If all else fails, read the thesaurus…….

 

This is not a picture of my kitchen.

There are several clues leading you to this fact:

My kitchen has no counter tops

My kitchen is much smaller than this

My kitchen walls are orange

My hair has its own zip code and we are usually dressed like this and in this EXACT pose while I’m in the kitchen…

My kitchen has no counter tops

Oh, I’m sorry—did I mention that?

I am so easily confused, and distracted…especially by yellow appliances and big hair…………….

 

Meanwhile, although this is not my kitchen, that is the dishwasher I have had since my eldest was born. 22 1/2 years, 5 kids & 8 moves. It is the saddest looking appliance I have ever seen but it fits in nicely with my garage decor and has just kept chugging its little dishwasher heart out for all these years. I had been lulled into thinking that perhaps dishwashers just lived forever.

 

I am here today to tell you that this is not true.

Not. at. all.

 

 

 

Let’s re-cap shall we?

In the month of August, 2 people that we knew died. Darren—1987-2010—Gone Too Soon..

 

And my sister-in-law’s father who called seafood chowder “dead fish soup” and was my hero….I don’t have a picture

 

 

(Hence the thesaurus reference. I don’t like the word died. Seems harsh. But not after reading the alternatives. I would list some here but it seems completely disrespectful. GO look it up.)

 

Just as we are recovering from that, (READ: YESTERDAY) we had to have our faithful and sweet 14 year old dog euthanized. I know she was really ready to go—she will just be missed.

Hershey 1997-2010 Carry on faithful one!

 

Anyhoo--- (that’s for you DeNae) there I am, back at the garage with my magnificent hair and flowy yellow moo moo caftan thingie, loading my portable dishwasher and I go to shut the door and start ‘er up and………..

 

 

……………..it.won’t.shut. It won’t run if it won’t shut. The door is now held shut with duct tape. Sad, sad day.

I was wondering what that springie thingie and cute little metal rod thingie was that I found the last time I moved it over to the sink. My hair is thinking maybe, just maybe, they were something relatively important to the life span of our dearly departed dishwasher.

SERIOUSLY??!! My dog and the dishwasher IN THE SAME DAY??!!!

This is NOT me but it IS what I am doing. Minus the gloves, apron, smile and waistline.

I am supposed to close on my house tomorrow, I feel like blogging it out loud might be bad luck but I am excited! Today its because the house comes with a dishwasher---are you ready for this---BUILT IN~!!!! What will they think of next??!! Little rooms with bars across the top to hang your clothes---it just takes my breath away…………

A winter wassail woo-hooo…….

 

Is it Christmas yet?

With the rain gently falling on the snow outside, it’s so hard to tell.

 Miss me much?

 

I thought so.

 

I’ll skip the boring details. Here a crisis, there a crisis. You know how it goes.

I have been sneaking around, here and there, reading about you all though—I’ve needed the laughs, the mental escape, the drooling on my keyboard over your Christmas cooking!!

I have 30 pans of sugar cookies waiting to be baked as we speak…seriously…no really. I am hosting my first annual piano student Christmas party. We will play all our Christmas pieces for each other and decorate and eat sugar cookies. I use the term “we” loosely. I am not sure I can be trusted to be the responsible adult for an hour and a half at such an event. I’m not sure I can trust 12 children for an hour and a half at such an event. Pray for us all….

especially the cookies.

Speaking of drooling, (mentally and physically, of course) I have an new Apple with a 27” screen! It is the most fabulous thing my hubby has ever given me. You have no idea how lovely it is to be able to actually SEE things on my computer screen!! 27” screens are celestial baby!! Of course now I am not due for another present till the year 2020. That has been another thing that has kept me busy, learning and transferring---a huge time drain cuz I am a little slow on the uptake.

Oh! My computer guru, whom I now worship, retrieved my pictures!!! It was nothing short of a miracle! Walking on water..pfft…(not being irreverent,do not report me to the miracle police)  I want to blog about the happenings that have happened so I can do one of those books for the year so for the rest of the year I will be doing catch up---feel free to skip it all. There is bound to be sentimental smarm leaking out all over the place.

Speaking of sentimental, my Dad is holding his own. My Mom just called and said they had to take him into the hospital because he had been throwing up. They think it is the flu. Hopefully it will pass quickly for him.

So the first pics I want to share with you are from the”photo shoot” I tried to have at Thanksgiving with my kids. Good grief, I think it was actually easier when they were younger. I won’t post them all tonight—I give you…

THE SHOOT

Okay kids, lets try the porch first…KIDS! PORCH! NOW!

Everyone look at ME!

The other ME!

Yes, Milan, I know you are big and strong and I know you think you can lift Nat now, but don’t…

I don’t think you are quite…..

Yep, there she goes……

Sure, take your time, I’m not going anywhere, glad you’re alright…..

To be continued…..