AN OVERLOAD OF JOY!

This afternoon I'm feeling so happy and EXTRA sentimental because of a lovely thing my youngest granddaughter (Jessica) did for me. She wrote last night and told me to go and check out her Facebook page. Before I could DO that, my DAUGHTER wrote and said the same thing, adding, "You'll cry, Mom." So I RELUCTANTLY went, not quite sure what I'd find. Oh!!! Look what Jess did! She said she wanted people to KNOW she carries her grandma in her heart AND - LOL - on her FOOT. See the tattoo? The feather represents our culture, and Kaku means Grandmother in our language. WOW! Double wow! (My daughter was RIGHT. I cried.) She had JUST finished getting the tat - you can see how red her lil' foot is. Later she sent me a new picture of her son Bradley aka Lil' Man. Look how happy the lil' squirt is. Why, you ask? Well, he's pretty much ALWAYS happy. But he was especially proud of himself because he had casually walked past his Dad and helped himself to a piece of pizza! (Where's Grape Gamma's piece, Bradley?) That's what he calls me, by the way. GRAPE Gamma. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that! My older granddaughter, Megan, was recently married to her sweetheart/soldier, Tony. They hadn't planned on children for a bit but sometimes it just sneaks up on a person. I very well MAY be a Grape Gamma AGAIN in a few months. Maybe a GIRLIE this time!!!! HMMMM - doesn't matter. I'll love ANY great grandchild! And finally, being TOTALLY unwilling to leave out my wonderful grandson, Jake and his sweet wife, Vanessa - not to MENTION their adorable son, Neo - I added a Christmas photo of the three of them. AND a recent photo of my daughter, Leah with Jake at Megan's wedding. (Jake walked Meg down the aisle.) Yeppers. Kai is in Happiness overdrive. And I HOPE that's where I stay 'cause I LOVE it! 

STARTING FRESH

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind ..."

I'm a bit early but I want to wish all of you a VERY Happy New Year! While I don't do the midnight celebrating or the champagne drinking (or ANY drinking - LOL!) or the fireworks watching, I DO quietly reflect on the year just completed. I always say a fond goodbye to those I've lost and remind them that love lives on even when the 'shell' is gone. I look back at the mistakes I've made (there are generally far too many, I'm sorry to say) and resolve to try and NOT make those same mistakes THIS coming year. I think back to anyone I may have inadvertently slighted or hurt in any way, and ask myself if I apologized. If I believe I may NOT have, I do that. I look back at things I accomplished - both large and small - and applaud myself. I also look back at what I found fun or amusing and remind myself to revisit them because it's SO good to laugh! I let the people I love - family and old friends - KNOW I love them and feel immensely grateful for their presence in my life. And I don't ALWAYS get to do this to every individual, but I DO visualize the new friends I've been lucky enough to make through the year, and send them gratitude and love. If you are an old friend reading this, I've already told you. In fact, I hope I can honestly say I tell you ALL the time! My Jan? Chirp? Viv? You KNOW, right? If you and I recently became 'specially close, believe me, I'll TELL you how much I care till you're ready to scream, "ENOUGH ALREADY, KAI!" Nat - (Oh, am I EVER grateful for you!) Chris. Pammy. If you are in this category you KNOW who you are! To those of you who -like me - tend to disappear a bit - Anita, Jude - I think of you each day and you can run but you can't hide! LOL! And last of all (please, hold your applause 'cause I'm still not QUITE finished chattering) the thing I REALLY look forward to at this, the old year's end, is the hope and freshness and possibilities of a clean slate. Twelve MONTHS of new opportunities to be happy, to do good things for people, to laugh till I fall over, to meet those I have yet to meet and reconnect with old friends, and to BELIEVE - which I always DO - that THIS year will be the BEST ONE EVER! Much, much love to ALL and a TRULY Happy New Year!

A COMANCHE KIND OF GOOD TIDINGS!

Wanted to let you know I just had a very impromptu (and welcomed) invitation to my sister-friend MaryBear Kicks-the-Dog's house! YAY! Some of our kolas got into town earlier than expected, now we are all heading there for several days of relaxing, dancing, singing, eating, laughing, talking ... FUN! I will be gone till Thursday night of the 22nd, when I absolutely MUST return because I have 30 (or possibly more) Christmas guests coming here, starting the 23rd. Eeeeks! Some are ones who I'll be with over the next few days! But I can go to MB's and STILL get the rest done! I'm telling you because some of you may wonder why I don't answer your emails. MB has no computer. Even if she did, I doubt I'd be on it! Too much non-tech fun to have! If I DO already have an unanswered email from anyone, I will most likely delete it and start fresh the week AFTER Christmas. (I KNOW there's nothing 'pressing' because I checked.) On the 23rd or 24th I will pop in and check blogs or possibly post a short thing. That way I can 'Merry Christmas' EVERYONE! Have a WONDERFUL week, and cram every single PIECE of holiday joy into your days! HOHOHO - off I GOOOOOO!

P.S. The photo of my daughter Leah and her cousin, Gary Many Feathers, is NOT a new one. I'm sure MOST of you have seen it. Just thought the post called for a kola touch. LOL! Okay! Off to throw some stuff together because MB is on her way!

DASHING THROUGH THE ... FOG?

 "It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!" That may be a quote from a carol, but it's a TRUE one, for certain! Even though our colder weather has come and gone, and we are now warm (going to be near - gasp! - 80 today) and VERY foggy, I have my Christmas spirit on and buttoned up tightly! I finally got myself into the kitchen (UGH) and my craft room (YAY! My fave place to spend time!) and kicked out small gifties for the local folks at all the places I regularly patronize. FUN! I admit, I did VERY easy things. For all the 'boys' (I'm OLD, ladies! Anyone under 40 is a boy to ME!) I made peppermint bark - lots of it - and fudge with cherries and almonds. Decided that was not enough, so made the peanut butter/Hershey kisses cookies I made last year. Only THIS time I made a whopping 20 dozen. Why? Because I took 6 dozen last year and the little vultures dears ate them in record time so not everyone GOT cookies. This year I was smarter and PACKAGED the cookies along with the candies rather than taking the cookies separately on plates for sharing. Ha! Below is a picture of last year's cookies (the ones I saved for here - two are missing because my housemate and I HAD to do some quality control) and here is the recipe:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix, bake at 350 degrees for about 12-14 minutes, and IMMEDIATELY (before they have a chance to cool) poke a Hershey's kiss on top. DONE! Where's the FLOUR, you ask? There ISN'T any! And they are SUPER delicious. Crunchy and chewy yumminess. The recipe makes 2-3 dozen. Mine (because I want substantial cookies) yields 2 dozen. But the 20 dozen cookies took only 12 cups of peanut butter, 12 cups of sugar, and 12 eggs. Sounds like a lot but I could feed a nation with all these cookies! LOL! Anyway, that's what I made for the boys. For the girlies, I made something I saw SOMEWHERE on line. Darned if I recall where, but it wasn't my idea. Credit and gratitude for the person whose idea it WAS!                       

NOT ONE OF MY ORNIES. THE ONE I SAW ON THE INTERNET! BUT MINE LOOKED JUST LIKE THIS!

   I made 25 of these. Okay! They ARE easy. But I confess they gave me a VERY hard time. As you know, I have ZERO feeling in my hands. Picking up fragile glass ornies, getting that cursed little top off, filling them halfway with beads (without beads going from here to Timbuktu) getting the top BACK in the ornie, then tying a presentable bow? Took me FOR.EV.ER.!  But I LOVE the way they look. So delicate and girlie! I have 25 MORE glass ornies and want to experiment with fillings for those. Someday. Definitely NO TIME SOON! Crocheted 2 of the hooded scarves I've made a few million times over the years. Here are two from the past.

One - for my lil' friend at UPS who takes good care of my packages - was sparkly red because she LOVES Christmas the way I do!  I made her 3 year old son, Gary, a wooden 'G' for his room. It had cute lil' toys attached to it and the red and blue theme of his bedroom. The other scarf was a soft, soft pink for  the sweet lady who works at Church's Chicken. I confess to a deep and abiding love affair with their spicy chicken, and MUST have two drumsticks once a month. MUST. Really. Or I have Church's drumstick withdrawal symptoms. LOL! Finally, I finished those and got started on January birthdays! YAY ME! And last NIGHT I indulged my silly self and made a big cup of chai, then watched (for the millionth time) SCROOGE. I've seen so MANY versions, but THIS one - the one starring Alastair Sims in the lead - is my forever favorite!    

It put me even DEEPER into the holiday mood! And, to THINK, I still get to see White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street! WOOOOOHOOOO! With that said, I still need to go do a few MORE holiday things. So I will send you all HUGE CHRISTMASY HUGS and, as Professor Hinkle from Frosty the Snowman said, "I've got to get BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!"

                                         
  
                                                                                
                                                                      

MY GOODNESS MONDAY: JINGLE ALL THE WAY!

It makes me SO HAPPY to introduce you all to this month's MY GOODNESS MONDAY artist! Her name is Jennifer Ingle yet we know her as JINGLE! Some - in fact, MANY - of you may ALREADY know her. But I think EVERYONE should know her! WHY? Because ... well ... look at the first three pictures below. The top one is exactly what you see when you arrive at her blog! Just LOOK at that little grin! Isn't she adorable?

 Then there's THIS photo! Jen is not only creative ART-WISE, she's THE most fun spirit EVER. And, trust me, it shows in everything she says and does. Check it out: COOOOOOOL BLUE HAIR! Love it!

 And how about her current look? Spiked WHITE hair! I just want to make her come to Houston, stand her in my living room, toss a few rounds of garland and (of COURSE) some jingly BELLS on her, and have her be my CHRISTMAS TREE! THAT'S how bright and fun and WONDERFUL she is!  

Jen is known for her card making! That girl is so proficient, and I swear she's a card making machine! Except that her wonderful cards NEVER look machine made! NO WAY! She puts so much love and detail in each one! Of course, there IS a price to pay for all her frenzy of creating. Check out her workspace. I THINK she's BURIED under some of that. LOL! But seriously, how CAN one create without all the bells and whistles? Proof of GENIUS!  

Also, check out just these few of her cards! WONDERFUL, right? I LOVE 'EM! (And I OWN one - a GORGEOUS pink one - she sent it as an extra in her swap to me when we were partnered! YAY!!!!!)

Now, Jen is not  JUST a card making whiz! Huh-uh! She also makes all SORTS of other things!

See what I mean? Amazing, right? She's on a number of design teams including one belonging to Retro Cafe Art. So she gets to try out all SORTS of cool new stamps and other products, and let US see how they look and the things we can do with them. (She even got me SUPER hooked on twine. OMG! I had to buy a LOAD of that stuff 'cause she REALLY had some darling ideas for using it!) Okay, so you KNOW she's talented! You KNOW she's diverse. You know she has a CRAZY CLUTTERED WORK AREA! LOL! But, besides all that, HERE is what I NEED you to know about Jen:
1.She has a sweet (and DARNED good looking) husband who she blatantly adores! I LOVE that!
2. She eat THIS for breakfast sometimes. Okay - LOTS of times!

3. She has a very wonderful (and equally fun-looking) family. Check out her choosing a Christmas tree post! Hysterical!
4. She has a nice home which she shares with her hubby. (Of course.)

5. She's REALLY brilliant! In fact, she is a huge reading fan just as I am! Yet ANOTHER thing I love about her.
6. And finally, she's genuinely, happily, hysterically enthusiastic. ALL. THE. TIME! It's such a joy to visit her blog each morning, KNOWING I will be blown away by her latest creation, and will leave with a big grin on my silly face from reading her post! Please, PLEASE ... don't wait another MINUTE! Go and visit Jen aka Jingle at http://justjingle.blogspot.com/ and get acquainted with this vivacious, REAL, funny, talented, and WONDERFUL little human being. I'm about to pop over for MY morning visit! I HOPE YOU'LL JOIN ME! 
                                     

HOHOHOHOHO!!!

Soooooo much to tell. Soooo little time! LOL! HAPPY SUNDAY to everyone! I'm AMAZED I'm able to blog because Yahoo (or as I 'fondly' call it - Yah-phooey!) has been acting crazy. I think the folks running it must have REALLY spiked their eggnog! At any rate, I can access my email then go check out blogs, Facebook, etc. But if I return to my emails, it looks as though I'm in some sort of warp-time disco club! Things are blinking and bouncing around and literally making me sick to my stomach! Cannot click on ANYTHING. However, I learned if I do this: finish checking blogs, etc., then Google and click on 'Yahoo Mail', it takes me back with no problem. See? YAH-PHOOEY!

     At any rate, it's been a crazy few days - not BAD, mind you, just crazy - oddball weather, attempts (notice I DIDN'T say 'success') at getting Christmas gifts finished, and talking a LOT to my middle granddaughter, Megan, who called me about 5 million times to ask stuff about wedding protocol. (I never HAD anything CLOSE to a formal wedding, and I'm SO not Martha Stewart, so I just did the best I could to research and respond.) I could not attend (WAHHHHHH!) because (1) I can't travel much with this hateful leg - the trips to Washington State awhile back did bad stuff to me, and (2) the airlines are terribly hateful and wouldn't allow me to fly free! LOL! Seriously BROKE over here as far as having $$ above and beyond living expenses. It will be better after the holidays when business picks up but right now? UGH! Anyway, below are a couple of the wedding photos taken with someone's cell phone. I'll show you the photographer's photos when Megan and Tony get them!  

You may kiss the bride!

Meg's dad died last summer so her big brother - my wonderful grandson, Jacob - did the honors and walked her down the aisle. He jokingly said he had TRIED to give his sister away for YEARS when they were little, but this time he was PROUD to be successful! Speaking of proud, that's my daughter Leah with him, looking VERY happy and proud!

Switching gears, but sort of staying in the same place, let me talk about Christmas. I finally managed to get my daughter's gift wrapped and ready to mail. Then I realized how horribly expensive mailing is now (it's outrageous, folks, believe me) and I decided to send my grandkids and great grandkids $$. I know. HORRIBLE. What's WORSE is that I realize there's absolutely ZERO chance of my doing what I truly WANT to do and mailing all of YOU sweethearts a small gifty. PLEASE, PLEASE forgive me. I DO know your birthdays and will either REALLY make it up to you then, or I MAY surprise you at random times all of a sudden between now and ... say July ... with an AFTER Christmas gifty! One thing I DO promise: NEXT YEAR I will do what I have always done in the past - have 99% of my Christmas gifts made or bought AND wrapped BY the end of July! That way, I can save my pennies and mail EVERYTHING on time for Christmas 2012! I hope with all my heart that you know I love each of you and am NOT just being lazy or thoughtless. I'm being - well - BROKE!
One last thing: (Stop that! I HEAR you applauding!) I did a very bad thing yesterday. Had to teach 2 classes (back-to-back) at Michael's, and when my housemate pickd me up afterwards, we decided to stop at the grocery store for a few things I wanted to include in this week's dinners. Well ... I saw something. Something I used to eat ALL the time when I was in my 2os. Something I STILL wear on my thighs and behind to this DAY: a Boston Cream Pie. O.M.G.! How I DOOOOO LOVE anything with custard. I haven't had one in almost 35 YEARS. I bought it. (Ray HATES them, by the way. I bought HIM some oatmeal raisin cookies from the same bakery. I won't eat ANYTHING with raisins! UGH, UGH, UGH!) Anyway, I am thoroughly ashamed to tell you that between 1 P.M. and 10 P.M. when I finished watching "It's a Wonderful Life" I had managed to eat THE. ENTIRE. FREAKIN'. THING. But you know what?  

I'm being crossed OFF Santa's 'NICE' list, for SURE. BWAHAHAHAHA! Have a happy day everyone and come back tomorrow to see who's being spotlighted in my long overdue MY GOODNESS MONDAY! HOHOHO!