Happy Thanksgiving!

(I love these guys from the world of Charles Schulz; love their Christmas music too.)

Kids!

For the last three days, I've had non-stop kids! Picked up my three nieces from school Monday and Tuesday, plus pizza lunch at school Tuesday, and all day with the nieces Wednesday!

I'm tired! A 12-year old, a 10-year old, and an 8-year old together! I found out about "Fred" on the computer. I wish I hadn't! If you haven't seen (or heard) Fred on YouTube, you are very, very lucky. Aubrey loves Fred, and plays him non-stop. It gives me such a headache. I pulled out my pain pills and they thought I was kidding, but I wasn't.


Today, I came home exhausted, in time for a late dinner. My husband, bless his heart, made us tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I love the peace and quiet of my own home, my child-free home. I love my nieces, but they sure do wear me out!

Gymnasts Salute!

I went to my first gymnastics meet Saturday. My 12-year old niece is a budding gymnast... she won first place on the beam! She also won first place overall in her age group.

Here she is with her trophy:

Here Comes Winter...

Remember these photos of my deck this summer? We had a canvas cover for shade, with flower baskets hanging down. And green trees in the background. Aaah, summer! It stays light late into the evening, and we enjoy being outdoors until the stars come out.



The photo below is what it looks like now... winter is setting in. We took down the canvas roof because last year the winter storms blew it apart. The flowers are long gone, replaced by hardier ferns, which also will be gone with the first hard freeze. And, no more green trees in the back ground. Winter, to me, is bleak. No more warm evenings with candlelit dinners on the deck. No more sipping wine on the swing. The outdoors is not as inviting any more. We can do those things indoors, but it's not the same. It's dark by dinner time, and I feel like we are hibernating.


There are a few compensations, though. Winter brings bright red berries; holiday decorations with no effort on our part. A bit of color in the bleak landscape of skeletal trees:



Remember the little black feral kittens that live in our back yard?


Well, last weekend we put up the tent that will serve as their winter home. We will cover the floor of the tent with straw, put in blankets and cat beds so they can keep warm. So far, we have had three of them spayed; we hope to have them all spay/neutered by the time winter sets in for real.


Winter is long, dark, and cold... preparations must be made. Those of you who live in warm climates... I hope you realize how lucky you are! Can you see why my fondest wish is to live in Hawaii one day?

Facebook Is Taking Over!

Out of date. Behind the curve. Over the hill. That's me!

Ten years or so ago, all my friends were communicating by email. I still had an old, slow computer with a dial-up connection. My means of communication was the telephone. But... I never knew what all my friends knew, because they communicated by email. A typical conversation: "Oh, didn't you get my email? Didn't you hear that we are getting together tomorrow night?"

I finally mastered email when I got my new laptop. I began reading blogs. Eventually, I started my own blog. Things went along merrily for a while. I was emailing with the best of them. I was making friends through my blog. I was following family members on their blogs. Just when I thought I was on top of things, I started hearing about My Space and Facebook. I am not on My Space. I am not on Facebook. I seem to be behind the curve again.

Now, I have noticed that some bloggers have stopped blogging. They go for weeks without posting. Some have given up blogging altogether. They are going over to Facebook. Many of my friends are parents of grown children, and have gone on to Facebook to keep up with their kids.

Even my brother-in-law, who first swore he would never get a cell phone, then swore he would never have a computer, is now on Facebook. He had to do it to keep up with his son and new daughter-in-law who live in California. I have a feeling that we are missing family photos because they are now put up on Facebook rather than on their poor, neglected blogs.

What is an old person to do? Try to keep up, and things just keep changing! I don't think I will even bother mastering Facebook, because as soon as I do something new will replace that! So... if you want to keep up with me, send me an email, call me on my cell phone, or read my blog!

My Cats in the Sunshine

We have had a string of beautiful Fall days here... bright sunshine and temps in the 60s. I wish it would stay like this all through the Winter. Here are Katie and Tiger, with the sun shining in on them:


Katie is the big, fluffy one; she came with us when we moved from Pennsylvania. Tiger is one of the formerly feral kittens that we adopted after he and his sister came calling in our back yard. Tiger is a sweet kitty, but very bashful. He loves Katie, I think she's his hero.

I Miss This Place!

On a tree-lined street near Rittenhouse Square:


Small and romantic. Intimate spaces and and fairy lights:


Great food; the best cream of mushroom soup, nicely prepared entrees, irresistible desserts:


One of the many reasons I miss Philadelphia!