3 Good things for today:

Well, I finally broke down and bought a new truck. I needed more cargo space now that mom is using a rollattor and Aunt is heading that way. And my poor Equinox just dosent have the cargo space, and is heading to 120.000 miles. Since it is to take mom about she put a chunk down for the downpayment so my payments are great. Now I just have to get used to having a car payment again for a few years.
They gave me more than I thought for my old truck,, it looks and runs great for the miles on it, mainly put on driving to Lancaster 2x a week while dealing with dads ALZ and moms hospitalization for about a year. And the new truck is beautiful.. all sparkly and white.. gonna call him Disco Dan,, because of course I name all my trucks!

Polar,

Two dollars! You rock!

I reconnected with a long lost cousin. She is 11 months younger than me. We were very close growing up and as adults. We drifted apart.

She reached out to me a few weeks back. We have met for lunch several times. She called me today and told me that she really missed me and was glad I am back in her life. I told her I felt the same and am glad that she is back in my life.

Her significant other just bought a beautiful boat and they have invited us to join them on their next outing.

3 good things today:

Thank goodness for THiS thread to lift me up each day. There are now a few depression threads that I really should avoid reading.

My 2nd sitter for my mother just came back after a month out of town. She'll come and help this Friday.

Found just the right curtain valance at a thrift shop for less than $2. A big spender. I know. But I get excited when I find a good deal.

Llamalover-how do you make an old country rye bread? Hubby has good memories of his Polish grandmother's breads. Beet soup I can do.
Good thing - 1. I am again feeling like cooking and baking. Carrot soup and pie today.
2. First snow and ice storm of winter....I postponed an appointment and can stay home and cook. Retired is good.
3. DH's fatigue is profound, but his mood and his company is great.

Thank you blackhole! The older I get, the more I realize I am probably responsible for a lot of the holiday stress. I could have said and done some things differently yesterday when hashing our thanksgiving and avoided some of the stress I caused myself! Anyway hope you enjoy the holidays too :)

Thank you to all the veterans here! My dad has late FIL are proud Vietnam veterans and today I took the kids to our city’s annual Veterans Day parade. My husband’s unit was in charge of traffic control and security so we got to see him in action. The parade was wonderful and paid tribute to all our veterans!

Thanksgiving plans are confirmed and no need to stress anymore! SIL texted me this morning and 4pm will work, she said MIL usually hosted thanksgiving early because of my husbands work schedule so they got accustomed to going to her husbands family’s house later. Not exactly true, my MIL did host it earlier a few years but last 5-6 years she had it early so we would all leave earlier LOL (she wasn’t open about it, the sooner we ate, the sooner we went home and she could relax!). Anyway SIL and her family will probably come over early so the kids can play and then we’ll all eat at 4 and she will still have time to go to her in-laws house. She will bring the yams, MIL always made the yams & I don’t know how. Truth be told, I am not a morning person so I won’t get up early to start cooking. Unfortunately I am limited on what I can prepare ahead of time because I don’t have much refrigerator space! I don’t have enough room to store a prime rib and multiple side dishes overnight. I will probably brine the turkey in hubby’s small yeti instead of the big tamale pot because the pot would have to go in the fridge overnight and i would have to take out 2 shelves in order to fit the pot. I did offer to make dinner later, 5;30-6:30 but SIL preferred 4pm so it all worked out!

- Red beet soup for 35+ of us.
- German and Russian black rye bread to go with.
- Eaten with sour cream stirred in.
- Out of my 5 husband's siblings, I am the only one who learned how to make his grandmom's recipe! Everyone is waiting for it on Christmas Eve.
- Must transport a crab pot (HUGE) of it one hour drive's away.

Worried in Cali - You have a very generous definition of “stress-free!” You also have a very big heart. Enjoy your houseful and your holiday. 🦃💗

One good thing for day which is worth more than 3 goods things to me.....Our thanksgiving plans are finalized and it will be a stress free holiday. The subject came up over coffee with hubby’s best friend who is our family more than our “friend”. Anyway! He brought up his brother was asking him about thanksgiving and my hubby chimes in and said “oh yeah my sister was asking if we are all going to get together”. I did get a bit er...hostile...can’t think of the exact word but my guard went up because last year there was NO discussion and my husband decided what HE was going to do...anywau I said “I’m staying home & cooking this year. I’m not traveling anywhere. I don’t care who you invite, just give me a head count a week in advance”. Hubby’s BFF said “oh good I’m staying home with you then” LOL so that sealed the deal....we are staying home, I’m cooking a full meal (and will enjoy the leftovers all weekend) and we will enjoy friends and family! Just received a group text from my BIL asking what the plan for thanksgiving is and hubby said “we are staying home and cooking & it goes without saying ya’ll are welcome to come”, then BIL and SIL asked what they could bring and SIL asked what time! So I think they will be joining us but I am worried that the time I told them is too late for SIL. my heart is full but I’ve got mixed emotions and have Been fighting the urge to cry. On one hand I am glad we will likely all be together in my home like years past. But I cannot shake the feeling of missing my MIL. I cannot stress enough how much she was the backbone of this family, the heart and soul. Holidays are just not the same without her and thinking about another holiday without her brings me to tears. I hope one day the sadness will be gone and instead of crying, I will think of all the wonderful memories we have of her.

edited to add—I’ve spoken too soon and jinxed it! There was radio silence after I responded with the time and what everyone can bring. My hubby asked why so late on thanksgiving and I said because it takes a long time to cook a thanksgiving meal for everyone and get the house ready because I do it by myself--plus it will take 6-ish hours to smoke the turkey after I prep it which takes a good 30 minutes. The prime rib is easier and will Need around 3 hours to cook depending on how big it is. So I told him I would change the time to 4pm and he said “just text everyone and ask if 4 works better”.so I did...and my SIL replied and said she goes to her husbands family’s house at 3pm! My hubby said not to respond to that because we aren’t going to do it any earlier than 4pm! So I don’t know......I don’t know if 5-5:30 was too early for my SIL (if her SIL hosts then they will be 45 min away from us). I am ok serving dinner at 6. But definitely not 1pm which is when we would have to eat if she’s going to her in-laws at 3pm!

im gettin with it today . done canned 16 quarts of dill chips and im fixing to fill and cap my first 48 beers . unfortunately another 20 or so will have to wait till another day -- i couldnt resist a couple shots of the everclear ( additive ) last night .
its ok . i have to get my ass down to the basement after while and winterize my water pump . its going to get 14 ish tonight .

1. Finally pruned an out of control Crepe Myrtle. My friend is here for the weekend and she and I managed to saw off the dead branches that were rubbing on healthy growth. Now it looks much better - I want it to grow up and into a tree form. I am so so happy that is done.
2. Made homemade chicken soup today for us. Turned out great & made our house smell great
3. Managed after a week to teach our 4 month old puppy how to sit. Next is “give me your paw”. Happiness is a puppy. (Lots of work though).

Yay! LSU beat Bama today! My daughter who is graduating this year from LSU is so happy! Tiger town will be partying. (Baton Rouge, Louisiana). The LSU people who went to Bama to watch the game will be partying like crazy there too!

Hahaha, It was a home game and Bama hasn’t lost a home game in four years. Oh, how sweet that they lost to us! Backstory, Nick Sabin used to be an LSU coach before he went over to Alabama. Have to say, it isn’t nice, but Bama and LSU hate each other!

LSU has lost to Bama for the last eight years, so it’s a sweet victory! Gotta say though, Sabin is a great coach but Coach O at LSU is doing something right to win this game, also have to give credit to the LSU team, new quarterback is awesome!

" those pickles and beer ,
thank god im not **** " ..

lol

( rodney carringtons tittas and beer ) .

funny stuff .

i went to town and got my ' ingredients ' for the weekend . cucumbers and pickling spice and everclear to fortify my beer bottles tomorrow .
just little things for now . i dont have the energy to tear into big projects but the little things make life easier day to day . theres work to do in finishing up mine and jakes house but if theres never a ( rightful ) heir , its fine right now to serve the rest of my life . if jakes son wants to take over where his dad left off , he will inherit a beautiful little home .
im all questions with no answers until the detectives / prosecutor / judge bring down their hammer .
might as well make fn pickles and beer .

It was cold but sunny, so I decided to go to a few church holiday bazzars.. away from home for an hour or two. The first one at a tiny church near me.. scored 2 cute Christmas gift bags and a coaster for a friend for .. 25 cents.. Total! Then drove 10 miles to one at a big church in a small town nearby.. its a huge thing, 3 giant parking lots.. and not one space to be found! I was not driving around all day looking for a spot.. sort of spoils the fun! But it was a pretty day for a drive. Then I tried all the chihuahuas old clothes on our Chug.. it was hysterical.. the only thing I could even get over her head was a bunny coustume. She is now a facebook hit! And then I did some heavy praying for my friend who cares for her hubs. he was taken to hospice today. So a bittersweet day

1)my son’s football team made it to the playoffs and today was their first playoff game. They won by 1 point. It’s his first year playing and despite not being allowed on the team we originally wanted him to play on because of our zip code, we are excited and proud of him! Today’s game was a nail biter, each team only got one touch down. We won because we have a kicker who made the field goal which is worth 2 points, the other team doesn’t have a kicker so they had to make another touchdown to get the bonus which was only worth 1 point. The other team had the ball with 30 seconds left and they were 30 yards from the end zone, I thought they would get the touchdown. Their quarterback threw the ball to a guy who was open but one of our guys blocked it & it was the 4th play. It was definitely a nail biter!

2) after the football game, we saw estate sale signs at the home of an elderly neighbor who passed away last month so we decided to go by and see there was anything good. There wasn’t, either someone came and bought up most of the stuff or the brothers who spent all last week fighting (cops came out 3 times) took it all. The man running the estate sale saw my son in his football uniform and we got to talking & turns out he is a coach for the team we originally wanted our son to play for (but for the older boys) and he is one of the people who started that team, he talked to my husband for awhile and we told him about the issues getting our son on that team and the way my husband was treated and he was shocked and gave us some tips to get him on the team next year. Don’t know if we will, we are actually happy with the team he is on. It has been awkward this year because my husbands department put a certain organization on blast because of one of their leaders is an active gang member, this organization is anti-law enforcement and spoke out against the police first (has been a series of things they’ve campaigned against involving our police department). That leader quit his job this week as a result. So it’s been awkward because his son is on our sons team so my husband sees him at every game. His son is actually a nice kid and great football playerC next year he will move up to the older team but my son will not. So I think we will keep him on the current team but still.....seems like destiny that we meet this guy at the estate sale today!

3)it’s a 3 day weekend. Get to sleep in on Monday which will make up for having to get up early today because of the football game.

1.) I’m blessed with some much-needed alone time this weekend.

2.) Bought a new set of flannel sheets today.

3.) I am overrun with apples. Gonna remedy that by making apple pie filling (to stash in the freezer) and apple-cinnamon quick bread (to enjoy now).

Day of rest for all
Abundant sunshine
Mom called me her angel today.
Thank you Lord for a peace, and quiet day!

Drove to Covington, Louisiana which is north of New Orleans to Three Rivers Art festival.

Beautiful weather today!

Many talented artists from all over the country. I love to see what creative people make. Lots of extraordinary woodwork, pottery, paintings, jewelry, and many other items.

ive done ' racked off ' my beer batch , sewed up my boot knife sheath , and put on a batch of brotchen rolls .

off work till tuesday so im thinking bout canning up a bunch of homemade sliced dills . even buying ( slim ) cucumbers and seasoning powder , theyre still pretty reasonably priced .

been looking at beer malt options . it seems dry malt extract is cheaper and goes further than liquid malt extract . buying 10 lbs of dry malt at a time is even better . my winter beers are going to come in at about .30 cents per beer . ( 16 oz beers ) . thats 1/3 rd the cost of american canned swill .

I love the King Cakes and to see who the lucky person is who gets the baby! Let's see who comments on this.😁

I found out this morning I don't have to do bowel prep before abdominal surgery, apparently that is old school. IMO that is more than equal to three good things... whew, what a relief!

Polar,

Nah, no signing up. It’s a free street party! Music, parades, food, drinks! Abita Amber is a good local beer. Nola blonde beer is good. Many others too.

2020, Mardi Gras is February 25, Fat Tuesday! Ash Wednesday is the next day. Many tourists that aren’t even Catholic hang out and stay to receive the ashes. I grew up Catholic and it really is a special blessing. You do not have to be Catholic to attend one of our beautiful churches to receive this blessing from the priest.

The major parades will start rolling early February. You know what parade is a favorite of mine and the kids would like? The dog parade in the quarter. Families attend that parade. It’s adorable to see the pooches in a parade in costume! I catch that one on in front of The Gumbo Shop on St. Peter St. Great location because you can eat lunch before the parade, then walk outside to watch the dogs roll by!

It is fun. It is crazy! But hey, that’s New Orleans!

We have a fantastic children’s museum. Don’t know how old your kids are. Southern Candy on Decatur St. has the best pralines! The big treat though at that time of year is King Cake. All the bakeries will have them, coffee shops and even grocery stores.

Of course, Jackson Square is historical and St. Louis Cathedral is truly beautiful to see! Then head to Cafe du Monde on Decatur St. for coffee and beignets! Yum! But my favorite street in the French Quarter is Royal St. where the street musicians are wonderful! Tons of cool art galleries and antique shops! Love it. Great restaurants too.

Snug Harbor on Frenchmen St. has fantastic jazz! They will allow an 18 year old in to hear the music but drinking age is 21. Drinking age used to be 18 when I was young. I got to see bands all over and have a beer too! I am friends with several of our local musicians so I always knew the scoop on who was playing where. I grew up with them. Our music scene is really special.

Food is fantastic! Top notch chefs but honestly, hole in the wall places can serve some of the best Poboys! Do you know what that is? Our local sandwich that we are famous for, shrimp, oyster, roast beef, etc.

Our zoo is good and the aquarium. The riverboat cruises are fun.
If you come, private message me and I will give you my email address. I will tell you the best places to go.

Thanks Captain,

Great idea! Maybe some of my grandpa is rubbing off on me. He was a true craftsman and enjoyed working with wood.

I find it relaxing to design and create. This is a new venture for me, working with wood.

if you put that ebay saw on your ' watch list ' theyll send you a better offer in about 3 days .

Wow! NHWM - Mardi Gras parades sound like a lot of fun. I'd love for my kids to experience it at least once. How many days does the celebration last? Do you have to sign up to participate in the parade or do you just show up and join in?

im an ebay fan myself . heres a good looking saw for 150 bucks .
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rockwell-ShopSeries-SS7202-10-15-Amp-Table-Saw-with-Stand/223437849258?

my point is ; the pawn shop saw is worth about 50 $ .

its only going to reach 40 degrees here today . i might have retired from construction but i evidently havent gotten my dumb ass indoors yet . i'll bet the forestry is going to be beautiful in the heavy snowfall tho .

Captain,

Thanks, didn’t think about that. Great suggestion!

Polar,

I have done Mardi Gras for most of my life.

I adored dressing up for Mardi Gras! My mother was an excellent seamstress so all I had to do was imagine a character and it became a reality for me. It was a magical time for me. I was a hula girl, a cowgirl, a court jester, my absolute favorite was a gypsy, I was anything that I wanted to be. Fun for kids to dress up!

I have been to a bazillion parades with my family and friends. I think my dad was thrown into culture shock when he married my mom. He was a country boy that grew up in a rural area of Florida.

The prettiest parades are Endymion and Bacchus. I like lots of other ones too. I hate the parades in the burbs! They do not have the same flavor or vibe as the New Orleans parades.

Mardi Gras day I catch the Rex parade uptown, St. Charles and Napoleon Ave. Best place! That area is very family friendly. Avoid the French Quarter at all cost on Mardi Gras day! Not family friendly at all! Not where the locals go. Drunk tourist.

You do have to plan ahead. Have to arrive hours before parade starts. Parking is awful. In fact if you could stay uptown and walk to the parade Mardi Gras day, all the better!

NHWM - Questions for you. Is Mardi Gras something worth flying to New Orleans for? Is it children friendly?

anonymous,
read a cracked magazine article a while back ;
youre driving to work when a bully cuts you off in traffic . then to make matters worse he hangs his azz out the window and takes a sht that flies back onto your windshield . when you get to work , are you going to be talking about the other 100 courteous drivers you encountered ?
hell no . youre going to be going on about the ' flying hood shttr ' .

thats the way memories work .