Thanksgiving 2014

Here are some shots from our Thanksgiving dinner with Spook, Tater, Len, Lina, Michelle, Sharon, Kevin, Critter, Kevin's dad, Nancy and Ellie.  It was a great time with lot of good food and music playing afterwards!

Orchid From Sharon

Here is a beautiful little orchid that my best buddy, Sharon Dooley, recently gave me.  She called it a 'twinkle'.  I love it.  Hope that it will do okay in my house.

Gratitude Jar 2014

Our friend, Buffy Barfoot, posted about a gratitude jar that she and her boyfriend, Matt, had for 2013.  Throughout the year, they filled the jar with notes and info about things they were grateful for.  On New Years Eve, they went through the jar together.

I was just enchanted with the idea, and set up our own Gratitude Jar for David and I to use this year.  It has a few things in it already.

Christmas Decorations 2013

It is too hard to put up the tree when we are both working (and worse is taking it down!).  But I put up a few Christmas decorations this year.  Here they are.

I set up this beautiful Christmas candle, give to us by Virginia Hobbs, on the dining room table.  The two small candles set up on opposite corners of the tablecloth I bought many years ago in Nuremberg, Germany.

Here's the mantel in the family room--resplendent!

I collected these ornament balls over some years from the old Paper Doll store that used to be on the Pearl Street Mall.  That store had a large pig out in front and lovely things inside.

I ordered these plates from an insert in a Sunday newspaper.  They depict Santa Claus in different scenarios and are titled, "A Grand Old Santa", "Christmas in Paris", "Christmas in Germany", and "Father Christmas."  I treasure them.  

Here is my nutcracker collection!

And some presents!

Orchids in Bloom, Winter 2013

I bought all my orchids in the wintertime, and they were blooming--that's why I bought them.  So now, they bloom, in the cold time.  I think it's a wonderful strategy for having blooming flowers in the winter, although I never thought about it and came upon it by accident.  Here are some of my December orchids.

Christmas Eve Brought a New Addition to our Family

Yesterday Dave brought home a surprise Christmas present for me: Hank.  He is about a year old and was rescued from a shelter by the Longmont Humane society because he was about to be euthanized.  He is a mix of lab and retriever and some other stuff and is a little shy and quiet.  We don't believe he is trained at all, but we are prepared to do the training.  We both like him and took him for a walk yesterday where he did quite a good job.  I am so very happy to have a dog in the house again!

Here are some more shots of Hank's first day with us.

Our Molly

We lost our Molly in October.  She lived with us for over 10 years and was much beloved by both Dave and I.  Here are a few pictures of her.