Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner this year, with our family (including Zach), MIL and her husband, and next door aunt and uncle.

In the week preceding, Bob finished hanging drywall in the living room, and put shelves up in the game closets. We also caught up on laundry (like 5 loads per day) and cleaned the whole house. I was very proud of us that we actually sorted things out and put them away instead of just shoving it all in the closet. We also did some food prep ahead.

We provided a ham, stuffing/dressing, hot rolls, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberry fluff, peanut butter cookies, a chocolate pudding pie, and 3 kinds of pickle. And tea, coffee, mulled cider, and water. MIL brought a turkey, dressing, gravy, pumpkin roll, pecan pies, and carrot cake. Aunt (who is recovering from surgery) brought a blueberry pie. 

Everything was set out on pretty dishes (mostly Polish pottery) and arranged in the kitchen.

We ate on Fall-themed paper plates with sturdy plasticware, and had Fall-colored plastic cups. This had its drawbacks, but clean-up took 5 minutes. The girls set a beautiful table with neutral table cloths and a runner of red and green sheer with pilgrims, pumpkins, preserved leaves, pinecones and acorns down the middle, and fresh flowers in the center.

This picture of the boys crafting after dinner gives a glimpse of the table setting.

After dinner we compared phone company stories and looked at the sale ads. About 3, the guests went home or shopping. We had leftovers for supper and played games. It was a nice, quiet day all together.

oh, yeah

I remembered that I have a blog, and a faulty memory, so I should write things down.

Example of faulty memory:
Yesterday at lunch (Bob was off work because of Veteran's Day - oh, you didn't know he has a job? He's driving for a contractor for Medicaid, to take people to doctor appointments. Except today's his last day because he simply couldn't stand their lack of organization) Bob started ripping up his shirt, because it had a big tear in one arm (he had a T shirt under it, and it was at least 14 years old - two unrelated yet relevant facts), and when he got the sleeve ripped off but still had the cuff buttoned around his wrist (which, by the way, is a sign of why he had the shirt so long - most long sleeved shirts don't fit to his wrists) I had a visual memory flash of a tv character who wore cuffs, but not on the end of sleeves.
(How's that for a sentence?)
I assumed this person wore a short sleeved shirt, but really couldn't place the memory at all. I searched a few terms but came up empty. Then out of the blue, Bob remembered Snagglepuss (but not the name), and there it was! Mystery solved.

So anyway... what was I gonna say?

hello

I don't think I'[ll actually get anywhere, but wanted to mention that I REALLY want to write up Ruth's birth story.

Maybe a bit about my thoughts and emotions since then.

Maybe a piece on William's birthday.

But Ruth is getting hungry again. She's a sweetie.

more fun

Today I had a checkup at 9:20, which meant we left the house at 8:30. This was great fun, considering we don't normally get up until 8. But it went pretty smoothly.

I had decided to ask for another sonogram, as my doctor told me to, to try to determine the sex of the child. She was eager to have a look, so that's what we did. However, once again, we couldn't make out any details.

Meanwhile, Bob took the children shopping. He forgot about Krispy Kreme (we usually try to stop by if we're in the area in the morning, and get a free hot doughnut) and went to Target. Sent me a text, asking what we needed. So I sent him a short list, and asked about the doughnuts. So they went to KK, but the light was out so they didn't even stop. Went looking for other food and ended up at McDonald's. By then I was about done, and sent a text indicating so. 5 minutes later he texted, asking if I was with the doctor; I replied that I was finished. 5 minutes later he sent, saying they were at Sam's. So I said to go ahead while I waited, and sent a short list in two messages. 30 minutes later I was bored and said hi. He replied they were on their way out.

When they picked me up, Bob explained what they'd been up to, and that they didn't get my "I'm done" messages until they were leaving Sam's, and only got one of the two-part list. So we decided for urgent communication we should use voice calls.

Went to Target, where I wore myself out walking in giant circles, trying to find the laundry soap. They have "all" jeans on sale this week, and we got a pair for Elijah and William, but when we entered the toddler section it became apparent that they only have GIRL'S toddler jeans, not BOY'S. So poor Daniel will have to keep on with what he has. So I was frustrated by the time we went to checkout, and there was a line, but it was moving. Then a lady opened a register in front of the one at which I was in line, and called me over, but the guy in front of me pulled his cart up beside his wife, so I couldn't get past. So I tried to go around the side, but then he moved up to load in their bags so I couldn't get through there either! I just gave up and walked away, letting Bob (newly returned from the bathroom) handle it. Kudos to the employee, who moved registers to make it easier for us to get to her.

Then we went to Harbor Freight where Bob found some guy stuff. Then we ate lunch at Applebee's, where the food was very tasty in reasonably-sized portions (looked very small, but was about the right amount), but the poor waitress couldn't get anything to the right place.

We headed to Fayetteville for Taryn's allergy shot, remembered the diaper bag so looped back to Applebee's, got the shot, then over to Hobby Lobby. Got some photo mats there, but decided to wait on the chair cushion fabric.

To Lowe's for mini-blinds, then Aldi for tortillas and produce and ice cream. We'd now been out for 9 hours, so I also got some frozen food for dinner, and we headed home.
Phew.

pictures

 Our dining hall today.

 The ceiling tiles as they fell.

 The temp repair job.

The new sheetrock (waiting to be tapes, mudded, and textured).

One of those days

Sorry it's been so long. Perhaps I'll quit Facebook and start blogging again. hmm.

History:
Those of you who are on Facebook know that a couple of weeks ago (maybe not that long) Bob was sitting in his chair at midnight, watching tv on the internet, when the ceiling fell down. Well, part of it; we'd already braced up half the room when it was noticeably sagging. He made a lot of noise and woke me up, and we pulled down the defunct paper tiles and taped up a tarp and garbage bags to hold it together until we could get to it.

We thought it through and decided that we needed to make the addition - the living room - open to the house to facilitate the ceiling rebuild. So we (by which I mean Bob) put in a window A/C unit that we already had, cut up a couple of 2x4s and OSB sheets to make the back wall of the game closet and close of the living room (former carport) from the future library (former garage). We also put in the door between those rooms, which was quite trying, as every possible angle showed level, but the door wouldn't shut (he finally got it). Then we took down the temporary wall we'd put up when we stopped work 2 months ago between the living room and the dining room (former living room), and built steps going up from one to the other. Cleaned the living room of the dirt and construction materials, and moved Bob's chair and computer down there.

We got one full and two partial sheets of drywall/sheetrock up yesterday, and leads to today.

The children's toilet stopped up and Bob discovered that we only had a cheap, ineffectual plunger. So I was to go to Walmart for a good plunger, rabbit food, and a few other items while Bob pulled down more ceiling tiles and the boys pulled out staples. Except the van door was left open all night and the battery was dead. So Bob pulled his pickup around for a jump start, and after a minute of charging, his truck went dead. Out of gas! We had a gallon or two in a can (for the lawnmower), and that was enough to get things started again.

I made it to town and got the necessaries, but on my way to checkout I stepped on a frog! Ewwww.
Came home and Bob started plunging. Daniel was very interested in proceedings, until Bob got frustrated with him and shouted "get out!" Daniel replied, "Oh, MY!" and took off running. The plunger didn't do it anyway, so we had to use a snake, which finally did the trick.

We did get the rest of the ceiling put up, finding two dead mice in the process, and discovering that the room isn't square (no surprise there).  Got the ceiling fan back up (only dropped it twice), and even put in a new light and power outlet (only electrocuted Bob 3 times).  4 red wasps killed in the house; one fall off the steps onto the concrete; 28 instances of an outside door left open (at 90* and 200% humidity).

So not a bad day in all, just lots of little bits that added up to interesting.

busy work

Hello, friends and neighbors!

Just wanted to say a few words about my new hobby - reading! Now, before all my relatives start laughing, let me say that while I USED to read all the time, I got out of the habit for quite a while. But in the last few months, I have rediscovered the joy of reading, thanks in large part to my "new" phone (got it in December) and Kindle for Android, by Amazon. In case you don't know, Amazon sells Kindles as a stand-alone tablet-type device, but they also provide free Kindle programs for computers and all types of smart phones. Beyond this, they offer a multitude of books for free on the Kindle platform.  Many of the free books are titles that are aged out of the copyright system and are public domain - you can also get these on a few other platforms both online and by "apps." But many other books are offered on Amazon for free for a single day/days/week in order to boost "sales" of said book and make it more noticeable to the general public. I do feel obliged to mention that Kindle works great on my phone, but often hangs up on my PC.

So anyway, I wanted to write a review of several of the books individually, but realizing that won't happen, I thought it would be nice to at least mention some of them.

Just finished The Memoirs of a Prague Executioner by Josef Svatek. Maybe I should have said that my tastes have become more eclectic of late. :) This is "A historical novel based on actual events" set in the mid 1500s to early 1600s and gives a bit of history and insight into how society worked in that place and time. It was a little gruesome in places, but not gratuitously so, and I enjoyed the overall idea of the book (dignity and justice were strong themes).

Veggies NOT Included by Christine Lee. A story/guide to losing weight by counting calories rather than sticking to any particular format. Ms. Lee lost 130 lbs while eating fast food and ice cream nearly every day.

The Man at the Door by Elizabeth Carr. This was an engaging but unbelievable story supposedly set in Europe at the time of Napoleon, but coming across as fantasy rather than historical fiction. There was a strong theme of overcoming abuse, and choosing what to believe about yourself rather than accepting what others say about you.

Prism by Rachel Moschell. The story left a few gaps, and went from fiction to fantastic at the end, but I enjoyed it for a light read and wouldn't mind seeing the sequel.  About a group of missionaries in Bolivia and a group of "We're not terrorists" guys-who-blow-things-up-to-restore-justice-in-the-world based in Pakistan, and how their lives crossed and were changed forever by a miracle and intervention from a secretive peaceful organization. 

The Planner by Alexandria Swann. A modern-day dystopian novel. This one agitated me a bit because all these terrible things were happening, and the main characters just took it all in stride. Towards the end of the book the lights started coming on for them, and the stage was set for the next book.

Foreclosed by Traci Hilton. This was supposed to be a mystery in the guise of "If Legally Blond had been about a realtor." Not so much. The plot wasn't near as mysterious as the behavior of the characters (not like real people at all).

City of God by R.S. Ingermanson. Some guys build a time machine and send an unsuspecting girl back to Jerusalem, A.D. 57. They both follow, and one of them is a bad guy! shrug. I really don't have a feeling about this one way or the other.

Prophet by R. J. Larson. Fantasy, Old Testamentish, about a girl called to represent God to her people. I liked it mostly, as the story was engaging and the characters interesting, if not entirely believable. The horse was cute and would make for a good movie. 

Asylum Harbor by Traci Hohenstein. A detective is called to investigate a girl gone missing from a cruise ship and uncovers a drug ring. Not a lot to it - fairly light and predictable. 

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. This was interesting. Written 1864-66, parts were very dull and parts were quite insightful. The author died before finishing it, and it still came to 800 pages. A quote I shared on Facebook, because it puts well my own opinion on arguments: "I like everybody to have an opinion of their own; only when my opinions are based on thought and experience, which few people have had equal opportunities of acquiring, I think it is but proper deference in others to allow themselves to be convinced." :) I did find it rather hard to believe that a formerly healthy young woman would become so upset by a friend's death that she would be sent to her sick bed for most of a year, and everyone around her would be accepting if not supportive. 

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself by Harriet Jacobs. Wow. Eye-opening for anybody who tries to think that slavery was somehow an acceptable way of life. 

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Another long one, also with bits of insight and bits that I just skimmed over. I could have done without Anna herself, but enjoyed some of the other characters. I enjoyed the glimpses of Russian life and the looks at human nature that were offered.   

A few others were started, but either the Kindle conversion was too poor or they failed to hold my interest. And I've read a few books in real life, but I'm tired of typing now.