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!!