Tuesday

Here's a quick post before I head to bed.

Today was a combination of some sun and clouds. I don't think it warmed up much either. Supposedly the weather is changing for a couple of days this week with rain in the forecast and more snow in the mountains.

I saw on the internet the southeast has had some horrible storms going through with several tornadoes. There was some damage in Alabama. I meant to call Denise...I think she would have maybe called me if there was anything to tell me.

I didn't get all my laundry done yesterday so I finished that up this morning then went and got some groceries. Before I left for the grocery store, I looked through some of the food blogs I follow and found a couple of recipes I thought sounded interesting. I got the ingredients to make them. One is called "Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake" and the other is called "Bacony Chicken & Rice Bake". I'm not going to use chicken in the three cheese bake. The three cheeses it calls for are ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese plus sour cream and alfredo sauce. It is going to be really rich. Anyway I'll let you all know how they are when I make them.

One of the meals I really enjoy making is swiss steak. The Bel Air market where I shop hasn't been offering round steaks in the meat section for sometime now. Anyway, today they had several packages so I got one. I should have gotten two packages. I'm going to make that for dinner tomorrow night.

Gerry had a welcome home PGR mission at the airport tonight. I had intended to make the swiss steak tonight and then I decided to go with him. After the mission was over several of the PGR folks were going over to IHOP to eat so we went along. It is always so frustrating when we go to one...they are usually short staffed which results in bad service. Tonight there were 2 waitresses working. The one we went to is rather large with two separate dining rooms. They had people seated in both sections instead of having everyone in the larger of the two sections. It took quite a while to get our drinks and then quite a while for our waitress to come back and take our orders. Then we had to go up to cashier register to get our tickets. There was 10 of us. Our ticket was separate; she had written everyone else's orders on one ticket so then she had to run them separately. Of course, none of the other 8 had mentioned that they wanted separate checks.

The mission was to welcome home one soldier, however, there were several other soldiers on the same flight so they all walked through the flag line. I heard one of the passengers say to one of the PGR guys that when the plane landed an announcement was made about the soldiers being on board. The passengers were asked to remain seated until the soldiers walked off. The passenger said everyone clapped when the soldiers stood up. So awesome!!

I got over half of my Christmas cards in envelopes with address labels on. I'll finish up the rest tomorrow. I forgot I have a Shoebox swap this Saturday. We are also doing a cookie exchange. So before Saturday I've got to get card kits put together. There's 7 of us going so it won't take too long to get the kits put together. Just hope my idea goes together quickly. :)

Sunday

The rain went away and we had sunshine today with temperatures in the 40's. The paper this morning said more rain is expected about Wednesday. It also mentioned that December will be a wet month for Central and Northern California. Oh, great!

We drove up to Grass Valley after church to go to the craft fair at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. It is always held Thanksgiving weekend and we use to go every year. It has been a few years since we've been up there. I was very surprised to see that there were not a lot of people there. In years past it has always been wall to wall people. The crafters were not very exciting either...amazingly enough the only thing we bought was a bag of kettle corn.

Gerry dropped me off by the entrance and I forgot to get my heavy jacket, gloves and scarf out of the back seat. I had on a fleece jacket over my long sleeved knit top and cordoroy slacks. I did ask him to go back to the van and get my scarf and gloves. I was a little cold yet comfortable. The sun felt good when we were out in it walking to another building.

The fairgrounds is really nice. It is set among the pine trees and has a lot of grassy areas. There's five buildings that the crafters are located in and they are spread out over the fairgrounds.

We left there and drove through Grass Valley to find somewhere to eat. We ended up going to Paulette's which is on the north side of the town off of Highway 49. It was 2:40 pm and we weren't sure if they would still be open. Thankfully they were, they closed at 3 pm. The building that Paulette's is located in use to be a bank. It is nothing special...the food is very good. Gerry had breakfast and I had a sandwich. Then we drove over to Ben Franklin Crafts which is a couple of blocks away. It is like a Michael's, only bigger. I wanted to see what they had in stamps. I need something for my stamp group's swap next Saturday. The theme is Valentines. I didn't find anything exciting.

Leaving there we took Highway 174 which is the Colfax/Grass Valley Highway. It is a beautiful drive. There was snow on the side of the roadway and in the open fields. The temperature gauge in the van got down to 38 degrees. The highway comes out on I-80. We stayed on 80 until we got past Auburn and then got off and took Taylor Road into Roseville. We got back on the freeway for just a very short distance and then got off again. The traffic was backed up by then with people heading west from the mountains. A few vehicles had snow on their rooftops.

Gerry is watching football now and I think I'm going to go look at the Sunday paper ads. I got the Christmas letter written last night so tomorrow I'll go get copies made and hopefully finish the addressing of the cards. I did some last night. The goal was to get them done and in the mail by the first week of December. I do believe that is going to happen...and Denise was questioning whether I'd accomplish it...:-)

Cold, Wet, Rainy Saturday

It is a yucky day...cold, wet and rainy. We have been experiencing some really cold weather, getting down into the 20's at night. There's lots of snow in the mountains and the ski resorts were able to open before Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, after Gerry got in from his ride, we went down to the Scottish Rite Hall to a Holiday Arts and Craft Show. It was put on by the Crocker Art Museum so it was really nice, high end crafts. Something I've noticed, in going to craft fairs the last few weeks, jewelry seems to be the "in-thing". There were several jewelry craftspeople with beautiful pieces. There was one vendor who makes things out of vintage silverware. I bought two coin pendants...they are dimes, one from 1939 the year Gerry was born and one from 1942 the year I was born.

In the morning I drove out to Green Tangerines, a scrapbook store in Rocklin. They had closed up earlier this year and re-opened a couple of months ago. The store is even better than it was. I love to go out there to find designer scrap paper to use on my cards. They also have an excellent assortment of colored card stock. I got some paper to use on a couple of card swaps I'm participating in that are due in January.

I drove by the Roseville Galleria on the way to Green Tangerines and I was surprised that the traffic around the mall was not backed up. The parking lots were full including an overflow lot about a block away from the mall. The paper this morning said business was very good at the mall yesterday. There was a horrible fire at the mall in October. A young man walked into a Gamestop store, told the store manager to leave because he was going to set the store on fire. He was carrying a backpack that supposedly had explosives in it. I don't think that was ever found because the roof collapsed where the fire was started. The night before he had set a fire in one of the Walmarts in our area.

He was apprehended and is in jail charged with several counts. His attorney has filed an insanity plea so he is being evaluated to see if he is able to stand trial or not.

The stores have slowly re-opened and a few opened yesterday for the first time since the fire. Stores around the Gamestop store will not open for several more months.

We had leftovers for dinner and once again stuffed ourselves. Everything was just as good the second time around. :)

This morning the PGR participated in a toy run in Roseville. I was going to go with Gerry...I decided getting up and going out in the cold and rain was not very exciting. The event was suppose to go until 1:30 pm. However, Gerry was home by 10:30am. He went out again to go over to Harbor Freight.

Every Thanksgiving weekend there is a huge craft show in Grass Valley at the fairgrounds. We've gone several times. I want to go up there...not excited to do in this weather. So after church tomorrow we'll probably drive up. It is suppose to be sunshine tomorrow. There may be some snow up there...the roads will be clear though.

So, guess I will work on addressing Christmas cards. My cards have been done for a week now. I still need to do a Christmas letter. I'm doing some laundry too.

Gerry just told me a good friend of ours passed away yesterday. So sad!

Stay safe if you are out doing shopping. Oh, before I forget...read in the paper this morning that a Walmart in the south part of Sacramento had to evacuated early yesterday morning. Seems around 5 am, shoppers became "unruly" in the electronics section. Sacramento County sheriff deputies evacuated the store and then people were given arm bands to re-enter the store in small groups. One of the reasons I don't participate in Black Friday shopping. :)

Hau'oli La Ho'omakika'i!

Happy Thanksgiving every one. I hope it was a great day and everyone ate to their heart's content.

I fixed dinner for Gerry and I which is usually what I do each year. I've fixed a turkey once or twice for us, however, it is next to impossible to find a small one so I do cornish game hens. I was going to do the same thing this year then found a small hickory smoked ham (1/4 of a whole ham). It took about an hour to warm it up and it was very good.

I also fixed some scalloped potatoes, fresh steamed green beans and the "have to have" fruit salad, cranberry sauce (whole berries) for Gerry, cranberry relish for me and for dessert pumpkin pie cake. I forgot to take pictures. :) It was all very good and I am still stuffed even though dinner was several hours ago.

Our weather has been very wintery. Cold, cold temperatures at night and in the morning. Gerry was going to join his bicycle club early this morning to be road guards for the annual "Run to Feed the Hungry" in Sacramento. He got up to get ready and then got right back in bed. It was suppose to have gotten down to below freezing last night. Rain is expected for the weekend. NorCal PGR has a toy run on Saturday and he is planning to participate. It should be "fun" in the rain.

Are any of you planning to be up at the crack of dawn to hit the stores? The paper this morning was thick with ads. Doing "Black Friday" is not something I am even interested in. I don't like crowds and I am not about to get in the midst of "crazy" people tomorrow. LOL!!

I think I am going to head for bed. It is a minute to 10pm. I wanted to head that way at 8:30pm and decided that was too early. :)

Denise's Birthday Card

I meant to include these two pictures in my previous post. To the right, under the flowers, is an ivory flourish. Denise used her Cricut and cut a whole bunch of these for me, in different colors and sizes. The only stamping is the sentiment. I used designer scrapbook paper, a bit of lace and flowers with a flower brad.

Happy Birthday, Denise Noelani

Today is my sweet daughter's birthday. I enjoyed a wonderful chat with her this morning, catching up with what has been going on in she and her family's lives. This is a picture of she with her children, Nathanael Ray and Rebekah-Elizabeth Noelani.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her. I believe it was taken during her junior year of high school.

Denise is celebrating her 41st birthday today. I wonder sometimes where the years have gone. Through out the day today I've thought of so many precious memories of her growing up years and the years she has been married and a mother. She and I were alone from the time she was 2 years old until just before her 11th birthday when I remarried. We remained a twosome, doing so much together, including spending 30 inseparable days together before she joined her husband in Germany. We spent endless hours talking about so many things. She had tons of questions and I tried to answer them the best I could.

These days she is busy working with Stephen in their business - Boldly Going Coffee Shop. They are also a full-fledged Calvary Chapel and have out grown the space they used for their worship and Bible Study. They met in the coffee shop. Their landlady has graciously provided a bigger space upstairs in the same building for them to use for their services.

Her son Nathanael is in the Army stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC. He is in the 82nd Airborne as a Combat Medic. Denise's husband was also stationed at Ft. Bragg in the 82nd Airborne so Nathanael is back where he grew up, following in his father's footsteps. He recently became engaged. Denise told me this morning no wedding date has been set yet. Her daughter Rebekah-Elizabeth is a senior in high school and will be going to college after graduation.

I am a blessed mom...so thrilled knowing all is well with my precious daughter and her family. She has always been the sunshine in my life!

P.S.

I know it has been a couple of months since I blogged. I have no excuse. I have tons of stuff to share and will try to share some of it. I have been very busy with my handmade cards and see no end in sight. I am thankful that I am able to do what I love doing and enjoy it too.