Merry Christmas Everyone!!! :)

Busy, busy, busy!!! :) Even too busy to blog! :) Will take a lot of photos over Christmas and New Years, and try to learn how to share them come the new year! :)
Merry Christmas Everyone!!! :)

Wish me luck! :)

Just a quick note to say how much I'm looking forward to our son arriving tonight! We have plans of going to get our tree tomorrow, at a local tree farm! It is a fun family tradition that we've been doing for years and I'm grateful he'll be joining us again! :)
I'll take photos of the tree and trust that I'll be able to get help in how to use them on this blog! :)
I did call one person from my "Geek Squad" service, but she neither has Windows 8 or blogs so was unable to assist me! Soon I plan to try calling again! :)
It's a challenge to find a free moment to focus on getting help during this busy Christmas season, but hopefully later this week I can try again! I'm praying when I do call I'll have someone on the other end of the line who can help! :)
Wish me luck! :)

I Have Photos Ready & Waiting! :)

My Honey helped me figure out how to load photos to an area that I can access for my blog, but for some reason, even though it started to download the first photo, halfway through, it said it exceeded the space and couldn't do it. I'll need to contact my Geek Squad and see if any of them have blog experience with Windows 8 and can help me successfully blog with photos again!
It was all so easy with Windows XP! How I miss it!
If I can get photos back on my blog with this laptop, I'll be able to live with it! :) The salesperson knows blogging is an important part of my computer needs, so I'm certain this computer can do it, if I can just figure out how to get it to do it! If not, I'll be seeing about replacing this laptop with something more blog friendly! :)
Until then, please bear with me, as "A picture is worth a thousand words!" :)
...
The ironic thing about all of this, is that right now I Need my blog, like never before! Finding joy in life has always come easy for me, (even in difficult times), but after this recent election, a feeling of doom and gloom has come over me, and I need the blessing my blog affords me, of counting my blessings and expressing all the little joys in life! :) This blog can be therapeutic for me right now, and it is not a good time to feel unable to blog with the joyous photos I so enjoy taking and sharing! ...
The thought occurred to me that perhaps some of you are feeling what I am, right now, and may benefit from my blog expressions focusing on the joys in life, too! :) ...
I have photos ready and waiting, and hope I can soon share them again, and that this blog will yet bring smiles to our faces, and joy to our hearts! :)

Transformers! :)

Sorry, but I have not had time to experiment with photos yet on this new Windows 8 laptop! With the holidays upon us, (Thanksgiving just past and Christmas ahead), time is tight, at best! :)
Since I assume your time is just as filled as mine is right now, and since words are not near as fun without photos, I'll keep this post brief! :)
Today I cleared off all the Thanksgiving decorations and swept the fallen leaves from our front deck, replacing it with Christmas! As I watched the transformation taking place before my eyes, the transformer cartoon jingle ran through my mind! "Transformer! More than meets the eye!" I thought, "I'M a Transformer! I'm transforming our home from one wonderful holiday to the next, and loving every minute of it! In my mind I heard the words to the jingle, slightly changed. "Transformer! More now meets the eye!" :)
Happy decorating (transforming) everyone!! :)

Where's The GPS!? :)

Our old computer died so I'm now typing on a new Windows 8 laptop! I'm blown away by all this computer can do, but also a bit mystified at how to go about using it! My greatest concern is how to blog with Windows 8 when I'm used to blogging with Windows XP! I feel like I've been driving a comfortable small SUV and suddenly have found myself in a red hot race car that hugs the road and is made for speed, speed, Speed, but has me breathless behind the wheel! :)
Not only that, but my road map is Completely Different!! How do I find my way around, now!!? How do I set up my photos and move them to my blog? How do I utilize the "Cutest Blog on The Block" backgrounds that I love? My new wheels have the capabilities to get me where I need to go but this Driver sitting behind the wheel of this hot-rod is less inept at controlling this vehicle, at this early stage of ownership, and is lost! :)
I hope I can figure out the new map so I can get myself from point A to point B again! Where's the GPS when you need it!? :) ...

Halloween Is Right Up His Alley! :)

 As you can see from photos I took of Brennan last summer, he loves dressing up and ...

he loves eating candy! :)
Therefore, Halloween is Right Up His Alley!! :)
We just spoke on the phone and he told me he's going to be Thor for Halloween, tonight! :) After I approved enthusiasticly, he asked me what I'm going to be and I told him I wasn't going to dress up because I'm not trick-or-treating. Shocked he asked "WHY!!?" I told him, I'm too old. :) Immediately he started to cry, exclaiming between sobs "That's Sooo Saadd!!" I tried to reassure him that it's okay, that I had many years trick-or-treating! :) He said "I wish you could go trick-or-treating with Me tonight!" I told him I wished I could too, that it would be so much fun! :) I wished him Lots of candy tonight, and he brightened! :)
It's the first time anyone has ever cried over my missing out on trick-or-treats! It makes me feel that I must be missing out!! :)
How I love and adore him and his big heart! :)
Happy Halloween, Brennan! :)
Happy Halloween to Brennan's little brother, Tegan,, and to his Mommy and Daddy, too! :)
Happy Halloween, Everyone!! :) Wishing you all Lots of candy and Halloween fun! :)

A Little Bit Spooky! :)

 October has been a highly unusual month for us, and I don't mind saying, a little bit SPOOKY! :)
Once we got the garden put to bed, it was time to focus on helping our son get moved and set up to start his new job in a city shy of two hrs. away, where everything in his life is new and a little uncertain. I believe we've stressed for him more than he's stressed for himself! :)
And since the weather's changing as we settle into Autumn, I've also moved the cats from the open garage into the shop where they have more protection from the elements and critters! It's been an adjustment for them, but I believe they're getting used to the idea of being closed in at night! :)
My honey bug-bombed the shop prior to my moving the cats, but one evening when I was getting the cats settled in, ...

 I stood to leave and felt a sting on my leg. ... I've been dealing with my first ever spider bite!! It's been an unnerving experience, as it meant a trip to the doctor when a red circular weld developed on my calf, with an outer pink ring around it, totaling the size of a soft ball! It's therefore, also the first time I've even been on steroids, and that's been an experience! :)
So I've been a bit hyped, suffering lack of sleep, loss of appetite, trying to keep on schedule with two new prescriptions, and all this while making a few trips to a new location, moving our son to start a new adventure in his life! ... :)
I've got a soft heart and have been known to move small spiders outside, if they appear in the house, but after being bit, I saw a spider in the bathroom and squished it without any hesitation! :)
I view spiders with greater distaste now, as they have become a little bit spooky to me! :)

 So October has felt frightfully disjointed, like a weird and wild Halloween, where there's a surprise at every turn! :)
The decorations feel spot on to me this year! :)

 Even the last of our grapes look like how I feel, a bit overdone and spent, but still good! :)

 Trials are kind of like Halloween. They can be a trick but they provide a treat if one's willing to have a good attitude and allow it to be a learning experience! :)

 Then it's not quite so spooky! :)

 On the way home from the final move-in run, we stopped at Barnes and Noble Books where I found this new Halloween puzzle! :) I've enjoyed getting lost in it while putting it together! :)

 It seems the older I get the more my fascination with puzzles grows, and I now have a nice collection that I love and add to from time to time! :)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful October, and I wish you all a fun-filled Halloween, with just a little bit of spookiness to make it thrilling! :)

We're Ready! :)

 When the first good frost came, quietly in the night, it was the signal that it was time to put the garden to bed.

 I worked hard for a week, getting it all pulled, pruned, and lifted so by the eve' of the first expected rain, I had it ready for my Honey to 'till, and help get the plastic down! :)

 Once 'tilled, we repositioned the green house in a spot against the fence in hopes of keeping it from blowing over this winter.

 I want to see if I can keep the soil within the green house dry enough so, come Spring, I have soil ready to plant the onions in! :)
Since a handful of onions that I planted last Spring decided now was a good time to start growing, I replanted them within the green house to see if they will develop into usable onions by next year! I enjoy a good experiment! :)

 The burn pile is at it's glory, when the garden's put to bed! :)

 The only plant waste items that haven't yet made it to the pile are the sunflowers ...

 That I temporarily tied to a post at the bird station for the birds to enjoy eating through Thanksgiving! :)

 There's something very satisfying about seeing the garden put-to-bed for the winter,

 And closing the gate! :)

 Next year's garden is already being planned out, in my mind, and in only a couple months I'll be pouring over the seed catalogs, placing next year's seed order! :)

We put the garden to bed just in time, yesterday, as the weather forecast was correct, and rain arrived this morning! No worries this year! We're ready! :)

 October has come in feeling like Summer, still, so instead of decorating for Halloween, I decided to decorate the front deck, instead! After buying flowers, I came home and did a couple large basket arrangements to accompany the squash and pumpkins in our front entrance! :)

It lifts my heart every time I use the front deck, now, or glance out the front windows! I love squash, pumpkins, and fresh, live flowers! :) Hope it lifts your heart, too! :)

I suspect the long dry Summer, which is continuing into an equally nice Fall so far, has resulted in the tomatoes being greatly plentiful this year! I have 8 plants growing in the small mesh greenhouse, 1 Sweet 100 cherry tomato; 1 Roma;  1 Juliet; 1 San M'; 1 Moby Grape; 1 Big Beef; 1 Early Girl; and 1 Green Zebra! :)
I filled the garden tub with the biggest ones on the bottom and smallest ones on the top, to avoid crushing them! :) There was still more ripe fruit left on the plants, but I felt this was as much as I could carry! :)

We've discovered our favorite salsa is salsa freshly diced and served! With all the fresh summer flavors exploding in one's mouth, it's as amazing on chicken, or an omelet, as it is with chips or tacos! :)
And it's so easy! All it is, is ...

[Finely chopped tomatoes; green pepper; sweet onion; and cilantro, mixed together! A squeeze of lime juice is optional!] :)

It can last a week or two in the 'fridge but it never lasts more than one or two meals! :)
So next year I plan to grow only 6 plants, and focus on fresh eating! I'll be growing, 1 Sweet 100 cherry; 1 Juliet (for fresh salsa); and 4 Big Beef! :)
Juliet is so productive, one plant can keep us in fresh salsa all summer and fall! :)
The same is true of Sweet 100! We've more sweet cheery fruit to pop in our mouths than we can eat, so one plant is plenty! :)
Big Beef takes a little more time for the fruit to ripen, and is not heavy laden with fruit like Sweet 100 and Juliet! We love the huge, perfect fruit (both taste and appearance), so since I'll have the added space, I'll try growing 4 of them this coming year! They make the Best BLT's! One slice fills a sandwich! :)
If you care to see a photo of Big Beef, you can refer to a previous blog post I did about it. Sorry I can't remember if it was last year or the year before. I've grown Big Beef a few years now! :)
Hope you're enjoying garden bounty, too! :)
Tomatoes Anyone!? :)