Back to the simple style

First good snow of the season now. I shot a short video and here it is, just click on the photo below and the short video will play. The ground is all white now, about an hour after I shot this video.

From Drop Box

Ohio Baldwin Christmas Slide Show

Here's a link to a slide show of our Christmas

Joan Owen Christmas Card

We got a Christmas card from Joan Owen and thought you might get a kick out of the info she shared with us:

"Hi - It was great to see you again Herb and renew old memories.  It was also great to meet and talk with out Kathy.

Would you be interested in a subscription for the American Welsh newspaper Ninnau?  Of course it is all in the English language - very few of us specak Welsh in America now.

Let me know and I'll get one for you."

and she wrote inside the card ... "Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd dda"

We/you, if you're interested may be able to subscribe to Ninnau online or buy an issue or two via your Kindle?

Have a Merry Christmas, (it's Thursday afternoon and I am done for the week now) Going to have "brunch" with Stu and Sara tomorrow (Friday) and then Christmas Eve here with David and family after candlelight church service to open some gifts and have chilled shrimp / crackers & cheese / wine

Christmas morning church service then back home and David and family coming again to have a traditional Christmas ham dinner with all the trimmings.

Trying back to the "Dynamic" blog style

Just looking for something new and not so boring, so I went ahead and changed back to the "dynamic" view.  To write a new post, you should see a small "pencil" graphic in the upper right hand corner.  Click on the pencil and this will open your post composition box.

You can also click on the tabs (upper left) and change dynamically the view of the posts.  I kind of like "magazine" view myself.

Was up to 60 degrees today but rainy, now the rain has stopped and down to 34 later tonight, so I've fired up the wood stove.

Continuing to cut up, split, and stack firewood couple times/week.

Kathy's job at Rite-Aid is going well, she enjoys it and between her 16 hours/week and her school retirement, the cash income is just about the same as when she was working full time at the school.

OK, going to go watch the national news now.  Nitey-Nite for now.  Hope you don't have any problems posting with the new design.

Sad Day for Stu & Sara

Here's what Stu wrote in an email earlier today:

"I once read something to the effect that the difference in life span between dog and man is one of the cruelest inequities in life. I am more painfully aware of it today than ever. I lost my little girl, my best friend yesterday. We put Kyla to sleep. Sara and Mom and I were with her in the end. She celebrated her 13th birthday last month and had a wonderful life with us. She was deeply loved and will be deeply missed. Kyla and I lived a lifetime together, and unfortunately for me, it was her lifetime and not mine."

Little Rosie Tea Cup

Kathy found this in a junk shop in town last week.  Does this look familiar?  We're thinking it's the same (or similar) to the pattern Mom had on display on one of her end tables?

First Snow in Mount Gilead

Here's our first snow of the season, November 30, 2011 looking out the front door to the driveway and beyond (see our new flagpole out there?)

Thanksgiving in Ohio (2011)

Well, Thanksgiving is over, we had David, Lisa, Shania and Garret along with the Akron kids on Thursday and then Sara and Stu along with Chuck and Dolores (our neighbors in back) came for leftovers Friday night.  We sent all the leftovers home with Stu and Sara and had "normal" food the rest of the weekend.

I have posted the pictures to Picasa and here is the link for you to click on and see them.  Baldwin Ohio Thanksgiving Pix You can click on each one individually or you can select the button that says "slide show" and see them full size for a few seconds each.

It's been a pretty "dry" month financially, but I have 3 closings today and tomorrow and got a nice listing "In Contract" over the weekend, so we should be OK through Jan or Feb ... and more will come in time.

Kathy is working at Rite-Aid 2 days/week and likes the job and the co-workers and her boss, but her foot is really bothering her (planter faciaitis sp?) and heel spurs.  Walking the dog (or walking at all) has become painful.

I found a used wooden storage "barn" and it's being delivered on Thursday, so we can move all the stored stuff from above the garage into this building so that I can get the room above the garage finished into a guest room so that when you guys come to visit you'll have appropriate accomodations!  It'll have it's own bathroom with shower, 2 bedrooms and an open kitchen/living area.  That way it can really serve as an apartment for someone on down the road, improving the resale value of the property.

I think that's it for now.  It has been raining for three days now, it's 50 degrees out.  Temp is heading down tonight and we will get our first flurries.  Colder later in the week, but at least the rain will stop soon - thankfully.

Take care, thanks for posting and we'll catch you all later!

Hello, Betsy shamed me into downloading my pictures and getting on the stick. Everyone was here for Thanksgiving. Ashley had to work until 3:30 p.m. and Bob likes to head back to Palm Coast before dark, so we started eating around 3:30 and Ashley caught up. The Lions were playing, but not winning so we could eat before it was over. Ryan and Tracy got here about 4:30 a.m. as Ryan worked until 2:30 a.m. and then they came here and went to bed. They woke up in time to eat and then shopped Black Friday from midnight until 7 a.m. Kyla stayed here the night as Darin and Ashley had to work on Friday. We decorated a gingerbread house. Friends came from Tampa on Saturday, we went out to dinner with them and our friend Howard who is in assisted living and then came back here to watch the Florida/Florida State game. Terry and Karen spent the night and left on Sunday morning just as Tracy and Ryan were returning to go to the Jags game with us. (They're a losing team!) Tracy had just gotten off work (7 p.m. -7 a.m.), but she stayed awake the whole game. They left about 8 p.m., didn't want to spend the night because Tracy has an accounting class on Monday mornings at 9 a.m. Today I am washing sheets and towels along with all the rest of the laundry I have been neglecting.

The boys helped Rick get the tree down from the attic on Thanksgiving, so it is in the living room, naked. I thought I might do a little this week, but all the stuff is still up in the attic. Rick had an MG club meeting last night and he goes to Tampa for a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday through Saturday. We are joining some friends who have a dock 1\2 mile from here on the creek to watch the Julington Creek boat parade on Saturday night if Rick gets back in time. The holiday festivities have started, but not my shopping. If I had some good ideas, I could go.

These pictures are not the best. My little camera's memory was full. Kyla and I went to the Veteran's Day parade and I thought she was taking pictures, but she was taking videos. I would delete it all, but I think Rick might want some of the pictures on his computer. So, Rick brought his big camera home from the office to take pictures and when we were all ready and we had it on a tripod, his battery was dead. I took these pictures with my i-phone, but by then Bob had left and no one was in the mood, especially Kyla!

love to all, Marilynn

I added the pictures after my text but I would like them to all line up next to one another. I made the last one bigger, but you guys can place the cursor over the picture and blow it up, right? I could do that with the ones Betsy sent.

Thankspigging

So, where is everyone's Thanksgiving pictures? eh??????????? I only have one to include. We went to Thankspigging at Skinny's. A good time, but only about half the folks there were last year. The organizer said 2010 would be the last year, but the locals reorganized, didn't advertise much and all was well. They even had alligator. We saw a few people who are only here 6 months out of the year and they are beginning to come back on island now. Evan worked on Thanksgiving and Nathan went to Laura's family dinner.

Bob and I stopped to dump the garbage last week on our way early (in the dark) to STT and some (lots) of bees came in the car as they were attracted to the light. We stopped down the road to shoo them out and about 1/2 a mile later, I'm screaming for him to stop the car - one got me in the butt!!Can't remember the last time I had a bee sting. Wow, that hurt!!

The floor job downtown turned out great. They were very happy. Hope they advertise for us.

My garden is in full tilt now. I have beautiful bok choy. The local organic gardener gave me the seeds from Malaysia. We are now on to jalapenos, many herbs and tomatoes, cukes and kale.

Going with a friend to see another Eastender's garden this morning and Bob is going diving at noon today with a buddy.

hope everyone is well and happy.

luv,

betsy