It was one of those kind of days...

you know the kind...

wintery, rainy.
The kind that makes you want to curl up
with a quilt and a book...
by the fire...
Christmas music playing in the background...

Nothing like leisurely laying around...
with nothing better to do...

the cat laying on the floor in a puddle of sunlight...

ahhhh....

Then I woke up

Outside it was wintery and cold...

that's the true part.

Here on the bay we rarely get below 40 F at night this time of year,
and usually hover in the high 50's to low 60's F during the day...

...but not today.

We woke up to see snow on the hills.

Yes, the snow level was down to around the 500 ft. level. Having lived the first part of my married life in a part of the country where the snow starts flying at around Thanksgiving, and doesn't quit until April or May... I can testify to the fact that its a scary thing to be on the roads with a bazillion Californians who know little of driving in snow! (:

I can imagine San Francisco this morning... those steep hills ... with their little cable cars climbing halfway to the stars ... on icy roads. Any self-preservationist would think twice and stay at home... which is what I did.

The truth is, I have a cold
given to me so generously by these kiddos
Thanks for the kisses guys! (:

So I looked at all my Thanksgiving decorations today...
and realized I'd better get them put away,
and bring Christmas to our house
before the season slips away.

I became Santa's helper,
and whizzed up the holiday spirit!

First, down to the mailbox to pick up a package
all the way here from Corey in France!
Thank you Corey!
The blue ribbon was the perfect touch

Then get an appley-cinnamony scent going in the air!
Get out the spices,
and put it in the mini crock-pot

Then mix up a batch of cookies

Don't look at the dirty oven!!!

Pretty soon the house smells delicious!

Put the Christmas music on...
and pull out the boxes of Beachy Christmas ornaments

Get out the Santa set my dear SIL gave me last year!


and the winter Lighthouse from Hubby

decorate the hearth

and Voila!
~its Christmas~

Merry Christmas Season to you all!

Thankful House

The Thanksgiving Holiday was Full Full Full

~~~~~

of a Festively Decorated Table


of Plates full of Food


of Lovely Nieces making name cards


for super Cute Great-Nieces and Nephews wearing them!


of a Bustling Kitchen


of Happy Family


of Silliness


of good stuff,
like a head of hair being grown for "Locks of Love"
(for women who lose their hair due to chemo therapy treatments)
The hair must be at least 12 inches long!
Jordan's almost there


of LOTS of Love

and so much more...
like Time spent with the women gabbing
and Men making jokes

And lastly...

of A Passage into Manhood

For our family,
it started 17 years ago with my oldest son's 14th Birthday
and has continued to this past week
with the last grandchild, Renden.
We celebrated Renden's Passage following the Thanksgiving meal

We have gathered as a whole family to celebrate this time in life
for each of our children (ours and my siblings)

Grandparents, Parents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins...
All gathered to honor each child as they reach 14 years old,
and will now move into adulthood
We each choose a special gift,
one with meaning...
and is delivered along with meaningful words.

Sometimes it has to do with money,
and how to manage it through life.

Sometimes it has to do with family,
and how to honor them,
and know that we will always be there for them.

Sometimes it has to do with their special talents,
and how to nurture them.

The one of honor sits in a seat up front
while each family member takes a turn to give
words of adulation or encouragement
about his or her particular attributes and talents,
...of encouragement to remain true to self,
...to remain honest and hard-working,
...to do the best he or she can in every situation in life.

We talk about funny times in his/her life,
of good times, of hard times,
of times we don't want to forget.
We all have those times
We should always remember them.

There is always laughter


...always some serious moments


... always some proud moments


Most of all,
there is always tons of love,
and lots of Hugs!

So far each child has gone on into life
remembering this moment.

Renden is the last,
the youngest to go through the Passage.
Its was happy time...
but a little sad too.
Our baby is now becoming a man...

and the oldest of the grandchildren
have children of their own,
and even join with the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Parents
to share words with their younger cousins.

The question is...
Will each of my siblings and I go on to do
the same for our grandchildren?
I think "yes."

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving

And now we move on to Christmas!

Our house is a buzz today!
22 family members are gathered here!
(everyone arrived at all hours last evening)

Though the house is a goodly size,
we're crammed in like sardines...
but WE LOVE IT!

It warms my heart and my life
I treasure these times,
and I don't care that a bazillion kids are underfoot! (:

Pies and other desserts are being made today,
the turkey sits in the fridge...
waiting to be roasted tomorrow.
The kitchen smells SO good!

Tomorrow's fare:
Roast Turkey
with Stuffing
Prime Rib
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans (Mom's yummy recipe!)
Cranberry Jello Salad (also Mom's specialty)
Dinner Rolls (regular and gluten-free)
Cranberry Sauce

Apple Pies
Pumpkins Pies
Pecan Pies
Chocolate Cream Pies (Sis's famous recipe)
Homemade Ice Cream
fresh made Whipped Cream

Wine
Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider

Mmm Mmm GOOD!



The meaning of Thanksgiving to us...

is that there is nothing more precious or treasured
than Family~
Our tradition is to go around the table before we eat,
and each person says what they are thankful for.

Remember to count your blessings!

~Happy Thanksgiving to you all~

(even those who don't live in the USA)
(:

So many blogging friends have become dear to me.
We meet serendipitously via the unseen magical threads
formed by the unfathomable number of 1's & 0's
through this amazing internet of ours.

Its a magic web...
spun around this globe of ours...
which carries our best wishes, our words, our hearts,
our dreams and hopes...

back and forth to each other,
criss-crossing many times each day,
until each message reaches its intended owner.

The women I've met since beginning my blog
just 10 short months ago are amazing to me.
I 've discovered that I have friends from all over the USA,
Australia, Canada, France, England...
Netherlands, Marrakesh, Sweden...
Oh, I can't name all the corners,
the list is too long.

Not long ago I met Anna
An amazing, strong, and cheerful girl!
I go to her blog... thinking to lend a little support,
but I always come away with the opposite...
having received her support instead!
How does that happen?
I don't know, but its magic!

Anna has "the touch"
she's a wonderful photographer and wordsmith.
I share a common interest with her...
a love for the Language of Flowers.
Did you know that flowers have a language all their own?

They do...
and so today I am sending a little bouquet from my garden
(via this magical thread of 1's & 0's)

to Anna

If I could walk across the way and hand it to you myself Anna,
I certainly would!
But since you live in Ontario, Canada
and I live in California, USA
it will have to be a "virtual bouquet"
(though it sits in real life on my dinning table)

To Anna
with a big Hug of Support
as you move ahead in strength and peace!

Feverfew - for "Protection"

Calla Lily - for the "Magnificent Beauty"
of your generous spirit!

Lemon Balm - that "Brings Love"

Lemon - for the "Zest" in your life!

Fern - for the "Sincerity" of friendship

Wormwood - for "Tranquility & Happiness"
which you have in abundance!

Mint - especially for "Protection from illness"
& for "Warmth of feeling"

Iris - for all the "Faith, Hope, Wisdom and Valor"
that you have in your heart

Red Rose - for all that is "Pure and Lovely"

Hugs,
Vicki



And to all my blogging friends,

Tattered Wings
If per chance you find that your wings feel a bit tattered today,
be assured...
and take pride in the fact,
that this is because of their vigorous use!

They have not sat idly on your back,
or been protected from the ravages of the wind.

No, they've carried you safely through life thus far,
the shimmering evidence of life's best activities.

They've been exercised against stiff winds,
and carried you past to the safety of gentle breezes.

They've been tinged by the heat of a flame here and there,
that you may have grazed on your way home.

Their ragged edges are the vestiges of time well spent...
helping and being involved with others...

a token of a busy life.

Wear them proudly
Wrap them around you
Snuggle against them

They carry you onward,
made stronger each day by use
always more use~

Old Friends

Hello blogging friends~

This a a post about Friends,

and all the silly, wonderful, happy, serious, real and perfectness about the subject of best friends for life! This week two of our best friends popped in for a visit! We are a pact of 6 friends ... 3 girls & 3 boys. Three couples ...who have worked and lived and raised our 8 kids together... that would be 3, 3 and 2 kids for 3 couples... starting about 30 years ago.

Wow, does that sound old?! Yes... and No.

Let me explain...

When I was a kid I watched my parents in their friendships, and thought of them as "old." I thought they were supposed to "be" old and "act" old. You know... be responsible and all. And they were all that, but as I've gotten "older" my attitude has definitely changed. I realize acting old only means that if you are "old" you act responsibly in life. You act in truth and with trust. But that doesn't mean you can't act like kids sometimes. You can be an adult, but act like the kid you feel like you are ... well, at least I feel like a kid in my mind ... especially when old friends are around.

In fact, in my mind, I still think "young... like 20-something" about myself. Yeah, I lie to myself. Its amazing how, the older you get, the younger old is! Maybe not according to my kids... but you know, time is relative.

So we had two of our best friends pop in for a visit this week. We have two sets of couple-friends, who have been our friends for (should I say this! Yikes! Its too much reality for me!) THIRTY YEARS... yes, 30 - that's THREE OH! We are friends through thick and thin. We all know that we will always be best friends until we die. At this point in life nothing's going to mess that up.

So I was thinking about it. What does being "best friends" for soooo many years really mean?

Well... it means

1. You love eachother's kids and pets, and you'd do anything to help any of them

2. You confide in eachother, knowing for certain that it will go no further... no gossip, no guessing... only trust.



2. You act like silly kids even though you're 30 years older!



3. You trust eachother implicitly, because heck, you've been through thick and thin throughout
enough years to know that they would never hurt you.

4. You'd do anything within your power to help and support them, because you know without a doubt that they'd do the same for you.

5. You know that 30 years from now, nothing will change ... except the lines and wrinkles, maybe the lack of a little hair or a pooch in the mid-section here and there ... but the heart, soul and love will be the same.


6. You can play silly practical jokes on eachother AND eachother's spouses, because you know that there is no guessing or distrust at any time about where the relationships lie... even if they kinda look X-rated! (Uh, yes... the girls usually win by grabbing the seat first... not because the men are gentlemanly or anything. They aren't! They will fight you over the outhouse!)


7. You visit eachother, no matter where in the world you each live... even if some of you live in Australia and the others live 600 miles away to the north or south.

(even if some of you are heathier than the others,
and decide to show off by walking further!)

8. You do fun active stuff together, and always will, even if you're all in wheelchairs one day

9. You huddle together, hug, love and care... forever and ever, til death do you part!

Make friends, and be sure to keep them ... ALWAYS!

Honor

Words just get in the way...

I won't bore you with words to describe this sunset.

You wouldn't be interested in anything I could say.

Words defy description anyway...

I can tell you that I raced for my camera though...

after all photos were snapped (and these are but a tini tiny few of them)

I just sat in the garden and basked in the gold of it all.

Happy Autumn dear friends~

And let me acquaint you with my old buddy, Paws
If I'm out in the garden, so is he.
Too old to hold his ground with other animals anymore,
he prefers the safety of us humans now.

A little story about how we found eachother.

We had lost our kitty to the coyotes,
and my boys were so sad.
They wanted a new kitty,
so I decided to look at the animal shelter.
There are so many animals without homes...
Why not give one a home where it will be loved?
I didn't allow the kids to come with me...
If they had, we'd have come home with at least several cats.

As I walked into the room,
the attendant informed me that
there were 127 kittens waiting for homes that day.

How do you choose a kitten from 127 of them!?


The room was set up as a round-about,
with cages stacked to 6 ft. high along all the walls,
and a section as high in the middle.

The very first kitten I saw was creamy white,
...about 3 months old with piercing blue eyes,
rings on his tail,
and chocolate brown pads on his paws...

But those weren't his best features.
As I approached his cage, he reached both front paws out toward me
as if to draw me to him.

You can imagine that it was love at first sight.
But I felt it only fair to at least look at the other kittens.

I couldn't keep my mind off that one though.
I could hear his calls as I walked around the room...

And when I came back, there he was still...
Pulling me in with his chocolate browns.
Choose ME! Choose ME! PLEEEEASE!

I did...
And he came home 16 years ago
His name would be "Paws"
for those soft chocolate pads.

And he would live happily ever after...
The MOST spoiled cat in the world!
And the love of our lives (:

Live on dear Paws!
You enchant us still