2013 is almost gone....gone...gone!!

This year has simply sprouted wings and flown by!  It seems like only yesterday we were saying Happy 2013.  This has certainly been a weird but intriguing year for me. Basically, it has been a pretty good year for me and I am so thankful for all I have. I think the most memorable for me is that my nieces gave birth within months of each other(and I haven't gotten to see them yet), I reconnected with some very dear old friends (whom I got to visit and they have visited me) and I got to officially retire last month. This led to a serious case of clean out, get rid of and downsizing to my clutter!  We had a scare with my sister Kathy's health this year that all my family, and cyber friends successfully prayed for, as well as some friends that needed my prayers to aid them. I got to add a little man to my furry four legged family this year too! The whole country has experienced some really unexpected nasty weather changes and we have had to deal with some sad loss of lives! I even got to scrap a little more and am hoping that next year I will be able to scrap all I want to!

I hope you and yours had a very Merry, Bright and Wonderful CHRISTmas. Did you take lots of photos for memory books? I took a few, but most of them were of the weather, sunrises, sunsets and my fur family! I did manage to get Jayson's ABC photo book finished before years end and now I am collecting photos for Amy & Michael's Annabeth and Lance & Maggie's Calvin for their ABC photo books. I love this tradition I started with Hayden, Jade & Ruby. I took a few days to make a special memory book for my ex husband's grand children for CHRISTmas as well as going through a lot of photographs to separate and share with the folks that are in them after I scanned them into my computer....what a time consuming job, but done with love and it was so appreciated by all that received them. (I told you my clean out was serious and I haven't even broken the surface yet, but I can find things a little easier now...LOL).

Well, enough of my gabbing....here are a few scrap pages that I have made that I wanted to share and put on my blog (so they will be printed in Volume 4 of my blog book in 2014).  If you haven't tried printing your blog in a book, you should just try one...you will be hooked....I like looking at mine and reminiscing! Some of my friends have really had some nice things to say about them too! Maggie just shared this photo of Calvin on my Facebook wall, so of course I had to make a scrap page....I used Raspberry Road Designs kit called Handmade Holidays and the frame is from Timo Designs. Isn't he simply adorable? Just love that killer grin.  He is one month old and weighs 13 pounds already.

I also got copied on a photo taken at the church the Sunday both babies were confirmed...here's all of my Georgia family except for Lamar that were there. This is a QP by Miss Boots (aka Random Thoughts at Linda's Place) Front row left to right in photo is Tony & Bessie (Michael's parents), Michael holding Annabeth, Amy, Lance holding Calvin, Hayden and Maggie with pastor Johnson. Back row also left to right is Lee (friend of Michael's) Weymond and my sister Penny.

Here's a page I created for my friend Julie of her and her grand babies. Aren't they lovely children? This is from Raspberry Road Designs Christmas Romance kit, the cluster is by her CT Ellen and the wordart is Miss Linda's at Random Thoughts.

Here's Nina's grand daughter Elizabeth with her daughter Emorie...in a Christmas QP by Neli at Lugar Encantado de Neli. Nina's daughter, Tammy wanted this one to frame.

Plus, I did one for Nina's sister Beverly with her first grand child. I love this photo of them. This is a QP by Neli too!

And in another frame from Neli (she had a lot of gorgeous Christmas frames) is Nina and Chuck with their great grand daughter Emorie.

Of course I could not leave out my babies...so here are a couple of them. I am working on some for Hayden, Jade, Ruby and Jayson of their CHRISTmas that I will post later. This one of all of them lazing around is some from a lot of designers. I did the background, then used Texture 4741 by Edna B the frames are freebies from aw-prince DOTD from Digital Scrapbooking. The photos are all mine....LOL!

Here's the baby (his name is now Tom Tom cause that is what he responds to) playing with my IPad...thought I would add the other 2 watching as he shows Oreo how to play with it. (He sits on my shoulders and watches me, then when I open Cat Toys...he just has to play with it...too cute). This one is made using Kyra's kit Almost Easy and Arlene's cluster using Kyra's kit Beautiful Soul. The cat paw print border is an oldie freebie (recolored) from Tina's Creations. The frame is from Timo Designs

And one just for fun...these two are always sleeping together...they adore each other. Just couldn't resist this since I had the perfect wordart for it.  I used a kit from lth called Yuletide Memories and the wordart is from April the Scrapaholic and the frame is Timo Designs.

Okay, enough for today, got my fur babies reminding me it is time to eat, so will close for now and chat more next time.  (I'm giving you fair warnings)....LOL! Y'all all have a great, safe, healthy, prosperous New Year if I don't chat with you before then....!! Hugs & Love, Mat

Winter is offically here!

Yes, today it is officially winter, but I'll bet a lot of folks are thinking they have had winter for at least a month now. I know we did when that ice storm hit us, but after 6 days, we finally melted and had some pretty warm days, yesterday we started out at 65F, muggy and sticky, well.....about noon or so that norther finally blew in...dropped temps 20 degrees in a minute. It got biting and then the storms started during the night with lots of rumbling thunder that woke me several times (at least the cats woke me...LOL!) and it has rained all morning, and into the afternoon, but now at 3 p.m. it is finally moving out. dropped lots of much needed water for our water sheds anyhow. I decided to not even get out of my jammies today...so very nice to not have to go anywhere in this mess. I fixed a good southern lunch for me (butter beans, creamed corn, sliced tomatoes and onions and some spicy cornbread) that was so very good, now I am sitting here in front of this computer listening to George Strait sing Christmas songs, eating some of Nina's homemade cookies with a cold glass of milk for dessert. All the "babies" are asleep....life is so good! :)
I did most of my Christmas gifting online this year...maybe will not next year....UPS has been a real pain about delivering (blaming a back log on the ice storm....yeah right). I finished everything on the 13th with delivery by the 17th so that I would not be in the RUSH....I still have 2 to be delivered...only after several phone calls and e-mails they finally told me they would deliver today or at latest by Monday, will see. None so far have been delivered on time and I had several NOT delivered in Texas.  Then a package that I mailed by US Postal Service to Georgia on the 13th, left here, went to Tallahassee, FL (35 miles from destination) then it was sent to Memphis, TN where it sat for 3 days until I started raising a stink (again in person, by e-mail and phone) now it has left Memphis according to the tracker, but not to where it was sent, but I bet the package does not arrive in time for Christmas if ever! And, they are raising postage again in January as they are going broke....I wonder why??????  If I have to file a complaint they will make me prove it was not my fault before they will do anything.....GEEZ....I am glad I sent my cards out on the 3rd...hope everyone got theirs! LMBO!!
Okay, enough complaining...I am warm, fed, bills are paid and am in a lot better health than a lot of folks, so I have lots to be thankful for. Thank you God for taking care of me. I am very thankful for my family and the new additions this year that arrived healthy and with no problems. I am thankful for all my friends (real and cyber) that I cherish so much. I am thankful I have made it to complete retirement and can sit on my butt and enjoy scrapping as much as I want to....LOL! And that, I have been doing a lot of, both paper and digital. I am so very thankful for all the generous designers that so generously share their beautiful work with me so that I can make such lovely pages.I am certainly one lucky person!!!
Here are some of the things I have been making this week! first of all I used a template from Granny Enchanted for ornaments of the kiddos (Grandmas are cutting them out and putting on the trees).

Annabeth's First Christmas....cutie pie!

Calvin's First Christmas too...so handsome!

Miss Hayden's Fifth Christmas

Jade is celebrating her 7th Christmas

Ruby is celebrating her 4th Christmas as her birthday is the end of December when she will be 5.

And this is Jayson's 2nd Christmas.
I have made a few pages too, but since I am not finished, I will post those in a couple of days just before Christmas day....Y'all have a great Sunday....make lots of memories, be safe if you are traveling for the holiday and/or out finishing up your shopping. Chat with you more later, right now I think I need a nap. LOL, yep, I am happy to say I can do that now anytime I want to and not feel guilty about not doing something else.  Just loving it! Hugs, Mat

Ice is gone finally....

I know you are probably laughing your heads off, but...ice is so seldom this thick and for sure never lasts this long in Texas, we just don't have the resources for it. Last I heard was for damages so far from this ice storm were around 30 Million Dollars. Now comes the fun part, repairing/replacing vehicles, homes, schools and roads.
Miss Nina and I had a lot of fun yesterday finishing up our shopping. We always have fun when we are together. I'm just glad I don't have to fight the crowds anymore...with the nasty icy cold weather and fewer days, the stores are jam packed. I'm not much of a shopper anyhow.
I did get my CHRISTmas present to myself yesterday.....I got both of my grandfather clocks cleaned and oiled and synchronized again. While they were being fixed/cleaned, I cleaned the cabinets really good and oiled the wood,  The Clock Doc brought them back and set them up last evening (took 2 hours). They look and sound brand new...I have certainly missed the one in my bedroom not chiming (It had a broken hammer and worn out gear).
I think we had some mischievous elves playing with my blog background this past week. Some could see it, others couldn't.  I could see it on my PC, but not my iPad or phone or even on my laptop!  Weird!! But my trusted friend Miss Boots, searched it out, I think she finally got it fixed so others could see it, but she can't now...Whatever....will be glad when those little devils cease their jokes and go back home. I even had to go see Scarlett for a couple of hot toddies after that bit...LOL! 
I even found time to do a couple of pages for my sisters and one for a friend. That was fun and now I am wanting to scrap some in my paper books too! Work is almost finished, one load of laundry in dryer and the last load in the washer. I have dusted and washed "kitty nose art" off my windows. All I have left to do is mop again....with all this melting ice and the rain we got yesterday makes a big mess, but it is so much easier to mop than shampoo carpets....LMBO! Then I can sit and scrap to my heart's content and not feel guilty about letting things go to scrap....LOL!
Anyhow, here are the pages I did and posted on Facebook...

This page of the Georgia clan is called Christmas Wishes by Mago74, lovely freebie kit. She actually has about 5 that are all Christmas or Winter themed that I found on Best Free Digital Scrapbooks.

Here are the Missouri gang in a page made using Kyra and Arlene's work from With a Russian Dutch Heart if you haven't visited her site lately, you have missed some awesome Christmas kits that are free too.

This page I did for Amy's sister-in-law and used a couple of kits by Mago74. This is their newest addition to the family last month. Isn't he just too cute?

This is for a double page layout in my paper book of Penny's grand kids and Kathy's grand kids.This frame was created for me by Neli at Lugar Encantado De Neli on her site you can find over 50 Christmas frames that she offers for free.
Once again, I want to thank all you wonderful designers who so generously share your work with us  scrapbookers. Y'all all ROCK! Hugs to each of you.

I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend of making memories with your loved ones. I'll chat more with you later, have a great weekend and week ahead!
Luv, Mat

OOPS!!

Evidently some prankster elves are messing with the background of my blog.....my blog GURU is trying so hard to find the elusive little devils, so please be patient if you don't see my blog background, it will be fixed as soon as she can find the culprit....LOL! Have a great week ahead y'all, I think we may be thawing out some today and tomorrow! LOL! Luv, Mat

Brrr-Winter Finally found us!

Wednesday we hit 80 degrees, Thursday winter finally found Texas! We dropped 50 degrees in one day, then the freezing rain and sleet found us last evening, all night and is just easing off with the sleet in my area now at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. We have between 1-3 inches of ice, more than a quarter of a million without power (thankfully, not me) and it is now 25 with a windchill in the teens. This area is shut down, all schools and non essential government offices are closed. The DOT is working around the clock to try keeping the major highways open (but we don't have enough equipment as this happens so seldom here), lots of traffic accidents especially with 18 wheelers at a stand still on the high overpasses, Power is trying to be restored, but again because of the icing hazards it is slow and sometimes dangerous. There are power lines down, trees bending that have lots of leaves with all the ice, carports have toppled under the weight of the ice. It looks like a winter wonderland outside.

The cats and I are warm and toasty, we cuddled all night as we listened to the ice pelting the windows. The outside cats in the back (facing the north) were snuggled in their "condos with the electric warming beds" and the mama and her five kittens were snuggled in boxes on the front porch (facing the south) in their blankets. As I took food out to them this morning the ones out back (Buddy, Shadow, Patches & Prissy) were all warm (their food bowls were frozen to the ground and water bowl was solid), they came out to eat a little, but it was still sleeting pretty hard so they went back to bed....within 30 minutes their food/milk was frozen, I had to bring it in to thaw for later. The ones out front fared a little better as their water was not frozen and they ate all the food asap and lapped up the warm milk they were given, frolicked a little in the icy stuff, then right back to their beds. The birds could be heard walking on the ice under the trees searching for food, I promptly threw out chunks of bread and lots of seeds on top of the ice for them, my kitties on the inside sitting in the window watching them.

 I took some quick photos of my red oak tree in the front yard, it is so laden with ice that the branches are only a couple of feet off the ground, hoping the winds we are experiencing don't break those limbs before some of the ice melts (which will be a few days out as we are not to get out of the 20's until Monday or Tuesday). I am so very thankful I have enough food for all of us to wait this out as I DO NOT want to attempt having to drive anywhere.

Hoping all of you are safe and warm and stay that way. Blessings wished to all, chat more next time! Luv, Mat

Thankful.....

I am thankful for a lot of things this year....first and foremost....I thank God  that I am still here, relatively healthy and happy. I am thankful Amy and Maggie had their children and all is well with Mamas and babies. . I am thankful for all that I have as I am so blessed where many are not. I am thankful for my family and friends and my Facebook and Blogger friends too. So happy that I still have all of you in my life  I am especially thankful for my kitty cats that keep me motivated to exercise and thankful for their companionship. I am also very thankful that I could keep a promise that I made 26 years ago to retire with my boss....we did this on October 31st.  That is when we closed the office and today we will totally finish with the last of the loose ends of complete shut down. It is bittersweet, but we are both happy now that we are both completely retired!Yes, I have so very much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! Here are a couple of pages I did of my great nieces and nephews that I am so very, very thankful for!

My sister Penny's 2nd granddaughter, sweet, sweet Annabeth in a freebie QP by pdw and alpha by Avezuir   and the photo is by Lindsey Singletary.

A QP by Creative Elegance shows off 2 of my sister Penny's grandbabies, Calvin and Hayden...both photos by Maggie.

Another QP by Creative Elegance holds my sister Kathy's grandbabies....Jade, Ruby and Jayson...all photos Christina took and I copied from her Facebook account.

And last, but certainly not least, my fur babies (Tiny, MzKitty, Pumpkin & Oreo) in a Latte BB page by Sweet Pea Designs. Here are some snapshots of my 3 feral back yard kitties too.

Pretty Miss Patches...this I took this morning...she was waiting for her treats!

Sweet and so loveable Buddy....he is the largest of the three, but the biggest baby, he loves to be held and played with.

And gorgeous Shadow...he is finally coming around with being friendly, he now allows me to pet him, but not to pick him up...not yet!
Well, I am off here to go finish up the last loose ends of the office. I wish all of you the Happiest of Thanksgivings and pray you will find lots to be THANKFUL for as you spend time with family and friends making lots of memories to share. Love all of you, chat more next time! Hugs, Mat

Calvin Turner is finally here!

Hayden's baby brother, Calvin Turner, finally arrived at 5:26 p.m. on the 14th of November. He is a big healthy boy that looks like he is already 3 months old.  He weighed a whopping 10 pounds 9 ounces and 21 inches long.  Maggie had him natural...poor girl, but all that have seen and/or held him are totally in love with him.  Here are a couple of photos that Lance sent me...think he is a proud daddy?  Hayden was beside herself when she got to see him for the first time. Grandmas and Grandpas are all very proud too as are all the aunts, uncles and great aunts (especially this one!). I can't hardly wait to go home for a visit to meet Calvin and Annabeth and Brinson. (Brinson was born 24 hours before Calvin...Amy's hubby's brother). All three of these cousins will have a blast growing up together. Calvin has a big sister Hayden who is 5 and Brinson's big sister Blair is 7.  Here's Calvin's introductory page! I got to mix a few items, I created the background, the frames and border are by Miss Linda at Random Thoughts the texture was a freebie from piggybacks. Thanks to all of you wonderful designers who so generously share you work for us to use.

In other news, I finally turned over the checkbook and post office keys to my boss on Friday. It was pretty emotional for both of us...after all we have share 26 years of our lives together....but now we can visit as friends instead of employer/employee! Only one more thing to do next Friday, that is to have the files shredded that we can and to acquaint here with the filing system and how to find things should she ever need to and I am no where around.....LOL!
We sure have had a roller coaster ride with our weather, last week I spent putting flowers in the shed and winterizing the house as we had a hard freeze in the 20's both Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Friday I brought the plants back out and the water hose as it hit 70, yesterday I had the windows open again as it hit 80 and today, I awoke to 72 degrees and 93% humidity at 4:30 in the morning! Today, we could break a record for temperatures this time of year...the record is 87 and they are saying we could match or break it today.  It is very, very windy from the southwest too! Things are to make a turn tomorrow and all next week we will only see the low 60's all week with a possibility of rain by the weekend. We really do need that rain!
Okay, guess I have bored you long enough, got to get up from this chair and check on the clothes in the dryer. BTW did I mention I had to have parts sent for both my washer and a new element for the dryer this week and my handyman fixed it all yesterday so I can now catch up with the laundry again. I have everything else done so I can watch the NASCAR races and Football when it comes on in 30 minutes (that's the real reason I have to cut this off now)....LOL! Y'all have a great Sunday, make lots and lots of memories to share.  Will chat with you more later.....hugs, Mat

Wow....Somebody left the door open!

Holy Moly, it is COLD out there.  I had all my windows open yesterday to all the beautiful sunshine and no wind, just a perfect day in the mid 70's.....right now it is 45 with a 30+ mph north wind making it feel like it is in the 30's and the temperatures are still dropping...supposedly into the upper 20's tonight with our first hard freeze.  Fortunately yesterday I got all my plants inside, all my cats provided for with warm beds in spots shielded from the north wind and today I will get my exposed faucets covered before dark.  It is nice and toasty warm in the house though even with no heat on...it is still 70F inside.  So, what have I been up to? Why scrapping of course. I have so many photos to try catching up with....I even made a few digital pages along with some of my paper ones (yes, I still get satisfaction from paper scrapping when I have the time)!
Here's a photo of Hayden as a cat that I put in a frame by Marijja, doesn't she look adorable?

Here's another frame by Marijja of Jayson on his last visit this past week to the Children's Hospital, after this seizure they did an EEG and says there are some abnormalities (?) he has to be on meds for 3 months then they will check again. He was cheered up by Ruby and his mother. Poor little thing all you want to do is hug him tight!

These photos are random that I just got off Christina's Facebook yesterday of Jade, Ruby and Jayson. This is another QP from Marijja

Isn't this sweet of Amy, Michael and Annabeth? These photos were taken by Michael's sister Hannah at the hospital the day Annabeth was born, ran across this page I had downloaded a while back from Marijja and thought it perfect for these photos!

This is Miss Annabeth in her pearls on a bed of roses....the QP I created using Kyra's kit Nothing Compares and a cluster frame from Arlene using the same kit. If you are looking for some terrific freebies for scrapping you must visit With A Russian Dutch Heart. This photo was taken by Lindsay Singletary a lady that works with my sister Penny. Penny sent me a copy of the photos for scrapping.

I had downloaded Miss Boots' latest offering of a lovely QP using one of Kyra's kits...these 2 photos seemed to fit it perfectly, another photo by Lindsay of Amy and Annabeth. You can find the QP at Random Thoughts by Linda.

I have others, but this will do it for today...I think I should get my bum up off this chair and move around a little...I think a pot of chicken and dumplings would be a good meal for this cool day, so off I go to make a pot...wanna come over for dinner?  By the way I think maybe Carol sent this weather to Linda who sent it on over to Gerri and she sent it south to Scarlett and she forwarded on to Texas.  Nice way to get us all to drink the hot toddies in the parlor Scarlett! ROFL!! Y'all keep on making those memories to share, I'll chat more with you next time. Maybe by then Calvin will have made his way into this world! Poor Maggie can hardly stand now!  Luv, Mat

O my aching back

Okay, all the file boxes have been loaded, taken to the storage unit and put away! I have only one box left that will probably disappear the end of this month...after the bank account is closed out and the phones are shut off.  I really have been busy in my room reorganizing it...I moved 2 bookcases and 2 large cabinets, 5 small cabinets, a 2 drawer file cabinet and a 4 drawer filing cabinet and ALL MY MUSIC CDS ( I have way too many) but the room is looking amazing as my home office. I am happy, but now the organizing, sorting and shredding starts.  All files and papers over 7 years old is getting shredded and gone. That is my most time consuming chore now, but I will be so happy when it is done. By springtime, I hope to have my "barn" cleaned out and organized too.  At this stage in life....I don't need all this "extraneous crap" for someone else to have to go through when I cease to be around (hopefully for not a long time yet, but....)!

While organizing and sorting, I ran across some photos that are more than 40 years old I had forgotten about...oh the memories and the fun of remembering them all. I will have to scan them and see if I can salvage some that the colors are fading from. Another chore for this retired old lady (well almost totally retired).  I seem to be busier now that I was when working full time....NOT!.....but close! I am really happy to be able to get this all done. Has bothered me for a while, and this is a good project for indoors when the weather is beginning it's roller coaster ride....70 one day, 50 the next....then a couple of days of 70 again then dropping into the 40's....etc.  This next week we are supposed to have a hard freeze coming (Thanks to Miss Boots via Miss Carol!), so I have been out today making sure all the space is ready for my flower pots to be put away and that all the "cat condos" are clean and with clean beds and blankets for those outdoor kitties that hang around....found my faucet covers so I can drain my hoses and cover them next week. Lots to do to prepare for the freeze, but it will probably be back in the 70's before Thanksgiving! (Crazy Texas Weather).

My friend Jan got good news from her CT scan, no spreading into the lymph nodes so her success rate with the radiation should be at 95%.  Her face mask was made on Thursday and they are preparing her for a "dry run" so she will know what it coming for the next 6 weeks.  Friday morning I took my friend Jannette to have her eye redone...the doctor that did her laser surgery was not happy with the results of her left eye so he redid it.  She had to go back this morning and he is very, very pleased. I think we go back on Monday for the temporary contact to be removed.  So happy she is over that, but then I have to take her to the spine doctor on the 14th for an injection in her lumbar spine. (Old age is sure not for the weak...LOL!)  As for me and my foot, it is doing pretty good, a little tender occasionally, but as long as I don't go barefoot it's okay! That is very hard for this old country girl....I do not like wearing shoes....LOL!

I keep thinking that Maggie will have that boy any day now, but he is still not ready to come into this world! SHE is ready for him to be here though!  Amy seems to be doing pretty good and really enjoying her role as mother. From all the photos I have seen Jade,. Ruby, Jayson and Hayden all had a good time on Halloween. I didn't see not one trick or treater...and now I have a bowl of candy to eat....(real hardship you know)!

I guess I best hush for right now, since I am at a stopping point for today, I think I will take a hot shower, put on my jammies, grab my Kindle and read a little while I sip on a julep that Scarlet left for me. We will be doing the hot toddies from now until Spring I suppose! Had a good visit with all my blog buddies this past week so....gonna take a little break and get some much deserved rest and of course, no blogging tomorrow as the NASCAR races are on and the football games are too! Guess where I will be? Yep, in front of that boob tube supporting my favs!  Y'all have a terrific Sunday, chat more with ya later! Don't forget to make lots and lots of great memories to share! Luv, Mat

Tiny Dude asleep beside me...he really zonks out and is so relaxed....He loves to be touching or laying on me...here he is on my arm....LOL!

Oreo is comfortable enough to lay beside him and they will both sleep on the bed with me at night, MzKitty and Pumpkin haven't gotten that comfortable with him yet.

Pumpkin sleeps on the bathroom cabinet or in the bathroom sink.

And MzKitty sleeps in my reading chair in the same room, just not on the bed with Tiny! LOL! More photos later of the outside cats...they are all growing and are simply gorgeous....(but them I am a little prejudiced aren't I?) Later y'all! Hugs!!

Happy Halloween to Y'all!

I had a seriously busy week and have not had a chance to post for a while. I had company in from out of town for the weekend. My "Sis-in-law" Kathleen came up from Bryan-College Station. Of course I had to get my house cleaned, laundry done and all my chores accomplished prior to her coming in so that we could spend the whole time together. I even finished Jayson's ABC book and sent it for publishing...Kathy and Christina should have them tomorrow. We had a blast on Friday playing catch up, eating Mexican food 'til we were ready to pop, shopping and going through memory books. Here's a photo of us that was taken last month when Nina and I went down to visit her (first time we had seen each other since 1986). I used a freebie QP by c4m called Autumn days bb page 2  and wordart from Miss Boots at Random Thoughts.

On Saturday, her real sis-in-law Debbie came over with her and we spent another whole day furniture shopping. This was first time I had seen Debbie since 1986 or 1987...she still looks the same to me, beautiful as ever....boy did we have fun catching up on our lives since then. After we got home about 7:45 p.m. (I sure had some angry  "hungry" kitty cats) there was a flurry of Code Red Alert phone calls about the approaching storms with ping pong sized hail stones and 60 mph winds. OK....got my Tahoe under cover, but the Camry had to stay out...we did not get the large hail only about pea sized, we did get the winds (I got my windows all closed just in time) and heavy, heavy, heavy rain. We were so busy "yakking" that we never even thought about taking any photos...dang it!
On Sunday, I lazed around all day....never even got dressed...LMBO....watched the Cowboys and the NASCAR races, then watched the Packers and Vikings play, read...slept some in between and literally stayed on the bed with my cats all day. I never turned my PC on nor visited Facebook.  I guess I am just too old to walk and stand and shop for 2 days in a row....ROFL! But we sure did have fun visiting all those wonderful memories we made together all those years ago!
Monday, back to work...tomorrow, Halloween, will be the official closing of my boss's office. I still have 26 years worth of stuff to categorize and label and add to in storage so that should she ever need it, she could find it if I don't happen to be around. The day to day stuff is through though and we are both of the winding down stages of employment. We are both ready for retirement and doing what we want, when we want without having to work around a work schedule. Yippee!! I tried to catch up on all the freebies I had missed last week and over the weekend...(my poor butt thought I was never gonna get up off it...LOL)
Maggie sent me a photo of Hayden feeding Annabeth so I did a page of this cute photo. I suppose that Hayden is practicing for when Calvin arrives next week. Now that she is 5 she will be a big help to her Mommy when her baby brother comes.  She wants him to get here now (so does Maggie...LOL) This page I created using kits by ADB.

Well, it is about time for me to get up, feed the kitties again, fix me something to eat and get ready to watch Nashville.  I have a lot of kitty photos to cut down and show ya and I am sure all the Halloween photos will be ready too, so guess I will hush and chat with y'all some more later! If you get a chance drop by Miriam's Scraps and grab the Halloween QP I made for ya! Have a great and safe Halloween! Make lots of those memories to share! Hugs, Mat