I am. . . Tortoise

Well, the race to Christmas has officially started. Shoppers were up and out early on Friday morning for Black Friday and tomorrow is Cyber Monday, so start your computer engines.

We all know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare and the moral at the end of the fable, " Slow and Steady wins the Race."

Ed in Copley Square in Boston, at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The Hare could have certainly won the race in the story, if he had just used his talents and not defeated himself and had just stuck with his plan.

Me, I seem to take more of the position of the tortoise during the holiday season.

I just keep moving through the list, checking items off, counting the days until Christmas.  I am careful not to miss anything I need to do and try to be pretty efficient with my time.  I'm not really moving too slowly, but more carefully.  If I moved too slowly, I won't get everything done in time! For me the moral is " Slow, but steady wins the race.

So, if we become overwhelmed with the race of the holiday season, we need to remember to just focus on the tasks at hand, enjoy the moments and do what we can.  Let's be steady like the tortoise and not get caught up in "harried" moments of the holiday season.

Until Next Time-Kyle

Thanksgiving

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant,
to enact gratitude is generous and noble,
but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.
Johannes A. Gaertner

Don't you love Norman Rockwell? The above work of art was one painting in a four part series called Four Freedoms. This depiction of a Thanksgiving dinner is Rockwell's representation of the “Freedom From Want”.
My family may not look exactly like this family and we will not be serving a turkey, but we will still be celebrating with grateful hearts and love.

Maybe like your Thanksgiving, ours is filled with traditions.  Because of Ed's Italian background our Thanksgiving menu has always been just a bit different.  It is served with an Italian style.  Instead of waiting for the the turkey to emerge from the oven, we anticipate homemade raviolis.  Ed has been perfecting his recipe and style over the years and I do believe he has reached perfection.

Know matter what you serve for dinner, what matters most is the opportunity for families and communities to come together and celebrate the season in a tradition that's timeless.

Happy Thanksgiving-Kyle

CELEBRATE!

Today is a special day.  It is Kate and Jessica's quarter of a century birthday.  WOW!

Twenty five years ago, today was the Friday after Thanksgiving and I had a date with the hospital to deliver two babies.  I was thankful we had a scheduled time, even though it was a couple weeks early.  There was no more room for two babies to grow.  These were the days before you knew if you were having boys or girls, so we were prepared for boys or girls or one of each.

Look what we brought home!

I love this picture because Jessica is telling us that we have two babies.  Or she could be reminding Kate that she is not the only one.

For the past 25 years, as twins and as unique individuals, my girls have grown into beautiful, caring, intelligent adults before my very eyes.  What a blessing they have been and always will be.

Kate and Jessica
I hope I didn't mix you up 25 years ago!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Until Next Time- Kyle

Did You Know?

You may have known someone a long time, but do you really know them?

Here are 5 new things about me that you might not have known.

1. I have an excellent sense of direction. Tim Allen of "Home Improvements" explains why some people know where they are going.

Wilson: Tim, don`t sell your stupid instincts short. Do you realize that people have a tiny compass in their nose? Tim: I was never aware of that. No. Wilson: Yes, people have a tiny iron deposit in their nose. And that gives them directions to magnetic north and since men have more iron in their bodies than women, it only follows that they would make a better compass. Tim: Then how come I couldn`t find the wedding? Wilson: Well, Tim, a map is a little more accurate than your nose. It`s also a heck of a lot easier to fold. Tim: [Later; to Jill] I just got all disoriented, even though my nose is filled with iron boogers.

2 When Ed and I first where married, I couldn't find a teaching job so I sold Avon.

Ding Dong Avon Calling

3.  I have a waffle iron that I never use.  I got it as a wedding present.  I love waffles. OK, occasionally I do use it. In fact, I keep a paper towel inside the griddle and keep a list of dates written on it of when I actually use it.  Let's see...last used...November, 2001, pumpkin waffles, dud.

4. I played the flute and oboe in Jr. High and High School.  I played the flute during marching band season. Too hard to march with an oboe!

5. I am a romantic, pretty naive and believe in happily ever after.

Until Next Time-Kyle

Thanksgiving Decorations

When my girls lived at home, decorating for the holidays was fun.  Maybe because we would do it all together, even if I was the one to put things away. The decorations just added to the festive feeling.  Getting out the boxes with all the special items, was like seeing old friends who had been away for awhile.  There might be a few store bought items, but most decorations were hand made.

Now that it's just Ed and myself, it's not quite the same feeling when holidays come.  It's hard to get those decorations out and then to put away again.  It just seems like too much work.

Thanksgiving is coming and we might end up with quite a house full of guests!  Do I get things out to spruce up the house for the holiday?  Or maybe, better yet, just a couple of special items to make it look like Thanksgiving?

I found two things that I think will look good.  First is my favorite turkey of all time.  He's probably almost 10 years old.  Some friends and I , decided to each make one of these.  We had so much fun working together.  We assembly lined the steps and laughed and laughed some more.  Each turkey took on a different personality. 

You just can't beat this turkey!

The other decoration has to be a quilt.  This "Crazy Pumpkins" will look good on the back of a chair.

This is a Need'l Love pattern that I made in 2006.  Again with my friends encouragement, meaning we were all working on the same design at the same time, made it a fun quilt to make.  Each pumpkin has different embroidery stitches incorporated into the design.

While trying to decide what I should use to decorate, I found three other things I have to share.  All of us who are moms have these special handmade decorations that we just love because they were made by our kids.

Kate's fall mask

Jessica's Pilgrims

Elizabeth's one of kind pine cone turkey

OK, now I have 5 decorations out for Thanksgiving!

Until next time-Kyle

Veteran's Day

Celebrate Veteran's Day.  My Dad was a veteran of WW II.  He entered the army when he was 22 on July 30, 1941 and served overseas until Nov. 29, 1945.  He was a Sergeant Major and served in Brisbane, Australia and the Philippine Islands.

Thanks, Dad 

He could always make us laugh. 

Miss you.

Until next time-Kyle

The Amazing Race

My favorite TV show right now is The Amazing Race.  It is a "must" watch on Sunday nights.  If you know the premise of the show, it's that each team has to go from point A to point B and do detours or challenges along the way on their race around the world.   

Well, I wasn't racing around the world today, just around Fort Collins and my day was an amazing race from start to finish.  I started at...

maneuvering up and down the aisles with my list in hand.   And ended at ...

with 10 other stops in between. The aim with errands is to have a plan, have a list, try and keep focused on  the list and get in and out as quickly as you can.  It's when I start to linger that I get into trouble.

It's a great feeling at the end of  "errand day" to look at what you have accomplished.  My list was long, but now as the sun has set and the day is almost over, I can *sigh* and relax and feel good about what I did.  Don't you love it when you have a day like that? 

Until next time-Kyle

Kyle's Pile

I have stepped over it, I have stepped around it, I have stepped on it for over a year.  I guess it's time to do something about "Kyle's pile" of fabric.  I have had on the floor of my sewing room, just taking up space and being an obstacle.  I bought the flannel and the pattern, Starry Night, designed by All Through the Night and was ready to start.  Good intentions, but no results.  I'm not even sure why I have left it in the same spot all this time and maneuvered over it, around it, and on top of it. 

Our snow storm last week gave me time to evaluate my queue of projects and guess which one came to the top? It's time to either work on it or at least move it out of the way.  I started cutting on Monday and today worked on some flying geese units.  I'm going to try and work on the applique in the evenings and hopefully it won't take me too long to get "Kyle's pile  off the floor!" 

It should be perfect when the cold nights of winter require an extra log on the fire,  and a quilt to snuggle under. Which will be a good thing. Some of you know who controls the thermostat at my house.  I'll let you know how I progress.

Pursue The Things You Love Doing

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.

Maya Angelou

Until next time -Kyle

On to Napa's Vineyards

One of the other things we did while in the bay area was to drive north of the city and visit Napa Valley.  We had lived in Petaluma, which is west of Napa and Sonoma in 1974-76.  The California wine industry was just starting to take off.  It was actually the time when Chateau Montelena put California wines on the map by challenging France in a blind taste test and winning. Watch the movie, Bottle Shock, for a fun story about the event.
We had visited the area a couple of times when we lived near by and tasted a few different wines , but didn't pay much attention.  Another opportunity missed.  I always fall short of being on the cutting edge of things.

So now, we headed back to check things out with our distinguishing palettes. Can you taste a hint of blackberry, cherry, orange and musty soil?

The are now about 400 wineries in the area and we visited 5.  It was fun and we had a good time.  These pictures of Ed at Duckhorn Winery will prove that we did!

See that wonderland wrap around porch.  The weather was warm and the day was lovely.  They weren't too busy and the person pouring the wines must of thought we had time or a lot of money because he just kept bringing samples for Ed to taste.  Please note that it was only 11 am.

 

The aroma

The taste

Many tastes

Needless to say we had a good time. Especially Ed.

Until next time- Kyle

Wicked

On Saturday my girls and I plus Ed were able to go the Buell Theater in Denver to see the musical Wicked.

I know many of  you have seen it before.  And if you haven't put it on your list of things to enjoy. It was wonderful. The story is thought provoking and the music is outstanding. First of all going to the Buell is such a special treat.  Second going with my family is great.  My girls had bought the tickets for me for Mother's Day, way back then and we have just been waiting.  The down side was that Kate, of course, wasn't able to come so Ed was her stand in. Saturday was Halloween and many in the audience were decked out in matching witch costumes.  Maybe that's normal but it seemed appropriate for the day.  We wore normal clothes.

We missed you, Kate

The best kinds of gifts are doing something with special people.  It was a perfect Mother's Day.

Until next time-Kyle