Thanksgiving festivities

Sara and her family were up from Texas over Thanksgiving. We got together with Doug and his family and her and hers the Friday after TDay.

We took the yearly pictures. The kids thought Ginger should be in with Mike and me.

A glimpse of some of the gift opening.  Look at all that room!

It's so much better than the tiny bungalow's living room.

A pile up on Grandpa.

The kids and grandkids and a girlfriend and a husband.

This will probably be on our Christmas card next year.

My two wonderful children Sara and Doug.

We celebrated Sara's December birthday while she was here.

Sara monitors the children's sweets and cake is a rarity for them.

Both children love cake and ice cream and it's an outstanding treat for them.

They can count on it at our house during the holidays.

They become quite engrossed in eating.

I was able to give Aaron and Abby their baths.

Doug's kids have outgrown this and it was nice to once more be able to load up the cups with soap foam and laugh at their antics.

Their dad wanted them outside for awhile, so I took them out to help me feed the birds and the deer.

There is corn by their feet. Of course Ginger had to help!

It is wonderful having a yard for them to walk around in.

For the last three years I have taken Sara and family to the airport in time to have lunch at Max and Irma's there.  It is a nice tradition.

Abby was quietly coloring and just stuck this spoon in her mouth (nothing on it) and kept on coloring.  I thought it warranted a photo.

I'm back from an extended break.  I just couldn't juggle everything and I wanted to be calm, cool, and collected with all the important stuff done for the family times.  So I cut out posting and reading others' posts.  I did read two books in-between all the getting ready.

We've had some wonderful times. I'll share some more later.

On break

The grandkids are coming!  The grandkids are coming !! All six of them plus parents plus a girlfriend. I have been getting ready for the big day tomorrow.  Daughter and family will be staying overnight tomorrow night and I will take them back to the airport on Saturday.  Then I will be putting away the fall decorations and getting the Christmas ones out.  I will be very busy for awhile, so I'm going on blog break --actually I've been on one. (The above picture was taken last Christmas when we were all together.  We only manage that once a year!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Corner View: One Song

This is a photo of my parents, Rev. Roy and Shirley.  They have both been gone a long time. When I married my second husband in 1997, I dedicated the following song to them. I had gone through a rough divorce and had started over again in every area of my life.  If I had not had their love and support, I do not believe I would have made it. (This picture sits on the shelf above my computer where  I sit every day.
The song is by Celene Dion and was the theme song for a movie starring Michelle Pfeffer and Robert Redford.  It's called "Because You Loved Me." When I was on my way to my dad after hearing that my mom had died, this song came on the radio.  Fortunately I was not driving because I lost it.  I hope you  enjoy the song.  For more corner views go on over to Francesca's.

Corner View: Alone Time

My children are grown, so I don't have the noise level and busy-ness of younger mothers.   However, I have a husband who likes having the TV on all the time.  Since I like to sit in the living room also, he uses the headphones that are laying on the little table.  He has the couch and I have the recliner.  I read books while he  watches TV, and when he's not around and I am not overwhelmed with stuff to do, I watch movies.  I bought the two shown below after seeing them with my grandkids.  I love them and they still make me laugh.  I also get movies from Netflix---mostly ones I like and he doesn't because he's not that big of a movie fan.

I do also read when alone---usually longer than if the TV screen is dancing around in my peripheral vision. 

For more corner views check out Francesca's.

Corner View: One book

 My favorite book of all time is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  I first read it when I was in 9th grade.  I have even taught it as the pics of notes denotes.  It's a hard book for some kids now-a-days to understand, but most of whom I taught ended up liking it, once they got the 'hang' of it.

For more corner of the world views, head on over to Francesca's.

A farm, an old Quaker Meeting House, and fall

 This is the farm showing the barns and the sales building which I featured last week here.

 Up the lane from the Doudna Fruit Farm is the old Quaker meeting house.  The Doudna family is a prominent local Quaker family. This meeting house is no longer used.  The Quakers meet at a building on the Friends Olney School campus--a Quaker boarding high school about 3 minutes from our  house.  (An aside to this is that the previous owners of our farm house met while attending Olney).  The meeting house shown is a twenty minute drive from town deep into the countryside on a narrow, winding road.

The outhouses. Possibly his and hers. I wonder why one is painted and maintained and the other is not?

I hope you all have a great week!

Corner View: Tradition

Our little town of Barnesville, Ohio has an annual Pumpkin Festival.  It has been going on since the mid-sixties, although it was originally called The Fall Festival.  People in-town and even on the outskirts like us, decorate with scarecrows, mums, pumpkins, dried corn, old farm equipment, etc. It's a big deal!   The festival lasts four days beginning with the weighing-in of the pumpkins.  That is on Wednesday night and we always go--we love the festival food too.

Here are a smattering of my decorations this year.

Back Porch

Front Yard

Close-up of some mums and scare crows.

The beginning of the parade this year.

All of the queens, princesses, and little misses.

 These decorations are of the other house when we lived there.  They give you an idea of some of the porch arrangements in town.

 Wednesday night weigh -in.

Parade scenes from last year.

The parade lasted two hours this year. The sidewalks and lawns are packed with people

wanting to watch it.

Downtown is crowded.

The grandkids two years ago.  This year's pumpkin was bigger than this one pictured, but I forget the exact weight--it was 1500 and something.

 Fair rides are part of the festival also and Doug and the grandkids come over for Saturday afternoon and evening.  It's a great family time!

For more on corner views throughout the world, check out Francesca's.