Weds. morning.....

[rvgrammy1953]

Good morning, all...

Normal night sleep and now up having my 1st cup of coffee...the guys are still sleeping so it's quiet for now...

We went with our neighbors to St. Marys, GA last night for their Christmas parade, tree lighting, and the arrival of Santa....nice mild evening, weather wise, just needed the hoodie and a Latta to keep warm...then we all had a nice supper at a Italian restaurant...took a few photos and will post them later..

It's warmer here this week, so we plan to finish holiday decorating and maybe a trip to the beach tomorrow..

Okay, help yourself to the coffee....and have a great day, all...

[Colliemom]

Good Morning all,

Sounds like a lovely evening last night Lori. I never could get with Christmas when we were down in FL during the holidays to visit my grandparents. Having lived where there was snow all my life, it just wasn't the same. But there were and still are some beautiful decorations and events down south as much as there are up north. Often wondered how snow got to be such an important part of the holiday season, when only a portion of the country really has it when you stop to think about it.

Speaking of snow, we had about 3 inches of really wet snow last night. Surprised when I let Sassy out this morning. Supposed to rain later today, so might just leave it where it is so drive doesn't turn into an icy rink when the temps drop again tomorrow.

Packing is almost done here and I'm ready to head north. Got all my business done in town yesterday, the Christmas cards are in the mail and other than doing a couple of loads of wash and cleaning the house, I'm ready to get outta here

Was thinking last night, how the holidays have changed for me these past couple of years. Lost my "Christmas spirit" when mom passed away and never really got it back till last year's trip up north. I feel like John Denver did when his son Zachery was born and he penned that one song to him about him being blue during the holdays and then getting a fresh outlook on life after that birth. Something in the U.P> has awakened my soul too and now I get excited just waiting to go and be by the lake, put up my tree, mail out cards, bake cookies and all that again. It's given back my joy in life and filled it with new meaning as the song goes.

And with that, time to head out and get the washer going. Lunch at cousins today, so that will be fun. Have a wonderful day all.

[grammynmaggie]

Good morning all...I know what you mean on both accounts Sue...not to
much like Christmas to me here in Florida...and I think I need a trip
north at Christmas time to get my mojo back...but who knows when
that will happen...did a bunch of laundry yesterday including both
beds in house and RV..then in the afternoon spent the rest of the
day at the home park...fishing...didn't catch anything ...did talk
to a women form NY ...she said fishing here is not like fishing
in the north and I agree with her...doing a few chores here then
think I will go over to Wickham Park and visit for a while with MM
then who knows... have a fun day and be safe in your travels
donna

[BarbaraRose]

The snow has arrived. About an inch so far with about 6-7 more this afternoon . Heading off to work now. Luckily I only have a mile to go. The metro freeways and highways are a big mess right now I guess. Glad I don't have to deal with that!

Have a great day!

[chalet05]

Good Morning,

I am starting very slow this morning as I am totally worn out! Not sure where my stamina went nor my brain.

Disney World seems much harder to navigate these days but maybe it is just my brain. At any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed time at the Magic Kingdom for the Very Merry Christmas party. Sat on the depot platform, visited and waited for parade, lights, fireworks, etc. I was already home when Red sent a text she was watching parade for 2nd time - not sure I'd have lasted.

Carolb, hope your aunt is doing well.

Have a good day!

[sharon]

Gonna get cold here today or so says the weatherman. Actually for the whole month from what the chart says on Accuweather. Darn! As many of you know, I don't do cold either well or gracefully. Really tired this morning. Good drive home from the sand dunes on Monday, got Hope 99% unloaded and stuff put away, then yesterday got up on the roof of the house and drained the swamp coolers and pulled the pumps out to store for the winter. Then Dentist appt. at 12:30 and that pretty much took care of the rest of the day. Hoping it's not windy again today so I can get back up on the roof and put plastic on the coolers to help keep the cold air oout. Still have to get Hope cleaned, dumped and propane filled and moved out back to make room in the driveway for possible guests. Haven't been able to sleep much past 3:30 lately and boy is that getting tired!! A friend gave me some oil to rub on the bottom of my feet that's supposed to help me sleep better but I forgot to use it last nite. Tonite for sure.

Hope everyone has a great and wonderful day!

[Ladyhawk]

Snowy and 5 degrees here right now. I think we're supposed to get up to 11 today. Dogs had to wear their boots which they love soooo much.....not.

It's really beautiful though and seems like perfect crockpot weather. I'll head over to the recipe forum and see what I can find.

[JudyJB]

I've been up and made pancakes with blueberries and sausage. I make several meals worth and then freeze the extra for a quick meal later.

It is going down to 24 tonight and my water pump is not working, so I am going to have to take an afternoon shower, fill up some containers, and then dump my tanks for my trip tomorrow and unhook my water hose so it does not freeze overnight. My tanks will be fine because I will keep my furnaces going and they are vented down there, but the water hose would likely freeze. Got an appointment in a week to get water pump fixed.

Sunny today, so it is a pleasant day to get some work done and watch all the trains go by. Saw one yesterday with eight engines. They are close by and go by at least every five minutes. Luckily trains do not keep me from sleeping or bother me otherwise.

Tomorrow I head for a very cold Death Valley!! Yup, hard freezes expected there also. I seem to pick the wrong times to go places, though I would have been there over a month ago if I had not had the kidney stone problems! Still feeling good, so I guess it was worth it.

Got all my Christmas shopping done without going out to crowded stores!!

[BarbaraRose]

Just got home from work. Used my 4WD all the way to work and back. Roads are really bad. We have had about 8 inches of snow here so far and still coming down. Then tonight we start into the deep freeze! High tomorrow of only 10 with lows to -10 below and windchills to -25 below! The wet snow is going to turn to ice all over and that will really be awful to drive on. And salt doesn't work when it gets that cold. I don't mind the snow nearly as much as I do the frigid temps! Sharon, I will take your "cold" over our "cold" anytime! (altho I do remember when I was in Lake Elsinore, that there was snow in that area one day! Pretty rare tho.)

At least we will have a white Christmas!

[Bethers]

I'm guessing the freezes at Death Valley will be at the higher elevations and you'll have pleasant weather at the lower ones. Certainly is cold here. Hard freezes have been mentioned last night until Saturday. I'm watching the weather and while upper 20's happening overnight, not cold enough for me to be concerned with other than water hose and lines. Luckily I can't have any problems with my water pump. Hope yours is an easy fix, Judy.

I'm currently sitting in a chair at a local beauty school. I think they need to change the name from beauty as I'm sure they won't be able to help me there, but getting a perm for Mexico and a pedicure for me.

[BirdbyBird]

Post A picture! We want to be sure we can recognize you in a couple weeks....

[Bethers]

Post A picture! We want to be sure we can recognize you in a couple weeks....

No pedicure - the perm took forever and a day Np, was very relaxing. One young lady started, but had to leave 1/2 way through putting the rods in. So another took over. Turns out I was her 1st perm. When it was all done, she asked if she could take a picture. She took several - hope it doesn't go viral anywhere.

My hair never looks the same a couple days/weeks after a perm ... settles down a lot ... so will wait on pics. You guys have seen me with/without, etc.

Now, if I can get another VTO day will go back for the pedicure.

(BTW, they think I'm sooooooooo generous cuz I made sure to leave a tip for both who worked on my head.)

[BarbaraRose]

I used to get my perms at the schools too, and they do take forever. Back when I was in beauty school, we had to know how to wrap a perm perfectly with our eyes closed before doing them on live customers. Now they send the girls (and guys) out on the floor knowing nothing! The last perm I had at a school, the girl couldn't wrap the rods right at all and the instructor ended up removing what she started and doing it all over herself. Then I had to walk the girl thru the whole perming process. Luckily, it turned out really nice. Hopefully, she learned a thing or two!

[Bethers]

Barbie, Do you remember Horst's from near Loring Park in Minneapolis? He was an internationally renowned hair stylist and had a school in one of the mansions there. He was (I'm pretty sure he's no longer with us) a very short man from Europe. One day I was walking past his place with a good friend and he came running down the street after us. He wanted my girlfriend (Greek with absolutely gorgeous hair) to be a hair model for him during a training seminar he had coming up. Gwen was a very fast thinker and said, only if you use my friend (me), too. Oh, the disastrous look on his face, as I have such terrible hair. But he accepted her terms and we had to accept his - that he could do anything at all with our hair he wanted. We went for it. And it was a ball. He gave me a shorter haircut than I had known any woman to have up to that point - but it was also one of the best cuts I've ever had. My thin, fine hair looked good - for the few weeks until it grew out lol

Then I walked into his school and wanted them to cut my hair several months later - I wanted them to do what he had done. The poor girl that was assigned to me was terrified of cutting hair so short - she was sure I'd be mad, so she kept trimming too little off. Horst himself walked in and surprised me by remembering me and with his accent he told this young lady "Cut CUT ... and CUT some more. If you can't do this, you can't make it in the business! She's asking for a cut only I have every done!" That young lady took a deep breath and chopped off my hair. It wasn't quite as good as what he did, but he came over and fixed it - said she did very, very well.

I'll never forget him, the mansion, the school but particularly him running after us down the street. Good thing we thought we knew who he was.

[BarbaraRose]

I never met him but I have been to the school once (forget why, maybe a class?). He was very good at what he did, but have heard good and bad about the school itself.
I have heard from a lot of customers that a lot of stylists are afraid to cut too short. I am not. I had a guy in today who wanted the top of his hair as short as possible with my scissors. Generally, that is about 3/4 of an inch long, but I have skinny fingers I told him I could get it down to half an inch. He said that was perfect. When I got done, he was surprised and said it was shorter than he's ever had it that way, but he liked it.