It's November, Ya'll!

Here we are in the middle of November and nobody has started a new thread so I will start one.
We came from here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1378015/#new

Thanksgiving is almost upon us--can you believe it? We will be driving out to Page, AZ to spend Thanksgiving with Al's younger brother and his wife and his younger sister and her husband. Al's brother and his wife have a vacation home in Page but they live in the San Diego area. Al's sister and her husband live in Thousand Oaks, CA. We went out there two years ago and had a great time. This year we are going to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon plus do some other sight-seeing.

What do ya'll have planned for Thanksgiving?

No plans right now, the big Mills family dinner has been canceled for this year. I will probably make dressing for us. I told Cayla my goal was to go home to stay at Thanksgiving. Of course if she still needs me, I will come back.

Thanks Marilyn for the new thread!!! I'm sure glad that you are feeling better from that head cold. The flu has already made it's way to Central. Praying my flu shot wards it off from me!!!

Yall know my plans for Thanksgiving! No cooking here!!! Ashley & I will be out of town, Terrie & Bre are going to Tenn. so Jimmy & Becca & the girls will be at Becca's sister for dinner but they & Mary are holding down the fort here. When Ashley & I come home, Jimmy & his family are going to visit Jim in Texas for a few days. I hate leaving Mary all alone for the holidays but it can't be helped and the week will be up before you know it.

Sandra any new reports on Cayla? Still praying from here!!!

Marilyn you all should have a great time. I hope the weather holds out for your trip.

Jeri you all are going to have a wonderful time!!! Making memories!!! We've had our flu shots too. I know some people don't believe in them but Richard and I have been taking them for at least the last 15 years and they've kept us well - I don't even have colds (knock on wood!!!). I had the flu about 35 years ago and don't ever want to have that again!!!!

Richard's daughter and family are coming over. She is bringing a ham and I'll do the rest.

I've been really busy with my booths. Nov and Dec are good selling months so I'm trying to make the most of it. I've really stocked up on new accessories and some Christmas decorative things. Those are the kind of things people buy a lot of getting ready for the Holidays. My first of the month was really good and I had really good sales Thurs and Fri. We get paid on the first and the 15. They always cut off a few days before those days so they can get the checks ready. That's another things I like about our mall. The check I get is net. They take care of filing the sales tax reports and deduct the sales tax from my check. I used to hate having to do that!!

I'm not looking forward to this winter. I'm afraid it's going to be a really tough one. We had snow a few days ago. It covered the rooftops and was on the grass but didn't stick to the roads. It's been in the mid twenties at night. Way too early for those kind of temps.

I'm still praying for Cayla too!!! Sandra I know she is so thankful for all your help!!

Cayla has taken a cold, she is congested in her chest and she is just miserable now. She researched and thinks that a certain med will be ok to take, so Bryan is getting it and bringing it by and going back to work. I am headed home for 2 nights when he gets off this afternoon.

She goes back to her doctor Monday morning, so he would have taken off for that anyway.
I should be back pretty soon after they get through with that, Jana is coming over to sit with Eli.
She brought us a plate from the church harvest supper Thursday night. It was so nice to just sit down and eat and throw away the plates ! She ate with us as her hubby had a meeting that night.

Cayla sure didn't need a cold on top of the problems she is having!! Yes it is nice to not have to clean anything up after dinner! With it being so cold and dark so early I've suggested eating at home several nights this week but Richard really wants to go out to eat. It's about the only place he goes any more and he really enjoys getting what he wants and seeing people. But I have to admit I also enjoy not having to cook it!!! But there are times I would just like to cook something simple and stay in.

Oh, I am so sorry about Cayla's cold! :( Like Charlotte said, Cayla has enough medical issues right now without having to deal with a cold, too!

Charlotte, sounds like your booths are doing great! I saw that photo of the Christmas decoration made from pallet boards on your Facebook page. That is a really neat idea! Eating out is great but when you do it all the time, it does sometimes leave you wanting to stay home for a meal every so often.
We don't have that problem up here, because there is only one restaurant close to us. It is at the nearby marina and the restaurant closes after Thanksgiving Day and doesn't open again until the middle of March. Our Saturday night card group is already bemoaning the fact that we are going to have to drive at least 15 miles or more to eat out on Saturday night. LOL There is a Subway and also a pizza place in Gainesville which is 15 miles away and a really nice restaurant down at the state line but that is about a 25 minute drive. Our church group always goes to the local restaurant after church, too, so we will just have to do without for a few months. I am sure we will survive! LOL

Jeri, you and Ashley are going to have a great time! I love going to New York City. Al and I need to plan a trip there--maybe in the spring. I have only been there in December, which was beautiful with all the Christmas decorations and the tree in Rockefeller Center.

My Thanksgiving cacti are getting ready to bloom right on time! I have a white one which I have had for years and also a smaller orange one which I bought just a couple years ago. I would love to have one in all the colors but I don't have room for any more house plants!

Wow! I didn't even notice we weren't working off a November thread! Time sure flies by these days.

We've been so busy it seems like the past 2 weeks have come and gone and here it is almost Thanksgiving. Jeri, I know you and Ashley will have a wonderful time. I'm so envious I can't stand it. I'd love to see your faces on the day of the parade!! Do you know yet where Ashley's group will be in the line-up? I usually have the parade on TV while I'm getting things ready. This year we're going to our son Matt's house in Birmingham. So I'll probably be cooking some stuff on Thursday morning for that.

Goodness it sure is cold! Not expected to get above freezing today. Last couple of weekends we've gotten the garden under control. Before we had all the cold weather, I picked all the green tomatoes and the peppers and have put those away. I still have (had) 2 pepper plants in the garden last weekend; my poblano and a jalapeno and took some poblanos to my brother's house on Saturday for game day fajitas.

My other brother and his wife were up from Montgomery and my niece flew in from Houston last week for a job interview here. We're really hoping she gets the job so she'll be closer to us. She interviewed with 3M, which is a similar materials company to the one she works with now (Ascend Materials) in Houston. Y'all say a little prayer that she gets the job and will be closer to family. My other niece is the one who lives here in Huntsville now with her husband and baby. The job is actually in Decatur but that's only 35 miles from Huntsville and she would have an easy commute from one of the communities on the west side of Huntsville. They have already called her and asked what her salary requirements would be so we think that may be a good sign.

Marilyn, I used to have a huge white Christmas cactus and it just started dying one year. I guess it probably was a bit too pot-bound. I managed to save part of it and re-potted it. I still have some smaller ones that have grown. One of mine is starting to bloom too. I just noticed it the other day. I hope you and Al have a wonderful trip to Arizona. Enjoy the Grand Canyon. During our trip to Utah, we stayed in Kanab, which is the little town just north of the North Rim. Great little town. There were some beautiful little places around there and it is the home of a wonderful animal sanctuary you can tour called 'Best Friends'.

I got my flu shot a week ago. I feel better already. Also had my physical with my GP and go for my yearly with my GYN in a couple of days and then the dental appt next week. It always seems like my routine doctor's appointments pile up at the end of the year.

Sandra, I'm so sorry Cayla hasn't recovered from her pain yet and now has to deal with a cold. I hope Monday will bring some hope and relief. I just don't know what to say so will just keep praying for her and for you too!

Charlotte, your booths look great as usual. I know you must be really busy this time of year.

Haven't seen Genna post anything, so she must be really busy too.

I saw that Karen's (kjuddy's) photos placed in the DG photo contest. I know I voted on some of hers. Congratulations! I really loved your sunrise in the country photo!

My Christmas or Thanksgiving or whatever cactus is blooming now too. I've had it a very, very long time. I had several at one time but didn't want but one pot of it so I put it all in the same pot! It's not a bright a orange looking color as it shows in the picture. Don't know why it turned out that color. It's more of a peach. It was so big last year that I cut about half of it off after it bloomed and took the cuttings to Dian at Homes and Dreams. She's selling them this year. I did ask her if she wanted my cuttings when I cut it back. She was really excited to get them. It's been in this pot for almost 6 years although I've had it for probably 20 years. I found the pot at a store we stopped at when we went up to get Charlie at a town in North West Arkansas. I bought it specifically for this cactus because it is tall and fairly narrow and lets it drape over the sides.

Yes this is a really busy time of the year. November and Dec or the best selling months of the year. So far I'm ahead of last year which is a good thing!

It's been very cold here too. Way too cold for this time of year. Not looking forward to this winter!!! I'm a warm weather and long day person!

I agree with that, Charlotte! I'm a warm weather, long day type of person, too! Our weather folk on KY3 out of Springfield are having a special tonight about what our area can expect as far as winter weather this season. They gave us a hint by saying that it was going to be "cooler" than normal. BRRRRR. We had a cold winter with quite a bit of snow last year--I am certainly not looking forward to that again! :((( At least we don't live up north in Buffalo, NY! They are having a terrible time this week with all that snow!!
Charlotte, your cactus is really pretty and wouldn't it be nice if it was that deep orange color although I am sure the peach color is very pretty! My orange cactus is just now beginning to open up but the white one, which is larger, has already bloomed out and is already beginning to fade. It had been in the same pot for several years and was pot-bound. It didn't bloom well last year so I put it in a larger pot this last spring and it has really done well. I cannot even remember how old that cactus is but I have had it a long time. I bought the orange one a couple of seasons ago.

Elaine, I have already prayed that your niece will get that job. Keep us posted on what happens with that, please. I will check out the Best Friends animal sanctuary online. It could be that we will go there. Enjoy your Thanksgiving at your son's home!

Continuing to pray for Cayla. I am still shaking my head in disbelief on how all the medical profession seems to be able to do for her right now is to prescribe pain killers. She needs a miracle, for sure!

I didn't vote in the photo contest nor even look at any of the photographs. I know there are some really good photos in it but it just takes sooooo long to view them all and they are all so good that it is hard to decide which one is the "best".

Our church is having our annual bake sale and bazaar on Saturday. Set-up day is tomorrow, so I will be occupied with that on both days. I have to pack for our trip on Saturday afternoon but I have been doing laundry today to get our clothes ready. Laddy will be going with us, too, so I have to give him a bath Saturday afternoon, as well. :)

You ladies have a good evening! ~~waving to all I missed.

HELLO ALL!! I have been missing in action for several weeks - and I have managed to catch up on this thread. I have been keeping up with Cayla - mainly by text messages and I am sorry to hear that things are not back to normal yet! I know it has been a long, long month for them!

I have been so busy that I seem to feel like I am going in circles - and I am definitely not accomplishing all that I need to but maybe I am making progress! I was in Branson Nov 7 - 9 on the trip that my company has every other year. Jessi and Kyle were in Denver (and Maddie too) on their honors trip that was announced back last Spring so they couldn't go with me. My sister's church was going up the day before and my sister was on that trip, but I met her there and went to see Jonah with her group. Then she spent the night with me on Friday and we shopped on Saturday and came back Sunday afternoon. Then the next weekend, Nov 16, we drove to Dallas and back on the same day for Madeline's bridal shower down there. It was cold and yucky weather and rained on at least lightly almost the entire trip. Both Leigh and my BIL Danny thought the rain would end quickly that morning, but it didn't. When I left Dallas it was only 35 and I was worried about the temps dropping and things turning to ice or snow, but the further we came toward Arkansas the more it warmed up and so we made it home just fine. It was just a really, really long day! This past Sunday was the potluck Thanksgiving dinner at our church. It has just been one thing after another!

Today is Alex's 27th bday and he will actually be coming home on Wednesday night. He will stay the night and go to lunch with us at my sister's for Thanksgiving day and then go back home to continue studying. He has another one of the huge step tests next month! :( I am still hoping to get things lined out to make it to Kim's on Dec 6 for the Christmas get together, and Maddie and Kyle's shower at our church is on the 7th. Time is flying by and before I know it - January 3 will be here!! I have managed to locate a place to have the rehearsal dinner - it is a cabin and all the groomsmen will actually spend the night there as well. We can have the cabin til time for the wedding so it will give the guys a place to hang out without having to just sit around the chapel waiting for the wedding. If they were staying in a hotel room, they would have to check out by 11, but the wedding isn't until 4. I know there will be lots of pictures, etc, but I thought it would be nice for them to have the ability to go back and chill before the wedding if need be. I have at least most of my Christmas shopping done - although I am not completely finished. I have my sister and sister in law yet to do - and they are my hardest two! :( I have started wrapping, but not finished with that either. I just feel like there are so many things that need to be done. Trying to get as much done as early as possible because I know the time will fly by and I would REALLY like to enjoy part of it!!

Jessica has her dilemma resolved as far as housing...... she is moving into the newer Stone Apartments, but in with another girl who was needing a roommate. That means she will be allowed to pay a fee and store her items there and we won't have to move everything out come summer. So, now we will have to move Jessica and Kyle and Maddie come winter break..... probably Dec 19 or 20th depending on when the other people in the apartments now get moved out. Maddie's sister and her husband actually are living in the apartment that Maddie and Kyle are moving into - so that should help as far as coordinating timing of getting things in and out. Jessica will have to wait until the girl who is finishing at semester gets her things out of the apartment before she can start moving in. We hope to be able to do Kyle and hers on the same day to avoid multiple trips. Charlotte, their apartments are completly unfurnished except for the major kitchen appliances - stove, refrigerator, dishwater (in the apartments where it is available). The girl that she is moving in with does have dishes, but does not have a dining room table (which Jess has) or LR furniture or a tv. So, we are still looking for a sofa, and Jess hopes to pick up a nice tv on one of the black friday sales.

So good to catch up with everyone! I have sure missed ya'll! Things are going a LITTLE better at work with the new software, but we have a LONG way to go! Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Genna

I want to wish everyone a good holiday also, even with all our troubles we have much to be thankful for. I cooked dressing here today, been in the kitchen all day. Cayla sat at the table and fixed stuff to roast 2 chickens. Today has been a very bad day pain wise for her. Tomorrow I will clean here and pack to go home Wed morning, have to stop and buy groceries for us on the way home so I can put some more things in the freezer for Jerry. I will drive back Sunday afternoon. Bryan is off after tomorrow until Monday. He has an appointment Wed afternoon, but her friend Becca is coming to stay while he is gone. Jana and Brooks are going to Memphis that day to pick up their daughter who is flying in for Thanksgiving. Becca has been so good to Cayla ever since she has been coming up here. Becca and Bryan's sister Kate were friends for years. Becca and Kate both are ministers, but Kate likes a little yet finishing at Duke, Becca is serving here at the First Methodist where Cayla and Bryan married.
Don't forget to watch the parade for Ashley's Dance Group !!!!!!!
Gobble, Gobble

I've been busy too! Busy time of year! This will be the best month I've had including last Dec. I've already beat in Nov what I sold in Dec last year. So I've got to hustle to make Dec even better than this Nov. My accessories are what really make a difference for me.

Genna you've been busy too. I think I would have spent the night in Dallas. I've made a one day trip to Dallas before and don't think I'll do it again. I think Jake is moving to another apartment at mid term also. If he does he is moving into an apartment that graduate assistants and graduate students usually live in. Not sure how he is getting into it. All he has to furnish are dishes, tv that kind of thing.

Jessi shouldn't have a hard time finding a sofa. The Furniture and Big Stuff site on FB has one posted on there almost every day.

I had another interesting day with Richard last Thursday. He is usually really talkative in the morning and that didn't he was really quiet. I asked him if he was really to eat his lunch (he usually eats a peanut butter sandwich around 11) and he said he didn't want any lunch - he was leaving in a little bit!!! So I sent a text to his daughter and asked him to call and try to distract him if she could. She called and he talked away to her then when he hung up started getting ready to leave! He went outside without a jacket - said he didn't need one. I got his jacket and went out and started following him in the car. He finally put his jacket on. He walked all the way up the hill which I was amazed that he was actually able to do it. Then he started toward a very busy street with some huge hills and no way I could actually follow him in the car. Before he could get to it I pulled my car sideways into one of the streets he was crossing cutting him off from the other side. At that point he got into the car and I took him to get something at McDonalds and then took him riding. He was happy as a lark within 10 minutes! I rode him around for several hours. I think he had gotten frustrated trying to lock the back door the night before. To try to solve that problem I painted one end of the dead bolt lock red and painted another red line on the door so that if he has the two reds lined up the door is locked. They have trouble telling things apart. There needs to be a big contrast for them. Red is one color they can see. He's been fine since. But the good thing is he is forgetting to smoke! It upsets him if he doesn't have his cigarettes but he has started forgetting to actually smoke them! I've been emptying the bucket he puts his butts in and yesterday he only smoked 2. So far today he has only smoked 1 - that was first thing this morning. I've been concerned about the cigarettes even through he smokes outside. So maybe things will just take care of themselves.

Sandra this has really been an ordeal. I do hope they can get to the source of Cayla's problem and get some relief for her soon. I'm glad you're getting to spend a few days at home. I hope you can relax some while you are at home.

Thanks for the reminder to watch the parade!! Hope we get a glimpse of Ashley. What a great experience for her!!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!! Richard's daughter and family are coming over here. She's bringing a ham and I'll do the rest. Sarah's (grandaughter) birthday was today so we'll also be celebrating her birthday.

Genna and Sandra, it is so great to hear from both of you. I know you both have a lot on your plates lately.

Sandra, I'm thankful you are able to spend some time at home with Jerry and the rest of your family. Thank God you aren't a thousand miles away from Cayla, Bryan and Eli and can help them. Hope you have a quiet and blessed Thanksgiving and get some rest.

Genna, I knew you were burning the candle at both ends! That's the norm for you I think. Stay safe and I hope your kids are able to travel safely on this weekend too. Hope all the moves go smoothly and you can also get some rest. Enjoy your kids! I forget...when is the next wedding?? You mentioned Jan 3, is that the date?

I've been following Jeri and Ashley's adventures on FB. I had asked her if they knew the order they were in the parade but she had not responded so maybe they didn't know at the time. Sounds like they are having a ball. She said they were getting the red carpet treatment everywhere and doing a lot of sightseeing. I imagine they are rehearsing as well. Such a great opportunity for them. The girls are so adorable! Can't wait to see them. I always have the TV on in the kitchen while I'm cooking.


Charlotte, you hang in there! I'm so glad to hear your new booth is going so well. Don't let yourself get run down though!
We're going to our son Matt's house in Birmingham (Hoover) for Thanksgiving this year. They are the ones with 3 kids (Parker, Gracie and Evan). It will be our usual house full except for DGD Mackenzie. She's going to Kansas City to visit her brother. I'm kinda sad about that, but when you have a split family, you have to go with it. We're taking a ham and a casserole and deviled eggs. Our other son in Birmingham, Chris' wife, Heather, is on call at UAB so she can't leave town. You never know when someone might have a transplant! She's at Children's now, thoracic pediatric stuff, and it is amazing what they do. The first year they were married, she was called in early for a double lung transplant on an 18-year old cystic fibrosis young man on Christmas day (this was before they had the children's specialty area). She had planned for us to be at her house for Christmas dinner, and her mother came over and set it all up while she was at the hospital. Heather got home around 3 pm, tired but happy she had made this kid's parents Christmas day pretty special. I don't think I'll ever forget that story. So your organ donations DO matter.

I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Elaine I think my booths are what will keep me going. I've worked my whole life and the kind of work I did required a lot of planning, working with people, etc. I've always liked setting goals and seeing if I can reach those goals. So my booths give me a new thing to set goals with. Every time I go down to the mall I see someone I haven't seen in a long time. So it keeps me in circulation and around a lot of people. I've always enjoyed meeting new people and being around people. I do a lot of furniture redoing but the majority of my sales are actually not furniture but new things I buy at market. I know the vendors since I went to market 4 or 5 times year.and have found ones I do best with and now they are all on line. So I can sit at home and ponder over their sites and order. I'm getting ready to place a large order this morning. I've been working on it for over a week. A lot have sales at the end of the year. Their sales are usually just 10 or 15 percent but it helps and this one is giving free freight on orders over 1,000. The free freight helps more than the discount. So I plan to order some large truck only items to take advantage of the free freight. It also keeps me active and actually I get a lot of exercise. I'm up and down on ladders hanging pictures, chandeliers, etc. My first cousin's wife is 85 and owns a couple of Merle Norman stores. She doesn't work in the stores full time anymore but she still goes to market several times a year and buys her merchandise. Who know that may be me!!! LOL

As Sandra said GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!! Have good week and be safe!

You are right, Charlotte. The worst thing we can do is sit still, lol!

Elaine - thanks for noticing my photos!! I love that country sunrise photo as well it was just a perfect morning for that. I haven't been doing much photography lately but I did take a few shots on the day it snowed here. Just too crazy to pass up seeing all the plants still leafed out with snow on them. Here's a few photos, up close view of the snow on the ground, striped canna leaves, my favorite bird bath all iced over and my rice paper plant leaves hanging with snow. Crazy weather for the first half of November for sure!!!

I've been pulling lots of overtime at work and experiencing some personal life issues as well so I haven't been on here AT ALL! Today was the first time I've worked ONLY 30 minutes overtime in months and months. We moved our 2 service departments to Little Rock, 1 from NWA and 1 from Springfield, MO the middle of October. For a month before that I ran the NWA one and did my regular job because we fired the coordinator up there for lying about her time. Then we decided to move the other department down here and combine all of them into a new service department since they have been a nightmare for years. What a crazy mess! We got boxes and boxes and boxes of paperwork with very little in the way of organization - no notes not much of anything to tell us what was what. We had to hire a second coordinator and then train her in the midst of all the chaos. I had zero experience in the service area but nothing like being dunked in the fire to teach you to learn fast. Boy what a difference a month makes - when the files came down from Springfield we literally had 54 customers who were waiting just on an appointment to be made for their work - some of them had been waiting months and months - craziest thing I ever stepped in! Hopefully we are thru the worst of it and we are beginning to hit our stride. Our service department has 5 people 2 coordinators and 3 techs and only 1 of them has been employed with us more than 6 months so every single person is training UGH!!

I did know about Cayla and I'm sorry to hear all she's been through. Hopefully they will figure out something soon:) I'm finally off for the rest of the week so I'm excited to at least be doing something different for a few days.

Genna I do not envy you moving all those kids! UGH everytime one of mine moves I swear it is the last time I'm participating in it. Five years ago no problem these days it takes a week to be able to get up without feeling the pain. My kids think I'm a spring chicken but I can certainly tell I'm not:)

Of course we are having the family for Thanksgiving so I'll have to do a little cleaning tomorrow - I should be doing a LOT of cleaning but I can tell that isn't going to happen. We'll have about 17 people here this year but that is actually down about 10 from years past so it seems like a little less hassle than usual. Our family has experience quite a bit of unexpected changes over the last few months and that is making it feel a bit awkward and sad but these things have a way of working themselves out in time so I know that this too shall pass. Hope all of you have a great holiday - see you soon! (I hope to be at the Christmas get-together)

Karen you've gotten really good at photography! I didn't see the photo contest photos on here but I've really enjoyed seeing your photos on FB. That is a really neat photo of the rice paper plant. Sorry you have been having to work so many hours and that you are experiencing some personal issues. Hope you can make it to the Christmas luncheon.

I have got to get with the program today! I started doing some cleaning last night and didn't realize just how dirty my house is until I got down and really looked at it! I'm also going to start some cooking today. It will just be 5 of us and Richard's daughter is bringing the ham so I don't have too much to do. But I am going to make a chocolate cake for granddaughters birthday which was yesterday. I also plan to make a fresh apple pie. I will probably do it tomorrow morning. I've decided to make chicken and dressing as a side dish (can't have Thanksgiving without dressing). I've looked at recipes but have decided to just stick with my usual dressing recipe and put shredded chicken breast in it.

Sandra I hope you can relax a little while you are at home although I know you will worry about Cayla. I'm so glad she has a good support system and a good friend like Becca.

I guess I got lucky but I've never helped my son move. He always took his own stuff to and from college except for the very first time he went up. He went to work in Dallas as soon as he graduated from college and rented a furnished apartment to begin with. He moved into a different apartment when he got married a year later and then again when they bought a house a year after that. But we never had anything to do with the moves. I guess he got friends to help. We did take a load of furniture down that I gave them after they had moved into their house. They moved one time after they moved to CA but I didn't have anything to do with that either. We didn't even move ourselves when we moved into the house I'm in now. We hired a professional moving company. We realized we just had too much stuff to attempt to do it ourselves and I didn't want my furniture to get damaged.

Karen, love your leaf photos! I meant to enter a couple of my photos in the contest, but I just ran out of time. I took some pretty great ones on our trip out west but we had just returned on Oct 12 and then I went back to work and was catching up there. Then the contest closed around the 21st and I just forgot about it. I'll probably enter next year again. I won a couple of years ago with one of the photos of our goats and a photo of a kid with a bright colored shirt holding a big turtle. I'm more lucky than good but I know a pretty good photo when I see it.

I saw the dance, but wasn't able to pick Ashley out, it was very cute though !! I know our Baton Rouge girl was freezing in that snow coming down !!!!!

I missed it. I had too much going on this morning. Just didn't have time to keep an eye on the TV. I'm hoping Jeri took some pictures or a video and will post for us. Everyone left a few minutes ago. We all had a good time together and ate too much food as usual. I have a nice clean downstairs! Wonder how long that will last!! LOL

Sandra, which group was she in? I had the NBC version and the CBS version recorded because we were on our way to Birmingham. I watched the NBC version and couldn't tell which group Ashley was in. Was it a group specifically from Louisiana or an all-star dance group?

Sandra, which group was she in? I had the NBC version and the CBS version recorded because we were on our way to Birmingham. I watched the NBC version and couldn't tell which group Ashley was in. Was it a group specifically from Louisiana or an all-star dance group?

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a wonderful day in Birmingham. The kids are growing up and we had such a good visit with each of them. Food was plentiful and fantastic. We have great cooks in the family. I spent most of the rest of the weekend doing a little bit of yard work but mostly putting out the Christmas decorations and getting the tree up and decorated. Plus cleaned out a closet and threw a couple of bags full of stuff away and got a lot of stuff ready for donation.

We had a great Thanksgiving too. Richard's daughter and family came over and we all had a nice visit. She brought a Honey Baked ham and and I made a bunch of chicken and dressing and lots of vegetables. I also made a chocolate cake with a from scratch chocolate fudge icing. It was a recipe I used to make all the time when Jeff was growing up but it had probably been 20 years or more since I had made it. It turned out good!

That night I got to talk to all my boys. They are all really liking college. Justin really loves Santa Barbara!! His only problem is he doesn't have a car (they want allow him to have a car on campus this year) and there is no shopping close by. He was running out of personal hygiene items and no place close by to shop. But he figured it out! He went on Amazon and just ordered what he needed and it was delivered right to his dorm room! His breaks are all very short. He actually had class on Mon and Wed last week. So Jeff let Clint drive down and spend the weekend with Justin and the two of them drove back together Tues. He skipped his Wed class and said everyone else was going to also. Clint slept on the Justin's dorm room floor three nights. They went to the beach some. There is an older kid that Justin knows from Pleasanton that also goes to Santa Barbara and he has a car and Justin was riding back to school with him yesterday.

Good old Amazon! You have to love that, Charlotte. I have also used drugstore.com for ordering some things when I can't find them locally or just don't have the time to go shop. I know this is weird but there is a certain lip balm I love but I almost can't find it anywhere around here anymore but drugstore.com always has it. And several things there are usually cheaper than Target or some of the drugstores here too. Haven't checked Amazon but I will.

They are used to shopping for themselves. They've had checking accounts and debit cards for some time. They buy what need and Jeff transfers money into their account for what they buy. The only catch is they have to provide him with a receipt. No receipt and they don't frt reimbursed. That includes haircuts, personal items and certain meals they eat out. In other words they have to submit and expense report! LOL

She was in the All Star group. 650 of them from all over the United States. They had on the blue hoodies behind the kool aid pitcher. Here is a screen shot of Ashley. She is on the 2nd row.

I'm glad to see everyone had such a blessed Thanksgiving!! I've been posting some of the pictures on FB. There are tons of them. I'm gonna order some of the pictures of Ashley marching in the parade from the professional photographer just haven't had much time since getting home.
The only thing that could have made our trip better was the weather be warmer for the parade. After Ashley marched pass us at the Hilton we ran upstairs to watch their dance on TV and when I got off on the 29th floor where our room was it was snowing outside our window at the elevators.

I saw it and rewound it trying to pick Ashley out, it was a really good routine.
I knew you were freezing, I saw snow coming down on the TV several times.

I've been looking at your pictures on FB Jeri. I would have probably missed it if I had been able to watch the parade. I didn't have any idea the dance troop would be so large. I guess I was just thinking it would be her local group. I didn't realize that it was a bunch of groups that made up one big group!!! What a wonderful experience for her. Lot's of memory making!!! I bet she didn't even feel cold! I know you were cold!

Sandra I guess you are back at Cayla's. How is she doing?

Can someone change this thread to "December"?

Charlotte, Cayla is no better, 6 weeks today, she is scheduled for her MRI's Thursday morning at 8:30

Thanks for posting that Jeri. I did see that group when I replayed what I recorded! I figured she must have been in one of the all-star groups when I didn't see a specific group from your location. And of course I couldn't pick her out of all those girls, but now I'll go back and look. Good plan what you did going back in and watching the parade on TV. If I ever to back to NYC I think I'll stay at that Hilton. Did you like it and the location OK? My cousin and I stayed in a different hotel and it was fine but seemed a bit away from a lot of things. It was just across from Central Park which was really lovely.

Here's the new thread for December:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1382238/

NEW THREAD NEW THREAD NEW THREAD NEW THREAD NEW THREAD NEW THREAD

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1382238/