the day after Thanksgiving 2021...

Christmas decorations replacing Halloween! Here we go putting up the Christmas tree, pulling down pumpkins, bats, etc., and replacing with Santas, reindeer, etc. Life goes on, the seasons and holidays change... and we adapt. 

Thanksgiving turned out better than expected as our daughter and her family (who live in the hill country) surprised us with a visit on Wednesday on their way to a friend's house in Lucus, Tx. We haven't seen them since the pandemic started, so it was great to see and visit with them for a bit. 

Then our oldest son and his wife (who live in Grandbury, Tx but are moving this weekend to Texarkana) came by on Thanksgiving day for Turkey sandwiches. We had a good visit, talking, eating,  and watching football.  So, although we didn't have the traditional family gathering, it ended up a good Thanksgiving. 

And even though we didn't see our youngest son and his family on Thanksgiving day, we had just seen them the Saturday before to celebrate their daughter's 9th birthday.  So all in all... things went well.

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Here are a few pics of the tree

and

a few Christmas decorations! 

naked tree

We get our Christmas tree every year the day after Thanksgiving.

This one we picked up yesterday morning! 

Next is a small tree with animals 

that I use as a 

Christmas centerpiece...

animal tree

close up

and a few little things 

I put out around the house...

Santa toys

Christmas mouse

Scotsman on shelf

and lastly...

the tree getting it's twinkle lights and star!

 

and although we haven't put ornaments on yet... we still found that under the tree looked a bit sad without our cats playing under there. So we added a few little under the tree critters to fill the empty space.

(I will post a pic of the tree once fully decorated, but we're slow and it may take a week or so...) 

And I have to report that all our feral cats (and a few raccoons) got some turkey on Thanksgiving (and I do believe that some of our ferals from the past return on the holidays to visit...) 

I also found out that One Eye loves turkey as much as salmon. He actually came to the back door several times looking for more and let me put the turkey... almost to his mouth. 

Well, that's my 'the day after Thanksgiving' report. Hope I didn't bore you too much. But I feel the Christmas magic has begun... (I love all the Christmas shows on TV and DH and I both love to sit in the den with all the lights out except for the tree... )

Thanks for coming by, I hope you are enjoying the magic of the holidays. Please share how you spend them. I find sharing even these little aspects of our lives (although not especially exciting) is therapeutic and uplifting. 

Hugs (still virtual),

Rian

the cast of cats... quilt binding, and Happy Thanksgiving

This is BK

This is Squeaky

These are two of the feral cats that come to eat daily... and spend a lot of time in our yard. The first one BK (Barbeque Kitten)is about a year old and is getting big. We called him BK as he has always liked to jump up on the Barbeque pit on the back patio and stare in the kitchen window. And although a lot of the ferals are black, they all have distinquishing features which tell them apart. BK has white hairs on his chest.  

The second picture is Squeaky... (younger and smaller than BK) and called such for his constant talking and squeaky little voice. Squeaky stays mostly in the front, and talks constantly to DH in the mornings when he's feeding. I've gotten into the habit of opening the front window in the morning to enjoy the cool air... and Squeaky sits under the window and talks to me. 

The funny thing that DH and I have both noticed is that when it's cold outside and Squeaky talks to us, it looks like a fog coming out of his mouth (breath vapor). It's funny since he talks so much - he looks like a little dragon.

There are several others, but I don't have good pics of them yet. Olivia is a small young female, black and white  -  (small but fierce and a really good mother). She brings her 3 babies which are about 8-10 weeks old now - on occasion. We named her Olivia (for Oliver Twist's "more please") as she constantly wants 'more'.

Then there's One Eye (whom I posted about previously) and Big Boy - a really big black cat with a very large head. While One Eye is old, Big Boy is not. We would guess that Big Boy is a few years old and has developed those large jowls sometimes seen on male cats.

We get a few others that show up once in a while, but these are our regulars. These get along fine - no fighting and some even lay around together. If strange cats appear, they generally keep their distance or fluff up and howl at each other. But strangers never stay long if they're trouble. They move on.

😊

Binding (the cord around the edge of quilt) finally finished on both the pandemic and Hawaii quilts (blue on pandemic, black on Hawaii). 

Pandemic scrap quilt

Hawaiian quilt

(For whatever reason, the print comes out huge once in a while and I have to go back and correct it. Does anyone know why this is?) 

Since Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday and I probably won't have time to post again, I will say Happy Thanksgiving to all here!

We will be having a quiet Thanksgiving this year - no big get-together - just turkey and stuffing sandwiches!

With any luck, our family holidays will resume again in the near future, but not in 2021. With the virus spiking again in some states, we're not ready to undo all that we've gone through these last 2 years... not yet. We will hold out and hope that with vaccinations and time, things will be much better by spring. 🙏

*And I got my Echocardiogram yesterday. Results were in my Texas Health portal, but haven't spoken to the doctor yet - so not sure how to interpret them.*

Take care! Have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

 

at our house...

This week was our oldest grandson's birthday.  So here is a pic of him with his Cookie Cake (and pandemic beard).

And here is a picture of him with Winston, the family's Golden Doodle! His family is moving to Texarkana and his dad and Winston stopped by to say Happy Birthday on their way out...

Next is a pic of ol' One Eye... the feral I was talking about on my last post. I have been seducing him with treats and chicken and he will come within a few feet of me. But yesterday I shared my 'salmon'... and he came almost to my hand. So I may have found his weakness. This isn't a good pic as it was taken from afar and enlarged, but you can see his bad eye.

I would like for him to let us pet him and although most of the ferals keep their distance, One Eye seems like he might like to come closer. He looks in the front door... which makes me wonder if he was possibly an inside cat at one time. 

This next pic is just one DH took of a large grasshopper on the house. We don't see grasshoppers much, so it was interesting... and good to know since we try to keep things 'green' (no chemicals). So when we see lizards, toads, and other critters on the property, it makes us feel good.

Now I will close this with a quick update... and a pic:

As of this past Monday and my visit to the Cardiologist, I'm wearing a heart monitor for the next 30 days. He's trying to determine if my 'episodes' at night are caused by AFib or if possibly they are stress related. (I don't feel especially stressed, but maybe my body thinks differently?)  

And I simply had to share this pic of my grandnephew, his wife, and baby. It is so-oo cute. I can't believe they got the baby to smile for the pic!

That's my ramblings for today. Hope you are all having a good weekend. The weather is beautiful here today in North Texas. It was pretty chilly this morning, but perfect this afternoon (62 F). 

I'm feeling strangely optimistic today... not sure why, but despite all the weird things going on in the world right now (health-wise, politically, and even personally) I find that something is telling me that things are happening just as they are supposed to... and if we stay true to what we believe is right, all will be well (or as they said in the movie, "all will be well in the end... and if it's not, then it isn't the end").  

Take care my friends!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

 

end of the year fun...

Trying to get all those doctor visits in before the end of the year when deductibles start over. Well, it can't be done... especially during this pandemic when everything is spaced out so far apart. 

Anyway, I got my Medicare Wellness check done, bloodwork, EKG, etc. All was fine... no diabetes, no high cholesterol (although I'm getting a little close - but my good cholesterol is OK and my BMI is good). 

My doctor isn't worried, but says she will see what the Cardiologist thinks since I have an appointment with him on Monday. He will see if this occasional spiking of my bp during the night is something I need to do something about. My doctor gave me Rx Propranolol 10mg to take as needed if it happens again. So far I haven't needed it. Also she wants him to see the way my EKG always shows an infarction, although I've never had a problem... 

And I have my chest x-ray being done this week (she added an x-ray of my foot also since I still can't put my shoe on). 

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And I guess now that Halloween is over, 

Thanksgiving and Christmas 

will be here

 before we know it.

We did go out to Barnes and Noble and got some Christmas cards... (and I actually started writing them).  Figured we may not be getting together with people during those holidays, but I will get Christmas cards out... maybe even add a 'holiday newsletter' (which we haven't done in years). 

Oh, and DH and I ate lunch at LaMadeleine's this week! This sounds like such a small thing, but we haven't eaten in a restaurant in almost 2 years. And we had planned to eat outside on their patio... but there were very few people inside...  we ended up staying inside in a corner by ourselves... (small steps but still).

It's gotten chilly here... was in the 40's this morning. DH put the heat lamps out for the ferals and I put some little blankets in their baskets. One Eye always sleeps either in the basket out front or on the cat tree in the back. He is an old black cat that lost his eye in a fight a few years ago. He stays around pretty much. And Olivia (a young female black and white) finally brought her 3 babies by to eat... they are at least 6-8 weeks old and take off the minute they see us watching. But they look healthy and strong. She is a small cat, but a very good mother... and that saying "small but fierce" applies to her. If any one of them bother her when she or her babies are eating, she will slap them away.

It is now Saturday afternoon. DH and I just took a walk around the neighborhood. The weather is beautiful... probably in the 60's. Having spent the morning cooking steamed cabbage with caramelized onions and bacon and scalloped potatoes to go with our baked chicken tonight, the house smells wonderful.

Also I finally got to Skype with my 77 year old friend in New Orleans who had the roof blow off her condo during Hurricane Ida. She has been 'homeless' more or less since that happened. Her niece did take her in in, but with 90 year old parents, a bipolar son, and an autistic grandchild, the situation was not ideal. 

But it was a life-saver all the same. Now she is being told that they don't know when or if her condo will be habitable again. They are charging an enormous amount to store her belongings... and no help so far (just paperwork) from FEMA. But she finally found an apartment and is on her own again. So she is happy with the privacy. However, still worried about all the costs. It really was good talking to her. She is under a lot of stress, but can still laugh and make me laugh. I just sent her a small package (nothing much... just some honey from a friend's bees, some Dr. Bonner's soap - she loves Dr. Bonner's, and a few Halloween tea cakes). 

and now for a few funnies...

This last one really made me laugh... as I haven't worn make-up since this pandemic started (I may keep my mask forever...).

And as always - thanks for visiting. I do appreciate my blog friends... perhaps more than you know. I would still be posting even without any readers, but it is comforting to know that you're out there. 

Hugs (still virtual),

Rian