A Year in a Minute

Things I Love Thursday

My grandmother gave me this little notebook filled with her handwritten recipes.


I still use many of them, especially her Red Velvet Cake.

That time of year again

Time to toss out the old Dayplanner.

I always like to take a look back and see all of the important things I've accomplished, such as

Call vet
Pay bills
record Top Chef Masters
Make coffee cake
fertilize garden
Crock Pot
Pay bills
Pay taxes
Freeze chicken
Egg tree to attic
Feed houseplants
Fertilize garden
MacKids blog
Wrap gifts
Book trailers off flashdrive
Smoke alarm batteries
Check on obedience classes




(Looks like the only thing I didn't get done was downloading Jim Brickman music to my iPod.)

The Christmas toy was enjoyed by all.


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Look What I Got

The Japanese edition of How to Steal a Dog!

My Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas.

Quiet time with my family.


Wonderful gifts.

My husband had this amazing blanket chest made for me by a furniture maker in Vermont. Isn't it gorgeous?

My son gave us two of his gorgeous photos from his trip to Iceland.

Santa brought us our annual remote control helicopter (much to the dismay of Ruby and Matty).

Ruby and Matty each got a toy but Ruby wasn't into sharing.

Matty eventually got even.

My friend, Gucci, came over in her mink stole.

Then it was time for dinner.

And the next day, we had a blizzard!

I am blessed.

Ho Ho Ho

My little frog

Look at my little frog paperweight!

Thank you, Grier!

Things I Love Thursday

Trader Joe's Pop-Up Sponges

Day Dreamin'

Matty's favorite spot on the windowsill.

Why Readers Abandon Books

On the wall of an elementary classroom I was in recently:

Why Readers Abandon Books

1. Unrealistic
2. Don't like first couple chapters
3. Different than what I thought
4. Didn't get to good part quickly enough
5. A part you don't like/bad words
6. No interesting words
7. Too hard/too easy; not just right

Tradition

We've cut our Christmas tree down at the same tree farm for over 15 years now.

The owner is elderly and isn't able to maintain the trees like he used to.

Some of them are kind of pitiful.

Like, um, this one.
(Yes, Stacy and Clinton, I am wearing Crocs, ugly jeans and a big poofy jacket. Come and bring me your Visa card.)

But we managed to find one!

The tradition continues.

Book Trailers by Fourth Graders

I love these book trailers!

(And that book called How to Steal a Dog looks particularly interesting.)

Things I Love Thursday

This is a little music box my husband gave me when we found out I was pregnant with my one and only son.

It plays Lullaby and Goodnight.

But you have to hear it to appreciate it:

Toy tree

In the town where I live, you have to take your trash to the dump.

There's one area there that is referred to as "The Mall."

People leave stuff there that they don't want but that somebody else might want.

There are always a lot of toys there.

A local artist collected toys from The Mall and made this tree for the town library.