Day After

 We had a pretty low-key Christmas this year. We were supposed to go to my oldest brother's house for Christmas Eve but his wife woke up sick in the morning (not COVID, just a cold. People do still just get colds sometimes!)  so they cancelled the party.  Hopefully we can get together soon because I hardly ever see my brothers anymore! 

Yesterday we went to Shauna and Brad's because they were hosting Brad's family Christmas. We had fun. I like Brad's family a lot. The boys were so excited to show us what Santa brought them for Christmas! I was, as usual, in the moment and didn't take any pictures! 

Here's a picture of their visit to Santa this year. 

I went to the thrift store a few days ago. 

Remember those Santa Bears that were so popular in the 80's? Like Beany Babies and Cabbage Patch Dolls everyone had to have one!

Not me, though. See what happens to most of that kind of stuff anyway. 

What I can't seem to resist are Dollar Tree signs! 

These are the latest two I just got a few days ago! I think I'm done now. Well, maybe not! Depends on what they get in for the next holiday!

Chris is on a plane right now as I write this and Rich will be picking him up at the airport in less than 2 hours. 

Tomorrow is our little family Christmas. Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures! 

Until the next time stay safe and well my friends! 

Christmas Plans and Flowers

Well, were in the final stretch to Christmas. So far, the plan includes Christmas Eve at my oldest brother's house, Christmas Day at Shauna and Brads and then our little family Christmas is going to be here on the 27th. 

Chris is coming into town on the 26th. His girlfriend will not be joining us so he's going to fly in and stay for 6 days. 

On the 29th my sister-in-law Judy is spending one night with us. She will be at her daughters for the previous week but her daughter lives pretty far from the airport so she's bringing her to our house the day before she leaves. We're going to take her to the casino for dinner, then she's going to spend the night, Rich will take her to the airport in the morning for her flight back to South Carolina. 

I got myself into a little conundrum as I offered to work on the 27th before I knew that day would be our family Christmas. It's just the way it worked out with everyone's schedule. I don't start until 12 so I can get some stuff done before I leave. Chris loves to cook so he said he'll be in charge of the food and Rich can clean the rest of the house. Then when I get off at 4 and everyone else gets there we'll have our Christmas! 

I received a very generous Christmas bonus from my employer which totally took me by surprise! I wasn't expecting anything at all, especially since I only worked there since September. One of the girls is leaving and another is cutting her hours way down. Kate is advertising for help but you know how that is going right now! She appreciates my willingness to be flexible! 

In other news, look at this!

The blooms are not fully opened yet but it's so pretty! 

The boys spent the night last Thursday and we made gingerbread houses! You can see they don't look anything like the pictures. They are Maxwell and Levi originals! The one on the right is Maxwell's and you can see it resembles a house, but Levi was only interested in putting frosting and candy on the individual pieces! I did manage to convince him to stick a few together though! 

That's it for the moment.  I'm going to Shauna's in a little while to bake some cookies. If I don't get a chance to visit you all before have a very Merry Christmas! 

Until the next time stay safe and well my friends!

Cat Sitting and Stuff

 As I mentioned in my previous post, I am watching my friend's daughter's cat for the week while they are all gone on a cruise. 

As I said, her house is fabulous! It's on a huge lot with a pond and woods in the back. 

Here's Minnie the cat. Shes about 2 years old and very cute and playful! She's a people cat so she pretty much meets me at the door whenever I come in. 

The house is all decorated for Christmas. This is the great room off of the kitchen.

This is the kitchen. I love the cabinets. 

This is the sunroom off of the kitchen and great room. They just celebrated their daughter's 6th birthday!

 

This is the front foyer looking at the staircase. 

This is the dining room looking toward the front door. 

I didn't take any pictures upstairs but there are 4 bedroom and 3 baths. The master had double doors, a fireplace and a huge closet with an island in the middle. 

Poor Minnie has been pretty lonely. They also have a small dog, but Marie's sister took him for the week. 

They are coming home on Sunday and Minnie decided to make them a sign! 

In other news, the boys have been taking swimming lessons. They were excited to tell me they went underwater for the first time! 

Lastly, here is my waxed Amarillys today. You can practically watch them grow! I can't wait for those beautiful blooms! 

Until the next time stay safe and well my friends!