12-20-10 Snow Family Ready..

On the 8th day of Christmas, as I was decorating the house, I spotted this snow family patiently waiting for the weather to change.

12-19-10 A Train Pulling into Town...

On the 7th day of Christmas, as I was decorating my house, the train pulled into Prairie Hills town, bringing passingers home for the holidays.

12-18-10 A Town of Snowpeople...

On the 6th day of Christmas, while decorating my house, I found a town of snowpeople hanging about.

12-17-10 Five Hams Ready for Smokin'...

On the 5th day of Christmas, I decorated my house with the smells of freshly smoked hams.

12-16-10 Four Children's Holiday Books...

On the 4th day of Christmas, I decorated my house with 4 children's Holiday books.

12-15-10 Three Stockings hanging...

On the 3rd day of Christmas, I decorated our house with 3 handmade stockings and hung them on the mantle.

12-14-10 Two ceramic reindeer....

On the 2nd day of Christmas, I decorated my house with two ceramic reindeer the I set upon a shelf.

12-13-10 One Elf Hiding in a Wreath

From now until Christmas, I thought I would post about different items we decorate our house for Christmas with. Kind of in a "On the first day of Christmas, I decorated my house with..." (take off of the "12 Days of Christmas"). So...On the first day of Christmas, I decorated my house with one elf hiding in a Christmas wreath.

12-7-10 A Charlie Brown Christmas

It wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on TV. I have watched it every year since I was little.

12-6-10 1st Anniversary Cake

This past July our daughter & son-in-law celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary. Since they were out of town for their anniversary, they didn't share in cutting their "anniversary cake." This past weekend, I decided it had been the freezer long enough and thawed it out. It still looked pretty, but the taste.......I'm not sure where this tradition was started.

12-5-10 Child Labor

Son came home from college this weekend and we put him to work. Our neighbor had cut down a couple of trees in his yard over the summer and gave us the wood. Some of the logs were too large to use, so we enlisted the muscles of one more suitable for the work.

11-30-10 The Crossover Season

Fall is the crossover season. It's the only season that allows trees to have more than one color of leaf. It's the season where we get used to wearing short-sleeves, then Mother Nature reminds us that She is "in charge." Fall is the colorful season. What other time of year can we see yellow, red, gold, tan, and all shades in between?

11-29-10 Falls Brilliant Colors

The one red leaf, the last of its clan,

That dances as often as dance it can,

Hanging so light, and hanging so high,

On the topmost twig that looks up a the sky.

---Samuel Taylor Coleridge

11_28_10 Feast of Thanksgiving

The feast of Thanks. Thanksgiving Feast. That turkey meal. Whatever you call it, IT'S GOOD!!!

11-23-10 Climbing the Ladder

We are having some work done on our house, and our contractor has several ladders laying in our backyard. This one is the longest one.

11-21-10 Choppin' Wood

Last summer, our neighbor chopped two of he trees down and gave us the wood. However, some of the logs needed splitting. So when Tim get's the urge, he goes out and splits wood. Today was one of those days.

11-14-10 The Daily Shoot Turns 1!

The "Daily Shoot" turns 1 year old today! It has been a source of inspiration for me as I work on my photography skills. In honor of it's birthday, it suggested to make a photo with a calendar theme.

11-12-10 Veteran's Day Tribute

(Meant to post this yesterday.) In the town I work in, they have a Veteran's Memorial. Last Saturday, they had a parade that ended at the memorial. Lots of people showed up, including members of the Patriot Guard. I was conducting a training across the street, when they fired the cannon off. Both days, Saturday and Thursday, actual Veteran's Day, made me say "Thanks" to
to those that have helped and are helping to keep this country free.

11-10-10 Coloful!!

I know I keep going on about this year's autumn colors, but they are so brilliant. Soon the colorful leaves will fall, and the harsh reality of winter will be upon us. So I'm going to enjoy the splendid color while I can.

11-9-10 Fall Colors

I love this time of year. The colors are so brilliant.