From the Pen of a Pensive Pollyanna: December 2011

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Things that make me happy!

-wind chimes ringing in their non-patterned pattern.
-the feel of the ocean wind on my face.
-the dark gray of clouds against the blue of the sky or the green on the trees.
-Christmas songs on the radio.
-big hugs from people I love!
-music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Simple Woman's Daybook: 25APR12

Simple Woman's Daybook:25APR12
FOR TODAY:
Outside my window...I hear the cars passing by on the highway.
I am thinking...that I still have a lot to do in order to be ready tomorrow morning.
I am thankful for...all the blessings I have in the form of friends who support and love me and put sad faces on my facebook when I don't feel well.
From the learning rooms...painting is my newest thing I'm learning.
From the kitchen...i made blackberry cobbler the other day. Does that count? It was DEE licious!
I am wearing..grey cut-off sweat pants and a really old Southwest Texas State University shirt. It is faded and has a few holes, but at least it has the name of the school right, yeah?
I am creating...this week, it was jewelry as one of my 'Pay It Forward' gifts.
I am reading...a book about two kids who grow up and become decent human beings. (what a description!)

I am wishing...and hoping and thinking and praying and planning and dreaming his kisses will staaaarrrttt! had to do it y'all. Don't forget to sing it out really LOUDLY!

I am hearing...the ticking of the clock on the wall.
Around the house...Pop is asleep. I have a pile of clothes on the couch I need to fold and pack. The kitchen is clean except for the floor and I'm one weary puppy gal!
A few plans for the rest of the week: I am going to do whatever I want from tomorrow morning at 9 or so 'til Sunday at 5 p.m. I'm REALLY looking forward to this time off! I think I'll have three bubble baths! <3

A recent picture of me. Those glasses!! But if I didn't hang 'em on that string, I'd lose them all day long!

Uninvited--but welcome--guest at my tea party

It was Sunday morning at Rusca House Bed and Breakfast in Natchitoches, Louisiana. I awoke early so I could knit and drink hot tea and enjoy the beautiful back yard garden. As I sat knitting and sipping tea, this cat walked past me, then made a u-turn, hopped up on the chair catty-corner to me and sussed out what was in my cup. I was quite charmed by the situation. It seemed--somehow--to be right out of Alice in Wonderland.

Thanksgiving Weekend, Galveston!!

I had a very relaxing, enjoyable time Thanksgiving weekend. Since Mom and Daddy were in Oregon for Thanksgiving and Aunt Nona was in Georgetown watching Jennifer play basketball, I decided to finally take my one-year paid vacation. The guy who sold me my vacation week was able to give me two nights at the resort for free, so I slept, and took bubble baths, and watched t.v. and ate in style. That first photo is from the kitchen in my unit. I took other photos of the rest of the unit, but they disappeared from my camera! Not sure why, but I guess it doesn't matter now since I have a new camera!
When I planned this vacation, I determined that I would do at least four certain things:
-Attend the inaugural Galveston Christmas Gift fair in the convention center.
-Watch the 4D Polar Express Movie.
-Walk through the Festival of Lights at Moody Garden, and
-Ice skate.

Of course I did all of them!

These really cool folded washclothes held my personal dishwashing liquid and salt and pepper. what a cute idea. Never thought about the personal size salt and pepper, but I guess there would be no way to ensure that it wasn't contaminated. and--I guess--in a way, it is nice to know that this stuff is just for me!

This adorable Boy Scout taught me how to fold my own personal American Flag. This lesson was made possible by my donation of 1/3 of the money I spent at this holiday gift fair--$2.00. Yes, you may go ahead and now refer to me as Loralee Fabulous Responsible Ford.

I forgot to mention to rockin' cool thing which happened as I was about to go into the Holiday Gift Fair. I was about to descend the escalators when I saw a couple ascending the escalators on the other side. I asked them if they had gone to the fair and they responded affirmatively. By this time, they were at the top and i had started descending. I asked them if it was worth the $ 5.00. The man of the couple looked at the woman of the couple and she turned to me and said, "Come back up here." Of course, I obeyed. When I got to the top, the man of the couple handed me a yellow ticket and said, "Enjoy yourself!" I thought it was a wonderful thing to do, especially since--I found out later--that it was a VIP ticket which was worth $ 25. I had access to the VIP lounge which had punch, wine, cheese, appetizers and cookies. I only had one bite of a cookie--the head off of a gingerbread man! Nothing else seemed good, though I enjoyed looking at the Christmas decorations, talking to the wine lady (didn't drink any though) and looking at the fruit and vegetable art. Really, Really cool! The above photo is a parrot made out of yellow squash!!

A watermelon, carved into some flowers.

Not sure what it is, but it is pretty and made out of a white pumpkin!

Next came the lights! I had a really cool picture of about 15 butterflies made out of Christmas lights, but it disappeared from my camera, along with those photos of my unit.

Oh! I found the photo of the fifteen butterflies, except there is really eighteen! If you click on it--after you're done reading the blog, of course, cos you don't want to miss the video at the end!--you can see some really interesting details.

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of unsweet iced tea with no sugar and no lemon!

This is me. I am waiting in line, wholly ready to watch Polar Express 4D. I was disappointed to find that it wasn't the whole movie, only some highlights. It was really rockin' cool, though. I would not be averse to seeing more 4D films. In the Spring, I think Moody Gardens (in Galveston) is showing The Wizard Of Oz in 4D. I'll have to take a trip down then.

Clearly, we can put the below photo down as a bad job. I thought it looked cool, though, so we're keeping it!

About the 4D: It was awesome! The seats rumbled like we were on a train, and lights flashed like the front light on a train. In the hot chocolate scene, we could smell hot chocolate, and--coolest of all--when we were at the scene wherein the train was rushing across that big ice pond, skidding everywhere with a crack chasing after it, and putting on the brakes, causing ice to shoot out from the back of the train, we felt a spray of cool water on our faces. I think it came down from the ceiling, but it was such a surprise and a delight! I loved it--except for the guy in the row behind me who was loudly complaining about what a waste of money this movie was going to be. I do not concur with him, however. It was AWESOME!!! Just sayin'.

The hot chocolate scene!

The gal sitting next to me had some rockin' cool shoes. She didn't think they sold them in adult sizes, though. :(

Santa was sweet and let me take his picture. It cost ten dollars to sit on his lap, so I decided to forego sitting in his lap and telling him what I want for Christmas. You remember that my name for the weekend is Loralee Fabulous Responsible Ford, yeah?

Moody Gardens is famous for it purty flowers, especially during the summer months. Thankfully--though it was a cold, cold night which required coats and hats and gloves and scarves--there were a few beautiful yeller flowers here and there around the Festival of Lights. This was one of the last photos I took with my, now defunct, camera. By the way, yellow flowers are my favorite!! <3

It was a lovely, lovely, lovely vacation! I got to take three...count 'em...three jacuzzi, hot-tub, soaky, bubble baths! YAY!

Dunno where I took this accidental shot, but the colors in it made me happy, so I decided to include it in this tableau...

...and, here I am, ice-skating! YAY!

Hope y'all had as much fun as I did!

Another Ford Family

Because of the vehicle company, my surname is a household word. The last name 'Ford' isn't really popular, however. Out of a national population of almost 313,000,000, people who bear the last name Ford number only 205,000. And, really, as a grown-up, I have only met about maybe 20 people--other than family--who also share the name my Daddy gave me. Which is why I was ecstatic when--on my annual paid vacation from work--I met a whole family of Fords.
When the little girl told me her name was Victoria, I said with happiness, "My little sister is named Victoria! Victoria (omit middle name on the world wide web) Ford!" My new little friend Victoria gasped and said, "Really? My name is Victoria (omit middle name on the world wide web) Ford!"
"No!" "Yes!" and everyone was really excited that we have the same name. Anyway, they spent the evening (and I watched) playing the game of Life. It was fun and I liked the idea of *sorta* spending the first night on vacation with my family playing games.