Cute cards

 Christmas Cards and letters...I enjoy them all.

This is a card I unearthed from last years Christmas cards it was too cute to recycle.  It is a card from My Nephew Jacob and his family...they live in Japan.  

I have a very talented friend that made this card!  It is a piece of fabric that is stitched around on the card...batting on the back makes the card a bit puffy and the sequins make it sparkle a bit.  

Another card that was recycled...someone put a lot of work into this card and I enjoyed it too!

And a Sadie look alike!

Son In Law Andy thought perhaps he should get a red truck so Sadie could have her photo taken! 

It is almost the New Year...seems like the days just fly by!

Far Side

Really cold

 The wind chills were awful, in the -30 below zero.  I think the high yesterday was -8 F  that is no fun. 

Sadie doesn't seem to mind the cold weather, Little Elvis lifts up one paw and you know he is cold. 

It was a four stick day for Far Guy...another new nurse using him for target practice. 

  

Got a New Years greeting from Sherry and her gang:)  Yes we made it too! 

I worked on some cards while watching Sadie and then when reinforcements showed up I cleaned a bathroom...exciting day!

Far Side

Keeping on

 The Christmas Greetings keep on coming in the mail!  Kansas and Minnesota! 

It is always great to get something in the mail! 

We are having quiet days.  Far Guy is coming off the steroids so he is catching up on some of the sleep he lost over the past few weeks....Elvis and I supervise the nap time.   It is a rough job but Elvis and I make a great team!

Our neighbor Steve had a heart attack last week and will undergo open heart surgery on Friday, please pray for a full recovery and maybe an extra prayer for his wife Jo as they head down this road together.  They live just down the road from us and we have known them for years, they have three beautiful daughters and have had many dogs...Hooch, Odda, Putz and Titus most recently.  They are good people and good friends. 

Far Side

Cards and Book Club

 The Christmas Cards keep finding us.  Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota.

My Joy box is getting full! 

Far Guy's Infusion went just fine...it was a one stick day!!  He rested in the afternoon and we took supper down to him and ate at the game table downstairs with him.  Roasted chicken, potatoes, corn, carrots and a fruit salad....okay... well maybe not exactly a salad...snickers candy bars, green apples and cool whip. 

I had Book Club in the afternoon.

We read The Children's Blizzard, it happened on January 12, 1888.  Many children were caught in the blizzard at school and attempted to go home.  It is based on a true story.  I give it an 8 out of 10 stars...it was a little long on the history of The Signal Corps...they were in charge of weather predictions...which was very political at that time.  

Far Guy may be a tad bit better, he had a bacterial lung infection, he sees his Doctor again on Monday.  

Far Side

Cards and Ornaments

 It warmed up to -35 F Sunday morning.  That is 2 degrees warmer than Saturday morning!  Improvements are improvements! Think positive not negative. 

Far Guy is about the same, he is not worse so we are thankful for that.  His cough is miserable and makes my chest hurt. 

Cards we got on Friday! Representing Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio and California. 

Two cards were identical but from Iowa and California. The cards on both ends of the bottom are original artwork. 

New Christmas ornaments this year.

The cross stitch Log Cabin Christmas is from Sam, Christmas Blessings is from Sarah a crafty friend of Jen's and the Turtle Dove is a stitched felt ornament from Jen.  ( Last year we got the Partridge and the Pear)

I am still thinking about what my word for 2022 is...my one or two word intention instead of a resolution. 

Far Side

Cards and Sadie

 Three more cards yesterday.  Minnesota and Washington!

Sadie grew 1 1/4 inches taller in the last week and has stretched out longer too.  We measure her on the old grow board that we used to measure the grandboys on. 

Sadie is getting there with being let out the patio door...sometimes she runs the length of the deck down the steps, pees in the snow and runs full out back to the door to be let in.  Sometimes she just has to potty on the deck...it is a work in progress.  She is 10 weeks old now.  She walks quite nicely on a lead and will kennel up if I use a treat and the target stick to show her what I want.  We keep the sessions short...her attention span is very short but she is food motivated so that helps.  We worked on sit... not great success...and Sadie come needs work too.  She is a happy little dog...determined sometimes.  Her teeth are driving her nuts...she has a variety of things to chew on.  When she is tired her switch turns off just like that and she is sound asleep.

I bought her a blankie...it has dogs on it.  She has all kinds of toys, but likes shoes and boots the best...she drags them all over.  She is friends (of sorts) with Phoebe the cat as Sadie drags her across the kitchen floor by her collar.  Sadie and Little Elvis are getting to be play friends...Little Elvis is finally feeling better after his bout with pancreatitis. 

Far Side

Cards keep coming

 Cards from Missouri, Minnesota, Arkansas, Colorado, Wisconsin,  Kentucky and Indiana. 13 all together including the Christmas letters.

I will have to call the Post Office back home, I got a message from one of my cousins that her Christmas card came back undeliverable...probably that old woman with half a brain at work again. 

 We have been puzzling.

It was one very difficult puzzle...harder than any puzzle I have ever worked on. 

It snowed again...another four plus inches added to what fell on Sunday/Monday....about 13 inches total in just a couple of days.  Now we are headed for a deep freeze...brrrrr...probably be too cold to snow. 

Far Side

Cards, Packages, Infusion and Puppy Sitting

 Another banner day for Christmas cards yesterday! Nine!  Minnesota, North Dakota, Indiana and Arkansas! 

The last of the packages were wrapped.

Puppy was watched, as Sadie slept in my slipper.   It is a dirty job but someone has to watch her sleep.   After the photos I picked her up and put her in her kennel so she could get a good nap and I could leave the room...when she woke up she whined and we made a trip outside.  

She kinda woke up for a photo.

She is growing when she sleeps. 

We put a hot pack on Far Guy's arm for the Infusion gals...it still took them two tries.  We have decided that we will try a bunch of different eateries for lupper ( lunch and supper) on Thursday after the Infusion appointment...yesterday was Arby's drive through we hadn't had roast beef piled high in years...it was very good.  Last week we went to Perkins...that was excellent also.  We are calling it our Foodie Adventure!

Today I make Pumpkin Bread.  Happy Christmas Eve!

Far Side

Slowing down

 The Christmas Cards are slowing down a bit.  Yesterday we had two cards and a letter, Indiana and Minnesota folks. 

Little Elvis has been sick...pancreatitis...so he is on the rice/hamburger diet.  He is a trooper putting with Sadie Shenanigans.  ( Sadie bites his tail)

View from my desk. 

Another view...

Sadie likes my socks and my pant leg.  She is smart as a whip and is getting the potty training down...she goes outside and then runs for the patio door to be let in.   I am watching for a sign when she goes to the door to be let out...she went to the door one time today but just wanted out to eat snow. 

Far Side

Cards and the yard

 Yesterday was a banner day for cards! 

Cards from Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin and Florida. 

Photo cards from Minnesota and North Dakota.

We made a quick trip back to our home in the woods, just to check on things, pick up mail that the Post Office missed forwarding, visit with my baby brother and his bride and to pet Baxter, also got to see my other baby brother and she who sees robins first (from a far because he had ben ill with the flu), and a visit with my parents.  We spent the night and decided that we need a new bed there as our new bed here is much more comfortable. 

It was a couple of nice days for travel, only one bad stretch of road and we went a different way on the way back.   There is much more snow there than here. 

We had a nice anniversary, we went thru the A & W drive through for lunch! 

Thank you for all the anniversary wishes! 

Far Side

Cards and Jaws

 It was a three card and one letter day yesterday. 

Cards from Wyoming, Minnesota and Iowa!  The Christmas letter was from Wyoming.

Sadie AKA Jaws

Especially adorable when she is asleep!  She seems happy when she is awake and ready to chew on anything including Far Guys nose and Little Elvis tail.  She can go up and down steps and met more people and another dog today...she especially liked the teen girls!  The first meeting with Aurora (Noah's dog) was a little tense...but it went better than Noah expected.  She is being well socialized. 

Far Side

More cards

 Oh the mail was abundant yesterday, five Christmas cards and one letter.  Sadly enclosed with the letter was a funeral card.   The wife of former co worker of Far Guys died last October in Arizona.  She had MS and had been in a wheelchair for 21 years.  She fought a good fight all summer with pneumonia. 

Far Guy infusion report: only three sticks this week, he is discouraged with the Nurses here.  Last week was four, this week three so they are improving.   His arms are a mess. 

I found a car wash and got the car washed while Far Guy was in the Infusion Center.  Car washes are not easy to find around here.  

Cards from Northern Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, North Dakota, Florida and South Carolina.  The letter was from Arizona.  

I watched a movie with Jen in the evening, Game Night, I give it a 9 out of 10 it was entertaining and funny. 

Far Side

Puzzling

 The first puzzle has been completed.  We will most likely do many puzzles before the winter is over. 

The game room downstairs is the perfect place to puzzle with a large table and eight chairs.  We are in between puzzles for a couple of days as the household ( two teachers and one student) are in finals week and fairly busy and a puzzle is distracting for them as they like to puzzle with us. 

We got three Christmas Cards in the mail yesterday from a high school friend, old neighbors and someone who has known Far Guy since he was a baby.  They all bring us Joy!

Far Side

Skating along

 We are just skating along, doing what we usually do everyday...yesterday was a bit exciting because we got to visit with Adams gal.  As soon as she came in the door we started talking to her...hardly giving Adam a chance to open his mouth.  The other exciting part of the day was Ravens that pilfered garbage from over flowing containers that are set out by the street for pickup. 

Some Christmas photo cards arrived in the mail...that was exciting too! Got a notice in the mail that our mail began forwarding November 29...yet our mail box back home has been full...the right hand must not know what the left hand is doing....go figure.  Good thing most of our bills come by email. 

I worked on mittens and ran an errand with Jen.  We made fish tacos for supper....they will make a turd or push one out. 

Far Side

Firsts

 Far Guy had his first infusion of Aralast here yesterday the nurse was very nice and her parents live in Park Rapids and we know her father.  Small world.   It took about two hours.   A bit longer than the 45 minutes that it took back home.  Far Guy has to have the infusions weekly. 

I had the first book club from here, no problems it is all online.  The Persian Pickle Club was the book, I had read it several years ago but enjoyed reading it again. 

We got our first Christmas Card in the mail! 

I got out the next book for book club The Children's Blizzard a blizzard that took place in 1888.... a historical novel of the Upper Midwest. 

Far Side

Words

 I am working on words. 

Peace, Believe, Noel and Joy are the words I chose to use on the Christmas Cards.   I used the Gemini and dies to cut out the words.   Then I had lots of  poking out to do the centers of all the a, e, o, l's etc ...it was putzy work.  I got rid of a number of paper scraps that were accumulating in the paper drawer in my desk. 

One more afternoon and I will be done with those words!  My fingers get all sticky from the glue I am using. 

Far Guy entered all the addresses one by one on the Christmas Card list...he was a trooper and hopes he never has to do that again.  ( Windows to Mac was a nightmare)  The address labels have been printed.   He is working on the Christmas letter. 

The last of the Christmas Ornaments were mailed Monday afternoon...so I will reveal the ornaments at the end of the week.  Brain Dead Postal Lady had no Internet so she could not weigh packages or print out postage...I didn't know the scales were connected to the Internet...I wondered what they did in the olden days?  She told me to come back tomorrow...ya right. ( I may have said bad word bad word under my breath)  I went to a different Post Office that is open from 12 - 2 and she was more than happy for the business. 

Fever Blisters are no fun...I get them when I have had a fever for a couple of days...and guess what the Moderna Vaccination Booster gave me a fever.   In a couple of weeks they will be gone...it always takes time.   The ones inside my mouth are a bit better...but I am still cranky.

Far Side

 

Looking Back

 I emptied the saddlebags where the Christmas Cards are stored.  I read them again.  Seemed like a fine thing to do as a fine mist fell outside.   It was too warm to snow. 

There were 30 photo cards.

51 Cards

31 letters, some hand written.  Many of the cards had notes inside...some people send just Christmas letters or photos.

There were 5 handmade cards

 Very talented folks. 

There was one beautiful long fold out card.

A piece of art that tells a story every year.  The picture is painted and then made into a card! 

I double checked the list.  We sent out 140 cards and heard back from  91 people.   A Christmas Greeting  is a wonderful way to reach out to long time friends and to family.  Besides that Far Guy loves getting the mail in December! 

 I used to keep all the cards and letters...then I had a whole file cabinet full.   Now I keep many of the photos...it is fun to compare them from year to year...and I keep a number of the letters especially those from family that tell about their year. I keep a few special cards. I keep everything in three ring binders.  I ordered some special page protectors that will store four 5 x 7 photographs and when they get here I will put everything away.   Another paper project for later in the week. 

We ventured out to the transfer station with our every three weeks of garbage.  The price went up it now costs $4 for a big garbage can.  I wave the money out the window ...the fellow grabs it and Far Guy and I unload and drive away.  Easy peasy.   It used to cost $3.50 so  it went up by 14% the first of the year. 

Far Side

Christmas Letter and Card

I doubt that I will ever make a tri fold card again...although they turned out pretty good.  I made 132 of them and still ran short and had to use some others that I made. 

Far Guy wrote the Christmas Letter. 

We enjoyed our Zoom time with Jen, Andy and all of our grands and great grands on Christmas Day in the afternoon.  It was good to see them. We facetimed with Trica in the morning. So we got to see everyone.  It was a good day. 

Far Side

Do your job

 We had to travel 96 miles to straighten out something because someone was not doing their job correctly.   When we got there we asked them "Why"  they said "We have no idea and this is the first time this has ever happened." We got it straightened out and drove 96 miles back home again.  Of course they made many apologies.  

 

The first part of the drive was very frosty.   We saw Bald Eagles and Vultures on a deer carcass.  We saw someones prize bull had been hit by a car...we wondered what the car looked like.  I took a photo of the big old bull but shall spare you. 

As you can see we have hardly any snow.  On the way back there were some interesting clouds. 

We enjoyed the warm afternoon...I think it broke some records. 

I managed to make it to the Post Office before we left so all the Christmas cards and packages have been mailed.  I think the gal that works in the Post Office had a partial lobotomy.... as I handed over the bag with 130 Christmas cards she asked "Are any of them overweight?"  I smiled and replied "Weigh them all if you wish." She threw the bag on the floor and sighed. At least this time she was wearing a mask...however people that came in to check their mail boxes were not.  I almost asked one guy what his problem was with masks...but I decided to keep my big mouth shut...and that was really REALLY hard for me...so I just bit the inside of my cheek (I am certain my lip quivered) and glared at him. 

A bit of history...my lip quivers if I am really really angry.  I am going to practice my evil eye look in the mirror until I get it perfected.

Far Side

Winter Activities

 While were are waiting for the snow to melt or the weather to warm up a bit we worked on projects.

If you cannot guess what this is... it is the chrome piece that surrounds the headlights on the new old car. 

Sometimes I share the dining table with him...his projects are messy...so I gave him an old towel to protect the table. 

I had a pile of crochet cowls that needed buttons. 

I am using up so much yarn I had to order more!  

These are simple cowls to keep your neck warm.  They will be gifts. 

I am almost done with water coloring the Christmas Cards...I have seven left.  Yeah me! 

Far Side