Friday Foto Friends

It's Friday again, so that means another Friday Foto Friends!

I have so enjoyed the month of November and really am sorry to say good-bye! The colors have been so pretty and each day as I am out and about, I just give thanks to God for the beauty of the earth. I know there are much more beautiful places around the world to see the colors, but I am content with where we are and what I can see.

 

These are fallen leaves! Don't they somewhat look like flowers?

So colorful!

I love the way the tree looks against the bright blue sky.

I pass this house at least once a day. During the summer, this tree is very ordinary looking and really, I think it should be shaped up! But, when Fall comes, I always look forward to the change that is made because of the colors! It's amazing what a little color will do for us!

The sunrise was so pretty … it's a shame the neighbors' roof gets in the way!

Across the back yard, I love the warmth of the November brown, blue and pink colors.

Annie is so cute as she waits for us to finish dinner and guards her squeaky toy. Annie is a sweet dog, very well-behaved, but the last two nights she has awakened me in the wee hours of the morning to go outside! No! I am moving the water bowl before 7 tonight!

For several months, I have tried many times to make a cup of coffee, only to see this message looking back at me. Some days it worked, others it didn't.

I didn't mind following the instructions to clean the needle, but after having repeated the process about 5 or 6 times, I had enough. Although I ordered a regular coffee brewer for back-up, I still like being able to get one cup from this Keurig, plus I have so many K-cups on hand that would go to waste. So in my caffeine craving raving mind, I decided it was time to call Keurig. Why not? This message was clearly inviting me to do so. After explaining my problem, I was very surprised to hear from the lady in customer service that there had been problems with the series I had and it had been discontinued. Therefore, she would be happy to send me a new coffee maker, along with a couple of boxes of K-cups! What do you think about that? It arrived three days later! 

I am so impressed and delighted with the coffee!

Speaking of coffee, here is a photo of a few of the Wednesday breakfast guys (and one of the wives). This isn't all the gentlemen who attend, and in particular, the man who began this tradition a few years ago is not in the picture because he is having a really hard time going through chemotherapy and other treatments for cancer. The cancer is a result of Agent Orange which he got during the Vietnam War. We have been friends with Wilson for many years and he is one of the sweetest men I have known. I hate cancer! And I hate it that he has it as a result of his faithful service to our country.

I finally made myself get up in the attic which involved several up and down trips and boy, was I sore that evening. I'm going to do a little more … maybe … but I am satisfied with what I have. Just seeing the lights and nativity bring me joy.

Some gifts underneath should make a difference.

Tenley met Santa and looks like they got along just fine! 

And finally, one last look at Thanksgiving from six years ago.

These two got into a little dirt!!! Soooo funny!

Wow! Have they ever changed!

Wednesday Medley

It's happening! Wednesday Medley!

1.  On November 28th, 1995, President Bill Clinton ended the 55 MPH nationwide speed limit that began in 1974 as an energy saving measure during the Mid-East oil embargo.  If you are old enough to remember this (I sure am) did it make you happy? You better believe it! I was tickled pink!  Do you have a heavy foot when driving or does 55 MPH sound good to you? I always enjoy it when we get to a place where 75 is the speed limit and if you go the loop around Austin, you can drive 80 or 85. I do like to drive fast and all the tickets from the past and the tears shed with the kind police officers I met would testify to that! I do much better now. Cruise Control is the best!

2.  You are home alone on a rainy/snowy Sunday afternoon.  What Christmas movie will you watch? It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, The Bishop's Wife, The Shop Around the Corner! Any one of those. I'm sure there are others that haven't come to mind just now.

3.  What is something you have tried that you will never try again? Ice skating probably.  I always loved roller skating and would have liked to ice skate more. However, having survived many sports activities, I don't want to break anything at this stage of the game.

4.  Today is National French Toast Day!!  Will you have some?  Oui s'il vous plaît. Do you like French Toast? I do like it. If I had some Texas Toast or French bread, I might make it. Although, hmmmm, I just remembered, we will be eating breakfast out Wednesday morning, so maybe I will order that. Oui! ça m'a l'air bien. I had to look it up and I'm sharing with you a little of the history of French Toast.

"Although we tend to call it French Bread, the dish isn’t known to have come from France. Some ancient Latin recipes from the 4th century mention soaking bread in milk before frying, and in fourteenth Century Germany the term ‘poor knights’ pudding’ was coined for the sweet treat because it was seen as an affordable meal for those without too much money to spend. Today, it’s eaten across the world as a breakfast meal or a sweet snack.

In Italy, there’s a savory version, called ‘mozzarella en carrozza’, which sees the egg-soaked bread sandwiching slices of mozzarella cheese before it is fried. Its name literally means ‘mozzarella in a carriage’. So you can have eggy bread for your main meal, and your pudding!"

5.  The Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center will be lighted today, as will the one at the White House in Washington, D.C.  Do you have your tree up and is it lighted?  I put up the 4 foot tree upstairs, but I didn't decorate it. I simply enjoy the lights in the early morning and after dark. Have you ever been in New York City or Washington, D.C. to see the trees all lit up during the holidays? No, but I would love to see them.

6.  Tell us something random about this week of yours. Ever since last Thursday, I have been procrastinating about getting up in the attic to bring the Christmas stuff down. I can't seem to get with it. Maybe tomorrow or Thursday. This week seems fairly quiet. We had our Monday night friends over Monday, and Tuesday was Bible study. Wednesday breakfast with our buddies, and this evening, I am going to try the Caregivers Support Group at Prestonwood Baptist. I already attend the Memory Care Support group, Thursday is Bible Study Fellowship and on Saturday Feed the City.

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving 2018 has now become a memory! A very good memory!

We had our Thanksgiving feast at Jason and Amy's house, along with Amy's Mom, Cindy, and Amy's sister, Brooke, and family. What a great group of people. Cindy bought the tee-shirts for the girls, so we had to show them off!

While dinner was cooking, baking and roasting, we played Bunko. We had 12 people, exactly what was needed to have fun! And it was a great way to pass the time because we were all starving. Soooooo much food! I'm sure it was pretty much standard fare across the country … or at least in the southern states. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn casserole, mac and cheese, chicken and dumplings, cranberry sauce. If I have left anything out besides the pecan, chocolate and pumpkin pies, it really doesn't matter. 

Belly up to the bar!

Good stuff!

Kate and Grandpa snuggling.

Kelsie is one strong lady with Ty on her back

and Madi in her arms! Wow!

Other family members which we missed seeing were enjoying Thanksgiving in other places!

My brother Phil and wife, Susan

Grandpa with Tenley

Chase and Julie

Tenley in the airport waiting for Daddy to come home!

Sara with her family in south Texas.

My sister Roberta and niece Robyn

Robyn with her cousin's baby boy.

I think this silly pic of Jack sums up how everybody felt after dinner!

Wednesday Medley for Thanksgiving

We are giving thanks this week for a holiday designated for one special reason: giving thanks.

1. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Dressing smothered with turkey gravy. It counts as one as they blend together in pure deliciousness!

2. What’s the happiest Thanksgiving memory of your childhood?

That is so funny you would ask! In all my black and white memories, I cannot recall the happiest of Thanksgivings as a child. The answer would have to be all the adults gathered round my Granny's table and us grandkids at the kids' table in the kitchen with them. Lots of excited talking and instructions on where to sit and have a little more of this or that and the prayers offered up in blessing and thanks. Others include playing in the leaves on the hill beside my cousins' house and a very vague memory of seeing my mother wring the neck of a turkey! I sure wish I knew all the details of that last memory! I was only around six years old, so I may have blocked the rest of the memory from my mind! 😂 It was probably not a happy memory … especially for the turkey … but then, he really has no memory at all.

3. Who is the most consistently grateful person you know?

This is a tough one because all my family and friends are grateful and express gratitude often. We even share often about our gratitude. But if I must narrow it down to one person, it would be my brother. He has much to be thankful for and never  ceases to give God thanks. 

4. If you could thank one person today—near or far, living or dead—for their influence on your life, who would that person be? It would be my mother who directed me to Jesus and lived a life displaying the fruit of the Spirit.

My great-uncle Norman wrote the above little poem about his Mother, my great-grandmother Upjohn. It fits my mother to a "T"!!

5. Who’s one person you’ve never fully thanked for their contribution to your life, but would like to?
I wish I had thanked my Dad more.

6. Tell us something random about your Thanksgiving week.

Jack was here Monday after spending the night Sunday. We had taken him, Kate and Amy to see The Grinch, which was a fun movie. 

I had a follow-up appointment Tuesday morning with my breast surgeon and that makes 13 years out now, for which I am extremely thankful! I roasted three turkey legs this afternoon and made my turkey gravy, which turned out great. Thank you, Joyce From This Side of the Pond. Tomorrow I will get the ham, make pumpkin pie,and mashed potatoes for our Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday! And then ... serious thoughts about a diet. No Black Friday for me.

Laughing at Us

DH doesn't talk much anymore, so I try to engage him in conversation at mealtime or when I'm cooking dinner, or when we are in the car. The rest of the time, I just let whatever we are involved in dictate the mood and conversation. 

Yesterday, as we were driving to our grandson's soccer game, I rattled on, talking about the kids, pointing out things along the way, and expressing my thoughts about different things. At one point, I asked him if he agreed.

"Don't you agree," I asked?

"There's no future in NOT agreeing with whatever you say!"
(He did say it with a smile.)

HA! We both had a good laugh about that.

Weekend Fun and Games!

The food was delicious, the company delightful! The school cafeteria served up turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and apple cobbler. They did a fantastic job!

Friday noon

We drove up early this morning to watch her play the last game of the season. Then, immediately following her game, we drove to Dallas to watch Brady play soccer, but alas, we couldn't find the field and when we finally did, DH just wasn't up to the walk it would take to get there. So, we will try again at 4 this afternoon. In the meantime, Sara is headed for San Antonio with Noah for a soccer game there. These kids are all over the place. 

My dear friend Alice's oldest granddaughter is just about to become a married lady! Isn't she stunning? Alice sent me a preview. 

Friday Foto Friends

Linking up for fun with Friday Foto Friends. Join Deb at Breathing in Grace. 

Sunset last evening 

Our latest lesson in BSF. I love

The Cross ... our Ebenezer

The Lord has helped us. 

Today we are looking forward to having a Thanksgiving lunch with the fourth graders at Kate's school! And thanks to Joyce, I have a tried and true gravy recipe from Southern Living. 

. 

Last, but definitely not least, Hunter, our grand niece, turned four this month! Such a cutie. She's out with Daddy at Lowe's here. Her pretty Mama's birthday is today! Happy Birthday to both of you!

Lunch with Libby

Lunch with Libby yesterday was fun! And we picked up right where we left off before, only at a different location. I don't know why I didn't think to have someone snap a pic of us together there in LeMadeleine at our table by the fireplace. We may have been simply too busy catching up. If you can't meet Libby in person, and you haven't yet discovered her blog, you can enjoy her sweet conversation and lovely posts right here.

As I thought about it on the way home, how wonderful to meet someone you just feel comfortable with and as though you've known them for years. As Anne of  Green Gables said of finding new friends, there is truly a kindred spirit there. And really, although the number of blog friends I have are very small in comparison with other bloggers, all the ones I have met through link ups and through other blogger friends have been some of the sweetest people ever! In this little cyber world, we have the chance to share feelings and memories and families and our daily happenings in life more sometimes than we do with people we see on a more regular basis. Now, that is a blessing to be thankful for! Wouldn't it be fun someday to choose a central location to have a convention?

Wednesday Medley

Thank you Terri for a fun Wednesday Medley! She has the questions for us right here!

1.  With the holidays coming, what is your most essential appliance to help you prepare for the celebrations? 

I think the oven. I plan to bake cookies, pie and maybe some other goodies containing either chocolate or pumpkin. 

2.  What is your favorite (clean) word?

How about "home?" My home is a refuge from this crazy world. I can relax and truly be myself without reservation. When I go somewhere, anywhere, coming home is a great thing to look forward to. It is a place where DH and I enjoy each  other, sleep in peace, share meals together and enjoy our friends and family when they come.

"My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places " 

Isaiah 32:18 NKJV

Home also means my heart, Christ's Home, and then my forever Home, as in one day I will reach my final destination, where I will live with Him forever in peace. 

"But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them." 

Hebrews 11:16 NLT

"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying,
 "Look, God's home is now among his people!
He will live with them, and they will be his people.
God himself will be with them." 

Revelation 21:3 NLT

3.  Are you a good judge of character?

I think so. I have missed a couple in the past, but for the most part, I believe I am. 

4. What is the last thing you took a picture of? Can you share it with us?

Haha. This is funny. I took DH to the dentist Tuesday, and as we were checking out, I noticed this little dog all dressed up in his unicorn outfit. 

5. Tomorrow, November 15, is Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day.  How do you intend to celebrate? 

I will celebrate that I cleaned mine out last week. 

6. Tell us something random about your week! 

I will be having lunch on Wednesday with blog friend Elizabeth Day of Beautywithoutwithin! That's pretty cool, huh? And as I write this, I have a very delicious chicken pot pie in the oven which will be heavenly on this very cold winter's evening in our little home.