The whole family went to LeMoyne Art Gallery where each year the place is filled with trees all decorated with ornaments for sale. Outside they have the whole back garden lit. This year we got to hear The Night Before Christmas read aloud, and picked out our yearly ornaments, and just had fun. It was a little rainy and cold, but that was fine. 
We had over 60 ladies, and my hubby sat and ate with them and was in 7th heaven. We had four courses, and live music during the eating and the skit I mentioned before after the food. Everyone had a good time.
At our church's recent Christmas Tea, a wonderful little skit was done. It told the story of three women who came to a biblical scribe to tell him of having seen the holy family pass through Bethlehem and they did not reach out to help. One was a gatekeeper's wife, one the innkeeper's wife, and the third was the wife of the shepherd who saw the star. They tell the scribe that they saw the light surrounding Mary & Joseph on that crowded night, full of people travelling through, but let it pass by for fear of upsetting their own lives. Hubby played the part of the scribe. He has a deep "radio" voice. It was fun to watch him participate. I watched from the kitchen, as part of the group of women who got the food prepared....I will post more photos of the tea. It was well done.
We have a dogtrot floorplan in our house. In other words, the front door goes straight through the hall to the back door. In the old days, this area would be an open porch for fresh air, and to keep the kitchen side safe from the living rooms.
Yes he is under there somewhere, wondering what in the world!!!!!
But we did not light one. Maybe tonight, and I will do popcorn too! 49 degrees last night! See the pumpkin? Who thinks it is real?
I could have made this photo a lot more interesting to look at, but I just took my old spinning wheel out of the attic, and hubby put it in the garage. It is very old, and I am sorry to say the heat of the attic crystalized the varnish, and now it is bumpy to touch.
Wondering if it can be fixed, or if it is best to leave it as is.
It originally came from the Delaware area of the country, and belonged to the grandmother of a former neighbor. She sold it to me many years ago. Are there any experts on spinning wheels out there?
I feel like he is thinking "If only I could take my hands off the floor one at a time!" 
Watch out for the mister that comes between me and my sister! Remember that song? 
I think it is handmade, and have no idea of it's history. But it means a lot to me.
The building with the exhibits from the garden and crops was so neat. There were sheaves of wheat, huge stalks of corn, jars of corn kernels, ears of corn on plates, even paper plates of kernels to judge. There were jars of jam, berry pies, and cakes....and while we were there, a cooking contest of spam recipes was happening in the cooking kitchen. Spam lives on! Gotta love it.
Tom and I went to the fair last week. Here he is beside a circa 1931 tractor. A barn was devoted to the exhibit of old farm equipment, and it was one of our favorite stops at the fair. The barn also attracted vintage farmers (nicest men you would ever want to meet) and they were swapping stories about their first tractors, etc. Fun!
This toaster came originally from grandma, but mom made toast in it every morning when I was really little, until she got her new 1950's toaster! The sides swing out and you put a slice of bread in on each side and the coils toast it. See the electric cord? The teapot was a wedding gift to her and dad. It cost .25, and the giver was a friend who had no money and apologized for such a small gift. But mom made daddy hot tea in it every day, and the inside is brown from all the pots of tea we enjoyed from that wedding gift. The nickel ice cream scoop with a walnut handle scooped lots of ice cream, because that was my mother's weakness. Just thought I would share some "oldies " with you!
Well, we do not have a fancy pool, but a tarp and water and two kids still amount to some fun. The girls really had a good time making mud pies and getting wet......then it was up on the porch to wrap in towels and have popcorn.
Tonight my hubby is gone to help Habitat for Humanity by doing a cookout, so I am on my own for dinner and made a wonderful salad. When I got done, I had the urge to take a photo of this year's tomatoes thus far. And there are plenty still on the vine, and we have shared bags full with several friends and our daughter. I just love veggie gardening!!!!! God is so good to provide us with this bounty and it tastes so yummy! 
Here is Abigail on recital day. She had a tap dance and a ballet dance, got two bouquets of flowers, and ate cookies afterward, so it was all good. As any grandmother will be heard saying, "I can't believe what a young girl she is becoming, growing up so fast!"
He is growing, and is just the best baby! But I keep thinking, what is it going to be like with a little boy running around? Those days are just around the corner. Last week, we had the girls for two nights (Tuesday and Wednesday) and almost two days. Julia and Josiah came over for dinner both nights. I slept very well on Thursday night.
Looking down......"our table" is behind one of the palms. Hubby gets up verrrry early in the morning, to watch the sunrise, and also get a table for us to use for the day. It is quite competitive!
