HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL!!

Happy New Year to all my new friends ( and any "old" friends who are reading my blog as well). Six months ago I discovered my first blog by way of HGTV's Rate My Space and once I found that one I went down the Rabbit Hole and found more and more. I set up a profile as " jb realtor"...any one remember me?...so that I could comment on blogs and found an incredibly kind community of like-minded women. I was encouraged by many to start my own blog and despite a lot of technical ineptitude here I am. I am grateful to all my friends out in Blogland whose blogs I read and all the readers of this blog for their for their comments, assistance and support. I truly feel blessed to have you in my life. Here's to a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Fun- filled 2008 !!

Later,
Janet

SOPHIE UPDATE

Sophie is not the most photogenic cat in the household. My son wanted to photoshop her to straighten her crooked ear and her unique little face, but I wouldn't let him. A girl has to have some "character", don't you know. She has settled into her new household, but she is the shyest, most skittish cat I have ever seen. She spends her days and nights here in the "study" and only leaves to go downstairs to eat or go down the the basement for the cat box. When I am in the room she will get off the chair and come over to look for attention, after a little affection she gets back on her chair or sleeps under my chair. No wonder she looks pregnant; she gets even less exercise than I do. The other cats just ignore her and no doubt gossip about her eccentric ways. Bob and I continue to speculate about her past.

This morning when I woke up I was very surprised to find her sleeping on the cedar chest in my room. Such progress, do we dare to hope that it will continue?

I am glad some of you are finding FreeRice a lot of fun. I must say that if you set it to remember your level, it is not as much fun. I got up to level 48, but at that level I really don't know any of the words and am just guessing. My son showed me another game before he left called Text Twist, which is a word scramble/unscramble game that is also addicting. I need to get off the computer and find something to do that burns at least 3 calories per hour!!

Later,

Janet

LEFTOVERS

What ever possessed me to cook so much food? You just never know how much people will want to eat and let's face it most cookie recipes make several dozen, but still I had way too many cookies and desserts. I gave all the leftover lasagna to my oldest son, gave a bunch of sweets to my stepson and his girlfriend, but it just occurred to me that I still have half the Tiramisu left. Then there are dozens of cookies which Bob will hopefully take to work tomorrow. There is just a little tenderloin left and that is never a problem, we will eat it for lunch and dinner until it is gone and then revert to chicken and fish for a few days, LOL. Do you care about my leftovers? No. I am just rambling on to myself to make sure I don't lose track of food that should be eaten by someone.

Wasting food reminds me that there is a wonderful vocabulary site Freerice.com
that donates 20 grains of rice for each word that you get right. It is fun and addictive. I love vocabulary and think it is rather neglected in this abbreviated/texting world we live in. Go check out the site, I think you will like it. I tried to set it up on my sidebar, but didn't have any luck.

My son left for the airport at 4:00 AM today, it was so nice to have him here for two days, but how I wish he could have stayed just a little longer. I stayed up til he left and then couldn't get to sleep until about 5:00AM, so I am bushed and seem to be rather incoherent or maybe just scattered, so I will sign off and go to bed. Hopefully my brain will work better tomorrow.

Later,
Janet

A SUMPTUOUS REPAST

If you have been visiting me with any regularity, you know that I love to cook. In the past couple of days I have made 5 kinds of cookies ( at least 5 dozen of each kind), cinnamon rolls frozen for Christmas morning and the donut dough is chilling in the fridge as I write. You would think I would be done, but oh no, the Christmas Eve Party (as the kids refer to it) must be prepared. This "party" and its menu has evolved around blended families, food preferences and time constraints.

Assorted Man Type Appetizers
like Chinese Sausage, Lil Smokeys and Artichoke Dip

Roast Tenderloin of Beef
Lasagna
Roasted Potatoes
Green Beans Lyonnaise
Salad
Garlic Bread
Apple Cake( new this year, replacing Apple Crisp)
Tiramisu (replacing that dreadful chocolate heath bar "trifle")
Assorted Cookies
Coffee

Sounds like a lot of work, right? Well, here is a little secret...shh...don't tell...IT IS!!

I am very finicky about the food I cook. It must be cooked ala minute, no cooking stuff ahead and reheating or buying frozen stuff, well Ok , the artichoke dip because the kids like the commercial stuff. So, Monday will find me cooking all day. We eat buffet style because there are 16 of us this year, so no fancy table setting at least!! By the time dinner is served I will be exhausted, but all the happy smiles will make it worthwhile. Then we play Christmas and Sports Trivia...don't ask!!

Next stop...Christmas morning. Coffee with homemade cinnamon rolls and homemade donuts (these have to be hidden so they last until Christmas morning) while we open presents. Then, no rest for the weary ...and I am oh so weary by this point, time to make the Christmas Brunch which is really just a big, big breakfast. You know, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes for the nine of us. Okay, I am tired just thinking about this. As much of the prep work is done that can be done ahead and now I think I will just veg and see if I can find a decent Christmas movie on the tube.

I will probably not post until after the Food Fest, if I survive. And Oh yes, my youngest son is coming home from Seattle for just two days, the two "food days". Coincidence? I think not!!

Merry Christmas to all my new blog friends and your families. I love you all.

MARTHA, YOU DONE ME WRONG

Every year I grow paperwhite narcissi ( I guess that is the plural, right?) and each year just as they blossom they start to flop. Each year I believe that that is the year that will be different, that I won't come downstairs a couple morning before Christmas to find them sprawled sideways, .alas Hope springs eternal. Each year I am disappointed to varying degrees, so this year I was so excited. the great Martha herself had a tip. Plant them in the usual gravel, but water them with 10 parts water to one part rubbing alcohol and they will only grow 2/3 as big and won't flop!! Can I tell you how excited I was about this? Very, very excited. I know that alcohol will stunt our growth, so why not paperwhites. I contemplated giving them coffee and cigarettes as well, just to make sure they were stunted, but didn't want to waste the coffee and I haven't had a cigarette in over 11 months. I prepared the water mixture and proceeded. Well they sprouted, at least most of them did, but they never grew roots ( the roots are what keep them anchored in the stones prior to the Big Flop). So, no roots and the buds are drying up without opening and I am not happy with you know who. You would think she or her minions would have tried this first!!! Now I have Christmas without that signature paperwhite scent for the first time in maybe 30 years...boohoo!!

Later,
Janet

HOLIDAY HOUSE TOUR

Welcome to today's Virtual Holiday Home Tour. I have some new pictures and some new refreshments. Won't you please come in out of the frosty weather? Oh dear, where are my manners, perhaps you should come around to the side door.


Oh yes, this is much better, don't let that wreath snag you. I like my wreaths to be "organic", but sometimes people find them to be a bit threatening!!

Well come right in, don't worry about your shoes, we are not very formal here and if the loor gets dirty I will just mop it later after all the company is gone.

Oh yes, this is the kitchen, it is the room where all the magic happens. Not just at Christmas, but all year long Mama Janet is busy cooking wonderful made from scratch food for whoever comes by at meal time. Sorry about those bottles of pills on the windowsill, I meant to put them away before my guests arrived. Of course, if I put them away I won't remember to take them and when you reach a certain age ( and weight) you just have to take meds!!

Oh yes, take a peek into the dining room before we settle in. It's not a big room, but I do think it is rather a pretty room and the round table really suits the size and scale. You agree? That's so nice of you to say.



Yes, we New Englanders are quite frugal, we are known for it actually. Cutting greens from your yard is a great way to make a centerpiece for the table. I plan to add cranberries to the vase in a couple of days. I am not sure how long they will last, so I want to err on the side of caution.

Yes, close up you can see the mercury glass ornaments from Target and those delightful pine cones that look like roses. We don't have those here; they were imported from Washington State. Clarice sent them to me and I just love them.

The chandelier gets a touch of class with my new acorn ornaments and a few greens. Cute, huh?

Oh yes, I have been collecting blue and white dishes of all sorts for many years and a few of them have ended up on that shelf over the desk. The nativity scene belonged to my parents and I have never known Christmas without it. It always goes on the desk where cats won't jump up and knock it over. Oh dear, you're not allergic are you??


I think we should head into the Living Room before the tea gets cold. I've got a nice fire going to keep my guests toasty warm. Ooh, I almost forgot to show you my one little glitter house. Quite cute and I love the "For Sale" sign that I found for it. What Realtor could resist buying that sign??

Won't you sit and have some tea. I've made some of my Christmas meringues. This is my most requested Christmas
recipe; everyone seems to love them. Milk or sugar, oh dear I am so forgetful I forgot the lemon. None for you, my you are just being polite I am sure. Meringue?



Just sit and relax. have a look around the Living Room. It isn't fancy, but we like it. We don't have a family room so all our living is done here.



Yes, the tree is very faux, but you know it is sooo very easy to put up and the best part is that it is pre-lit. I LUV that!!
Did you bring some sheet music for your favorite carols?. We could sit around the Pump Organ and sing. Wait a minute, I have to go get the buckets. You know, buckets, like pails. Yes, that is what I use to carry tunes LOL. I will be right back with them. I keep them hidden because they don't "go" with my decor.


Well, that was fun, wasn't it. I am glad you came. If you are quiet, you can sneak upstairs and see Cooper and Chloe , the shy kitties who haven't been seen on the blog. Just be very quiet, they are very skittish around strangers.


This one is Chloe. She sleeps on my bed most of the day. A girl needs her beauty rest, don't you know??
This is Cooper, Chloe's brother. Don't they look alike? Cooper is the guard cat that stays awake to protect me from any vermin that might want to attack me. At least that is what Bob seems to believe.

Thank you for visiting me. If you would like to see more holiday pictures, please refer back to the tour that I posted last Wednesday. I am exhausted now after playing the "two faces of Eve", I don't know how anyone could portray all three faces.

Later,
Janet

HOLIDAY HOOPLA

I was tagged by Des at Peeking Thru the Sunflowers to do the Holiday Hoopla which involves telling twelve things about yourself regarding Christmas. I saw this tag on other sites and there were a bunch of rules, but the only one I remember is that you have to specifically tag someone and the tagee ( a new word) must post quickly as the holiday is almost upon us.

So, without further ado here are my 12 Christmas "things".

1. My mother hates to wrap gifts and was apparently the first "green" wrapper as she would just plop our gifts in a grocery bag and write our name on the bag. Made for a less than visually stunning tree.
2. I found out about Santa from a distant cousin when I was only six years old.
3. We always got an orange in the toe of our stockings and usually some candy and some new underwear in them as well. We had practical Christmases.
4. My former MIL used to save UPC, labels etc and added the free stuff to the Christmas gifts. It made for a lot of presents. I still have the Morris the Cat totebag my son got one year and one year I got a "raisin cookbook" from the Raisin Council. The joke was that I hate raisins!!
5. Growing up, just the stuff in our stockings was from Santa. Presents under the tree were from my parents. I have continued that tradition. It was hard to explain one year when my son was six and he got the usual candy and small toys in his stocking from Santa and our neighbor got one of those battery operated drive around jeeps from Santa!!
6. I miss the Norelco Christmas ads with the Santas or elves riding the shavers around in the snow.
7. I like to put mystery gifts under the tree. For example: New sneakers and a bag of popcorn labelled "from the NBA". Silly stuff like that. Keeps 'em guessing 'til they open it.
8. We celebrate with a huge dinner on Christmas Eve with the extended family ( I'll blog about that menu next week) and then we play Christmas Trivia with a fervor.
9. My boys are "snoopers" and have been known to unwrap games, play them and then re-wrap the empty boxes. It has become a mission of mine to fool them. Alas, they seem to be over it now as adults.
10. We used to sneak in and reset my Dad's alarm clock for 4:00AM and we would be the first ones on our street to be up Christmas morning. Dad never had the heart to send us back to bed, though he did insist on eating his breakfast in a painfully slow manner. Even had extra toast.
11. I love all kinds of Christmas music, but only listen to it in my car. I don't have a CD player that works in the house.

1. Christmas day is relatively quiet after all the hoopla Christmas Eve. We open our presents while eating homemade cinnamon rolls and sometimes homemade donuts with coffee and then I make a big breakfast/brunch and the rest of the day we veg.

I am tagging Cassie @ Mockingbird Hill.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to one and all. I will be on the Home Tour tomorrow. Stop by and visit and have some cookies ( providing I get them made this afternoon)!

P.S. I am fine today, I just need to back away from the computer and organize the rest of my Christmas tasks. Thanks everyone who cheered me up!!
Later,
Janet

DO YOU REMEMBER??

I am feeling a little down about Christmas today. Not sure why, just can't seem to get my a** in gear to start baking etc. I was thinking about things that I used to watch before Christmas that always got me "in the mood". Do you remember the Maxwell House commercials where they spirited the neighbor ( was it Margaret Hamilton, the wicked witch) out of her house and then decorated it? Made me cry every time. Or the ad where the son, Peter, came home from college late at night to surprise his parents and little sister? I am a sap for these rather maudlin displays of Yuletide nostalgia.

Back in the late seventies there were two, I think, Made for TV movies called The Gathering ( and the sequel had a similar name) starring Ed Asner, I can't remember the female lead's name (it wasn't Sada Thompson or Maureen O'Hara), but I can see her clear as a bell. Anyway the story was a family drama that took place at Christmas as Ed Asner is dying and wants to reconcile with his sons. More tearjerkers!!

Lastly there was a movie, again made for TV. Yes, you are right I don't go to the Cinema more than once a decade, but I do enjoy a movie while perched/draped on my couch with a fire and some wine. This movie was/is called "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and starts Hal Holbrook and Eva Marie Saint. It takes place in Marblehead Mass during WWII. This is sad and poignant and once again it will make you cry, but the house is wonderful. A typical upper middle class suburb with a beautiful colonial house. Worth watching or the house alone.

What about the movie with John Houseman and Michael Learned about a choir, that was a good one. The Christmas Wife with Julie Harris and Jason Robards. That one had great decorating with lots of blue and white.

Okay, I've got that off my chest now and perhaps I will feel a little cheerier. You know you are getting old when you start thinking along the lines of "they don't make'em like they used to.

Later,
Janet

Edited to add: Maureen Stapleton. And the movie is available on VHS for $250., someone has to be kidding!!! Also "A Christmas Without Snow" is the Michael Learned movie. I feel better at least knowing the titles and that I could view them if I had time and money to order them. Maybe I could put them on my birthday list and watch them next year. Who am I kidding I haven't even watched Christmas in Connecticut yet.!! LOL

THIS AND THAT

Just a couple of pictures to show you what Mother Nature sent us. Remember the "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature ads? I don't even remember what the ads were for, some kind of artificial spread no doubt. But old Mom Nature was obviously not very happy with some of us. We ended up with 11", more than we have had at one time for a couple of years, and everyone got out of work early to head home , making the commute a nightmare. Last night we(I) shoveled and Bob snow blew the driveway. This morning, before he left for work, he asked me to scrape the rest of the snow from the driveway. What he failed to mention was that the metal strip on the snow shovel was gone. Those of you not familiar with snow shovels should know that there is a metal edge to them that helps scrape the snow up from the asphalt. No metal strip, long and tiring scraping with a less than stable plastic edge.
To those of you that think snow is an abstract romantic ground cover, this is the edge of my street. Snow in his condition is like driving in lard. If you are too young to remember lard, it is rendered animal fat that we used to fry donuts in. Good stuff ( until we figured out that eating the fat of animals was not in our best interest health-wise, thus the saying "lard-ass"), but not great to drive in. So the plows came along and deposited this lard here:


at the edge of the driveway I had just spent an hour scraping down to blacktop. This stuff is very wet, from the salt they treated the street with prior to the storm, and very HEAVY!! Sometimes when you shovel it to the pile on the edge of the driveway it rolls back into the road and you have to shovel the same 10 lb per square inch mass again. It took 45 minutes to get this crap out of the driveway.

On the bright side, my chandelier basket arrived from Kari and Kijsa today and it is beautiful. It is one of my Christmas presents so I can't use it yet, but go to their blog and you will see the first 14 of 24 uses they have for it. If you don't know them you should run, not walk, over there to meet them. They are oh so clever girls , a lot of fun and they have the BEST taste.

Tomorrow night my office Christmas party at a local restaurant followed by a storm, possibly sleet and freezing rain for 12 -15 hours. Sure sounds like a lovely Sunday. I am thinking that grocery shopping is NOT a good idea.

Later,
Janet

SNOW, SNOW AND SNOW!!!

We have been spoiled the last few winters; above average temperatures and way below average snowfalls. We all joke about global warming and if this is what it is, bring it on etc. Well the weather gods are tired of us mere mortals making jokes about the mild weather and now we have to pay. We have at least the ten inches of snow that was predicted. It took Bob over 2 hours to go the 18 miles from work to home and that was not the worst of it. My son works 25 miles from his home and it took him 2 hours to get from the restaurant he manages onto the highway ( maybe 3 miles). The ramps were all backed up and he had to be pushed. Then he called me when he was on the highway to give me the play by play description of how bad the roads were. Not something a mother wants to hear, believe me. He drives an ancient Thunderbird he bought from the charity lot and has almost given up on it several times. He kept describing the noises it was making and saying that the car was handling worse than ever in the snow. When he finally got here ( I told him to come here and I would feed him...the Magic Words) not only was his rear tire flat, it was in shreds. I cannot even believe he made it all that way with 3 tires. So, happy ending, he changed the tire, ate all the food I cooked for him and took home the rest of the cookies and the apple cake. We are free of guilty pleasures until I bake again.

It looks like we may have a white Christmas this year if Saturday night's predicted Nor Easter storm doesn't wash the snow away. I am tired from the adrenaline of the play by play and shoveling part of the driveway and deck, so I am off to bed early for me.

Later,
Janet

KITTY UPDATE

Phew, it has been a long, but fun day at Karla's party. Lots and lots of homes to admire and I had a lot of new visitors here to entertain. I hope they all enjoyed themselves and will come back often.

I took new kitty to the vet's today and what a good girl she was. No yowling in the car and quite cooperative with the vet. Seems she is probably 7 or 8 years old and NOT pregnant. Just another post-menopausal female to keep me company, about time I say!! Not sure why she is so "bloated", but I gave her some worming medicine and will take her back in a couple of weeks for the feline HIV and leukemia blood work. She was not THAT cooperative that the blood could be drawn today. The vet didn't have a tech today and try as I might to be helpful, I wasn't well enough trained to help. Bob has named her Sophie (did she have a choice??).

I got my mercury glass acorns today and hung them from my chandelier. It is not a curvy fixture, so I'm still not happy, but will try some greens to soften it a bit. The pine cone garland is quite glittery; more than I had anticipated. That is hung on the fireplace, but doesn't show up real well against the ugly brick. I've been tempted to paint that brick for 16 years, but just haven't done it. There are too many painting projects around the house without adding that one.

We are supposed to get snow starting in the afternoon with 6"-10" inches anticipated thru the early evening. It will certainly be pretty, but makes for a nasty commute for those who must be out and about, like Bob. I think I will make a quick trip to TJMaxx/Homegoods early and then come home and cook. I always cook when it snows and usually feel compelled to make bread. Must be some take on the "make hay while the sun shines" proverb.


In other news, Tracey at A Cottage Industry is hosting a virtual House Tour next Wednesday, so I guess I will have to keep the house picked up and clean until those guests have toured. Must keep those tins filled with cookies and goodies too. Tracey has the most fabulous house and the most creative ideas and is so energetic and fun. I know you will enjoy the tour.

Later,
Janet

KARLA'S HOLIDAY PARTY

Welcome to "What do you like best about your holiday home" party sponsored by Karla's Cottage. I am a latecomer to this party so don't have as many pictures as I would like, but figured "what the heck", may as well participate. Perhaps I am loosening up and being less paranoid about what people will think about my decor. That would be a miracle in and of itself since I am such a people pleaser LOL!!

Not the greatest picture, but I love this kitchen window. When we had the windows replaced last year I had a casement window put in to replace the old double hung sash window. Now I can just crank it open instead of standing in the sink to open it. I hung this garland and I will leave it up all winter. Looks winterish and not just Christmasy to me. I hung the wreath to get some balsam smell, but it dissipated almost immediately..now it just sheds needles.

I just bought this little tree at Joannes the other day. I found some small ornaments in my unused stash and tied a bow to the top. Originally I thought I might put it in my guest room for my son when he comes home for Christmas, but I rather like in the kitchen.

I found these at Joannes too and they were half price. They remind me of Jen at the Cottage Nest. Not sure why, but I think she would like them. In my house you can never have too many tins for cookies and fudge at Christmas.


I've never had a good home for this container before, but I like it here between the windows in my kitchen and it goes with the rest of my blue decor. This reminds me of Susie Q at Rabbit Run Cottage. I love that I have so many new friends from blogging!!


These tins are what my family likes best about our holiday home. They live on the top shelf at the far end of the kitchen for 50 weeks of the year, but when they come down it is a symbol that the baking has begun. The smaller one usually has peanut butter kisses in it and the big one sometimes has Mama Janet's homemade doughnuts in it. Not for long though!! Other times it is filled wih chocolate chip meringues.

An example of embellishing what you have for the holidays. This is supposed to be a bird bath, but it often gets called to decorating duty. I have pinecones of all sizes and shapes in it along with some pine and it just says Christmas. There is a pinecone garland over the mirror too, but when I tried to take a picture of the mirror all I got was me in my bathrobe in the mirror. Not the look I was going for, for sure.


This is the cloche I got at HomeGoods and decided to put some of my cards in it. The front one is from Clarice @ Storybook Woods.


I always have paperwhites blossoming at Christmas. I just love them and their strange smell. It just reminds me of the holidays. They are usually the only flowers I have, because it is often too cold to bring poinsettias home this time of year or I put them too close to a draft or water them too much and they look dreadful and very non-celebratory LOL.


This is the nativity scene that my parents had when I was growing up. I asked my Mom for it about 20 years ago and I have had it ever since. My grandparents had one just like it. It came from Woolworths in the 1940s and I remember going with my mother to Woolworths to replace one of the pieces when I was a little girl.

Writing about these decorations reminds me of some items that I haven't come across this year. Does that ever happen to you? After the holidays you find some things that didn't get put away and instead of taking the time to put them where they belong, you just put them somewhere where you are sure you will remember. It doesn't happen to you? Well, well, well... it will when you get to be a certain age, like maybe when that AARP letter arrives in the mail.

Perhaps tomorrow after I finally get new kitty to the vet, and my mercury glass acorns for the chandelier and pinecone garland for the fireplace arrive from Wisteria I will take some more pictures. Then I should be done and ready to start on the food, glorious food!!

Later,
Janet

LOST PICTURES FOUND!!

Okay, I think I have found the pictures, still on the memory card. I am a visual learner and no matter how many times I am told how to do something, I need to have it written down. Very frustrating when Bob just tells me " you will get it in time". No I won't unless it is written down step by step!!!.

This is the new ( or possibly "slightly used") kitty. She loves to sleep under my feet while I blog.








This is the first house on the Newburyport House Tour. Very impressive outside and a great, but small, kitchen with one of those glass door fridges. Hard to keep neat, but very impressive for a tour, LOL.

Some houses that weren't on tour, but caught my eye.

My friends liked all the colors on this house. It's hard to see, but the door is a beautiful blue with the terra cotta and the green trim. Unexpected, but fun!


I love how the pumpkins are still over the door and the color of the house juxtaposed with the color of the pumpkins! And really, the earth was not tilting on its axis, just me trying to take pictures and walk at the same time. You should see what happens when I try to add chewing gum to the routine, LOL.

Some nice second floor windowboxes.

On this note, I really must get my act in gear and do something other than sit at the computer. It is the grayest day imaginable and must be a good day to do some cooking or something before I bundle new kitty up in the carrier and drive her to the vets. And yes, to those who asked, my vet does make house calls. Her practice is called "Veterinary Housecalls" and she travels. It is a great convenience when you have multiple animals. We try to keep them all on the same examination/vaccination schedule so she only comes once a year. She has a small "surgery" in her home where she does the spaying etc. and that is where we are going today. It is a little cheaper if you go there, plus I just want to know all I can about this little kitty.

I'll fill you in later.
Janet

WEEKEND UPDATE

The house tour /day in Newburyport was fun, but oh so unorganized:>). Take three pre/post menopausal women, 2 with ADD, throw in a late start and a visit with some of my friend's relatives and you have a fun time, but not necessarily the day you had planned.

We only saw four houses and they were nothing to write home about as my mother would say. I kept forgetting to take pix because we were too busy gabbing. There were 8 houses on tour, but 3 were in a neighboring town and we didn't have time to go find them. We had a great lunch of seafood chowda, did quite a few shops and Sherry got to visit her aunt and cousin who had moved to Newburyport. The pictures I took are lost on the computer somewhere. Hopefully I can ind them some other time!!!

The vet never showed up and called tonight to make her apologies. Tomorrow I will bring the cat to her, instead of waiting for her to come here. My latest theory about the cute little thing ( her picture is locked in the computer also) is that he is a she and a pregnant she. Would explain the belly, the appetite and the sensitivity to being picked up...sore boobies I am thinking. I will let you know the rest of the saga tomorrow after the visit.

Got to go to bed before I get any more upset with myself for losing the pictures. Really they were here a few minutes ago, really.

STILL WAITING

Well, I thought I would do a quick post while I wait.... and wait...still waiting for the Vet. There is a reason Bob often refers to her as the "Scatterbrain Vet". Yes, she is two hours late and I have called her cell and left a message, but still I wait. While waiting I have put an apple cake in the oven. It's the Carolyne Roehm recipe that Cindy @ My Romantic Home posted a few days ago. It's beginning to smell good in the oven and then I have a pork roast to put in for dinner. It is starting to snow and Christmas is on it's way here in a small New England town. Do I sound like Elizabeth Lane in Christmas in Connecticut yet?

The new kitty is here by my feet purring. I am betting on female. She has very short legs and a round little belly, hey is it me or the cat we are talking about? Oh yeah and she has sort of a unique shape to her face. Very, very soft fur and purrs a lot. Doesn't really like to be picked up which is why I am not checking her private parts right now.

A fellow Realtor sent me this Holiday Realtor Humor, that I thought you housepeepers might enjoy.

Sorry this is so small, but you know that I have no idea how to enlarge it. Guess you will just have to get those magnifiers out, LOL!!

Tomorrow I am going on a Holiday House Tour in Newburyport with two friends. Providence Tour is tomorrow, but we thought it might be fun to take the trek to Newburyport for a different tour. Should be fun although I don't think it is strictly a historical tour like Providence. Hopefully photos of the outside will be allowed. If so, I will take all that I can.

Later,
Janet

PROUD NEW PARENTS

This is Calvin, cute isn't he??

I haven't blogged about my cats. We have ( had) three cats: Cooper and Chloe who are black brother and sister cats, collectively referred to as "the black babies" because although five years old they are small, and Calvin an 11 yr. old grey tiger who is also quite small. In the past we have had as many as seven , yeah I know crazy cat woman, but we have never gone out an gotten a cat. They have all found us or our kids. Brett, our youngest son, was singlehandedly responsible for five cats, including the three we have now. Others have found us in various ways and we are just too softhearted. This week hubbie told me that a guy who works for him had this cat hanging around his shed. He was hungry and very friendly and seemed to have been someone's pet. Said guy couldn't keep him because he just adopted a cat which makes his cat total...ONE! After checking with the local shelter and the SPCA it seemed the cat was doomed, so Bob said "I've got a home for him". Tonight he arrived at his new home and the general consensus is that it is a male cat, but he is still hiding under a cupboard in the kitchen with a bowl of food and water, so I can't really tell much from that angle. The " drive thru vet" is coming tomorrow to do bloodwork and check the kitty out and give him shots. From what I can see it is a medium sized tiger cat with very soft, possibly medium length fur and a very loud purr. More as the story develops.


Oh yeah, thanks for listening to me whine and for all your kind comments. I love you all.

Later,
Janet

HOLIDAY BLAHS

photo from Pottery Barn



When I started his blogging adventure at the end of October I thought I was so full of things to say and that I would have no problem posting each day. I started with such enthusiasm and a camera. That's all a girl needs to start a blog, right? Now, I seem to have slowed down, maybe it is the winter doldrums setting in; it certainly has been cold enough around her since Thanksgiving to qualify as winter. Maybe it is the holidays, who knows? I have most everything done for Christmas. The shopping was minimal this year as all the kids are gone and we are doing "couples gifts" such as a Kitchenaid mixer for one, gift cards to furniture store for another. I started decorating and then got kind of bogged down. I am seeing so much creativity on everyones' blogs and such talent that I was feeling like my decorating wasn't good enough or creative enough. But enough of the pity party. It IS coming together and it WILL look beautiful to me and my family, so there !!

Maybe I will put a Javalog in the fireplace and start to wrap tonight. Wrapped packages will look nice under the tree. Maybe tomorrow I will take some pictures of the decor for all to see.
That's a lot of maybes for sure.

Later,
Janet

THE PRE-CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

I think Blogger is being a bugger ( as my British friends would say). I am sitting here at work, waiting for the big "I want to buy a million dollar house" call and trying tp read blogs and all of a sudden no one has any pictures. No headers, no picturs just text on everyone's blogs. So much for oohing and ahing over the glorious Christmas decor.

It snowed here a bit last night and then we had some freezing rain and probably some sleet thrown in for good measure. While all that was going on I was asleep and not aware of what I refer to as the Pre-Christmas Miracle. I think I have mentioned, probably more than once because my middle name is redundant or is it verbose, I forget and digress, that I like to decorate for the holidays with natural things. Saves money, easy cleanup and I just like bringing the outside in for the holidays. This is where the Pre-Christmas Miracle comes into play. Every year sometime before Christmas we are "blessed" with heavy, wet snow or a wind storm that knocks down a limb from one of our aging white pines. Sure enough I looked out the window this morning to see slush in the yard and a big limb. This one is probably only about 12 feet long, but it took out a couple of small hemlock branches as well. I don't like to do the mantel until about a week ahead of time because the greens dry up too quickly, but there are many other spots that will benefit from some nice fresh pine.

Got to go and look Realtorish as the boss is just pulling up....although she would be the last to criticize.

Later,
Janet

What Holiday Are You

I was just over at Nan's where I took this quiz and decided I should share it with you. Of course I am once again hoping that I did this right. If I did you should be able to click this link, but then again you gals all know about this sorta stuff.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatholidayareyouquiz

Apparently I am Thanksgiving which makes me happy because of course that is my favorite holiday. I actually cleaned the fridge today and got rid of the hopelessly spoiled leftovers. How is that for the confession of a bad housewife?

***You Are Thanksgiving***

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love.

It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is.

You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one.

You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff.

What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons.

At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party

On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

We had a little dusting o snow here today and I am sure that once again the stores have no bread or milk. People still remember the Blizzard of '78 and panic when there are flurries in the forecast, kind of cracks me up. We are supposed to get freezing rain and then just regular old wet rain tomorrow. Northern New England is in for some snow. My 90 year old dad will be out snowblowing all the neighbors' driveways, it keeps him out of trouble!!

Thanks Nan.

Later,
Janet

NOW THAT'S CURB APPEAL

Finally got a chance to get some decorating done. This is my favorite, sitting on the glass doored bookcase in my Dining Room. It looks cozier in real life! I found that little "For Sale" sign a few years back somewhere unexpected. I don't remember where, just that it was $1. and a serendipitous (good word!) find.



This one is on the window sill in the bathroom. House from Pier One many years ago, candles from Michaels a couple of years ago on clearance.
Lastly a display of houses on top of a picture frame. This is my ode to Mary Englebreit who had something similar in her home many years ago.
Back to the basement to see what else I should get out and display or maybe not.

Later,
Janet