Beautiful poinsettias in the main conservatory. 

Sean and I went to Longwood Gardens yesterday, a few minutes from where we live. This is me in the main conservatory near the big tree with the fountains around the bottom of it. 

Finally...a new desk

The guys didn't come home with a new desk yesterday, but a new black leather chair-for giants! It can't be lowered so my short legs and feet can touch the floor. I think Brian didn't do something right, because this is the first chair that I felt like I was getting a haircut in which couldn't be lowered. Thank goodness it was basically free (we had a gift card-thank you f-in-l for that) and I have a cute little stool under my tootsies.
Today we took a drive down to Wally World (Walmart) and were about to get the armoire style with the fake wood grain in brown. We saw they had the black armoire with the fake wood grain and it was $88 and missing the top portion the other one had but it was like $60 cheaper. Bingo! We were taking too long making up our minds when another customer came over and started to look at the solo black one that was left. I said really loud, well that figures and flopped down in a computer chair (where I could touch my feet to the ground!) and maybe the guy took the hint and left! Whew! So Brian got a salesman and paid for the desk while I got a new trashbin with wheels and scurried around the 50% off area collecting a few rolls of wrapping paper and mini ornaments for something I want to make and sell for next year. I found some new things for January birthdays (my brother and pal in Colorado were both born on January 8th). I love a good sale! I did hit a sale yesterday and got some Snowbabies I liked for 33% off.
Brian got busy assembling the armoire after dinner and 3 hours later it's not all the way done, but almost. Cosmo was really marking his territory by rubbing his mouth on various parts of it.
So the room is a mess until we get it set up. I suggested we put the old one in the drive and put a 'FREE' sign on it, but he'd rather haul it to the Goodwill. Oh well. I have a slight headache which I am blaming on the armoire's pressed particle board.
My brother Ken called to say the package from our brother Don had come from Florida last night and asked if Sean was still looking for a car. We said 'yes'. He said he had a '98 or '99 Ford Taurus where he worked and would check it out for us. I called tonight to see if he had and he was home sick today from a bad migraine and vomiting from it. He was sick exactly a year ago today when he was suppose to come out here for lunch and present opening. Weird.
Mom went to see her old friend Barbara who was up from South Carolina and staying at her daughter Adrienne's house not far away. Jim is also a friend of hers. They went to an Irish style restaurant and had prime rib. Adrienne and her teen son Ryan are headed to Ireland tomorrow where they have friends and family. Cool.

Ok....guess I like to be informed...

Which File Extension are You?

Natural disaster

I don't know what to say except that I am deeply saddened by the earthquake that killed so many people. A 30 foot wave of fast moving water won't leave anyone standing in it's path. The poor women and children who couldn't out run it, the homes that are gone. The people on holiday. Well I could go on. I'm glad that the US is sending some aid mainly water, food and medicine.Life is so unexpected. The little boy Matty I talked about a few months ago on my blog said that every sunrise is a blessing and a gift not to be taken for granted. My motto: take it one day at a time. God bless these nations.

Mom and me on Christmas eve.  

Everyone liked this photo of me from Christmas eve. 

Ahhh...some quiet time here...for a while

Well the guys went looking for a computer desk and it's 'me' time right now. No cookie baking, cleaning, etc. My time to surf the web and do a little blogging. I am dying to hit a few after Christmas sales, and I may....afterwards.
Christmas Eve and Christmas were nice. Not really hectic. We didn't have to go out on the 24th until 4 pm. We then went to my mom's and I basically had to redo the lights on her tree. My hair totally fell out and I had spent like an hour with the steam rollers! Mom's house was a disaster. She can't seem to allot time for cleaning much. She only gets moving around 11 or 12 every day. We told her not to worry about gifts and she got me like 6 tops that I really didn't need. We went out to our favorite local restaurant which is conveniently up the road from my mom's house. Her boarder and friend Jim came and somehow I got stuck sitting next to him and not my son or husband. He gets really tight wadded and pointed to the children's hamburger and wanted to order it! Craphead. I think this will be the last year he will come along. His room is a mess and the rest of the place is starting to look bad.
We went over to my brother's house to see them which was nice. Their house looks beautiful as they did a reversal making the dining room the living room (now the eating area is closer to the kitchen where he knocked down a doorway). My little brother amazes me with his talents. He does tend to get overwhelmed at times and takes it out on my mom, etc. Next he wants to redo his kitchen-just what I want to do next in my house. Bet he beats us to it!
That night we got home at 10:30 and decided to find a midnight mass service to attend. We went to a church in nearby Delaware and it was a nice change. We got to lounge around the next morning instead of running out the door to our church. Christmas was still a bit hectic for me as I made a big roast beef dinner. We gave each other thoughtful gifts, my favorite was an amethyst crucifix from Brian and Elton John's 4 set DVD from Sean.
Sean and I went over to see my ailing uncle and his wife yesterday. Mom, Ken and his family went too. It was a nice visit and the kids opened their gifts from us over there. Tori went ga ga over a Barbie Swan Lake musicbox I gave her! I love when that happens. I got it for half nothing at a Kohl's sale last year.
Well, that's the last few days in a nutshell. Glad it's over, but miss it already.

Jesus was born on April 17th, 6 A.D.

I was watching 'The Mummy Detective' on TLC tonight-http://tlc.discovery.com/schedule/episode.jsp?episode=1&cpi=54712&gid=13084 and the discussion was about the three magi who came from
the east to find the new king. First, the man who invented the calendar way back when, messed it up. We are five years off. He was going by the rein of the emperors and was off 4 yrs there. They he went from the year 1 B.C. to 1 A.D., he forgot the year '0'. We should have celebrated the millennium in 1995! So, then they figured Jesus was born in Aries, from the way the planets were aligned.
The star the kings saw was actually Jupiter the planet. The magi- or 'kings'
were from Persia and there was an old one, a middle-aged one and a young one. A photo of their skulls was examined by Bob the host (they are in a church). There were drawings depicting that the kings were 3 different ages. And forget the 'no room at the inn', they didn't exist back then. Jesus was born in a cellar type area where the families animals were kept.
December 25th was chosen as it was during the winter solstice, a quiet time on the Christian calendar. The three kings actually made it to see Jesus when he was about 8 months old on Dec. 19th, 6 A.D.

The outside of our house all ready for Christmas.

The little hummingbird before it's made into an ornament. 

Keychain I made. I used blending filament is the stars and moon.
Update 12/27/04:
I decided to send this to my cousin Ann in Oregon who compiled the family history/photo book along with some newer photos of her east coast family. I rounded up 31 photos for her last night and today.

Martha loses one in the slammer...

Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm! I heard that Martha Stewart was in a Christmas decorating contest at 'Camp Cupcake'. They decorated their different 'units'. They had to purchase items from the prison commissary to make their visualization a reality. I mean, popcorn, boxes and other generic stuff like that. Well didn't her group lose! I would pay to see who won over Martha! Could it be that she lost out of spitefulness? This is also saying to me that she may have help with all aspects of her 'business', mainly ideas too if she can't even win a prison contest. Poor, sad Martha.
PS-Martha also lost 10 pounds in prison. Guess the food isn't 'gourmet' enough for her.
http://www.kfi640.com/hosts/handel.html Check out the Martha Diary down in the right column.

A nice Christmas surprise

I have relatives out in Oregon whom I've never met from my father's side (he is out there someplace too, but he doesn't bother with anyone). My mom and I have both corresponded with my great aunt Dessa (now deceased) and her daughter Ann. Ann's sister Shirley and her husband Dwayne visited us when we were little kids. Ann sent me a Christmas card and said she would be sending me a special family photo book as a gift. I had no idea what it would look like. Well, didn't Ann send my mom a book too! It's huge! It's a three ring binder with about 2-3" of photocopied photos in plastic sleeves of my Oregon family dating back to the late 1880s. There is also a genealogy booklet compiled back in 1978 that shows my Knowles family roots back to the 1660s! Seems my forefather (going back 11 generations) was John Knowles from New Hampshire. This is funny to me as I never knew I had east coast connections from both sides of my family.
Ann put in about 6 photo pages of my immediate family with pictures from my mom's wedding including one of mom and my mom-mom and grandfather Alan Stroud. Ann has them listed as Straud. Whoops. There is a huge graduation photo of my father Carl from 1949 and Sean looks like him! The only thing is there are no photos of my brother Ken. I'll have to color copy some and send them to Ann. Of course this touched me to the core (tears) as there we were part of this huge family book of people who we really didn't know. I'll have to scan a few of the photos. I can see why we haven't heard from Ann in a year, she was really busy!

The dear deer that I mentioned in my last blog entry. The deer population is getting effected by all the housing developments around here. We see them in the various yards all the time. Brian said he came close to hitting a couple last week.  

Helping with Christmas, etc.

On Friday my mom came out to do shopping at Walmart, or as I like to call it, 'Wally World'. She had a list, but it took her 2 long hours. She took about 45 minutes to pick out sweaters for 3 people. I had to try them on for her to see if they were too small or too large. I had the wrong shoes on and an hour into the shopping spree my heels were on fire. My feet have been bothering me a lot lately. So mom blew all the money she came with and was surprised, but she had about 10 bags of stuff!
I wanted to go to a local hardware store because their Christmas stuff was already 50% off. We were both so tired and mom still down in the mouth that we didn't buy one thing. I wanted to go back today but it's only 9 degrees out right now. Too blasted cold! Sean was hoping for a day off, and he got stung. He's off in a few days anyway for 10 days. I don't get him sometimes.
After the hardware store we picked up Chinese food, the first we've eaten since Sean got sick on it. Mine was so salty! After dinner mom wrapped my brother Don's gifts to mail Saturday (I got him a Home Depot g.c. which he liked as he just moved). I remembered a post office down in Hockessin, DE that is open until 1:30. The next morning, I helped mom get the gifts in a large box and off we went. There was a short line and we were in and out of there in 5 minutes! We hit 'Tuesday Morning' and their Christmas stuff was 40% off but picked over. We managed to get a few things. Mom left around 4 and was going to 'Peebles', mainly a clothing store around the corner. She was suppose to get on the road before dark and she left a message (we had gone to church) that she had left here the store at 5:30!
Mom is worn out now and needs to decorate her tree and wrap gifts. I am almost finished wrapping and then will make a few batches of cookies. Having my mom here set me back a bit, but to make her happy about having gifts is a big thing.
After mom got home she found more stuff for my brother and her boarder had to mail things to his sister in Texas, so they went to the mall p.o. and waited in line 30 minutes. Too bad she didn't have that stuff when she was out here.
Stitchingwise, I made a cute keychain-'count your blessings' and also an ornament (a little hummingbird with a wreath in his beak) over the past few weeks. The Santa on my sidebar has been put on hold, though I put a few stitches in him over the weekend. I was trying to add to a Love Quilt block that is due 2/1 but I'm having a terrible time with it mainly because the colors in the flower border are so similar! And then one side will have to mirror the other side. And then the backstitching is terrible. I wish I wouldn't do this to myself! There were surely easier designs out there. In fact I can think of one I liked with only 3 colors of green. I would have been finished that one by now.
I was just up getting a Ricola (the heat is running and running) and there was a doe right at the bank in my backyard about 30 feet from the house eating something, maybe bark. She is so nervous when the wind blows and her breath really showed when she was startled. I worry about the critters in this kind of weather. Lord, keep them warm for me. : )
Off to do some wrapping.

2004 in review...snagged from Abby's blog

What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
Drove with a new driver, no I guess my brothers counted, but years ago. Ok, I actually got to see Sean take the test and get his license. : )
Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I always want to lose weight. My lower half needs a smaller size now, so I must have done something right. I did the work in the family room, but not the kitchen remodel.
Did anyone close to you give birth? Not this year. I was interested in Julia Roberts with her twins, Hazel and Phinneas, but we aren't close, we are both Scorpios, I think.
Did anyone close to you die?
My grandmom's sister died shortly after her birthday in Feb. I believe she had just turned 94. She was the complete opposite of her sister.
What countries did you visit?
I went to Greece-via the Olympics (not really there). And man did I get to see a lot of countries on 'The Amazing Race'!
What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
A little financial stability. (Agree with Abby)
What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The driver's license scenerio and seeing my baby turn 18 on Oct. 24th.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Turning 45! I am not shy about it, but since I am told I look a wee bit younger, I don't tell everyone I am getting close to half a century!
What was your biggest failure?
I don't like to say I failed. That reminds me of a math theory class in college that I could not pass! Hmmmm....just getting the ball rolling on the kitchen remodel and maybe doing more in the house in general. The yard was my crowning achievement this year.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, just some things I have to have checked yearly and they have been good for the last few years. Thank God. : )
What was the best thing you bought?
The second bookcase! I need a third now.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
John Kerry for giving it a try....
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Scott Peterson...I don't need to say more.
Where did most of your money go?
Car insurance, credit card bills and a few loans, one which is being paid off in Feb.!
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My son heading for college, though I think I am more excited than him!
What song will always remind you of 2004?
Usher's...'Yeah!' and U2's...'Vertigo'. I had to look these up as I am not that savvy with names of popular songs. Shoot, ask me a song from the 70s will you?!
Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? I am sadder.
thinner or fatter? A bit thinner.
richer or poorer? Poorer...come on Powerball! I swear if I could win just a little of what some lucky bast@!# won last week, I would be content.
What do you wish you'd done more of? Organizing this shack! : )
What do you wish you'd done less of? Sitting at the computer while my ass fell asleep. (Again I agree with Abby).
How will you be spending Christmas? Home in good ol' southern Chester County.
Did you fall in love in 2004?
I think my man needs to do some fine tuning in that dept. He tries once in a while.
What was your favorite TV program? Extreme Home Makeover-please give me a job!
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No.
What was the best book you read? I am liking 'Little Altars Everywhere', but taking forever to get through it-almost 400 pages.
What was your greatest musical discovery of 2004? Can't think of anyone.
What did you want and get? A new bookcase and bonus new couch.
What did you want and not get? A new, state of the art kitchen...am I repeating myself here?
What was your favorite film of this year? Sky Captain! Really cool.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
We went out to dinner at a local restaurant and then went to Dover, DE for some shopping the next day. I got to go to my favorite bookstore.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Maybe Brian getting a raise or a higher paying job. I worry a lot about dipping into saving accounts.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? Cleaner lines, more monotone. Trying to find pants that fit better. Added some color and neat jewelry.
What kept you sane? Blog, tribe, online pals.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Let me think about this one, I'm over Harrison Ford-Calista, skinny bit@#.
Ummm....Joaquin Phoenix and Jim C. who played Jesus...now that's weird!
What political issue stirred you the most?
Need I say this crazy election year?
Who did you miss? Hearing from my old college pal Olivia.
Who was the best new person you met? Abby, though I don't know her super well, she introduced me to tribe which I really enjoy. Thanks! And I met her from just 'blog hopping'. : )
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
Compliments go a long way. Grin and bear what old men say, but don't let them say too much!
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow....is that ok?

Play Grow!

GROW
This is an interesting game you have to play a few times. You 'feed' the object in the middle (is it a space ship?) and see how what you add and when you add it benefits the object. They all 'grow'. I got 11,000+ points at one time.
That's all folks, I have something and only got 3 hours sleep last night because of stomach cramps. Go figure. BTW, get some of those acid reducers, they work wonders! I think I also pulled some muscles (see Christmas tree post-see Dianne doing way too much), so I will take the old heating pad to bed with me.

National Treasure

Sean and I went to the movies for the first time together in a long time. Like I had time to spare to see a movie, but we did go shopping afterwards. I wasn't feeling too great, but I figured since I was sitting, I'd be fine. We enjoyed the flick. Now Nicholas Cage is one of those actors who can't really alter his look. I still see him dressed like Elvis from an earlier movie. He was pretty decent in this one. I liked all the characters. It was funny to see Jon Voight as somebody's bumbling daddy. Of course the best part were the scenes in Philadelphia. They were all over Independence Hall and the supporting players did a romp through Reading Terminal Market (I've eaten there!). Sometimes I forget what a historic city I live near.
I was having fun with the website (click the link over there--->) and won some tokens and playing cards. : )
Sean and I took a drive down the road to Old Navy where he got his dad a few things (with the help of me) for Christmas. There was a new store that opened up in the same shopping area called 'World's Market', like a Pier One with a food section. We got Brian some goodies too. He likes his snacks, coffee and licorice.
I like the little pastilles in the oval tins from France. I got some anise and rose flavored ones. They didn't have the violet ones so the girl took the empty tin I had in my purse to order some.
So, we just need to do some wrapping, baking and tidying up.

O, Christmas tree! We are very happy with it. And yes, it is loaded down with ornaments! 

Upside down umbrella Christmas tree

It's a new finagled invention! It comes in three pieces and the branches are on little 'hinges' and fall open like an upside down umbrella. Have they been around a few years? I sure haven't seen them. The Christmas tree was up in under 5 minutes. No cussing over getting it in the stand, no water leaking on my hardwood floors. What I had to do was pull and fluff the branched to hide the middle and that's all! Tomorrow I'll put on the lights and tidy up more in the living room.
Sean is taking the ACT (American College Test) tomorrow and needs to be at Delco community college (where I attended) at 8 am. That's about a 45 minute drive. He is hoping this test will outshine his SAT which he took twice and didn't do well on. He is a smart guy, but testing is not his area of expertise. He just got a 3.6 on his report card though. Yesterday he bombed an Economics test (I liked Economics), but a lot of the class did. Good luck to him tomorrow.
Brian(h) and I were having the same sad old argument about 'what I want' for Christmas. I really don't know except for one thing that caught my eye that I don't need-a Liz Claiborne purse that has a space in the side for a photo. I think that is such a cute idea and I love my photos. : ) So maybe he'll get me that. I like surprises. I go around stores like TJ Maxx and Tuesday Morning and pick out gifts that I think people would like. I also love looking through catalogs and will pick out goodies that way. Almost all my shopping is complete. I am waiting on Target and Circuit City deliveries, the later has no shipping charge. Internet shopping is the best. I try just to use my debit card, well most of the time.
I can't wait to decorate!

Who does everything... I do everything!

So I am super mom this week...running around, trying to get things done....writing out 40 Christmas cards...dragging heavy packages to the post office....stringing lights along the hedges. It's because I want to, but it would be nice to have some help. Sean poked his head out this afternoon and asked me if I wanted some help with the lights and I smiled and said it would be nice, he then promptly told me he was on the internet. Brian's contribution was to plug the lights into the remote control we bought last year. That gadget is so cool. We use to do the nightly run...to pull the plugs in two different areas. All we have to do now is point the control toward the windows and the lights are turned off. A man's dream.
I have two more cards to write, but probably more. The lady across the street won't look cross-eyed at us, but sends us a card every year. Then I feel guilty if I don't send her one. I usually use three different cards. Some friends out of state got neat ones I just found at Borders with an Independence Hall painting on them. Then I used some with stained glass windows on them for the more religious of the group. I then found some really neat ones that I had stashed about wanting world peace. They are perfect for this year. I printed out a family photo page and some photos we took especially for Christmas like the one below of me and Cosmo.
Next on the agenda is cleaning and decorating inside and to put the tree up which will take a few days. First it's the lights, then the garland and then about 100 ornaments-no kidding. I want it to look nice and festive. I could decorate the whole neighborhood I have hoarded so much stuff over the years.
Around the 18th I bake cookies. I'll do about 15 dozen of about 5 different kinds from the Crisco butter flavored chocolate chips (hands down the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've found in about 30 yrs of baking-I started as a young teen); some 7 layer cookies-Sean's faves and probably a filled one and a few new ones.
Finally I wrap gifts. It will relax me to a certain point until I get tired of it. I have cut back on gifts, so it won't be so bad-I hope. I mean, we don't really need anything. I asked for a new soup pot and Brian came up from the basement with one he had found which still had the label on it! I told him he should have not showed me and wrapped it up. I would have never have know. He looked a little disappointed that he didn't think of it first! (BTW, Bri seems better, but still is coughing a bit).

Dreary weather and sick spouse

The weather is dreary with rain and fog. I managed to put up my snowman wreath with the white lights to let my neighbors know I am going to decorate-eventually. Brian(h), coughed until 2 this morning and he just got back from the doctor who told him he has a sinus infection. Bummer. The good thing we did this week was to buy an artificial tree for half price thanks to a sale with an additonal 20% off. I know we can put it up anytime we want. A local hardware store sells 'real ones' for about $15-18 but I think they are rejects and have 'bare spots', thus the cheaper price. I want a glorious full tree that I can leave up until Jan. 5th or later. : )
I got three packages from companies today already! One was a biggie I had to move down the basement by myself.
Things are moving along. I have to get my friends and families gifts out and mail off Christmas cards so I can concentrate on the house, cookie baking and gift wrapping. It's suppose to be mild tomorrow, so maybe I can get things decorated outside.

We were taking photos for our Christmas card and this is me with Cosmo. I'll send the family portrait as soon as we decide on one. 

A real life angel!

Look at Birhan now!

Live Aid's face...a dying girl from Ethiopia

20 yrs ago....

Birhan's father..."I wrapped her in a shroud and prepared to bury her, but I didn't have a shovel to dig a grave", he said. A lot of people were dead, lying on the ground like leaves, and I didn't want that for my daughter. Eventually some people helped dig a grave.
But as the farmer prepared to bury his daughter, he noticed a slight pulse. He badgered the nurses to look again, and intensive care restored her health.

And yes I do sit on the floor with my niece and nephew!  

When was your childhood over?

I have ordered a few things online already. The 'big' gift for my husband may not arrive for up to 3 weeks. Guess I should have ordered it a while ago. The problem is there are hardly any places to hide big things in here, not even in the basement or they will stick out like a sore thumb. I need to find my Christmas cards too. I buy one box of new ones and the rest are usually found at half price sales. We will take a family photo on the new red sofa as soon as we get around to it. I use to send out 'newsletters', but I now send out 'what's new?' paragraphs instead. Other people I know use to send those newsletters that sounded like 'brag' letters. I notice my old college friend hasn't sent one for a few years. The last contact I had from her was when she tried to write a poem about her family and it wasn't that good. I had done the same thing a year earlier, so she got the idea from me. Anyway, here's a spark meme...
When was your childhood over? Do you agree with the concept of adolescence, or did you go from being a child to being an adult?
I know there is a distinction between a child and an adolescent. I've seen enough kids go from innocent children to moody teenagers. It's those raging hormones!
I do believe deep inside us we keep the child we were hidden and bring her out once in a while, whether it's sitting on the floor playing with my niece and nephew or drawing a silly picture. I have a collection of dolls from my childhood-yes Barbies and I love them. I even would love to design clothes for her one day. I think 'turning into an adult' requires responsibility to yourself and your family, especially if you have children.

Not too trashy...

I AM 14% White Trash! I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box. Take the WHITE TRASH test at Fuali.com

BTW, the code they give you to cut and paste is completely messed up and I spent a bit correcting it so it would show up!

Susan St. James' son

I have been extremely upset about the plane crash that took three lives and almost two others. I can't imagine what the families are going through. Susan St. James is a cool lady. I always liked her tv shows 'McMillian and Wife' and 'Kate and Allie' from the 1980s. She is really down-to-earth even naming her two oldest kids Sunshine and Harmony. She lost her 14 yr old son Teddy by Dick Ebersol on Sunday. Now I can't listen to the 'Five for Fighting' song....'15, there's still time for you....you've only got 100 yrs to live...' without thinking of this recent tragedy. St.James hasn't been doing much lately, so I guess she left show business to raise her younger kids. This parallels with a plane crash that happened near here at the end of the summer. It was two brothers-one from England and their two boys. For some unknown reason they swooped down and into the airplane shed. Someone I know on one of my groups had the same thing happen to her former boss who had just retired and was looking forward to 'the rest of his life'. Damn that sucks.