Enjoying a Quiet Day

It's a lovely quiet day with gently falling snow. Wayne found a Christmas cactus I've been wanting at the supermarket today. It's full of buds ready to burst open in time for Christmas. I've been working on several tasks here at home getting ready for our company and I'm taking a wee break for a cup of tea. I've watched a couple of cars slip and slide on our snow covered road but neither went into the ditch. A nice pot of potato soup should be good for supper tonight and I think I'll try a new buttermilk biscuit recipe.

Winter in Estes Park

I wish I could claim this as my own photo but it was taken by a local photographer.

With snow in our mountains and the Christmas lights ablaze after dark, Estes Park is looking beautiful and festive this season. It's a treat to go downtown. I just got home from buying a few small items at some of our local shops. Now I'm set to fill our traditional Christmas Crackers which we'll pop open when our family is here.

Each one contains a colorful paper hat, a riddle or joke, candy, and a small gift. This year ours will look like this. I buy the kind I can fill myself so each one is prepared for a particular family member. I love this tradition!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

These vintage glass ornaments were on our
Christmas trees when I was a child.

Here it is ... a lovely snowy day and I've finally found the time and energy to decorate the house for Christmas. Most of our ornaments and decorations have been in our family for a long time and it's a delight to take them down from the attic, unwrap them and reminisce. It's also a lot of work but I'm making good progress.

Our children and their families (all ten of them) will be here for a few days during Christmas. Wayne and I are excited and looking forward to all of us being together. I'll start today making and freezing a few meals. I also have Christmas Crackers to assemble, cards to send, and the house to clean. I had planned to be farther along with preparations but getting Mom through her recent surgery then coming down with a virus that kept me down for a few days have left me a wee bit behind. My biggest challenge was buying and wrapping gifts. Thanks goodness that's done.

The little wind-up train that belonged to Wayne as a child
always has a place under our tree.

My Dickens Christmas village 

These wee Danish "nisse" are a part of Wayne's family tradition.

Thanksgiving Dinner Comes to Call

My friend Laura snapped this photo of a wild turkey perched on her deck railing recently. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this hen is taking quite a chance. Maybe she knows that Laura isn't into killing and plucking her own dinner.

I am reminded of  A Turkey for Thanksgiving, a children's book I used to read to my class.

Mr. and Mrs. Moose invite all their animal friends for Thanksgiving dinner and the only one missing is Turkey. When they set out to find him, Turkey is quaking with fear because he doesn't realize that his hosts want him at their table, not on it.

Big Win for the Elkhorn Antlers

Wayne, Judy, Grace, Jenny, Virgil, and Parker
in front of our motel just before the game.

Our grandson's football team, The Elkhorn Antlers, won their semi-final game against McCook 24 - 10 on Friday night. Wayne and I made the five hour drive to see the game along with lots of Elkhorn fans. It was a wonderful event, full of joy. We are proud of our grandson and so happy for him and his team mates.

It was cold at the game but we were bundled up and stayed relatively comfortable throughout. We spent the night in a local motel and drove home on Saturday. The championship game will be played on November 25 at Memorial Stadium on the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln. Wayne and I will drive to Lincoln for the game then on to Omaha where we'll spend Thanksgiving week-end. We're looking forward to all of it.

Jackson is number 57 - photo taken right after the game

Successful Sale in Spite of Frigid Temperatures

Trail Ridge Quilters had a successful sale yesterday (our third of the year) in spite of snow and frigid temperatures. We sold over 150 items and made $3200 in addition to the several hundred dollars collected for Rocky Mountain National Park Centennial Quilts that had been pre-ordered. The medical center staff makes it easy for us to conduct this sale by providing the room, tables, chairs, coffee, and advertising.

Today my thoughts turn to Centennial Quilts. I have seventeen to complete before Christmas and I'm fighting that panicky feeling of having too little time. To make matters more difficult, my printer is refusing to print with the new black cartridge I've installed. Today, I managed to print ten more fabric center panels on Wayne's printer and they've passed my quality control inspection. I'll spend the rest of the day in the loft sewing while I watch the snow drift down and the thermometer reading plunge. Last time I checked, it was minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit. bbbb

Let it Snow

Snow started sifting down earlier this morning and now that the temperature has dropped from 45 to 30 degrees it's sticking on the ground and piling up on the railings. The weather forecasters have been predicting this turn in the weather for several days, calling it a polar vortex ... brrrrr! The temps will drop into the teens and below and stay there for a few days. I'm snug and cozy this afternoon by my fireplace with a cup of green tea and a good book. Soup for supper. Let it snow.

Autumn Sale

Trail Ridge Quilters hosted our first tea and sale of the season at a new venue. Kay's home is beautiful and spacious and the perfect place to show off  the quilted items we've been making all year. We were pleased to raise $3000. Our next tea and sale will be held at the medical center on November 11. Our group plans to get together on Tuesday to make RMNP Centennial potholders. The twelve we had on Tuesday sold out immediately.

Elk Jam

In Estes Park, an "elk jam" is the traffic jam caused by elk doing what elk do ...  head butting, bugling, eating, or just standing there. The elk are hard to see in this photo because of all the cars. Visitors in the town are especially prone to stopping, cameras at the ready, whenever they see elk. Sometimes it takes several minutes of waiting for the cars to get through an elk jam, especially when the elk are "on parade" leisurely walking single file across the road.

This video comes from our local Estes Park News.

Aspen ... Autumn

Our aspen tree has finally decided to dress for autumn ... always the last one in the area to turn gold. It's especially beautiful on a sunny day against the cerulean sky.

Sad Time for a Dear Friend

In the midst of a wonderful time with our family in Nebraska we had shockingly sad news from my longtime friend, Judy. (Growing up as neighbors and friends, we were "The Two Judys"). Her 49 year old son, Stephen, died suddenly last Thursday of an apparent heart attack. We stayed an extra day so we could go to the funeral home visitation last night to see her and her family. Losing a child must be the biggest tragedy a parent can experience. I am so sad for her.

Doing the Grandparent Thing

The oldest and the youngest of our grandchildren watching
 Parker's football game

Our grandsons are playing football and soccer this fall. We have spent the past few days watching games - two football and five soccer! The weather has been crisp, chilly and mostly sunny. I bought a stadium seat and have found it to be much more comfortable than the metal bleacher benches. It's been fun being with the family watching the games.

Andiamo (Let's Go!)

"Andiamo" was a favorite and frequently used expression by our young, enthusiastic guide, Joseph. He made sure we experienced as much as possible during our two weeks in Italy.

Buongiorno!

Our hotel in Sorrento overlooking the Mediterranean Sea

Wayne and I recently returned from a two week tour of Italy. Now that I've recovered from jet lag, I've transferred my photos from my camera to my computer and I've been deleting, cropping, and organizing. When we arrived in Sorrento I realized my old camera was broken so my first purchase in Italy was a new camera. I started using it almost immediately and kept my fingers crossed that the pictures would be satisfactory. It's a relatively simple camera and I had help from my friend Wally. Linda and Wally are our "travel buddies" from San Diego. This is the fourth trip we've taken together. 

The tour began in Sorrento and ended in Venice with Rome, Florence and and other towns and cities in between. It was packed with interesting and beautiful sights. The food and wine were delicious and the tour guide, outstanding. I'll add some photos to this and the next few posts.

View from our room

Along the beautiful Amalfi Coast

Resort along the Amalfi Coast

Limoncello ... my new favorite drink!

Taking a Break

vulture circling our yard

With so much going on this summer I've taken a month-long break from my blog. Now that things are a wee bit less hectic I'm back to posting. I'll share some snapshots from the past few weeks. My month in a nutshell.

back yard full of elk

mama and the twins in our front yard

wildflowers everywhere

birthday cake made by one granddaughter for a second granddaughter

Rocky Mountain National Park Centennial Wall Quilts
I've made many!