Thanksgiving

Hi all,
  I have been absent from the blog world for a while. I just haven't taken the time to update anything. My school year has been great! I love teaching kindergarten, and I am glad that made the change to this grade level. I needed something different at this time of my life, and my little class is just what I needed.
  We had a great Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. My daughter's family was out of town, so I missed them a lot. My son had to work at Paula Deen's restaurant, so I missed him a lot! The four of us 'old folks' were there, though, meaning me and my siblings! haha
Also, the youngest of the grandchildren were there. My brothers both have younger families than my sister and I, so they were still present at the family gathering. We greatly missed our two youngest family members, Dora and Violet, but they were with their other families for the day. That is okay. I am posting a picture from my brother's FB page, so I hope that it is not blurry. Sometimes when you 'borrow' a picture, that picture is not so clear. I am still the shortest person around, even shorter than my nieces and nephews. That is okay, too, because you can always pick me out in the picture!! hahahaha
Back row: Tommy, Susan, me, Amy
Middle row: Ellen, Dewey, Jr., Dewey, Sr., Dewey III, Lauren, Julia, William, Sr.
Front row: William, Jr., Rebecca

Have a great weekend!!

Kindergarten Smindergarten!!

I took the plunge!!  I tackled the challenge!  I am teaching KINDERGARTEN!!  Yippee!  After 18 years in the gifted education program (which I loved), I can now say that I am a kindergarten teacher. I must say that I am enjoying every minute of it, too! In fact, I was so excited that I went to work extremely early the first two days. Day 1 was great. Day 2...well, let's just say that I thought I was superman.  I parked my car, and then re-parked it. I went to check the parking, and my jeep started rolling backwards! I tried to jump in it and stop it, but it stopped me!  Apparently, the door hit me, knocked me to the ground, and the tire went over my leg. Luckily, no bones were broken, but my leg was a mess. By the time I reached the ER, the leg was humongous, and I had a huge bump on my head from the front to the back from where my head HIT the pavement. ouch. The leg is still swollen, and the back of my head still aches a bit when I touch it, but I am working again. I went back to work after only two weeks off. The doctors really wanted me to stay out three weeks, but I wouldn't wait. So, this week was a four day week - due to Labor Day. By Thursday, my leg was aching and my foot was huge. The swelling has gone down into the foot. It didn't help any that I wouldn't wear my knee brace. It was either too tight, or it would slide down, so I took it off. That was a big mistake that I rectified Friday, by wearing it all day and using both crutches! Whew. The leg didn't hurt quite as bad, but my foot was still a few sizes too big.  Anywho, my students are terrific, and I love my new class. There is a lot to learn in kindergarten, for ME and my students. I will get the hang of it soon, though, and I am thoroughly looking forward to the challenge that lays before me.

A - Apple - a

haha

I - itch - i

See, I know the sounds already!! Now, I just need to figure out how to put the short vowel sound over letters in a word processing program.  haha

Have a great weekend!!

One More Day

Today is our last day of summer vacation. We start back to work tomorrow. By we, I mean the public school teachers here in Savannah. I have been to my school three times already. It was kind of nice being back, actually. I enjoy being at home, but I also enjoy having a routine and being around people. When my children were little, I wanted desperately to be at home with them, but I had to work. They tell me that they turned out just fine, and they tell me not to worry about working while they were small. They say that I did what I had to do, and they are right. I have two wonderful children who have grown into two extremely wonderful adults.
So, it is back to the grindstone tomorrow. Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to it!!

We are going to my niece's 15th birthday party tonight at Logan's Steakhouse. She is a happy girl these days, because she was accepted into the Savannah Arts High School for this coming year, her sophomore year. I know she will thrive there and be very successful. We have a lot of birthdays coming up this month. Becca, brother Dewey, niece Julia, and daughter Rachel. Bam, bam, bam, birthdays will be happening for three weekends in a row, and then Adam's will be here a couple of weeks after that!
I am making Julia a "Belle' cake, for her 7th birthday party. I found a cute one online, and I am going to attempt to make it. I bought the doll for it months ago, after Julia told me what kind of birthday she was having this year. I will put the photo of it here. I really hope that I can make the cake look like this one. Julia loved this picture, when I showed it to her. I will need to take off the doll's clothes, and cover her in saran wrap. I watched a video once on how to do this, so I hope that I learned something! haha
Have a great week!

The beach, clouds, thunder, sun, and a book

I made it to the beach yesterday! I settled all in, and then the thunder started! I had just put enough money in the 'pay to park' meter for four hours, and I was determined to stay. I found a spot that already had a hole for my umbrella, but having no luck getting it to stay solid, I decided not to use the umbrella. I had recently bought some 'anchors' to hold the umbrella in the sand. I tried to use one, but it didn't exactly work for me. I was in a hurry and didn't really take the time to make it work. Plus, I really didn't want to sit under an umbrella. I have that for when little Dora is with me to keep her out of the hot, bright sun.
As the thunder cracked, roared, and rolled, I looked up and realized it might blow over. Then, it sprinkled rain. I used the umbrella to cover my wagon and bag, and it worked pretty well. I had forgotten to bring a towel, but that was okay. It was hot enough to dry off, if perchance I went into the ocean - which I did.
A few Christmases ago, or birthdays ago, I bought Rachel theTrilogy series of books written by Eugenia Price about St. Simons Island. The first one is called Lighthouse. Rachel is reading that series again, and she let me take this first book to 'read'. Now, I am not much of a reader, but I took the book anyway. I read this series many years ago, when I was around 20 or 21 and greatly enjoyed all of the books. So, I started reading Lighthouse with our lighthouse in the background. The sun was really bright, and it was a bit hard to see the words sometimes, due to the sweat pouring into my eyes, ha! Sometimes, I can read outside without my 'magnifying' old lady glasses, but I needed them yesterday. I was hoping not to get a raccoon face, with white circles around my eyes from the glasses in the sun. Anyway, I actually read about 60 pages. Mind you, I was there for four hours, so you can see how slowly I read. I used to be able to read much faster, but that was before my car crash. I was hit by a drunk driver in January of 1990 and suffered many injuries. One of the injuries was that a blood clot released to my brain, causing a stroke and a partial blindness. So, it is difficult for me to read. I keep trying, though. Sometimes it is easier to read than other times. I'm not sure why that is, but it happens.
Anyway, I had a great time at the beach all by myself. I did get a lot of sun, even though the clouds were in the sky. Most people do not realize that you can get too much sun when it is an overcast day. I found that out the hard way when I lived in the Tennessee mountains. I was at the lake one day, by myself, and it was very overcast. I came home with the WORST sunburn of my entire life. Actually, I believe that I had sun poisoning. I was red as red could be. I had the chills constantly. I could barely move. Then, the blisters appeared all over, and I still had the chills. That sunburn took many days, possibly weeks, to get over. Ever since then, I make sure to wear lots of sunscreen. That experience is not one that I wish to repeat.
The sprinkles yesterday didn't last long. The clouds continued to roll. The waves were very rough, and the undertow was extremely bad. I was so worried about some of the younger people who were out in the water. Many people come to the beach who do not understand how bad the undertow can be. It carries you way past where you enter the water. By that I mean, you can go in at one point right in front of your belongings and end up way, way down the beach in front of some other people's belongings! You don't realize that you are being carried away like that until you are ready to get out of the water. The undertow was super strong yesterday, kind of scary strong, actually.
I was on the North side of the beach, right in front of the Tybee Lighthouse. I love lighthouses. I have many books about them, and I love to teach my students about them. I am attaching a picture of the view from where I was on the beach and a picture of one of the seagulls who came to visit me!

After spending a few minutes in the water and being knocked around by the strong waves and undertow, I went back to shore and sat in my chair and read my book. I hope to get through the book and begin the next one in the series. Rachel is already on number three - again. When I bought the books, I tried to find the one called Savannah, but it wasn't in print anymore.
Wouldn't you know it...As I was writing this entry and looking for pictures of the books, Rachel and her family came over. She brought the other two books with her! She has already finished them all!! She is one fast reader, that is for sure. So, I scanned the books and will put their pictures here. The third book of the series, Beloved Invader, is actually the first book that Eugenia Price wrote. It is interesting that she wrote the 'first and second' books of the Trilogy after she wrote the 'third' book of the series. I guess in today's world they would be called 'prequels'. HA! That is what people are doing nowadays with books and movies that become very popular. Ms. Price was ahead of her time doing that!!
The books are much larger than they were years ago when I read them. I still have the other books, in regular paperback form somewhere. These are much nicer, though.

#1 in the St. Simon's Trilogy is Lighthouse.

#2 in the St. Simon's Trilogy is New Moon Rising.

#3 in the St. Simon's Trilogy is Beloved Invader, which is actually Ms. Price's first novel. For some odd reason, my scanner quit working during the last scan. It has taken me a while to get this picture scanned and ready. Technology...You can't live with it or without it!!

 

 

So, here are the three books that I am going to attempt to read. It may take quite a while to get through them, but I am set upon doing it. They are great books. Eugenia Price was a great storyteller. These books are especially interesting to me, because they are about South Georgia where I live. The Spanish Moss that she speaks of is rampant in my town, in my own trees, and all around. These books will make you love this area of our wonderful country. Maybe you can find copies of the this Trilogy and read them for yourself!

 

Have a great day!

 

Summer is almost over

I have been to my school twice this week. That means that summer is almost over! We start back on Monday. This summer was just too short, but I think I need to go back to work in order to have a vacation! haha  Things around here have been a bit, more than a bit, hectic during these summer months. I have enjoyed my trips to the beach, and I might just take another trip tomorrow. Otherwise, I have been around the house taking care of my daddy. He has been sick most of the summer. He was sick with respiratory things most of the beginning of the summer, and then he went into the hospital with pneumonia. He got a bit better, but he has been fighting the respiratory illness all month. He is doing a little better today, thank goodness. I took Adam to school today, and he helped me move all of my supplies and materials downstairs to my new room. I could not have done the moving of all of that by myself, and I am thankful that Adam went to help me. As far as setting up the room, that will have to wait. It is still full of kindergarten materials, and last year's bulletin boards and wall things are still up. Hopefully, the teacher from that room will move those things this week, so that I can set up my room.
I baked a chicken and a ham today. The ham will be good for a few days. The chicken might turn into something else tomorrow! haha
We went to the Farmer's Market Saturday and got some fresh vegetables. I have used them all up, though. We only got a small amount. I thought veggies in the grocery store were expensive, but the veggies from the farmers are even higher priced! Oh well...they were good. I also got some peanuts and boiled them. They were huge!
I'm not sure what will go on the rest of this week, but I hope that another trip to the beach happens!
Summer is almost over, but there are still several days left. I must make the best of them! I finally found some 'anchors' for my beach umbrellas, so I must try them out. Now, maybe the umbrella will not roll down the beach with the wind!!
Happy Tuesday!!

More Cuddins'

This week, I was able to visit with more cousins...my Hooper cousins from the north Georgia Mountains. My Daddy is from Rabun County in north Georgia. My cousin, Kathryn, and her family came to Tybee Island this week. Kathryn's mamma was my daddy's dear sister. Kathryn and her sister, Gail, are our only cousins on my daddy's side of the family, and we were always close during our growing up years. Kathryn's children and grandchildren were able to come. Daughter Erin and her sons Chris, Alex, and Ethan. Erin's husband couldn't make this trip. Daughter Karina, her husband Tony, and their children Eden and Zeb!!


Kathryn and Dewilla

Here are five of the six first cousins: Dewey, Susan, Dewilla, Kathryn, and William, with Daddy!

Kathryn's family rented a condo at the Brass Rail for the week. They were all extremely excited to be at the beach and to be able to spend an entire week together on vacation. When people grow up and have their own families, it is often difficult to get them altogether for occasions such as this.
Erin is Kathryn's oldest daughter, and she has three teenage boys - Chris (6' 4" and 16 years old), Alex, and Ethan. They all came in town on Wednesday to visit with Daddy!!

Excuse the fuzzy picture. My photographer has shaky hands!! Ooops...I'm the photographer!

Erin and Daddy

 

Adam got home from school right as the cuddins' were leaving to go to River Street. He posed for a couple of pictures! This picture is of  Erin, Adam, Karina, and Zeb.

 Karina is Kathryn's youngest daughter, and she has two young children - Eden is 3 years old, and Zeb is 10 months old. They are sweet little ones! This picture is of Dora and Eden, at Tybee!

Dora is 1 1/2 years old, and Eden is 3 1/2 years old.

Kathryn and family came in town to see Daddy on Wednesday. Daddy really enjoyed seeing them. He even got to hold little Zeb!

 

 Rachel, Dora, and I went to the beach to visit with them for a couple of hours on Thursday. We met them at the Lighthouse, and I got to visit the gift shop and buy some things that I really didn't need! They all enjoyed going up to the top of the lighthouse and looking out across the ocean.

 

Can you see them up there at the tip top?

 

We took them over to the beach, which was right across the road, and visited for a bit. Dora loves the water!!!!!! Can you see her kicking? I used the Zoom lens for this one.

 

 

Rachel and Dora with Karina and Zeb, at the Lighthouse

Sweet cousins and terrific mammas!!

 

Then, I had to come home and take Daddy to the doctor for his checkup. He has been sick again. He just can't shake this respiratory illness. The doctor gave him more medicine, so I hope it will clear up soon.

The cuddins' will be heading home today. We had two nice visits with them. I know they had  wonderful time on their vacation, and I hope they get to come back one day!

Here is a picture of Kathryn with Daddy!

Have a great week!!

A Rainy Sunday

So... what do you do on a rainy Sunday? Stay inside, I suppose! I was out and about rather early today at Home Depot and Lowe's, but I got home before the rain. Daddy is on my laptop doing Ancestry.com things, so I am in the computer room using the regular computer. I always use this one, anyway.
There is nothing much on TV to watch. I do not read for pleasure, unless I skim through a magazine. I could be cross stitching the new patterns I bought to do for Dora. I could bake a cake or some cupcakes. Maybe I will make a pound cake. That will keep me busy, and we all love those things! I need to mop the house, but I am waiting until later in the day to do that. There is not much use in mopping the house when it is raining outside and everyone will be bringing in dirty, wet feet!!
The summer has been enjoyable. I have been to the beach FIVE times, and I have a pretty nice tan. I went to visit my Grimm cousins who were staying at the beach for a week, and I enjoyed meeting the new little ones in their family. I took a trip to Alabama to visit more Grimm cousins. This week, my north Georgia Hooper cousins are coming to stay for the week at Tybee, so I will get to see them and their little ones, too! As usual in the summer, I have had several doctor's appointments and checkups. It is easier to do these appointments in the summer, so that I do not have to take off from work. Before school resumes in two weeks, I must get the animals to the vet~ I keep putting that off. Daddy has been sick again this week, so things were put on hold for a while. Hopefully, he will be feeling better in a few days. At first, the doctor was going to put him back in the hospital, but he decided that recuperating at home with two very strong antibiotics would be better. Thank goodness!!
So, have I decided what to do on a rainy Sunday? Not really....I guess I'll go bake a cake!!
Have a great week!!

 

Cuddins'

Cuddin' ... is that a real word? Well, in my mother's family it is~ HA~
She used to talk about some of her relatives by saying, Cuddin' Effie, or Cuddin' Sue! haha~
This past weekend, I was able to visit MY cuddins. Rachel drove the car for me, and she, Dora, and I went to Alabama to visit Marvin and Arlene. Marvin's mamma and my mamma were dear sisters. During our growing up years, our families were very close.
We had an awesome time visiting with the Grimms~

We had a terrific supper Friday night, made especially by Arlene - ziti and sausage! yum
The coconut pie and chocolate bars that she made were out of this world!
Then, we went antiquing Saturday. We also enjoyed a yummy lunch of pimento cheese, orange salad, and some great big girl chicken fingers! Also, we had more coconut pie! For supper, we had delicious barbecue from a nice little local place. It was awesome! Amelia came by to visit and eat lunch with us on Saturday, too. We had a great time with her. Amelia, Rachel, and Dora all have the same middle name of Morel, which is my grandmother's maiden name. Aren't they beautiful!!

We went to church on Sunday, and I enjoyed the music immensely. The guitarist who played the solo during communion was fantastic! Arlene told me that he is her doctor! A doctor and a terrific guitarist, how about that! For dinner on Sunday, we went out to a neat little restaurant that is located in an old train station. Marvin and I had the Poulet de Normandy, and Rachel and Arlene had the pot roast. Needless to say, Rachel and I shared our meals, and Marvin and Arlene shared theirs. That way, we could all enjoy both entrees! I had never eaten Poulet before, and I really enjoyed it. The meal is made of chicken and dressing mixed together. I'm going to make some of that real soon. I need to get Arlene's coconut pie recipe, too! The pot roast was extremely tender and delicious. Amelia came back over for another visit, and we were excited to be with her again! Sunday night, we had a smorgasbord of awesomeness...leftovers from the entire weekend! Everything was delicious again!!
Marvin and Arlene finally got a hold of Dora! She was playing coy with them all weekend.

Monday morning, we all got up to eat breakfast and visit before leaving for home. Marvin left to go to work, and Rachel and I enjoyed being with Arlene for a little while longer. Can you tell how much fun Dora was having visiting her cuddins? 

We left around nine our time and made the drive home. Luckily, we missed the bad traffic in Atlanta both times through! We stopped at the Tanger outlet, and Rachel found two sweaters at J.Crew that she really liked. We had a fantastic weekend. It was really great to be able to relax and just visit with the cuddins!! I'm using some of Arlene's pictures here, because most of mine didn't turn out too good on my phone camera!
Thanks, Marvin and Arlene, for the great visit!!


 

Summer in the City

One of my all time favorite songs is the one about "Summer in the City". I love that song. Of course, the Hot time in the song is probably about going out on the town. However, the hot time in my mind is the HEAT and the humidity of Savannah G-A!!  haha
I made it to the beach during the first week of summer vacation! Yeah!! I hope to get there more this summer than I have in recent years. I do not go in swimming, but I do enjoy just sitting on the beach watching the hours go away. haha Time passes pretty quickly out there, too. We have to pay those pesky parking meters, so we must keep track of our time. Now, I'm out of date. We don't pay parking meters anymore, we "pay to park" at the little machine that takes...get ready for it...DEBIT CARDS!!  My, oh, my, what in the world is going on here!? haha
 I was very pleasantly surprised to find that there were new plastic 'runners' going from the little bridges to the beach. The new walking bridges make it much easier to get from the car to the beach. We used to have to trudge through all of the deep, soft, HOT sand to get to the water. Tybee has built little 'ramp bridges' for us, and this year there are even little hard runners from the bridge to the first part of the beach. The sea oats are still thriving. I'm glad they haven't disappeared. Through the years, there has been a lot of drudging up of sand from out in the ocean that has been brought up to the actual beach. The project was to help the beach from eroding. What it did was to take away all of the shark teeth that we used to find all over the place! Oh well, the beaches are much nicer and not as muddy and dirty. Yes, I said muddy. The river water going into the ocean causes some of the 'muddiness'. Anyway, we had a grand time. Little Dora loved the water. She especially like the sand. She was digging in it, eating it, and putting it in her hair!!  She was fun to watch. Of course, I took tons of pictures.
So, summer is here and that means that I am being rather lazy right now and enjoying not having to get up and go anywhere. I have begun a strange tradition, though, of getting up early every day. I used to love to sleep late, but in my old age I have become an early riser. Also, I have bad dreams in the morning, and that prompts me to get up!  Crazy, I know.
I hope to take a few short little trips this summer to visit. My mamma, granna, grandma, daddy, aunt, and all of my older relatives always went visiting. People nowadays do not visit much, and that is a shame.
Well, I will get off of here and make some sweet tea. Yes, that is another southern tradition. Sweet tea! These days, though, I make DECAF sweet tea, so that I don't stay awake all night. Another sign of old age, DECAF!! hahahaha
Have a great summer's day!!

Almost Summer

I am getting excited about the fact that summer is almost here! School is winding down for the year, and I am grateful for that. Hopefully, this summer will be uneventful and relaxing. It will be the first summer in a very long time that I will not have to worry about studying or anything tense like that. Maybe, I will get to the beach a lot! I hope so, anyway. The beach has eluded me for the last few years. Although I do not go in swimming much, I do enjoy being out and about on the beach. After being stung pretty badly by a jellyfish about ten years ago, I do not exactly run and jump into the water as I once did. I do not exactly want to go 'tanning' either, but I do enjoy just sitting there on the beach, relaxing, with the world and it troubles all gone for a day.
I finally ordered my doctoral robe, tam, hood, etc. Many times before, I have gone online and clicked on all of the things to order, but I never finished it and hit submit. Now, I will expect my regalia in about one month, and that is an exciting thing for me! Attendance at graduation may not come to fruition, but I will have my doctoral regalia to wear, and that is important to me.
My dissertation is now published and copyrighted through ProQuest Publications. I ordered it in book form, and the book is really nice. I could have had it placed on Amazon for people to buy, but I decided not to do that. While doing my research, I was able to find many dissertations and other articles to use without paying for them. So, I want others to be able to use my research for their dissertations without paying for it. If I ever decide to do further research on my topic and publish it, then Amazon can sell my work! HA!!
I am optimistic about this coming summer, and I hope to have a great time doing nothing, maybe a little cleaning up around here, going to the beach, and maybe taking a short trip or two to nearby locations.
Have a great weekend!
 

Meanderings

Why do some people have to be so ugly to other people? Why do some people think they can just run all over other people? I have no clue as to why there are such mean people in the world. I was raised in such a warm and loving environment that it is beyond my comprehension to understand people who are so self absorbed, only care about what is good for them, and just plain mean. Can you say, passive aggressive? Those who make snide, ugly remarks just waiting to get a 'rise' out of someone are just pitiful. Why are people so dad blamed ugly?  I was raised by some very selfLESS people who would bend over backwards to do anything they could for me, or you, or anyone else on this earth. Our family has always had the God given spiritual gifts of giving and serving. I am glad that we are bessed in that way, and I feel sorry for those who just think of themselves and what they can get out of life only for them. Life is too bad, too sad, for them, because they are sad, ugly, mean spirited, spiritless, lonely people.
 

A Saturday Afternoon

I had a nice Saturday. First, I got up rather early...crazy for a Saturday.
Then, I decided to go visit my brand new grandniece. Yes, I am now a Great Aunt. That title makes me feel old. Being a grandma doesn't make me feel old, but being a Great Aunt does! haha
I visited for a while, and then came home. My friend had called me earlier in the day, and she wanted to take me out for my graduation. First, we went to "the big park", which is what our family has always called Forsyth Park, which is downtown. Savannah College of Art and Design had their yearly Sidewalk Chalk Art competition yesterday. Cathy is a graduate of "SCAD", and she had her work displayed one year. Cathy is a portrait artist, and she is really good, too. She said that she had drawn a picture of herself looking in the mirror at herself as she was creating the art. That sounds really interesting. She had a mirror on the sidewalk to look at herself as she drew. My brother has a sketch that she made of little Julia, and it is remarkable. The park was full of people, and the day was beautiful. Luckily, it didn't rain and wash away the art! Many times, the rain pours down on it. This year is the first time that I have seen the actual work before it faded, or washed, away, and I really enjoyed it. After seeing all of the art, we went to the Firefly Cafe for supper. I had never been there, but I have heard a lot about it. This cafe is downtown in a small basement type of setting. The food was terrific, and I had my first taste of cous cous! I had a delicious Southwestern Chicken and Cheese soup and a Pork Loin stuffed with goat cheese, walnuts, and basil, and some asparagus. Cathy had a delicious chicken dish, with cous cous and vegetables. YUM! Thanks, Cathy!! I had a terrific day, and I didn't even worry about all of my responsibilities at home. That, my dear friends, is an epic wonder!!
So, I am here today waiting for this afternoon when my roast will be finished and my gravy will be ready to put on the rice I will cook. I will also cook some of the fresh vegetables that Daddy bought yesterday. Let me tell you something. Daddy went out by himself yesterday in his truck on a trip to the base. He shouldn't have done that, but he did! At 91 years of age, he is determined to keep on keeping on! Although we discourage him from driving, he took off on his own yesterday without anyone knowing it. I was out visiting the grandniece, so I wasn't aware that he did that. Well, he came home safe and sound, so I guess it is okay...just this once! haha
I will go for now. I just wanted to write about my wonderful day that I had, thanks to my friend, Cathy!!

Have a great Sunday!

Rutabega Bug

I have gotten into the habit of cooking fresh vegetables lately. Daddy always buys them: squash, zucchini, onions, potatoes, and whatever is fresh. Anyway, my mamma always loved rutabegas. I ate some one time, and I kind of liked them. I never tried cooking one, though, until last week. Boy, those things are hard to cut!! They are so hard, almost like a rock...Anyway, I cooked my first one, and it was mighty tasty. I invited my cousin, Mina over for Sunday dinner, because she loves rutabegas, too! My son, Adam, decided that he likes them now. Daddy likes them, too, so I bought another one the other day. The sun was shining so nicely this afternoon, that I took my "bigger" rutabega outside, sat in a chair, and started peeling and cutting. It took me a while, because it is so 'hard' (like I already said), but it smells pretty good right now! Well, good isn't exactly the right term. Rutabegas do not smell 'good', or sweet, or anything like that, but they do have an enticing aroma. So, my chicken is baked, the fresh corn on the cob is almost done, and my fresh-right out of the garden-cabbage is just about ready. Rachel's mother in law gave me fresh lettuce and a fresh head of cabbage that a friend of hers had given her, fresh from the garden, so I've been eating lettuce for lunch, and I'm having cabbage for supper!
The days are getting to be very nice lately, and I just do not like to be stuck inside. My new school is all in one building, and I do not get outside any during the day. When I get home, I go straight to the kitchen to cook, so I don't get outside in the afternoon, either. I do not like that, Sam I Am!! So, I decided to sit ouside and "peel and cut" today.  I have been remembering that we all used to sit out on the front porch a lot. I see people on their front porches downtown and different places. I suppose we sat on the porch in order to be outside. I remember snapping beans on the porch and things like that. I still see older people or people who have no means of transportation sitting on their porches. Back in the day, if you pardon that much used expression, people didn't run the the mall every second or to the store or wherever, they stayed home and had family time. Much of family time was preparing dinner, 'snapping beans', or doing simple things like that around the house! I miss those simple days very much! 
So, my new way to be outside will be to go into my backyard and sit for a while. I wish I had a swing to sit in, like we used to have on our front porch. That would just make my day! Maybe I can get one and find a frame to put in on. I bought a swing once to put on my glassed in porch, but the swing was too big. I think that my next purchase will be a swing. There, I said it, so now I need to make sure that I get it done!  I love being outside. Now that I am not studying anymore, I am going to spend a lot more time just sitting outside and enjoying the simple time of just...sitting outside!!
Have a great day!!

A Parade, Spring Break, and Stuff

I went to the St. Patrick's Day parade last month, which is something that I haven't done in a couple of years. I only went this time, because my little granddaughter was going to be there. I had to park one mile away and walk to our 'spot'. Yes, one mile. I found out that the parking lot at my school was empty, so I parked there. Now mind you...this location is not the safest in town, but I am there every day and do not even realize that it is a not so safe place. Anyway, I was by myself and walked down the main streets to the parade. Many people were walking miles to get there, so I was just one of the crowd, really.  After waiting for the parade to get to us and seeing only a few entries, Rachel and Don decided to leave early. So, I hitched a ride with them back to my car and came on home. March 17th was the day that I was supposed to be in Long Beach, California graduating with my Ph.D., but I was in Savannah! There is another graduation in Minneapolis on August 10th, so maybe I will be able to attend that one. I received my official transcript in the mail, opened it, and read: Degree Confirmed - Doctor of Philosophy: Area of Concentration: Curriculum and Instruction: Grade Point Average: 4.0~~!! Whoopie!! That average honors me with graduating with Distinction! I am very proud of myself. The road to this degree was long, but I enjoyed it. There were many obstacles along the way in my personal life, but the work and study kept my mind busy and diverted from the various crises that were going on in my life.
My diploma has come, also, since I started writing this entry. Yippee!!
Now, I await my my 'cap' and gown. I will really receive a little 'tam' like hat, rather than a cap. I am happy to finally get a robe with the stripes on the sleeves!! I am not bragging. I am just very excited and very, very happy to have finally achieved this goal that I had set for myself my entire life. This year will be my 40th year being out of high school, so it took me quite a while to finish my education!! HAHA!! 1973 - 2013, Whew!!

I planted flowers this year!! I love to plant flowers, but I have not had the time to do it in recent years. I have lots of pansies and violets, and they are very pretty. I LOVE THEM!! I got all sorts of colors, too. I went to the dollar store one day and found some cute little pinwheels, so I put them in the garden and on the walkway to the house. They blow furiously in the wind!
I started writing this entry on March 18th. Today is April 6th!! Am I behind a little bit, do you think?

 

Easter Sunday with Dora!!

 I had to add this one of Dora playing with the pots!  All childrens' favorite playground!

Spring Break has come and gone. We go back to work tomorrow.
We took Dora to the Jacksonville Zoo Wednesday. She enjoyed it pretty much. This picture was taken on the train ride, and she enjoyed looking out of the 'window'.

 

On the way out of the zoo, she started walking. She was laughing the whole way!!



Spring break 2013 was one of a kind. We go back to school/work tomorrow. Have a great day!

Dora Is ONE!!

Dora Morel Watford turned one year old on February 27th!! There has been so much going on around here, that I haven't had time to post anything. Rachel and Don had a party planned for the 23rd, but they postponed it. They are going to reschedule it, I hope, and all of their friends will be there.
So, they had an impromptu spaghetti supper/party on her birthday!

Ballons on the light

 I gave Dora a set of Mega Blocks, and she loved them! She is saying, "Here, take this. Uh, oh, I tricked you!" She hands you one, and then she pulls her hand back really quick. She is a stinker!

 I know if I reach my hand in there just far enough, I can grab a bunch of blocks!

 Isn't she a cutie pie!~

 Uh, oh, I got CAUGHT!!  haha

 Rachel had little pinwheels and tissue paper in the glass vases.

 Dora finally got the hang of grabbing the icing and eating it! Notice that the dress is now on the chair. We didn't want spaghetti sauce all over her birthday dress!!

 She LOVES spaghetti!

 I made the cake for Dora. Rachel saw one on pinterest with white icing and colorful sprinkles up the side. I attempted to make one. It is heart shaped. The writing says, "Dora is 1!"
I will make a bigger cake for the 'big' party.

 Look at little Miss Priss posing for the camera!

 Dora's cake with her candles!

We had a terrific time with Dora on her first birthday. She is the greatest little girl in the whole, wide world!! Of course, I am not partial at all!!

 

Whew...exhale...

Is it possible? Can I finally exhale? Did you ever see the movie called "Waiting to Exhale"? Well, that movie does not represent my life, but the phrase relates to me pretty well.
After almost six years of studying, writing, fretting, studying, writing, worrying, etc., etc., I finally finished what I started - my Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction. That name means Education, basically! haha
I started this journey during a crisis in my life. My mamma had cancer and was not expected to live very long. She urged me to sign up for the program and to keep on going. She always told me to study, because she was going to be okay. So, I did. She knew how important achieving this milestone in my life meant to me. I studied while taking care of her. I studied, and studied, and studied. Mamma passed away during my last quarter of classes. The next quarter, I took my comprehensive exams and passed with flying colors. Then, the dissertation process began. The first part went fairly smoothly, learning about all sorts of research and preparing to begin the dissertation journey. Then, the writing began...or did it...That is when things kind of fell apart. I was now taking care of my dad, and the time and mind that I needed just weren't there. I started, and I faltered, and I started, and I faltered...Finally after a couple of years of paying tuition and not writing, I took an entire year - 3 quarters - of inactivity. That did help, because I wasn't feeling guilty all the time about not studying. This summer, I began the journey again. Wham! Beginning around the end of July, I actually got a brain in my head that allowed me to concentrate, write, and study. I got three chapters done - which was called my proposal. I kept working on it during fall quarter, and the entire three chapters were approved. Then, I began my data collection. I did that in December. I wrote my last two chapters this quarter, got them approved, got approved by the School of Education, and had the final defense of my dissertation. Along the way, my daddy got sick a few times. It was hard, but I finally did it. Daddy got sick this past weekend and spent the whole week in the hospital. I was to have my defense at 530 pm Friday, and he had an emergency heart procedure scheduled Friday morning to begin at 5 pm! What a hectic day. On top of that, I had been sick all week and felt horrible. I was ready to do my defense from the hospital room or my car, whatever it was going to take, I was going to get it done. Finally, after texting and rescheduling the time three times, I set it for six. Then, the doctor was late. Luckily, the procedure was not very long. The doctor came out and told us it was a success. I spoke to him. I went in and spoke to Daddy. Then, I went home and was there with ten minutes to spare before my defense! It went smoothly, and they congratulated me and called me Dr. Hooper! I went to the hospital to tell Daddy, and he said, "It is about time we had a Dr. Hooper!" haha
He has been very supportive of me all the way, and he is always very interested in all of us pursuing and furthering our education.
Whew! I started the journey in a crisis, and I ended it in a crisis. Why would I have expected anything less??  I did it! I am a Ph. D., and my name is Dr. Dewilla Hooper!! Yippee!!!!!!

Now, maybe I can blog more often and actually do some fun things for a change!!

Later gators!~!

I Did It

I did it~I finished my degree, and I am now a Ph.D.!! Hey, that ryhmes!!

 

I had my final defense of my dissertation Friday night, and my committee members all said, "Congratulations, Dr. Hooper", at the end of the conference!  So, I am now Dr. Dewilla Hooper!!

Yippee!!

 

 

 

thoughts

The weather here has been really nice. I do not get outside in the sunshine much, but it looks nice coming through my big, living room windows. It would be nice to take a walk in the sunshine today. Maybe I will get out in it a bit. I promised my cousin that I would help her do some things in her house today, so I know that I will be inside for a lot of the afternoon. That is okay. She needs me, and she is a very special person to me.
 A lot of people are anxiously waiting for the football game that will be on tonight, but I am not into football. So, my television will not be on that channel. I have so many things to catch up on, but I'm not sure when I will get to do any of them. A year or two ago, I purchased some nice scrapbooks, and I planned on putting my children's pictures in them. I got as far as gathering lot of pictures and putting them into tote boxes, but that is as far as that project ever got. I bought a lot of cross stitch patterns to make for my granddaughter, but they are all still in my pattern boxes. Now that my dissertation is hopefully finished, I must begin to do some of these projects. Perhaps the bright sunshine and nice weather will give me the much needed boost, push, urge, or whatever I need in order to begin the work!
Milestone 11 is where I am in the dissertation process. That step is when the School of Education reads and hopefully approves my full dissertation. Milestone 12 is formatting and editing, when the whole 'book' goes to the editors to check all things format wise. After that, I have milestone 13, which is the final defense of my dissertation. Then, milestone 14 is final mauscript approval. Milestone 15 is final publishing/copywrighting, and milestone 16 is final Dean Approval. So as you can see, the process is quite long. Each step can take up to two weeks. I really hope that the steps do not all take two weeks, because that will take me into April!  The first time my work went to the School of Education for approval of my first three chapters, they approved them without any edits required.  I am hoping for good luck with the last two chapters, too. I really hope that the two week per milestone timeframe is merely a guideline and not a reality!  Hopefully, I will hear something really soon from the school about all five chapters of my dissertation. They have had it for five working days, so i should hear something from them later this week. I can only wait and keep my fingers crossed! In the meantime, I need to learn how to loosen up and be free again. That is a hard thing to do, though:)
Have a great day!!
 

Waiting

The waiting game is on again. My dissertation is now in the hands of the School of Education, so I am waiting to hear from them as to whether or not any edits are needed. The process is long and in many steps, but that is okay. I have come a long way, and I am moving onward and upward.
The weather has been pretty nice around here. It is like spring a little bit, and that is good.
Little Dora is crawling all over the place. She does pull herself up and walk around things. She practically runs when you hold her hand for her to walk. She drags us really fast! haha
When she does finally take off on her own, I'm afraid that she might just end up flat on her nose! hahaha She is a little speedy Gonzales!!
I do not really have much to say. I thought I did, but I do not seem to have any words coming to me right now. So, I shall close this tiny blog for now. Have a good night!

Tuesday

It is Tuesday, the first day back to school from the three day weekend. No students came today, so it was a nice, calm day. I received some good news yesterday. My mentor approved my full dissertation! It is now in the hands of my committee members, and I hope they approve it, as well. Then, on to the school of education for approval. Next, I will defend my dissertation and hopefully become Dr. Dewilla Hooper!!  The process is long, with many steps, but that is a good thing. In order to earn your Ph.D., you should have to jump through a lot of hoops. After all, this degree is a "biggy"!!
The weather in South Georgia is just crazy. We have summer one day and winter the next day. Today, it was winter. Yesterday, it was summer. Like I said, it is just crazy.
It is hard to believe that it will be February really, really soon. Now that I am finished studying constantly, maybe I will be able to get out my cross stitch patterns that I bought to make for my little granddaughter~ That should be my goal for now, so I guess it is!
I hope everyone is having a great day!!

January

It is almost the end of January, and I have no idea where the month has gone! It seems only yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas and New Year's Day. A lot has been going on, that is for sure. School resumed after the holidays rather quietly, thank goodness. I have been working pretty consistently on my dissertation, and I am happy to announce that I submitted the full dissertation tonight for my advisor to peruse. Of course, this was just the first submission. There are many things yet to do, but the biggest step has been taken!
All seems right with the world, for a change.
Next, I have plenty of work to get done around this house. I have been in school for such a long time, that I have neglected a lot of housework (ugh!) and this place has gotten rather piled up with books, books, and more books...not to mention a plethora of other things piling high to the sky!!
I have promised my children that once I get finished with this Ph.D., I will clean up this house! I suppose I must keep that promise, or they may just take things into their own hands and do a lot of throwing away! I do not want to throw away anything, but I will get this place up to par and out of its rundown, piled high, crazy condition.
I am not quite sure what I will do with myself when all of the editing is done on my dissertation (if there needs to be any). The world is out there waiting for me. The next step in the process will be for my committee to approve my dissertation. Then, the last step in the process is the conference call with my committee, but I think that will be okay. I had one of those last quarter, so now I know what it will be like, and I am not as rattled about it as I was the first time.
My little granddaughter is so adorable!! She is as sweet as pie, and she is always happy. She barely ever cries, and she smiles all the time!
So, things are looking up in the world. I am anxiously awaiting news from my mentor, so that I can finally be settled about this whole thing.
Have a great night and a terrific weekend!!

Christmas 2012

Christmas is a fun time of year. Everyone appears to be in a happy mood, and most everyone gets along during this season. Our family Christmas was spent at my house this year. We all like to go to my dad's house at Christmas, but this year the house is in a turmoil of being rewired and having the ceilings redone. The place is very dusty right now, from all the goings on with the rewiring. We have moved some of the furniture for the construction crew, but there is still a lot left to be done. Unfortunately, sickness has struck our family for the entire season, and not much got finished over there while we have been off from school. Daddy got sick the day after Christmas, and he has been really feeling bad. He has bronchitis, and coughing, and just feeling awful. Now, I am sick, too. My daughter's family started the illness rampage around Thanksgiving. It went through the baby first, then the daddy, and then the mamma. Next, Papa got sick and then Grandma (me!). I'm not sure why this happened to all of us, when we had so much that we needed to get accomplished over the holiday. I got Daddy into the doctor, and he is on Avelox, a strong antibiotic, and Mucinex. He also has a strong cough medicine, but he is convinced that the medicine is making his legs hurt. The doctor told him that he hurts because he is sick, but you cannot convince Daddy of that. So, today he quit taking the cough medicine. We got that for him on Friday. I called into the office and told them he was sick. Since he didn't have a fever, and still doesn't, they only prescribed a cough medicine. He got worse over the weekend, though. They took a chest x-ray and found some infection and gave him the antibiotic. I am afraid to even hand him the Avelox, because I had a serious reaction to one of those pills a few years ago. I went into anaphylactic shock, and I was hospitalized!! That experience as very horrible and extremely scary. So far, the pill hasn't hurt Papa, and it seems to be helping. He is 91 years old, so we are very worried about him getting pneumonia or not getting well from this. My uncle passed away in October from a similar illness that wouldn't let him get well, so we are very cautious right now with Daddy. I went out tonight to find some yogurt for him to eat probiotics, to try and bypass the issues that are beginning from the antibiotic.
I have lots of pictures to show from Christmas day. Of course, the special present for all of us is our little Dora, 10 months old. She is a sweetie pie for sure! She is the love of our lives. Next year, we will have another little babygirl to celebrate with us. My nephew Thomas and his wife Lauren are expecting a girl in April. They will name her Violet Louette Powell. They did the cutting of the cake thing Christmas Day to let us all know the gender of the baby. Daddy cut the cake, and it was pink!
So, today is New Year's Day and nothing exciting is going on. I made a big dinner, just in case anyone happened to come by. My sister came over and ate, and then one of my brothers came over for a little while. It is hard to be here by myself with Daddy when he is sick. The emotional and mental toll is pretty rough sometimes, but I deal with it because he is my Daddy, and he needs me. He came to Tennessee 23 years ago and put his life on hold for months, when I was in a serious drunken driving car crash. The person driving had been drinking all day and was still drinking on the side of the road when they were trying to pull me from our truck. I was hospitalized for almost four months, and I have been on the road to recovery ever since. Daddy came up there, lived with us, took care of me and my children, and never once complained. So, I will take care of him as long as he needs me to take care of him, even if my life stays on hold for years. He is my Daddy, after all, and he needs me. Daddy has been living with me since August, when all of the house repairs started, and luckily he is still here.
Daddy and I went to Rachel's house on Christmas Eve and spent the night. It was fun waking up to see Dora first thing in the morning and share with her first Christmas morning! My son and his girlfriend had come in during the early hours from Tampa, so my whole family was together! We had French Toast and bacon, and we had a grand time. Then, I left around eleven and came home to start cooking for the extended family of siblings, nieces, nephews, and in-laws. I cooked the turkey on 200 degrees all night in Rachel's oven, so it was done and very juicy and tender. I made macaroni and cheese, dressing, and all sorts of things for dinner. I put my long table from Sam's down from my dining room table, which made one very long table! Then we put my two smaller tables in the living room for other people to use. It was crowded around here, but we had a really grand time. I decided to just pass out gifts while we were still at the table, instead of moving Daddy into the living room. It worked out pretty good, too! We were all still around the table from the cutting of the cake event, so the present exchange worked nicely from there, too.
I am almost finished with my dissertation. I have chapter four almost completed, and then I will start on chapter five. I should finish this Ph.D. degree during the next quarter, which starts on January 14th. Also on January 14th, I go to the courhouse to have my name legally changed back to my maiden name of Hooper. I am doing this so that I can have Hooper on my diploma and be called Dr. Hooper!!
Now, for the promised photos. I hope that I can find the ones that truly represent the day and the season. I did a lot of decorating around the house this year. I even put some of my stuffed animals in the bathroom. I always put up the decorations pretty close to Christmas, and then we leave them up until after Epiphany on January 6th, which is the 12th day of Christmas. This tradition is one my Methodist family has always followed, as we celebrate the Liturgical Year.
I will start with pictures from before Christmas, the decorations, and then Christmas! It has taken me almost all night to get these pictures uploaded and onto this blog entry!  I am not quite sure what happened with the pictures, but I think that some of them must have loaded more than once!!Oh well, I am NOT trying again. I will leave it as it is.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Actually, some of the before Christmas pictures ended up on the end somehow, the ones of Dora downtown and with Santa Claus...go figure!!!!!!

 My painting from Germany with stockings and a little Gingerbread girl pocketbook that I bought at Cracker Barrel, also an ormanent someone gave me a long time ago. In the background, you can see a torch that was lit last year at the Relay for Life, in memory of my Mamma...

 This picture is of Daddy peeping out from behind my Advent Candle Wreath that I found last year, after Christmas, at the Yankee Candle store!! I got a tremendous deal on it, so I bought TWO and gave one to Rachel. I also bought several packs of the candles.

 My Hallmark Lighthouse Collection of ornaments. I have never put these on the tree. Sometimes they are lined up under the tree. I need to find a good line of white lights that will fit into the ornaments, so that they will light up! These ornaments are not made anymore. I got one each year since the 90's, so I have a lot of them!

 My mantle with our stockings and my Santa lights!

 Baby Dora and Mamma on Christmas Eve night. I found her outfit at Cracker Barrel on the same day that I got the gingerbread girl purse. Isn't she just the cutest thing!!

 Dora and I admiring her first Christmas tree. It sure is a tall one!!

 Our filled up stockings. My aunt made the crocheted stockings for our family. It was a tradition that she did for all of her nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren, etc. She is no longer with us, so Kate made one for Dora this year!

 Isn't this a big tree!! They got it from someone on Craig's list. They have really tall ceilings, and this tree is super tall. Don finds all sorts of things on Craig's list.

 Dora's stash from Grandma. I found a terrific sale at Macy's, and I splurged on the clothes for next year and a really pretty coat (all size 2T). Check out that little gray coat and hat Also, the red stiped Osh Gosh dress and a red Christmas dress. The Santa bib and the red dress came from TJ Maxx, and so did the other books. I found the recordable book on sale at Hallmark this summer, 75% off, and I recorded my voice reading T'was the Night Before Christmas, for Dora!!

 Dora's favorite playground, her Daddy's shoulders!

 Catch me if you can!!!!!!

 Dora, Papa, and Daddy on Christmas morning.

 Rachel made all of her presents this year. This is a pretty mirror that she made for Adam and Vicky. It looks really nice on the wall! She finds lots of things on Pinterest and makes them. She made an ormnament for me that says, 'Dora loves Grandma', and she made some bath salts and lotion.

 Dewilla, Vicky, and Papa at the breakfast table on Christmas morning. The picture in the background is the map of Papa's travels in World War II. It is an amazing treasure to have. Adam had copies of it made for all of us one year, at the printshop where he used to work. Some of us have it framed, like Rachel and Don.

 Papa telling one of his tall tales to Uncle Adam and Dora!!

 MY TWO SWEETPEAS, RACHEL AND ADAM!!!!!!

 Dora loves to look at all of my ornaments and things that are up high.

 Rachel and Dora in their hats from Papa. He gave everyone of us a hat this year and a pair of pajama pants!!

 The three guys in their RED hats!!

 The four girls in their pink and green hats!! Mine looks like it is falling off!!

 Dora is opening Uncle Adam's present from Vicky. She had opened a lot of them Christmas Eve and some on Christmas morning, so she was a PRO at unwrapping!!

 Vicky, Adam, and Papa taking a breather after opening gifts.

 Dora checking out some of her books that she got for Christmas!!

 Rachel and I on Christmas Eve.

 I finally used my buffet for what it is intended...a dessert table!! I made the chocolate cake and put little candy canes, holly leaves, and red, white, and green dots. Ther cake is the baby cake...hiding the color inside!! Rebecca made the pumpkin pie...her first one!!

 The beginning of the long table, before all the others were added to it.

                                                              The crew

 Lauren and Thomas showing us the Pink cake that Papa cut to tell us they are having a little girl, Violet Louette Powell, in April.

                                                              Aunt Vicky and Dora

 One of the little tables that we set up in the living room

 Another little table set up in the living room

 Lauren mad a cute, cloth, pink crown for Dora. I bought this Polo dress for her at TJ Maxx. I love that place!!

 Grandma, Dora, Rachel, and Don. It is hard to get Don in a picture, so this one had to be snapped quickly!

                                                           Vicky, Adam, and ME!

 Dora came over to visit the day after Christmas. When she fell asleep, I put her down on all of Rachel and Adam's old baby  blankets. One of them is a quilt made by one of my student's mothers. The blue and pink crocheted one is from my Aunt Saramina. The other crocheted one is from someone else. The blue one is the Disney Castle, a very soft blanket, that I got at Disneyworld!

 Dora in the park on a Saturday afternoon, right before going to see Santa Clause.

 Dora is examing this leaf intently. I do believe she is going to be a scientist. She is extremeley observant and studies things for a long time.

 I love the way the sun is shining on us in this picture!

 Dora and her Mamma in a downtown park

 Everyone has to have a crying picture sitting on Santa's lap! This Santa is her Uncle Dewey at the fancy, and expensive, furniture store on Broughton Street called 24E. He works there every year.

 My garland and ornaments going into the dining room.

 Rachel suggested that I decorate my Secretary that I got from my Mamma's house and to leave the doors open. I have little Christmas teddy bears in sleighs, Gingerbread men, a Hallmark Santa ornament that I bought one piece of each month back in 1992, a glass Nativity scene, Santa and Mrs. Claus in a swing, three acrobatic Santas, and a lot of other things. I put some of my stuffed animals on top of the Secretary, too.

 Since Dora didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, he came up behind her a few times until we got a good picture! There is more than one way to skin a cat!!

                                                                        My TREE ! It rotates, too!!

 My antique desk, with a Nativity candle holder (yes-the candles are crooked), my Nutcrackers, and my Chrismas rag doll.

                                                                The mantle again

 My china cabinet with some of my stuffed animals...a Christmas doll and a Christmas bear...

 Closeup of the Mouse drummer, the bear who plays jingle bells, and Adam 's old Rockin' or Motorcyle Santa.

 My Nativity set that I put wth all of my other angels in the dining room.

 More stuffed animals on my antique cupboard, or sideboard. Do you see the butterfly painting? Those are Dora's feet making butterflies!!

 More of my little animals over Adam's graduation picture

 Little animals over Rachel's picture and my little Ragdoll on the lamp

 Papa and I ate Sunday dinner alone this day, and I lit up all of my Advent Candles. It was the fourth Sunday of Advent. On Christmas Day, we lit the big white Christ candle in the middle.

 My Santa Clauses and my Snowglobes!

 I think I already put this picuture on here. You can see many of my Lonaberger baskets on this antique sideboard from England.

 My chandelier, with the 12 days of Christmas ornaments hanging from it.

 Rachel and Dora on Christmas morning, but I think this is a duplicate.

 Another duplicate of my antique desk. This desk has inkwells inside!

 GROUP HUG!! UNCLE ADAM IS HOME. HE GOT IN AT 3 AM!!!!!!

 Another picture of the mantle.