Highs and Lows but Always Hope and Peace

HO HO HO hahahahah owowowie ohnooo

We celebrated Christmas with my Mom and family on the 22nd.  It's always a fun party with gifts and a game of left center right, traditional food and family time.  It was a good party.  Thank you to my sister Kathi who spent the day with Mom getting everything ready.  Mom is very confused with moments of total clarity.  There will probably be a move for her this year, which she will resist.  Her dementia has sped up in the last several months.  So this year's celebration was bitter sweet as we suspect things will be different next year.

 Sam and Angela were smug about being Grandma's favorite as they had the largest gift.

 Grandma loves everyone the same! She get nervous about favoritism talk.

 Angela was happily unwrapping the big box.

 And then she realized her dream had come true for inside the box was what it said it was on the outside of the box. A HOOVER! Her joy was over the top to receive a vacuum cleaner.

I don't think there will be any amount of convincing that will change Angela's mind that she is Grandma's favorite.

On the 23rd we celebrated with our kids.  Prime rib dinner, gifts, and many, many laughs.

Everyone spent the night.  Mama loves it when the bedrooms are full.  Danny wasn't able to come this year from MI. Next Christmas he'll be here for Max and Kassie's December wedding.

Hubby and I made their gifts this year.  Hubby made corn hole games and I wrote a cookbook of their favorite recipes, dinner time memories and notes.  Of course, Santa filled the stockings!  It was pretty crazy with three dogs.

The crackers had hats, jokes that weren't funny and lotto tickets this year.

 On Christmas Eve Day Max and I took Bo for a long walk.  We were  almost home when I hit a patch of ice.  It all happened so fast*. It was a forward fall which Max describes as seeming to take fifteen minutes but in reality it was a nanosecond. He heard a squeak turned around and saw his mama parallel with the ground about  a foot from hitting it.  I jerked my head back to avoid face damage which resulted in whiplash. My ribs and chest took the brunt of the fall. Bloody hands with minimal damage.  It was a hard and fast fall on solid ice.

I'm okay, I'm okay, not really.

My lip is fat, and my nose and lip area are red. My rib cage is sore.  As is my back, one foot and my neck.  It's ugly but I am feeling better every day. My pride will not recover any time soon.

*My friend Sheryl falls as often as me and we always tell each other our I bit it again stories. We always start our stories with It all happened so fast. I texted her my story and she  texted back that she also slipped on the ice on Christmas Eve, bruises and scrapes and she ruined her winter white pants.  A simultaneous fall is a first for us. But nothing makes us madder than when falls ruin our clothes, so she wins this round.

Recovery is in progress.  We have Kassie's Grandpa's funeral and Mike and Tess's wedding on Friday so I am hopeful to attend both.  My only job this week is recovery.

Back to Christmas... which I am counting as a white Christmas as there was snow before and after.

Hubby worked this Christmas Eve and Day.  I laid on ice after falling on the ice.  Bo (Max's dog) kept me company and I swear he was sympathetic.  He wasn't feeling so good himself after over indulging on his gifts.

On Christmas Eve we got some sad news, Fred's Uncle Dick had a massive heart attack and died.  It was heartbreaking to think of Aunt Lynda and their kids and grand kids this Christmas.

They take comfort that Uncle Dick spent Christmas with Jesus.  But it's hard to lose someone you love so suddenly and at Christmastime.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

On Christmas morning Max left early to surprise Kassie's family with a visit from Santa.

I had my Dad's Santa suit in the attic and it was time for it to come out and spread some cheer.

It brought back wonderful memories for me and made new ones for them.  Little Ella didn't recognize Santa Max and everyone laughed a lot.

Christmas night we had dinner here and enjoyed a cocktail.  Kassie and Max were trying signature drinks for their wedding.  It was relaxing and fun and that was good because I was moving slow.

My Christmas had some highs and some lows but I always rejoice in the birth of Jesus,

giving me hope and peace.

Wishing you a Blessed New Year in 2017!

It's Christmas Week

I decorate the inside of our home for Christmas and Hubby takes care of the outside of our home for Christmas.  This year he filled canning jars with lights and hung them in the fig tree.  It's very festive.

 God put the icing on the cake with a beautiful snowfall.  I love snow and especially in December.  It makes everything so Christmasy and pretty.

 The snow is melting, but I did enjoy it while it was here.

I've got my wrapping cart stocked and out for duty.  I plan to do some wrapping today.

I also got some recipes out so I can start baking.  I'm not really feeling like doing any of it as my traditional *tired sore throat has morphed into a full on cold, sinus infection. It's not Christmas until someone is sick.  Right?

*When someone gets a little run down and their throat starts to hurt, at which point that someone should get rest, drink EmergenC and try to ward it off. It doesn't always work, sometimes the germs and viruses are bigger and meaner than the will.

Trailer Trash Christmas 2016

 Hubby and I took Huaka'i Annie, our '57 Aloha trailer to Trailer Trash Christmas 2016 this past weekend.  It was snowing and blowing as we left Lynden and we did question our intelligence.

We just couldn't resist and I am so glad we went in spite of the winter weather.

Two of my favorites, vintage trailers and Christmas decorations, hello?

I set up a trailer park in the trailer park.

 Our guys gave Hubby a leg lamp (A Christmas Story) from Fragile for Christmas one year, It was just tacky enough to be in our front window.  I went through my stash for aqua and orange ornaments to pile around the base.  Orange isn't the easiest color to work with at Christmas.

 The stockings were hung...

Drinks were made.

I added Christmas trees and deer to my drawer.

Hubby added lights, Santa and some plastic holly garland to the outside of Annie.

 Steve and Jean pulled in just after us and got busy decking out Ruby for Christmas.

 Tin Lizzie is getting decked out too.  Rene is busy inside adding some Christmas bling.

Hubby and I enjoyed our waterfront real estate for the weekend.

 We took trips to downtown Anacortes for shopping and dinner.  Jean and I had fun with some vintage hats.

 The guys liked this Christmas tree!

Jake and Ginger were our hosts for the weekend.  They were adorable at our Christmas party.  I don't think they wanted anyone to feel like they had gone too far with their ugly sweaters so they kicked it up a notch.  Ginger sewed her skirt from a vintage tablecloth.  Best hosts ever.

 Jeremy and Rene wore Christmas jammies.  They were pretty hot, temperature wise.

 Andy didn't wear any thing Christmasy so he was given a nose cozy to wear.

The guys built a trailer trash tarp shelter so we could sit around the campfire.

I enjoyed a surprise birthday party with prosecco and coconut cream birthday cake.

Thank you, dear friends!

The trailers and lights were so pretty but the reality of winter camping is that the inside of the trailer is packed with coats, boots, hats and gloves.  Nothing is set outdoors so everything is in the trailer and it looks like the photo below most of the time.  

Piles of crap everywhere!

Hubby and I had a great time winter camping, visiting with friends and decorating Annie for Christmas.  It was cozy with our little heater running and flannel sheets on our bed.

I cannot wait for next year!