks ago....remember the picture? Oh gosh, the fish tasted soooooo good. Chris decided we should pan fry the Northern as well, and I was suprised at how good the fish meat was. I normally would have baked the Northern. Anyway, it wasn't a strong fishy taste or odor at all. I don't have a secret seasoning mix, I just use Shorelunch mix and coat the fish filets with that. There's nothing like Tainter Lake fish for supper!!!

Make Life Simple.......

Wow, snow, snow, snow! Our forecast calls for snow tonight, tomorrow and then again this weekend. I feel bad for my parents because they are getting hit again with lots of snow....and they live in Southern Wisconsin. Here, we live in Northern Wisconsin and we don't have half as much snow as they do.

After getting home from work tonight, I had a craving for something salty and spicy, so I opened the jar of homemade salsa gift from one of my employees. Now this is the best homemade salsa that I've ever tasted. It's sweet and spicy (hot) all in one. The tortilla chips add the salty taste which balances everything....very yummy & satisfying. Next summer I plan on growing lots of tomatoes so I can make the same salsa recipe. I'm happy.... I have salsa in my tummy so I can go to bed now! Make life simple, just eat salsa and enjoy.

Count Your Blessing

I have to say, this was the best part of my day today. Spending time this morning with my staff relaxing with holiday treats and conversations. As you can see on the table, we had a nice variety of breakfast foods that everyone brought to share. We had my Cheese and Bacon Quiche, Cheese & Ham Hasbrown hotdish, Apple (buttery) Bars, Almond Puff Pastry & Pumpkin Bread. Everything tasted so wonderful.



Jenny and Kellie shared a silly camera moment! I think we were all "high" on caffeine this morning, hee, hee!

I am truly blessed to have such wonderful people to work with and I appreciate all the hard work that they put into making our workplace run smoothly.

My day didn't end so well, in fact I was quite frustrated when I finally came home tonight, but the one thing that I am very proud of, is the dedication of my staff and that is why I feel so blessed.

My House Smells Good Tonight

Burrr, what a cold day. Ted said it never got above zero degrees. I ran an errand this afternoon (only two short blocks from the library) and my face started to sting from the cold and wind. When that happens, you know it's at sub-zero. I finished out my day at work, then went over to the fitness center and taught a spinning class tonight. Mark, the Monday spin teacher couldn't make it tonight so he asked me to lead the class. Well, I had a whopping one person tonight for class.....woo hoo! That's ok, I tried out my new spinning drill on the one guy that showed up tonight....he was sweating so I know it was a good workout.

After getting home tonight, I whipped up a Cheese & Bacon Quiche. I'll take that to work tomorrow since my library staff is having a little Christmas get-together before we open in the morning.

Ted is taking off tomorrow to go see his two grandsons in Farmington, MN. Ian & Quentin will be a part of a Christmas concert at their school so Ted will go to watch. Then later that day Ted will drive over to the MSP airport to pick up his granddaughter, Rissa, who is flying home from Anchorage, AK. Rissa spent the fall semester taking classes at the University of Alaska - Anchorage. She will be flying home tomorrow. We just found out that Rissa loves it so much at UAA, that she plans on flying back in January to attend the spring semester, and possibly finish out her college degree there next fall! Wow! Wish we could go visit her next fall...we'll see.

They are calling for 15 to 20 below tonight!!!!!!!!!! Good sleeping weather.

Feeling the Squeeze

Time is dwindling down and I'm starting to feel the squeeze. Even though I've down-sized my Christmas gift giving and card mailing, I still like to have Christmas treats made. Well, I ran out of time today. I went to church like usual and stayed after for a bowl of soup and to mingled with my church friends. Then I rushed off to Wal-Mart to pick up extra gifts and then headed home. I was able to get some gifts wrapped for family members, plus I got all my Christmas cards signed and addressed....wow! But wait, no Christmas cookies baked...geez. I guess that will have to wait until next weekend. Maybe I can talk my daughter Becca in to helping bake cookies when she gets home from school (hint, hint)!!!

Right now we are experiencing fierce conditions outside. Slick roads, cold temps and high winds. We are under a windchill advisory until Monday. Actually, we had rain all day and then the temperature plummeted quickly around 4 - 5 pm this afternoon. The sidewalks & roadways quickly iced up within a matter of one hour or less. I'm just wondering what it will be like to go to work tomorrow morning.

"The First Walleye"

Today marked our first weekend of ice fishing on Tainter Lake. My husband and his oldest son Mike, plus Mike's friend John, drilled their holes this afternoon in search of fish....Walleye to be exact! After getting their tip-ups in the holes, Ted hauled down arm loads of wood so we could build our usual toasty warm fire. I helped bring some wood down the stairs, but let me tell you, that's a workout in it's self! The hardest part is walking down fifty snow covered steps to the lake with an arm load of woods. As you can see in the picture Ted started off by burning our scrap cedar wood from a recent project we worked on. The cedar actually smelled really good as it burned. Then Ted threw on some oak logs to get the fire really going. I ended up roasting some brats for a late afternoon snack....very yummy!
So Ted caught his first Walleye today. That was exciting. She was a nice momma with a big round tummy (21 inches). He was going to put her back in the water, but Mike decided he would take her home since his freezer is getting pretty low on fish. We all like Walleye since it's nice and firm meat. I think it's best when you panfry Walleye in Shorelunch coating & seasoning, or make your own by using dried bread crumbs & an egg wash.

Mike was jigging for pan fish like bluegill or perch. No bites however. The temperature was great today. We had a high of 36 degrees. As you can see the lake out in front of our house has standing water underneath the snow layer. This usually happens during the winter, but not this early! Kinda weird. It makes walking around really sloppy & wet. Once we get a cold snap again, then that first layer will freeze up, but it will probably still stay wet underneath. It has something to do with the weight of the snow on top of the ice. By the way mom, there's about 8-9 inches out there....don't worry.

A Santa Treat For Us

It happened again....at 4:45 pm today our treat man stopped by the library with his newest cookie treat. Remember the candy turkey? This time he walked in with one of those big round tupperware containers that holds a 10 inch pie. In the container, was a whole bunch of santa cookies made from Nutter Butter Peanut Butter cookies. Our library patron was so excited about giving us each a santa cookie. Now remember, this is a male patron! I think it's really neat that this guy takes an interest in baking and treats. Before he left, he asked if he could give us an extra cookie that we could put on display in the library! I said sure, but can't guarantee that some little kids won't grab it and eat it. Only in a small town!

What a Cat!

I didn't know what to take a picture of tonight, so I decided to use this picture of Annabelle. She quite the model isn't she? I think she loves to have her picture taken since she poses real nice for the camera! One of these days I'm going to take a picture of kitty watching TV....yup, she does that. If animals or birds appear on our TV screen, kitty will go up to the screen and just sit there and watch for the longest time. Our former cats never did anything like that. Annabelle definitely has her own personality. I still miss Sheba, Walter & Patches, they were good kitty cats too.

"The Bullet"

The woman I buy my eggs from stopped by the library this morning to pick up her requested books She stood at the circulation with a big smile on her face. She said, "I brought you something." In a little paper cup was this funny shaped egg. Remember one of my past posts where I talked about a chicken that lays really small eggs (I showed a picture)? Well, this time the chicken laid a "bullet" shaped egg. Actually this is one of the larger bullet size eggs! I guess her other eggs are usually even smaller. I just stood there and laugh a good one....a chicken that lays bullet eggs. I guess this particular chicken is one of her largest chickens in her flock, but she lays these really small eggs. How funny is that?

Guess who found the eggs while trying to shoot this picture...geez. She's such a pest sometimes. Good thing I was right there to catch the egg as it went flying off the plate. Never trust a cat!!!!!!!!!!!

Old Can Be Nice

My husband decided to get our ceramic Christmas tree out and put it in our bay window today. It looks really pretty when all the lights are turned out in the dinning room. We've had this tree for many, many years. When Ted worked for the Post Office he knew a woman that made these ceramic Christmas trees, so he decided to ask the woman to make a tree for me. Well, he ordered the largest tree ever! I know it's probably an out-of-date type of tree, but I still love it. So how long will it be before the cat bites off the little lights? Years ago we had a big Maine Coon cat named Patches (Patchie boy), and Patches loved to remove the lights by biting them off. I would have to go around and look for the colored lights that he removed and put them back on the tree. I'm sure it won't be long before Annabelle will discover the lights too.

The Ice Shack

I took this picture on Saturday of Chris's ice shack that he built. He wanted to keep the cost down so he decided not to line the sides with plywood, but used plastic instead. Then, he will throw a really good tarp over that to keep it in good shape during the winter. I think Chris is planning on moving his shack to Lake Menomon in Menomonie, WI during his Christmas break from school. I think it's great that Chris wanted to build his first ice shack. Maybe next time he won't have to be so cost conscious and can build a bigger one with all the bells & whistles. Does anyone want to go fishing this weekend?

We're Finally Getting Snow

I know it's hard to see the snow, but you almost have to click on my picture to make it larger so you'll see our snowfall today. I left for church at 10 am this morning and when I finished eating lunch after church service, it was snowing really big flakes. I felt really excited because the more snow we get, the better it will be for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Ted figures we now have over six inches of really good ice on our lake. I'm thinking by Christmas I will have my skis all ready to go for a good workouts on the weekend.

Sunday's Reflection:
Do you really know what your spiritual gift is? The apostle Paul reminds us to know what our gift (s) are so we can use them to help others in our lifetime (Corinthians ch.12 1:12). The best part is that our individual gifts are given to us by God himself...chosen specifically for each one of us. Just something to think about for the new week.

Lots of People, Lots of Good Food

We got a phone message last night saying "reunion" at Ted's mom's house tomorrow (Saturday)....yikes! No sweat, Ted woke up this morning and made a double batch of Oatmeal Raisin/Craisin cookies, and I made a large pan of Apple Bread Pudding with Carmel Sauce!!!! We were ready to leave and drive over to her house by 1 pm...not too bad for last minute notice.

It was nice to see Ted's mom Winnie. Winnie has been out of the hospital for about two weeks now. She's doing much better, however, she is fighting a bladder infection right now. Winnie forgets to drink water so that's the main reason for her frequent urinary infections.

Larry & Marie flew in from California so that was nice to visit with them. My sister-in-law is also a Library Director so I love hearing all about her library and activities....we always have a lot to talk about in the library world.

For such short notice, we had quite the feast tonight. My other sister-in-law, Ruth, made her famous spaghetti sauce so we served that over spaghetti noodles, with garlic bread, and salad. Of course we had our desserts too....lemon bundt cake, my apple bread budding, and chocolates from California.

What was really neat today was the fact that we had two great grandchildren present.....Bailey & Jade (John & Ruth's granddaughters). I forgot what it's like to have a one year old and a three year old around. The little girls were both very busy checking everything out. The Ludwig house was shaking and moving.

All in all it was a fun day.....a good day to be inside since it was cold and very windy outside. Subzero temps for tonight, woo hoo!!!!!

Do You Wanna Spin?

I just added another spin class at Anytime Fitness. I now teach spinning on Wednesday's and Friday's. Tonight was my first Friday class. I'm trying to gear my class for beginners who have never tried spinning before, or persons that have not involved themselves in much exercise. Getting fit takes time and lots of hard work. I admire any new person that tries my class, especially if they haven't really exercised for years. I did have one random woman come up to me right before class tonight and tell me that she wants to try my class next week. I asked her if she's ever tried a spin class before and she just looked at me and laughed...her answer was NO! I'm really glad I have some brave souls that are signing up for my class. Spinning is fun, especially when you do it with a group of people. It you're going to sweat, sweat with others!!!!

Another Way To Use Your Gnomes....

After hearing about all these areas of Wisconsin that received snow last week and then two days ago, I thought I better go outside and show you all how much we've gotten here at the Ludwig "shack." The best part about having gnomes around your yard, is that you can use them to gauge winter snow fall. You'll see a picture of "Timothy" here (still smiling!) among our latest snowfall. I heard my hometown in Southern Wisconsin received about three inches or more inches of snow, then just yesterday I heard Madison (our Capitol in Southern WI) got even more snow! You know this is exactly what happened last year....come on, geez. We, here in the Northern Wisconsin hardly got any snow. Those, in Southern Wisconsin got over 100 inches of snow last winter. I'm sure this is something that happens in weather history, but it's amazing that cities 300-400 miles south can have more snow than all of us here in the northwoods. Since we have a little dusting of snow, we may as well just get dumped on...that's my philosophy! I'm ready to get my cross-country skies out along with my snowshoes. Once the lake has a foot or more of good ice, it's a perfect place to use your snow gear. If you live in Northern Wisconsin, you have to adopt the right attitude about snow and cold, otherwise you'll never make it. Isn't that how it is in the great state of Alaska? You wanna talk snow....go to PAKART's blog. Now that's what I call snow. Go Alaska, yee ha.

Thanksgiving Dinner All Over Again

I had Thanksgiving dinner all over again! Actually, I went to a potluck tonight for my bible study group through church. We were all told to bring a dish to pass, and the church would provide the meat. When I walked into the church house, I couldn't believe the smells. The smell of the baked ham filled the whole house. Now my bible study group is just one of about six other groups. In my group we probably have around 15-18 regulars. Yes, there was lots of good food. These were some of our choices tonight:

* Baked Ham
* Real Homemade Cheesy Potatoes
* Scalloped Corn
* Seasoned Stuffing
* Cranberry Sauce
* Green Bean Casserole
* Potato Salad
* Sweet Potato Casserole
* Assorted Breads & Rolls
* Assorted Desserts (6 kinds)
Everything tasted so good...better than my Thanksgiving meal! What did I bring? I made my famous Heath Bar Cheesecake. My cheesecakes weigh about five pounds!!!

It's been a long day....full day at work, taught spinning class, and then off to the potluck. I finally got home by 9 pm tonight. I'm looking forward to bedtime tonight.

I Really Don't Need An Alarm Clock Anymore.......

By now, everyone knows I'm a lover of cats. I'm always amazed at each cats personality. I'm sure dogs are no different when it comes to personalities, but there's something about cats and how they adapt to their homes and owners. I now have this routine with my cat Annabelle. Beginning around 6 am, my cats starts trying to arouse me by meowing right next to our bed as she scratches alongside the mattress. Now mind you, she has no front claws, but can still make a loud scratching sound. If I don't respond, she leaps up on the bed right next to me. She then proceeds to lick my cheek, nose and yes, sometimes my lips...icky! I've learned to have a quick reflex of my left arm to swat her off the bed. Annabelle has learned that I'm not ready to wake up at 6 am, so she will come back to my bedside again at 6:30 am and then again at 6:45 am! When I finally do wake up, Annabelle will be all loving and sweet (more licks here and there), and will then gallop out to the kitchen to stand there at her cat bowl meowing for her morning food. Annabelle is pretty patient as she has learned that I make the pot of coffee first, then kitty is feed.....that's the number one rule at my house. Coffee first, cat feeding second!!!!!!! After kitty's tummy is full, she will then come and lay next to me as I check my morning email/blog. There's something about the warmth of the laptop that attracts kitty. Most mornings I have to pry her off the laptop keys since I cannot type with a fury animal covering the shift and tab keys. What would I do without my fluffy friend? I must admit, I'm attracted to all that fluff and fur. It comes down to two things....you are either a cat lover or a dog lover.

Christmas Tea Time!

Here is a picture of my dear friend Helen. Helen is my oldest library patron! Can you believe she is 92 years old? During the warm months, Helen visits my library via her electric scooter. Helen called me up today because she wanted to come to our "holiday tea" at the library but didn't have a ride. I was so happy she wanted to come, and I was able to go and pick her up at her apartment.

We had a normal turnout at our event tonight...a whole whoping 8 people, woo hoo! We have a local country shop in our village that does floral arrangements. My mom thought it would be a good idea to have flowers for the tea event so I ordered flowers for one table and then the shop owner surprised me today by making another arrangement as a "freebie." See the photo to the right.

We did have one mom that attended our event tonight. Her name is Karen and she is the mother to Kris who works for me. Karen and her husband are snowbirds in Arizonia, but live in Alaska during the summer months. They arrived a couple days ago to visit their daughter Kris. It was so nice to finally meet Karen, especially since she reads my blog!

I think all the women enjoyed themselves tonight. We started our program tonight with a special performance by the Colfax High School Chamber Choir, which consisted of ALL girls. My daughter Becca use to be in Chamber Choir so I have a special place in my heart for the kids that join the choir. After the singing, Jenny read a wonderful Christmas poem, which was followed by tea (raspberry & gingerbread tea) and treats. Lastly, everyone made a tea ornament before leaving. All in all it was a fun night and it made my little library come to life with Christmas cheer!