Christmas 2013

Did you have a nice Christmas?
We traveled to OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandson's #1 and #2 for Christmas.
The tree on Christmas Eve.


Grandson's #1 and #2 on Christmas morning before tearing into all the gifts under the tree.

Later that evening in the garage making use of the crossbows that each boy got as a gift from Mom and Dad.  Both boys did really well as did their Dad but their Mom, OnlyDaughter, who used a bow years ago in high school was the best.

 

The gift that made me cry!
OnlyDaughter was in touch with an artist whose work she discovered on Etsy beginning in February 2013.  This gift was saved for last and truly did make me cry.  The oil painting is of all the Labrador Retrievers that have been a part of our family over the years.  The first one on the left was Duke who came into the family when OnlyDaughter was a baby, next to him is Duchess, our lovely old-fashioned lady,  Mollie is next and she was part of the dynamic duo along with her sister Cami who is painted below our chocolate lab, Nissa.  Nissa came before Cami and Mollie and when these sisters passed, Buckley entered the picture as an older adoptee.  The painting captures all of them to perfection and having the woods behind shows the setting they all lived in with us.  I can almost see the start to the path down to the Puddle Pond between Nissa, the chocolate lab and Buckley, our last dog (to date).

The painting will be hung in the living room for all to see this touching gift as they enter the house.
Thanks to OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandson's #1 and #2 for asking us to share and be a part of the holiday with them.  The time went by too quickly and we miss them all between visits.

Yuck!  Today is cold and rainy meaning no walk.  Here's hoping everyone had a happy holiday.
We'll be turning the calendar into 2014 in a few days.

Edit:  It was brought to my attention by a coworker and then confirmed by Mr P that Grandsons #1 and #2 received compound bow, not crossbows for Christmas.  Oops, my bad.

The Unpredictability of Nature!

It's going on 6AM and as I sit here typing this post, all I can hear is the wind howling outside.  Temperatures are unseasonably warm and are to reach into the 60's today and 50's yet tomorrow before dropping back to more normal for this time of the year.
The snow that you see in the following pictures is all gone having fallen victim to the warmer than usual temps that descended the last few days and the rain that is also coming down.
All I can say is that it's strange going out without a coat at this time of the year.
My walking buddies and I are not walking this morning because of the rain but the wind would also be a  concern.

 

I'm all but back to normal after my mishap, not so for Mr P who continues to struggle with his recouperation.  Time will be his healer but patience is not a virtue that he possesses much of unless it means sitting and watching a hockey game on TV.
It's been a busy month with preparations for Christmas taking precedence.  Today some final cookie baking will be done and the gathering and wrapping of gifts for the family.
The fabric below has become two large dog bone sized placemats for my granddogs, Kirby and Betty.  Yesterday's nice weather (no rain but warm) gave me the perfect opportunity to continue work on something else for them.  I'll share photos after the holiday since I don't want OnlyDaughter to show them the blog and spoil their surprise.

There is a family in our area that begins decorating their home with thousands of lights and other lit Christmas decorations beginning at Thanksgiving each year.  The family picks a charity and any donations that are collected from those who stop to walk through the display are given to the selected charity.
Most of the pictures that were taken ended up just too dark to share but this one shows some of the lit displays that are all over their property and how some of the house is decorated.  Can't imagine what their electric bill is for this time of the year!

I hope everyone everywhere has a joyous and safe holiday.

Conspicously Absent

Where did the month of November go?  Well, I'll tell you.  On the second of November, a mishap occurred at our house which I've just begun to completely recover from.  I was unable to drive for a week and the accident meant that I had to figure out how to do things single-handledly (for real) for a while.
About a week and a half after my injury, Mr P had major surgery and is still recovering.  He is unable to drive and is limited in what he is able to do as part of his recouperation.  Fortunately, I have noticed improvement in my condition with each new day.
On Thanksgiving, my physical discomfort was all but gone giving me have much to be thankful for.  Thanksgiving dinner was spent a my sister, J's, with her family and my Mom.  It was a relaxing time with lots of tradtional, delicious food.

Here is the 1st of the month picture of The Puddle Pond taken earlier this morning.  It's cold outside (32 degrees F, 0 degrees C) and there is a layer of ice on the pond.



You can see the layer of ice more clearly in the photo below.  It won't support a person stepping onto the ice but it made me cold just looking at it.

I have wanted to share this picture of a marble spider that took up residence on the underside of the front porch roof earlier this fall.  The spider spun this cocoon and its coloration is fascinating.  Sadly, once temperatures really began to drop, the spider was gone.   Here's hoping another one comes to live at The Puddle Pond porch next year.

I'm hoping to be able get back into a more regular routine of posting now that I'm feeling more like myself.
Stay warm wherever you are and I hope you are having a good weekend.

Congratulations!!!!

OnlyDaughter's debut book is being released today!  Her book, HABEAS CORPSE, can be purchased through Amazon both in print and for the Kindle.  We already have the Kindle version and I have an order in for several copies of the book for signature by the author as gifts to family members and friends.

Check out her website for more information.  We are so proud of her and look forward to many more new reads in the future.    
http://nikkihopeman.com/

Feel like sharing? Nikki doesn’t bite.

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

• Bio
• Additional Works
• Links
• Blog
• Contact

BUY NOW

Critical Praise for Habeas Corpse

“An original and exciting take on the zombie genre. Ms. Hopeman has rewritten the rules and created an engaging tale with compelling characters who just happen to be dead. An excellent read.² -Scott A. Johnson, author of Deadlands and The Stanley Cooper Chronicles

“Nikki Hopeman’s Habeas Corpse is a treat for zombie fans and mystery readers!” -Lucy Snyder, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Spellbent

“Dexter meets Deadite in Nikki Hopeman’s Habeas Corpse — and what a treat this novel is. It’s rare that a debut novel can reignite a subgenre, but Nikki Hopeman’s book just might be the most clever zombie story to hit the shelves in quite some time. Hopeman writes a book with brains, in every way: fun and funny, gory and glorious, this witty tale of an undead ‘Riser’ who bends his unique talents toward investigating crime has single-handedly resurrected my interest in brain-sucking freaks. Such a clever premise. I can’t wait to read her next one… but till then I think I’ll happily just read this one again!” — Michael Arnzen, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Play Dead

“If George Romero had created CSI, the result might have been something like Nikki Hopeman¹s Habeas Corpse. A cross-genre blend of mystery, horror, and urban fantasy, with strong characterization and razor-sharp prose. I loved it!” ­ Tim Waggoner, author of Bone Whispers and Like Death

About Habeas Corpse

BUY NOW

Years after the Event, Risers have become a way of life. The resurrected dead may be your cashier, lawyer, or local postman. Theo Walker is a riser who works with forensics. But Theo has a dark secretŠ and it allows him to see a pattern in the recent, grisly murders that have plagued Pittsburgh. Now Theo is the only one who can stop a serial killer before it¹s too late.
This is not the run-of-the-mill apocalyptic zombie novel. It’s a graphic murder mystery with an undead twist. Fun for fans of horror and thrillers.

© 2013 Nikki Hopeman. All Rights Reserved.

It's November!

Here is the 1st of the month picture of The Puddle Pond.  Notice the absence of those pesky lily pads.  Yesterday started out rainy and severe thunderstorms were in the forecast.  There was rain and lots of wind but by noon the skies cleared and the afternoon was beautiful.  Blue skies today and warm for this time of year.


The praying mantis was on the gazebo which is now down and stored away for the winter.  

A last picture this season of the gazebo.  The corn in the field behind us hasn't been cut yet this year and probably won't be cut now until after hunting season.  That means there won't be hunters sitting on the fringes of the field waiting for their prey to saunter through.  

Speaking of prey, the bucks have begun to rub the trees in the woods to get the velvet off their antlers.  Just like last year, the forsythia bushes are falling victim to their punishment again.  Fortunately, it appears that this type of pruning doesn't really cause any trauma and they return nicely the next year.

Belated Happy Halloween!
Thursday night between the hours of 6 and 8 PM was Trick or Treat night in our township and in most areas around us.  For the last 25 years we've had no visitors to our house for candy.  Besides living in a rural area where houses are not densely packed, our home sits a distance off the road and even though there is a motion detection light at the garage, it's dark until you reach that point.  Other than the young boy across the street who is taken somewhere else to "trick or treat", there aren't other young children close by.
Despite this, the pumpkins were set out and candy was purchased, just in case.  The porch lights were turned on at 6PM and at 8PM, Mr P took the trash up to the road for it's Friday morning collection.  He noted that as he headed up the driveway, a car was returning to the house across the street.  Thinking the boy across the street just might stop down, the porch light was left on until 8:30PM.  He was a no show. Guess who will be eating the candy!  That must be why I was asked to specifically buy peanut butter cups and Three Musketeers.

After a bumper crop of figs last year, this year's harvest was dismal.  This is all I will probably get. There are a few more on the tree which will need to be pruned and wrapped for the winter soon.  No fig preserves this year.  The preserves were going to be used as Christmas gifts this year so I will need to decide on something else.

My walking buddy and I are not walking early this weekend as she has company for a few days.  I will get out later today on my own.  Hope you have a good weekend.

Birthdays!

I grew up in a large family with five other siblings, four sisters and one brother.  I never thought we were poor; since we had a roof over our heads and enough food to eat but there weren't funds for a lot of extras that weren't considered necessities. We learned early on what we could and couldn't ask for.

Birthdays were always a cause for celebration in our family and most always included my Dad's sister, Aunt F and her husband, Uncle B who were regular Wednesday and Sunday evening visitors to our home.  When each of us was deemed old enough to sit up at the dining room table and learn to play pinochle, we learned how to play and then were often recruited to take turns on Wednesday and Sunday evenings to be the fourth person in many games of pinochle.  Usually the birthday celebration was held on Sunday evening of the week where the celebrant's birthday fell so that Aunt F and Uncle B could join us for cake, ice cream and of course, pinochle.

The birthday party menu was always the same - homemade cake and a big 5 gallon tub of ice cream from Handy Market.  I can't remember the exact brand of ice cream in those big tubs but to me it was a delicious treat and it probably contributed to my life long love (and obsession) with ice cream.  I love all flavors except for peanut butter and if peanut butter is the only kind available, I've been known to dig in the container around the swirls of peanut butter to capture just the vanilla part.

When Mr P and I were first seeing each other, his birthday arrived.  When he came to visit that Sunday evening, there was cake, ice cream and because I was now working and earning my own money, a gift of a dress shirt and tie.  He was overwhelmed stating that his family never celebrated birthdays.  When OnlyDaughter was born, not only was there cake and ice cream but for many, many years my family was invited to partake with us and make the day special for her.  Once OnlyDaughter married and it was more difficult distance-wise to gather and share cake and ice cream, we took on the practice of always calling on the date to sing "Happy Birthday" and send our best wishes by phone.

Several years ago, a personal situation made my birthday a somewhat bittersweet occasion.  Because that was a sad day for me , I wanted the celebration to change and be different.  No more cake and ice cream; however, OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandsons #1 and #2 still called to sing (offkey) and send their best wishes by phone.  They also have to suffer and take their turn listening to our offkey singing on their special day.

It has taken me several years to decide that my birthday really is a happy day.  I have my health, everything I need to be comfortable and loads of family and friends who value me.  That said, this year's birthday was a very happy one!

The philosophy in my area at work has always been 'if it's your birthday, you supply the cake, etc.  I told the four people that I supervise that I would make their birthday treat this year as my gift to them, which I did making my first cheesecake ever for the last birthday for staff this year.  I mentioned earlier in the week at work that I would be bringing in a homemade pumpkin pie on Friday.  You know, a fall type, October type, dessert.

I was delightfully surprised at morning break when I went to set out the pie and Cool Whip to see that my staff had contributed goodies of their own.  From left to right is:  Cool Whip, homemade macaroni salad from J, my pumpkin pie, a nifty fruit creation from C, a cream puff cake from D and Auntie Anne pretzel bites with ham and cheese rolled inside also from J.  

Earlier in the week a box arrived from OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandsons #1 and #2.  I waited to open it until the Big Day and opened it that morning before leaving for work. The cute card which noted the wish was for me to enjoy the contents of the box.

The package included a beautiful blue leather Filo Fax (planner) and tons of items to go along with it.
I set everything out on the table before leaving for work and was eager to get home in the evening to start checking everything out.  The large blue spotted tote is meant to house all the goodies in the boxes.

The smaller of the two boxes was chock block full of all kinds of "stuff" including stickers, note cards, colorful post-it type items, little bear clips, a large bear paper clip and oh so much more.  It has been like Christmas going through the box and ooohhhing and aaahhhing over everything.

Here is a close up shot of one of the sticker packets which OnlyDaughter said reminded her of the deer which are residents here at The Puddle Pond.  

The larger box contained inserts for the Filo Fax (2014 calendar, etc), a pencil pouch (on the left) and the colorful pouch (on the right) which was filled with lots and lots of washi tape.  I can hardly wait to use the washi tape with the pine trees on it with the deer stickums in the picture above.  There were colored erasable pens, other markers and chalk markers too.  

Here is a picture of some of the washi tape that was zipped up inside that most adorable bag.  I can't wait to get started writing, decorating and organizing.

Here is the beautiful blue leather Filo Fax planner.   The page dividers were handmade by OnlyDaugher (maybe with help from the boys?) and Grandsons #1 and #2 decorated the pages for the week of my birthday with stickers.  What a treasure!  Included in the back of the planner was a picture of each Grandson and a laminated drawing that each one made for me.  I am still sifting through everything and will have to include pictures as I use the planner and decorate the pages with all the goodies.

Mr P bought me a new Sonicare toothbrush that I had on my wish list and I received other gifts, cards and well wishes from family members and friends.  As I said, a good birthday.
It's cold here this weekend and there is a fire going in the woodstove.  The walk this morning at 6AM was walked under clear skies, a half moon and brilliant stars.
I purchased cotton yarn to make some fingerless gloves for OnlyDaughter who asked that they be made from cotton since she has had some problems with skin reactions to various things.  I will get started on the first pair this evening and can get help on Tuesday at the library if I need it.  I don't know how cotton yarn will work but we shall see.
 I  have laundry to take off the clothesline before trying to decide what to fix for dinner this evening.
Hope you are having a good weekend wherever you are.
I have some special news to post on or before November 2, 2013.

Happy Fall Y'all...

Fall has arrived in the midstate here in PA.  While in Myrtle Beach, SC, so much rain fell from Thursday through Friday of that week that there local flooding occurred in some small streams, on certain roadways that don't drain well and unfortunately in some folk's basements.  Fortunately there were no problems here at The Puddle Pond and the level of the water in The Puddle Pond rose dramatically.
The leaves on the trees also turned color and lots made their way to the ground while we were gone.
This year was the 98th Farmers Fair in the small town of Dillsburg.  As you can probably discern, the town creatively uses the dill aspect of their name.  On New Year's Eve, a large dill pickle is lowered much as New York City lowers the big ball every year.  There are also lots of events and food, most featuring dill pickles.
Now dill is my favorite fresh herb but deep fried dill pickles or dill pickle ice cream just don't sound all that appetizing to me and I have yet to try them.
Anyway, the picture below was taken on Saturday when a trip was made to check out the festivities at the fair.  The tents, and there were tons more that I didn't take a picture of, housed many, many craft booths. There was a display of antique and classic cars, tractors from years gone by, food, agricultural displays and crafts that are judged and several parades.


One of the long streets running through town served as a display area for classic and antique automobiles.  There was an unbelievable variety of vehicles.

I can't remember exactly what model this was but I loved the color and the rounded lines.

A Dodge pickup truck.  

A girlfriend for our VW, Peche.  Check out those eyelids!  Cute!

Haar's Drive-In Theater was mentioned in a post earlier this summer and here is their van.

Here's the full moon taken Sunday morning around 12:30PM.

Same glorious full moon when I returned from my Sunday morning walk at 7AM.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the trees that are almost bare of their leaves and all the leaves on the ground.

It's chilly here tonight and a wood fire has been started in the wood stove to keep the chill off the house.
Hoping you are having a good week wherever you are.

Last full day

Early morning pictures taken on our last AM walk.  We managed to pick up a few more shells during our morning walk.  I was not fortunate enough to find any sea glass which is all Grandson#2 asked me to get for him.  I did buy a bag of sea glass and will send some along to both Grandsons along with some shells.
 Beautiful sunrise, warm ocean water and friendly folks walking along as we were.

The dark objects on the water are pelicans that swam and dove for fish as we watched.

 

The fellows left early on this last full day to golf 18 holes at the Arrowhead Country Club.  I snapped this picture before J and I headed down to the pool to catch some sun and relax with a book.  

These clouds may looks ominous but they moved fast and never produced any rain.  We alternated between sunning ourselves and getting into the pool to cool off when we got too hot.  The guys joined us when they were finished with their round of golf.

 

Dinner consisted of a variety of dishes to use up the leftovers from the week followed by pinochle.  We kept count of the games played over the course of the week and the guys beat the girls seven games to six.
We were up early on Saturday and on the way back to PA by 6:45AM.  Breakfast at Bob Evans around 9AM followed by a midday meal at Ledo's in Martinsburg VA.  At J's suggestion, we came home with an 18" half-baked pizza from Ledo's to savor as a quick meal, or two in the future.
We came home to a little water in one corner of the basement as a result of 7-9 inches of rain that fell between Thursday evening through Friday.  There are also tons of leaves on the ground that Mr P will mulch up this week when the ground is dry enough for him to mow.
Today, Monday, October 14, is a federal holiday, Columbus Day so I won't go back to work until tomorrow.
Hope you are having a good start to the week wherever you are.