Where Is Everyone?

The tree is still up, but some of the decorations are gone...packed away until next November when I pull them out, put them up way too early, but have the pleasure of enjoying them all for almost two months.

This was probably the best Christmas ever, and I'm sorry it's over. I didn't want this one to ever end. But end they do, and now it is New Year's Eve, and for the first time in thirty seven years Roger and I are celebrating the night by ourselves.
It's not really our choice. Yours truly has been hit hard with just about every kind of short term illness that tends to really bring you down. So the long and short of it is that since I'm not really feeling good enough to go out, we're staying in and celebrating as we did before we had children. Um...not exactly the same way. In those days we'd stop at the local liquor store for some bubbly and then let the celebration begin. Not to be outdone by the good old days, we have some bubbly this year too...sparkling grape juice. Not the same...just a little different.

I know Roger and I will enjoy ourselves tonight...we do like doing things together...but it will be different. Not that that's a bad thing. Next year's end will find us back to partying at the Krehbiel's annual New Year's Ever bash.

This year, however, we're saying, "Where Is Everyone?"

A New Face

Wow! It's hard to believe, but the day I look forward to all year has come and gone. What a wonderful Christmas it was. Everyone was home for the occasion, we all enjoyed ourselves, the grand kids saw Santa on Christmas Eve, all the grandchildren (except for Joey) are now proud owners of their own sleeping bags, and we're happy and content. Now that makes for a memorable day.

Speaking of memorable days, 2 days before Christmas, Christina came over and Roger walked out of the kitchen to make a phone call. Chrissy says to me, "what happened to Dad's moustache?" I tore into the living room, got right up to Roger's face and almost fainted. He had shaved his moustache of 40+ years and I hadn't noticed. The sad fact is that he had shaved it the morning before Chrissy came over. So, for 1 and a half days, I never noticed that the facial hair that has graced my husband's face for so long was gone. Now I've always prided myself in being rather aware of my surroundings and taking notice of new things. How did I miss this one? I'll never know, but around our household there is a new face and mine is bright red!!!

And Then There Were Sixteen

As I wrote in my Christmas cards this past week, I bragged about all my children and all my grandchildren, and explained that we soon would have an addition to our growing family in the form of a baby from South Korea. So it is with great excitement to have learned today that our new little baby will be a girl!!!! We were so hoping that Lara would get to have a roommate and a little sister, and it's going to happen. So we're very anxious to meet our new family member, Molly Jo Lynn, and welcome her into the family!

As Christmas is getting closer, the baking has begun...well, sort of. After messing up big time with the first batch of Scotch shortbreads, I tossed out the whole thing and started over, only to have to toss that one too. So, tomorrow is supposed to bring a snowstorm, and what an opportune time to bake!! So, wish me luck as I attempt for the third time to make the easiest cookie in the world!

I got to talk to both of my granddaughters today, and both are looking forward to the snowstorm. In the Justus family, they're going to make fudge, watch movies, play outside, etc.

In the Krehbiel family they're going to eat snacks, stomp in the snow, if they can, and just have fun staying around the house enjoying being hold up.

As for us, a little baking, maybe another batch of chex mix, more mint meringues, lots of snowblowing for poor Roger, and lots of snacks for the two of us.

As for Chrissy and Jeff, we worry about getting Willy and Eddie to go out in the storm. As for Roger and Brittany and Jeff and Adam, we worry about them getting to work in the storm. We're not at all worried about Eric, because we know his plans. :)

Looks like we're going to have another white Christmas! Who can complain about that?

It's a Blur

When I look back at this past week, it's pretty much of a blur...shopping, phone calls, all the kids and their families arriving, eating, more shopping, more eating, playing with grandchildren, warm weather, twinkling Christmas tree lights, playing hide the comb, watching videos, turkey, bacon on the turkey, bacon disappearing from off the turkey, 5 kinds of stuffing, lots of yummy potatoes (2 kinds) and tasty green beans, 5 different pies, candy, hula hooping, lots of picture taking, playing hide the pickle, funny socks, haircuts, opening doors to let some cool air in, sleeping with 4 grandchildren in our room, Roger making egg McMuffins, cribbage, toys scattered throughout the house, violin concert, dance performances, chatting, laughing, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
It's a blur, but a memorable one.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Busy week beginning with Chrissy celebrating her birthday( Happy Birthday, Chrissy!) and then all of a sudden realizing that November is more than halfway gone. What is a girl to do? We solve that problem by bringing up the old Christmas tree, (actually I didn't have a hand in that...Roger got help bringing it up the stairs cuz it's so big), setting it up and then decorating it. To tell the truth, Greta actually came down with Lily and Joey to help with the trimming of the tree. Lily, Greta and I put on the ornaments, and then Greta added her signature ribbon and beads to transform a good looking tree into something out of House Beautiful. Once the tree was beautifully adorned, along came Joey to remove the aforementioned ornaments and ribbon, which Greta then patiently restored to their rightful place.

Once the tree was up, Greta headed for the dining room swag and the piano decorations. Soon the house was aglow with Christmas. After she left, I began tackling one box after another until the whole house was brimming with holiday festiveness (is that even a word?)

Then it was deer hunting for Roger and time for me to visit Heidi and Eric and the kids in Baraboo. What a fun weekend. We went shopping for Heidi's birthday, had lunch at the infamous Monk's bar and grille (new restaurant up scaled from the Main Street Monk's in the Dells that Roger and I used to patronize), and hung our with five grandchildren...Lara, Jason, Max, Lily and Joey. Whew!!!! What a group!!! We all had a great time with each other and Heidi and Eric did a terrific job of parenting five children and putting me up for the weekend.

Roger didn't get his deer (he didn't see so much as a squirrel or even a bird this trip), Greta's trip to Brazil was cut short, but all is well that ends well. I got to hang out with the grand kids and my daughter and her husband, Greta and Adam enjoyed their free time together and came home with lots of shopping bags, and Roger had a nice time reading a book in the woods.

Chrissy's weekend ended with a good movie, and I'll find out this week how Roger and Brittany fared on their house.

For me and my house, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

Around the Corner

I was looking over my old posts and discovered that when I wrote about going to visit Chrissy in Minnesota, I neglected one very important aspect of the weekend. That would be our trip to Austin, Minnesota, home of the Spam Museum. That's right, the Spam Museum. Roger loves Spam, so he was in his element. He actually purchased a Spam hat, T-shirt, refrigerator magnet, a few cans of Spam, and some other memorabilia from said museum. So, you might say, how could I forget such a major part of our Minnesota experience? Hmmmm. What can I say? I guess it "slipped" my mind.

Now for the latest update at the Klumb home. Except for putting in fence posts that will eventually hold up our snow fence, our major projects are just about over. Roger and I canned 20 quarts of sauerkraut. We have a plethora of canned things, and I really don't want to see another thing that might need to be canned.

I've put away the fall things and cleaned the house. Guess what that means? It means that now we have lots of room for my very favorite time of year...Christmas! The Christmas night lights are all aglow, and Roger even got down the new outdoor lights that will look totally different from years past. White lights are gone, multicolored ones are here...along with blue (which I thought were white LED) but it's okay. We're trying for a new look outside, and we're going to get it. With the mild November weather that we're enjoying, we'll take advantage of it and put them up tomorrow. Should be fun.

Autumn is fading into the sunset, and that means only one thing. Christmas is not far behind...in fact, it's just around the corner!!!!

November? Where did October go?

Whew! I'm worn out. It's already November 6 and I can't figure out where October went. During this past five weeks Roger and I have enjoyed dinner out with friends, trunk or treating for the first time ever, surplus candy after Halloween (usually it's all gone and we have to close up shop), shopping and lunch in Milwaukee, showing off our newly decorated home to family and friends (Heidi and Eric and Chrissy and Jeff are in for a big surprise), shopping and lunch with granddaughters from Kewaskum, snarfing up donuts at a wonderful bakery we discovered in Sheboygan, making sauerkraut that stinks up the whole house, snarfing up more donuts with daughter and granddaughter, talking on the phone to all the kids and grandchildren, and actually shopping in stores for Christmas (as opposed to the Internet as in the past two years). Hmm, I see where the time went.

The Halloween decorations are down, and I'm beginning to get a few things up to signal the start of the Christmas season. Let the decorating begin!!!!!

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!

This past summer Roger and I had this great vegetable garden and I vowed I would do my part by keeping out the weeds. I even planted a few vegetables behind the house in my flower bed.
What we weren't counting on was a drought. Lots of rain in the spring, and no rain in the summer. the only day it rained this summer was the day Greta, Heidi and I had a rummage sale in Baraboo. And then it poured, and pretty much ruined what could have been a great sale.
So, fast forward to October. We've had several frosts so the gardens are done. Vegetables have been harvested, and all we need is to get out and cut back our plants, cut down and cover the roses, roto till the garden and sit back and enjoy the winter months. But hold on a minute...it's raining. Not just yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, but most every day for weeks, it seems. And so, our gardens sit waiting away for the gardeners (that would be us) to trim them back and get them ready for the months ahead.
What's the forecast for the upcoming week? More rain.

Well, since we can't work outside, and since the house has been renewed and revamped, the only thing left to do is shop. And so, let the Christmas shopping begin!!!! I began in earnest on Saturday, and plan to continue to hit all the malls inspite of the inclement weather. Rain will not put a damper on my holiday shopping, no siree! This week Mayfair, next week Bayshore, and from there, who knows? Perhaps Chicago or even Baraboo. Rain if you will, but for me and my shopping, we will be undaunted and we will prevail!!!!

Life is Good

What a week! Helped Roger make sauerkraut one day, found out my grandson was admitted to the hospital with complications from swine flu (asthma), spent the weekend at Greta's, drove up to Door County to check out the pretty leaves, discovered that our favorite store moved from Fish Creek (where we were), and had just a wonderful time at the Chocolate Chicken in Fish Creek. By the way, don't ever go there unless you want rude people to wait on you, as well as almost no selection of candies from which to choose. Roger was up at the cabin getting ready for deer hunting, so Greta was nice enough to let me stay with them.

Roger and I arrived back home at about the same time Sunday afternoon. From then on until today (Wednesday), it was run, run, run for or from one thing to the next. Today I finally picked out curtains and matching bedspread for the room in which I have my computer. Very stylish, if I do say so myself. Chrissy, do the curtains remind you of anything? I have loved them ever since Greta helped Chrissy pick them out for Chrissy's living room!!!!

The rest of this week should be wonderful...grass is cut, house is cleaned, meetings are over, and my computer room looks great. Life is good!!

Family x 5

What a week! Off to Baraboo Saturday for Lara's baptism and birthday parties for Lara, Jason and Max. Poor Lara...high fever and so lethargic, but she was determined to be baptized, and so she was. It was great...one of the nicest baptisms I've been to. Lara played a duet on her violin with someone from church (Reva), while Greta accompanied them on the piano. Lots of tears were shed as it was so well done and so moving! And, the whole family was there, including Eric's parents.

After a reception at the church the party moved to the Justus house. Presents, pass the parcel, food, more food, wonderful food, and many pounds later, we all had a really nice time. Roger and I left in a hurry Sunday morning after Heidi announced that now Jason was sick. Swine flu here we come! So, Roger and I were out the door running...never stopping until we arrived at Chrissy and Jeff's home 3 hours later in Rochester, MN. Whew! That was a workout.

It was a whirlwind tour of Rochester, walking around Silver Lake, checking out Jeff's lab at the Mayo clinic (and seeing him in his white lab coat...that was really neat), touring the underground system of corridors and passageways connecting Mayo to the rest of the world, browsing several stores in this subway system, eating Gelato and getting hooked on it, going to a very nice mall with Chrissy, wolfing down a great dinner at the Olive Garden, and breathing just fine despite the presence of Willy the entire time. What a great couple of days, and even though the weather was snowy (in October!) and cold, our spirits were up and we enjoyed ourselves completely. Chrissy is a great cook, homemaker, hostess, as well as artist...we checked out a gallery in Rochester and her work is far better. I know I may be a bit biased, but Roger isn't and he agrees with me. So there.

We arrived home Wednesday afternoon tired, but very grateful for amazing children and their families, as well as for all their many talents and abilities. You guys are great and we're crazy for each one of you!

Time for a change

The house is newly painted, new carpet graces our home, the furniture is back in place and Roger and I are about to enjoy some hard earned freedom!!! There's golf, some day trips, a visit to Baraboo and Rochester, reading, scrapbooking...the list goes on and on and does not include anything remotely connected to decorating or home improvements! What a relief! Did I mention golf? Because that's where Roger hopes to spend a lot of his time, seeing as how he's had so little chance this past month, months, summer. Whatever! It's all a blur, but it's done and we're both ready for a change.

A Banner Day

It's true. This is a banner day. I am a blogger! I have absolutely no idea what I'll be doing with this, but it is fun and seems like something I might really enjoy.

Chrissy was the first to test her cyber prowess with her clever little blog. She then set Heidi up who ran with it and demonstrated her skill for writing.. Chrissy and Heidi then forged a team effort to get Greta started, and although she's got 2 children who never sleep, she was able to post some pretty fun and witty stuff too. So, with 3 writers in the family, how can I resist?

Let the blogging begin!!