Pre-Holiday

Life has been incredibly hectic the last couple of weeks, and is going to get only more so for the next month. I love it, and every year I think I will get a jump on things and have things half done before December even gets here. I used to, when the kids were younger and I was only working part time. Now, not so much! My daughter turned 21 a few weeks ago, and since she doesn't drink, she wanted to invite some of her friends from Indianapolis and some of her high school friends for the weekend and go to St. Louis to the Zoo. Only problem, we don't have enough room in our house to have a dozen girls staying the night. But my Mom does! Since my Step-dad was going to be gone for the weekend (hunting season) she said "sure, bring them out!" She has a big walk-out basement with two bedrooms and a full bath, so the girls camped out down there and I took one of the bed-rooms upstairs. We had a perfect day--overcast but not cold, small crowd. And the animals were all out. My daughter is majoring in animation, so her friends are all "artsy". Very diverse bunch of girls! I always enjoy being with them. She's planning on moving to San Francisco in January to finish school. I've gotten used to her being home, it's going to be hard to let her go--again.

My Own Personal Crazy

After Dad died, Mom decided to sell everything and move--get a fresh start. At that time she gave me all of her records, including her Christmas albums. Just like how some smells remind us of a certain time or place, these albums take me back to Christmas as a kid. To be perfectly honest, I bought the stereo just so I could play and record these. I'm probably going to drive my family crazy this year!

How Bazaar

Aack! My feet hurt! One of the local youth groups hosted their annual Holiday Bazaar today and I had a booth. Even though I am used to being on my feet all day, I wore boots with a bit of a heal and it was a bit much for my old-lady feet! They usually do the Bazaar on Saturday, but this year decided to give it a try on Sunday. The first year they did it, it was on Sunday and the turn-out wasn't great. Everyone goes to Church, then home to dinner. And few people from other Churches seem to make it on Sunday. This is the Bible belt, after all. Small town, so 5 Churches for every bar! And altho I think Christians are essentially the same religion, they sure are cliquey! I really think I had better results when it was done on Saturday. I know different things need to be tried to keep it "fresh", but I hope they go back to Saturday next year. This is usually my biggest event I do each year and I don't have anything else lined up before Christmas. I usually do an Open House, but I may not even do that. I think I'm losing interest. Or maybe it's just time to try something new. Maybe I need something "fresh"!

Life Changes

I just spent the last week in Cheyenne, Wyoming. My brother retired after 24 years with the Air Force and we went to attend the ceremony. My brother is well liked and has accomplished much during his time. He served 3 terms over-seas, two during hostilities. Stories he will probably never tell us. I'm very proud of him. He was a bit of a screw-up before he went into the military. It made him into a better man then he maybe would have been. He has a wife, three daughters, one grandson. His men think the world of him. I guess it is tradition for a retiree to receive a shadow box, but his men made him a shadow box pub-table. It's quite impressive. The flag in the center was presented to my Mom when Dad died and she gave it to my brother. The patches at the bottom are also from Dad's uniform. It made the box even more special. But this morning, on Facebook, he commented he is already bored! He's looking for a new job, and it'll happen for him. In the mean time, he has to adjust to being "Mr." instead of "Sergeant". He's been in the military since he was 18. It's going to be a whole new world for him!

On the Road Again

I'm heading to Wyoming tomorrow, right after we get done voting and the folks drop off their animals at the pet motel. My "little" brother is retiring from the Air Force and the ceremony is Friday. It's about a 15 hour drive, but we always try to go out for the important things. I think he's a bit nervous about becoming a civilian. He's been in the service for 24 years, since he was 18, and it's going to be a big change for him and his family. We didn't get along very well when we were young, but now we are good friends. I'm proud of him, and can't wait to see him!