Thanksgiving 2009 - Full!

I went to bed last night with a "tummy ache"! I bet half of America did too! We had so much good food. The best surprise of all was Michael's smoked turkey. I have never had anything like it. It was by far the best, most moist turkey I have ever had. Of course it was a small organic turkey which helped with the moistness I am sure but oh, my it was good! We were so full that we never even cut into the oven roasted turkey that Christie made.

The three dogs had a blast running all over the place and pooped out just in time for us to sit down to our feast. We are enjoying little Lacy who is just 11 weeks old and so rough and tumble. She runs Jake in circles but he is liking her.

It was so good to have Brendan home from college. He has grown a beard and is so grown up. I got to have both my big grandsons for the day! Next year they will both be coming home for T-Day....and then, and then....they will be gone. So we are really enjoying them!

I hope everyone had as good a time as we did. I have posted some of the pictures at my Picasa website.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2009 will be spent with the Shumbies at their lovely home here in Mount Pleasant. I love it that we only live 1/2 mile apart. Christie is doing most of the cooking but Michael is smoking a turkey this year. Last year we had deep fried - this year smoked. But we have learned that we really want traditional also so Christie is also roasting a turkey with stuffing and then we will have drippings for the gravy. We get TWO turkeys! I think this is really the way to go. And to think there are only 6 of us! Man, can we ever pig-out!

I made the pies tonight. Pumpkin and Pecan - the Pecan is still in the oven and the Pumpkin is still warm and the house smells so good! And yes, I made my own crust too. I love doing it; I just don't usually have much time for it so last weekend I made the crust, put it in the pie shells and put them in the freezer. I think it worked quite well.

We get to eat them starting on Wednesday because - - - we have a big celebration! Brendan will be home for the first time since leaving for college last summer. We have missed him so much! It will be fun to listen to his stories and hear all about his experiences.

So, to all of you - I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving full of love, laughter and lots of fattening food! (because that is what we love about the holiday, right?)

Reflections

Since I am so old now I have been thinking about my life and recently re-found this wonderful writing by Erma Bombeck. I just keep thinking of all the things I WANT to do and also the things I HAVE to do. I think I will start doing many less of the HAVE TOs and much more of the WANT TOs. So - I am cleaning house much less. Come on over - it isn't clean, it isn't neat and I would love to see you!

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer.)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it ... live it .and never give it back. Stop sweating the small stuff.

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.
Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with. And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as we only have one shot at this and then it's gone. I hope you all have a blessed day.

An Old Lady

We had a wonderful day on my birthday! Does that sound strange? The WE part? But WE did....all of us. The family, the dogs, the neighbors and especially me. We started out going to Fuel - which I have talked about here before. I love Fuel. It is just my kind of place...very casual, outdoors, good food, good ale and dogs welcome. We met the Shumbies there and the 5 of us plus 3 dogs made our way to the patio. We all orderd a different drink...I got my favorite - Drifter Ale. The dogs went in circles as much as their tethers would let them and tried to adjust to the new smells and sounds. Jake was especially nervous about all of it. Socks has done this before so she knew a little more what to expect. Lacy is just 10 weeks old - what does she care about anything?? Jake pretty much just layed down and was good. Socks talked to our neighbors about their food!

And talk about food. I had a "to die for" Chorizo Burger"! Never had anything like that before and certainly will have it again! It was fantastic!

Then it was to Shumbies for Fudgie Brownies and the celebration of becoming an even older lady than I was the day before. After the fattening goodies we went next door to see the puppies that Ed and Barb have in their garage. I hadn't seen them in about 3 weeks. I believe that 2 of our friends are each taking one so we will get to watch them grow up along with Lacy. That will be a blast. (Lacy was just "one of the kids" as you can see from this picture!)

It was a really good birthday but I am feeling all of my 63 years! Aren't I lucky to have lived such a rich life?? And there is more to come!

Oh, and I just think this picture of Jake is so funny. He really does not like riding in the car and he really wants on my lap. This was what I saw when I looked back at him!

Christie's Birthday

(I just love Black and White pictures!) Just in case you have happened upon this blog and don't know me, Christie is my firstborn child. She had her birthday yesterday and here are some of the pictures. It did cause me to reflect on that day and what my life was like at the time. I remembered that my baby was due on October 15th! Big difference from what really happened. So we went to a Halloween Party and dressed in Chinese Lounging Pajamas that matched. They covered my body!! I wonder what I would see if I looked those up on the internet today? They were big, black jammy bottoms of cotton and red chinese print tops with a tie belt. Funny memories. And she was born many hours before the doctor thought she would be born....I think she was in a hurry....she had a lot to do and needed to get busy....she has always been that way.

Anyway we had a lovely party at her house. I took the day off from work and cooked her dinner and then took it over there. (She can't leave her new puppy for very long yet so dinner had to be at home.) It was a lovely evening watching our 3 yellow dogs play and spending time together.

Only things (persons) missing were Kirby and Brendan. Brendan is my oldest grandson and is away at college. Hopefully he will be home for Thanksgiving....we miss him so much. Kirby, my sweetheart and my husband, was home sick with a cold. He is much better today.
So what do you think of my M&M's cake? It really was good! I made 3 layers and then put a layer of M&M's between each. Ah, decadence!
And that is Casey, my 2nd oldest grandson who leaves us next year for college.

Update to My Life

Well, most of you already know that Kirby is in Virginia on a boat. Last weekend I drove him up there to meet Ken and Connie at their boat (OZ, a Gulfstar 45) and help get it ready to sail south. They have not been able to launch the boat yet but will be in the water soon and on their way south. And of course I forgot the camera so don't have one picture to post of Ken and Connie.
In the meantime, Jake and I are at home missing our old man! Jake has been rather confused and looks for his "Daddy" at the strangest times. Tonight he looked for him in the van as we got in. OK, Jake, Daddy has not been hiding in the van for 6 days!


The big news in the Shumbie family this week is the addition of a precious little baby girl....of the yellow hair variety! So I am a Grandma to a dog again! Glad she is theirs and not mine! Lacy is a beautiful little yellow lab, just 8 weeks old. She is not from the litter shown last week (I will have more on those babies soon). Lacy was actually born in Virginia and Christie and Michael were picking her up about the same time I was dropping Kirby off. Interesting trade??? Jake was very interested in Lacy and they had a good time sniffing each other. When Lacy got too vocal with Jake (yes, she barks and growls at 8 weeks!) Socks (her new "Mom") reminded her of her place and told her to respect her new "Dad".
I am sure we are in for many, many doggie adventures with 3 yellow dogs! Heaven Help US!!

Hot off the Press

I just received these pictures from Lisa. They went to a Halloween Party! So cute!

Boats and Babies

I feel like I haven't stopped in days. I returned from California on Monday afternoon and was back to the grind on Tuesday. Saturday bright and early Kirby and I were off for Virginia. Kirby is going sailing! He is so excited. Ken and Connie on their 45 foot Gulfstar "Oz" have invited him to crew with them. We arrived in Deltaville, VA about 3 PM yesterday after an 8 hour drive, and had dinner out with Ken, Connie, Ruth from Ontario, CA and Rich who just happened to arrive on his boat, Kellie Rae. Kirby and I stayed at the Dockside Inn which was pretty yukky but it was mostly clean and backed up to the boat yard where "Oz" is still on the hard. Then this morning I left at 7:15 AM and drove back home. Tired is all I can say.

I am tired so I have just sat here at the computer and uploaded some of my pictures of my San Diego trip. You can view them by CLICKING HERE. There are a lot of them but that is because I had a lot of fun!

I was really bad yesterday and didn't get one picture. So you will just have to imagine the big smile on Kirby's face!

San Diego Trip

I know everyone is waiting with baited breath to hear about my trip to San Diego to visit my family there. Well, first of all, it was a really quick trip. I had a hard time getting away from work so 2 and a half days is what worked. My flight from Charleston at 6:00 AM (yup - before morning almost) went without a hitch - thank you Delta. I arrived on time at 10:15 and there was Ryan! He met me at luggage and it was so delightful to look up when I heard my name and see my son! He is still so good looking! Looks just like me!

Ryan had managed to plan his day around my visit and we headed right home - no work for him! Both of my wonderful little grandchildren were awake and waiting for me when we arrived. I was prepared for Kevin (3 and a half) to be stand-off-ish for some time but that did not happen. After letting Blackjack (Ryan and Lisa's wonderful German Shepherd) cover me with hair Kevin was ready to hold my hand and show me to my casita.

From that moment on it was grandsons and grandsons! I loved it! We talked and played the whole time. I played Lego and watched Kevin ride his bike in the yard, I played a fair amount of pretend (I loved being a Fireman!) and had a wonderful time listening to Justin laugh! Nothing like a baby giggle! We went to the Pumpkin Patch and road rides, did the slide and visited the animals. We took a walk in the canyon behind their house. I had never taken a walk in the rough with a stroller...not easy but do-able. Lisa is a real sport - pushing that stroller everywhere so that she and Justin can be a part of the activities. Kevin spent a fair amount of time on Dad's shoulders - and the rest with his hand in mine! I loved it!

I had to wake up before morning again to come home but at the end of the long day I had Kirby there meeting me at the airport and it was so good to see him. The weekend was fast but so very wonderful. I love those little guys!

Traveling

Well, I am off to San Diego and my California family before you wake up tomorrow so there will be no puppy pictures this weekend. But stand by for grandson pictures! Here is one to whet your whistle!