December 1

Wow-it didn't take long to get through November! I imagine December will fly by. 

I haven't blogged for a few days because life has been normal, not boring, just not really blog-worthy. Although I'm sure there are some readers that will be saying, "There is rarely anything blog-worthy in this blog, so what's new!" 

Here's an update on the drainage project that the town wants to do in our yard. I came home from school on Wednesday or Thursday (I can't remember!) to find that 2 exploratory holes had been dug and filled in in the front yard. One was just south of the drain grate the other just north of the apples trees. All the little flags are now gone. Jim talked to the town engineer (John) again and apparently the town was looking for the water main and they found it. John said that the project probably wouldn't get underway until January and could take up to 2 weeks. The guys who drive the snowplows are the guys who will do this project, so if we have a snowy winter, it may never happen! We couldn't be so lucky as to have a snowy winter (I know that is a minority opinion). 

Mattress update: The new mattress and foundations (not called box springs anymore, because there are no springs) were delivered on Thursday and we are pleased with how comfortable the new mattress is. Because the new mattress is so much thicker than the old one that I now need to literally climb into bed. That is something I have to get used to.

 

We've had  a taste of winter here with cold temps and a dusting of snow. Tomorrow we have a winter storm warning in place because it is supposed to snow, then sleet, then rain. Could be exciting!

Tucker called this afternoon and he is doing well. He was supposed to do a week-long survey project next week, but that has been cancelled because they are supposed to get some serious snow. He will have to do desk work! He is hoping to get some downhill skiing in before coming home in 2 weeks, and Mother Nature seems to cooperating because Colorado and Utah are getting a good deal of the white stuff.

This morning Jim and I got up early and went to the public market. We were on a mission to see what we could find for a meat supply for our 50-mile Christmas dinner. We talked to a man at Joe's Meat Market in Ontario and he seems to be able to get what we may want. I'm not going to tell you what that  is in case we don't end up getting it. The photo is from a vendor who was selling wreaths. One of the men working there was the father of an Odyssey XC runner. He recognized us, in spite of being bundled up!

Tonight we are going to some friends' house for dinner. Jim volunteered us (me) to bring dessert so I made a grape pie and some cookies. I also unwrapped and smashed 156 candy canes so I can start producing my Candy Cane Candy. The house smells nice and pepperminty! I will have a slight delay in my candy production because I discovered that I used up all of my candy boxes last year. There is probably a note around here somewhere reminding me to order some more boxes, but I haven't seen it! So I found a place on the internet that has what I want, but when I tried to call them to ask a few questions, like how fast can you get me the boxes, I heard a message saying that I would need to call back during regular business hours. But I want those boxes NOW! 

Some folks around here are getting their outside Christmas decorations up and I love the lights! Last year I discovered two places that had exceptional light shows and it was fun to take the family and friends to see them. I hope I hear about some more light displays. There seem to be more of those inflatable lawn decorations up this year-I even saw some inflatable turkeys out for Thanksgiving! I think some of those inflatable things are kinda cute but I think they look soooo sad when they are uninflated, just laying on the ground in a cold, wet heap. We will once again put out the Pageant-an inspirational display of lights on our bush by the light pole! 

Hope all is well.

Mid-week Review

Here it is Wednesday, which for me at my job is like a Friday, because the students have the next 2 days off for Parent/Teacher conferences. Because it is rare that any parents come to conference with me, I will get a lot of desk work and storage room work done tomorrow and Friday. I don't even have to wear my sneakers if I don't want!

It looks as though we may have part of our yard dug up as part of a town drainage project. Over the years the drainage in our side yard has become a problem during heavy rains. We (meaning the boys) have kayaked several times on the lake that has formed during heavy downpours. The last time this happened I called the town a couple of times because the water's edge was approaching our garage and the ducks were starting to call the pond "home!" The town did some short term maintenance to alleviate the problem and we never really expected to hear from them again. However, on Monday when I got home from school there was a message from a Town of Greece engineer briefly describing what they wanted to do and asking us to call him. Jim returned the call the next day and the guy was quite surprised to hear from Jim. Apparently, nobody ever calls this poor guy back. He told Jim that he would send us some papers that we needed to sign so the work could be done. When I came home from school on Tuesday, the front and side yard had all these yellow and green flags marking gas lines and who knows what else. It looks serious! I imagine I might come home some day to find backhoes, ditch-diggers, dump trucks, etc., all over our property. I'll keep you posted and will take some photos when things get exciting.  

Tomorrow our new mattress gets delivered. We have one set of sheets for the new oversized mattress, and will have to keep my eye out for sales for another couple of sets. I once heard it said that you should have 3 sets of sheets for each bed, one to have on the bed, one to be in the wash, and one to have ready to go in an emergency. Maybe that is something I learned from my mother!

In our continuing quest to have a "greener" Christmas this year, I read an article on Yahoo news about the "greenest" Christmas tree you can buy. The choices were between an artificial one, a live, potted tree, and one locally grown and cut down. The winner was the locally grown one for a variety of reasons. So, I guess we will plan a time to go cut down a tree at the place in Webster/Penfield that we have been supporting for the last 15-20 years. 

Did you watch Dancing with the Stars last night? Thank goodness that Marie took third. Her freestyle dance on Monday night just emphasized the fact that she was not in contention for the big prize. I really didn't care who won, I liked both of Mel and Helio. I did enjoy the whole 2 hour show because I missed the first 3 episodes and was able to catch up with the couples who left early and see some highlights from the whole season. I will watch for that show to return again, it was great!

The 2 photos shown above are from school today. The first one is of one of my classes with their heads under the parachute, a favorite activity! The second one is of a recent bulletin board that I put up that is getting rave reviews. This showcase has lights on each side and the lights illuminate the cottonballs that outline the snowman giving him a magical look! It is quite striking when it is first viewed from a distance. There are snowflakes stapled to the board and some suspended from the top of the showcase and each flake has something written on it about a way to have a happy and healthy holiday. 

I'm still knitting away on the scarves for my custodial staff, but am pleased with how all 3 are coming. 

Hope all is well.

Monday, Monday

Here we are in the last week of November. December is right around the corner which means that Christmas will be here in no time. As I mentioned, we got the leaves raked up yesterday so we are now ready for snow!

Our neighbor to the south of us never rakes his leaves, usually leaving them until they blow into our yard or until he hires someone to do it. So yesterday as we were raking and hauling all of our leaves, I was warily eyeing his leaves hoping that this would be the year that we did not have to rake them up. Today it has rained most of the day, weighting down

those leaves, so hopefully they won't blow into our yard! I know that this is a very poor attitude, but I am tired of taking care of his leaves! Oh well, if we do have to rake more leaves, I will try to look at it as a good opportunity for some fresh air and exercise.

I am including a photo of Gram and GrandDad's new car! They picked it up on Saturday and it is fine looking. They liked the Avalon that they had so they bought another one. They have talked about taking a trip to Syracuse to visit  Corey and to see how the car does on the open road. 

The second photo is of a crock-pot of vegetable soup that I put together last weekend. It

was delicious and as you can see from the volume, we will have it for several more meals. Soup is such a wonderful winter dinner, that I have to look for a few more crock pot recipes for soup. Any favorites out there?

Corey went back to school on Saturday afternoon. I thought he might have stayed until Sunday, but we weren't very exciting around here and the guy he wanted to ride back with was leaving on Saturday. He has 2 more weeks of classes before a week of finals and then home for Christmas and New Years. 

Took a short break from writing this to video-chat with Corey. He really couldn't talk because he was in the study room and could get thrown out if he wasn't doing work! I did IM with Tucker, so it has been a good evening-I got to touch base with both boys!

I got a lot of knitting done this weekend and finished knitting the pieces of a scarf for a colleague at work. I knit the scarf part and then 2 edging pieces for each end. They need to be sewn on, but I think I will wait for lots of daylight to do that. I'll post a picture when I am finished with the sewing.

Hope all is well.

Just checking in

This will be short because I am heading to bed in a minute. 

Jim and I spent over 3 hours raking and hauling all the wet leaves in the front and back yards and we are both exhausted! We probably won't be able to get out of bed in the morning.

Where was the boy to help with the leaves, you may ask. He went back to school yesterday afternoon.

Night night......