The Greats...

Amelia played with the Great Grandparents for a little while today, fun.

Old Friends...

There are certain people that come into your life that just kind of, well, stick.
Wayne McGee is one of those people. We met at church camp way back when and just hit it off. We both bonded with some music and a wicked sense of humor. Wayne was in a band called "Cornerstone" and when Mark went off to college, Wayne and Jon invited me to fill the spot. We had many adventures including breaking into Matt Davilla's apartment at 4 in the morning (with Matt and his wife sleeping) so the 3 of us guys could get some sleep in their spare bedroom. To this day I still have no clue what we were thinking...
I spent many nights under the McGee roof and fell in love with his family. I went to piano tuning school and Wayne went to school in Kentucky. He and his bride raised a family living in the bush of Africa, then in London. 26 years later I'm sitting in an eatery with Wayne and his beautiful wife Sue sharing life stories and many laughs. The years seem to have disappeared and I was having a hard time with the concept of how much time has passed.
Wayne and Sue, fortunate to be able to call them friends...

Labor of Love...

What a great song.

A 3x5 tradition...

One of my favorite recipes Kim has up her sleeve is her cranberry salad. It arrives every year and I enjoy it very much and am always sad when it's gone. This year it was 2 batches. When putting things away I noticed Kim's recipe card and was amazed at the condition. I then found out that the card itself is over 25 years old. A simple 3x5 card that has been around the block a few times and is still holding up. It was kind of a surreal moment to think how many holidays this card has been a part of. A simple card transformed into a tradition....interesting.













1 13oz can of crushed pineapple
2 small packages of cherry jello
1 cup of sugar
2tbl lemon juice
2 cups of ground cranberries (raw)
2 small peeled and chopped oranges
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped walnuts

Drain pineapple and save the juice. Add water to the juice to make 1 cup.
Dissolve jello and sugar in 2 cups of boiling water, add pineapple juice and lemon juice. Chill until partially set
Add fruits, celery and nuts and mix together.
Fill your favorite mold and chill overnight.

A Christmas day audible...

We had the kids over for breakfast and presents, very nice. By the time 11am hit we were supposed to head over to Michigan to have dinner at my sister's house. Fighting a bad cold there was just no way I was going to make it. After everyone napped, Kim, Evan and myself watched "The Quiet Man" and those two watched me sneeze and blow my nose for the rest of the day. I'm sure we missed a great meal because of me but there was just no way I was going to make it.

Desert island Christmas top 6

Taking a cue from Mark I decided to post my top 6 Christmas CD's. How do I choose do you ask? I'll let my iPod play count do the talking...

1. Lowen & Navarro - At Long Last...
2. Dave Grisman - Acoustic Christmas
3. Mel Torme - Christmas Songs
4. Magnatune Christmas Compilation From Steve Aubrey
5. Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel - The Gift
6. A Canadian Brass Christmas

Let it snow...

MeeMaw scored tonight!
Sensing Amelia was suffering from a bit of cabin fever she made a trip to the store
coming back with a sled and snow suit and a big load of PlayDoh (for later)
Olive and Kim sat by the door enjoying the show and taking pictures.
What a great evening with the wee one.

Decorating at the 2 foot level...

Kim started working on the tree and Amelia got so excited she grabbed the first pair of gloves she could find to help straighten out the branches. Kim then gave her the job of hanging ornaments. We wound up having a perfect half tree of activity, 2 feet tall.
I think it looks pretty dang good.




























Short Video

Survival mode...

With the first snow of the season laying comfortably on the ground, I can faintly here the giggles of all the little flakes...."we're baaaack".

We live less than 5 minutes from 3 grocery stores, why is it I feel the need to stock up 2 months of food and supplies? We have enough wood to keeps us going for a long time.
Our furnace hasn't turned on in over a week. Throw 4 logs on, turn the vent down and that will stay burning for about 6 hours. We go through most of the winter with only our wood stove as our only source of heat. The upstairs is currently reading 77 deg.

Dark at 4:30, snow, Christmas music playing....winter is here.