Connie Foot Photo #42 & #43

Last week's visit was routine.  Off came the bandage.  In came the Foot God.  Foot God muttered it looked good.  Plan made to remove staples next week.  Home health care to begin again.  Bandage back on.

This week Connie didn't make it to the appointment, but instead ended up in the hospital with severe dehydration.  The wound nurse appeared to change the bandage and discovered the graft had fallen off.  The staples are still in place, with one in the wound itself.  The wound looked very pink and healthy, but the graft to the side concerned me, as did the staple.  The wound nurse didn't care as her instructions from the Foot God were to not touch anything.  She bandaged it up again right over the top of the falling graft and staples.  Jeez!

Connie's hospital physician put in a call for the Foot God to visit her in the hospital to set up a plan of action, and he arrived late last evening to take out the staples and fix everything up.  He dressed it nicely and will see her on Monday.  In the meantime she has taken a fall on the way to the bathroom, and been quite loopy with the combo of dehydration, stress on the kidneys, and the higher steroid dosage.

Out of the mouths of my babes

Darcy:  "There is something wrong with the ice maker.  It is frozen or something."

Me:  "Yes, that has happened before.  You have to remove the container and get rid of the ice underneath."

Darcy: (attempts to remove container) "Ah, never mind.  We'll just let Dad fix it."

Me:  "What?  No!  We can handle this without your Dad."

Darcy:  "Why?  Leave it for Dad."

Me:  "Because women can do anything that men can do.  Women do not need men to take care of things for them.  You are letting down many generations of strong women.  What kind of example are you setting for the younger women?"

Darcy:  "Uh, I'm just saying why waste our precious time defrosting this thing?  Let Dad do it, and we can spend our time enjoying something else!"

And she is 15

Happy Birthday to my first born who made us into a family.  She is beautiful with a personality that doesn't fit her red hair and brown eyes.  The little girl that ran this household with her kind and gentle ways grew into a loving, sweet, and caring woman.  She is wise beyond her years.  She has made us proud with the way she conducts herself, cares for others, and believes that there is good in all of us.

Where did the time go?  I can remember waving away people when they questioned where we would send her for kindergarten.  "We have years before that," I said.  Now we are worrying about high school and driving.

That little girl who talked to us like an adult may be an adult now, but I still see the little one inside her.  The little one with the tiny voice that never quit talking.  The little one who shared her toys willingly with others, and who wanted to know everything about anything.

We are very proud of who she is today, and love her beyond words.  Happy Birthday Madison!

Thanksgiving in Florida 2011

The great thing about living in Florida is that during the fall and winter holidays we are able to be outdoors in the sand and water.  Good thing that we have visitors from other areas to get us there!

Thanksgiving Pics

Little helper Henry:

My dear friend Sharon, who I have known since she was a mere child of eighteen, stayed at our house for two days over the holidays. She and her husband and two boys live two hours away and with our lives in different directions it has been a year since we have seen them. Her boys are five and three, and on Thanksgiving morning while I was starting my pumpkin cheesecake baking, her three year old offered his assistance.

Turns out he was a great helper. He crushed the graham crackers and almonds.

He added the melted butter and stirred.

 He whisked eggs and added ingredients for the filling.

He mixed it all up.

 And then he cleaned the dishes.

He was amazing; very calm and relaxed. We chatted while we worked, and he told me how he helps his mother cook at home. After cleaning while the cheesecake baked, he helped me snap the beans.

Chef Kelly:

Kelly worked hard the night before getting the turkey ready for the oven.  She made some sausage and apple stuffing, as well as the traditional pan of stuffing.  She had recipes for some holiday cocktails, green beans, and a specialty cheese puffy bread thing.

But the most amazing thing she brought with her were her brand new turkey flipper tongs.  These she used to turn over the turkey for browning, and she used them to transfer the turkey from the pan to the serving plate.

Connie's Milk Giblet Gravy:

This year Connie agreed to talk us through the making of her family's milk gravy. 

First combine flour and milk

Second using the "powerful broth" from the turkey, I heated it on low

Then I slowly added the four mixture to the broth mixture and stirred and stirred

Then I turned that stirring job over to Madison who finished up the gravy with more mixture, more milk, and some seasonings.  We added the giblets and had delicious gravy!

A beautiful table:

Our guests, who did not eat with us as they visited family, made our centerpiece for the table.

And we added a few leaves and some candles.

And then used the fine china and crystal glasses for a finished and very festive table.

It was a very relaxing and quiet day with lots of good food, good wine, and great company.  Happy, happy!

Happy Turkey Day 2011

I've written many times about my horrid wonderous cooking skills, and for the most part I am quite capable of simple meals, but when it comes to holiday meals I leave that up to the expert...mainly Kelly.  Kelly cooks my Thanksgiving dinners and sometimes, depending on the year, my Christmas dinners.  I have a few dishes I'm responsible for, and this year it turned out to be dessert.

I decided to make a pumpkin cheesecake because, frankly, I love cheesecake.  I also found a recipe for a chocolate chip cookie cake with marshmallows, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and sprinkles.  I thought that would be a delightful dish to take to my mother-in-law's house for the kids as most kids don't consume, or care for, pecan and pumpkin pies.

First the recipe called for "Thanksgiving themed" sprinkles, which in the picture of the cake looked like brown, orange, and yellow sprinkles with some colored leafy looking sprinkles.  I could not find this at my grocery store so I bought regular sprinkles, and Darcy, Madison and I spent an evening digging out the "Thanksgiving colored" sprinkles.  Madison thought me crazy, but it all worked out fine.

This morning I got up early and made the cheesecake with the help of my friend's three year old son, Henry.  (Pictures tomorrow)  Then, since the oven was still on and the turkey had not yet arrived to be cooked, I decided to tackle the cookie cake.  It was to be put on a 12 inch pizza pan.  I wanted to buy a disposable foil pan, but Madison thought that silly because we own a pizza pan.  I didn't want to use it because it was a lot larger than 12 inches, and I am a follower of directions.  But Madison went on and on about money and waste and so I compromised and bought two packages of cookie dough to spread across my pizza pan.  (Yes, people I bought the damn dough, and why not?  Life is too short to spend it in the kitchen whipping up ingredients that are right in a package nicely done for you.)

Before I had turned on the oven that morning, my friend, Sharon, and I cleaned the oven so that it wouldn't smoke as there was some food caked on the bottom.  I have no idea where it came from, but since my girls are now cooking I blamed that on them.  My oven is fairly new and the bottom rack is somehow attached to the door so that it comes out nicely when the door is opened.  I have no idea how to remove the thing so Sharon and I had to work around that factor, and we did, and the oven worked great with the cheesecake.

Then I put in the cookie cake and set the timer.  After it beeped, I opened the oven door and smoke began hurling out of the door, which in turn set off my smoke alarm.  I shut the door and worked on the alarm, and wondered aloud, very loudly, why there was smoke in my oven.  I tried the door again.  Out came the smoke and on came the smoke alarm.  This went on and on each time I opened the door until finally the cookie was done and out of the oven.  That was about the time Kelly called to tell me to preheat the oven she was on the way with the prepared turkey to cook. I peeked in the oven and there was black gunk on the bottom burning away.

Me:  "What in the world in that?  Sharon and I cleaned that this morning."

John (Sharon's hubby):  "What did you cook in there after you cleaned it?"

Me:  "A cheesecake and the oven was fine."

John:  "Okay, then you put in this cookie?"

Me:  "Yes, and that is when the problem started, but it didn't spill over or anything so what the hell happened?"

John:  "Is this a pizza pan?  Are there holes in the bottom of this pan?"

Me:  "Uh......

Yep, there are holes in the bottom of my pizza pan, and yes, the cookie cake dripped through the holes and burned the bottom of my oven.  But what is a holiday without a little mishap?  So wee are having to work around the smoke and the alarm, but the turkey seems just fine in there sharing space with burnt cookie dough.  Who knows?  Maybe it will add some flavor.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  May you too have some holiday mishaps fun!

Out of the mouths of my babes

Me: "Be careful in this car with the food!"

Grandma C: "They're older now. You don't have to worry about flinging food and spilling drinks now, do you?"

Me: "Pfft."

Madison: "I am much better!"

Me: "I do have to say that Madison hasn't come home from school with stuff all over her shirt."

Madison: "I have been very good with that, which is a miracle because I eat stuff in the cafeteria that is full of messy ingredients; ketchup and other stuff of suspicious origins."

(Laughter from all of us)

Madison: "It's said that the reason why we don't see the dead bodies from all the alleged shootings at high school is because they are ground up and used in the chicken nuggets in our cafeteria!"

Parenting Lesson #7564738

I've spent my entire mommyhood protecting my children; from falling, from choking, from sickness, from other mean kids. I enrolled them in a small private school where I could pop in at any time if ever they needed me. When Madison started high school I wanted to walk her through the halls that first day to make sure she would be alright, but knowing that wasn't a possibility, knowing I had to let go so she could walk those halls on her own, I kissed her and sent her out to do so. Since then I've had to allow her more freedom, and each time I do, I feel a little more confident in her ability to handle herself.

She made the JV soccer team at school this year, but because the varsity team and the football team share the field, the JV team had to find a different location, and the coach transported the non-drivers in her van. The area isn't what I would consider the best area to leave young girls by themselves so I try to make sure that I arrive on time to pick her up each day. Trouble is the coach tends to end practice early on some days, and she doesn't wait around to make sure that each girl is picked up. When that happens Madison texts me to let me know, and I try to drop what I'm doing to rush to the practice arena.

This past week I got to the field right on time, after picking up Darcy from her school. I pulled into the lot to find the entire facility empty. No one was on the field. No one was playing basketball on the courts. The parklng lot was empty save for a lone compact car with a man sitting inside. My heart came up into my throat as I wheeled my vehicle through the lot talking aloud, "Where is she? Where is Madison?" I sent Darcy out of the car to look around, although I knew it was futile, while I dialed her cell phone number. It went straight to voice mail so I dialed again. It went right to voice mail, and I listened to her sweet voice tell me she was busy and to leave a message, at the same time Darcy reappeared at the car, her head shaking and her eyes starting to water.

"Where the hell is she?" I screamed. "Why isn't she answering her phone?" I wheeled out of the parking lot. "Who the hell is that guy just sitting in his car?" I was panicked. I was, seriously, crazed with fear. I pictured, in that moment while leaving the facility, all of the horrible things that could have happened, and I realized that I didn't even know where to begin to find her. I didn't have any numbers for the school or the coach. I didn't even know who to call at the school if I did have the number. I literally had no idea how to find my little girl. It was exactly the same feeling of hopelessness I had the time she wandered away from a group at the beach. I looked up one end of the beach and saw rows and rows of people. I looked up the other end of the beach and saw the same rows of strangers. How would I even begin to find her?

"We should go to the school," Darcy said. And so I headed that way. I also pick up Madison's carpool friend who is on the varsity team. Her coach, too, leaves her alone in a vacant area, and my thought was that I had to get to her too before she disappeared. I drove like a maniac down the road, frantically dialing Madison's number and listening to the same message. I was sobbing, tears running down my face, and as I hit a redlight I saw a police car coming up in the lane next to me. I almost put my car in park, jumped out and flagged him down. Only the thought that I didn't even know how to begin to tell him my fear stopped me from doing so. By then I had Darcy text another mother whose daughter was also on the JV team. We heard back from her as I pulled into the parking lot where I was to pick up the carpool friend.

"They are at the school field" the message read. "Scrimmaging the varsity team."

At the exact moment Darcy read this aloud, my phone rang. It was the carpool friend calling to tell me that Madison's cell phone was dead and that Madison was with her. It was now twenty minutes past our normal pick up time. I broke down again. When the two finally appeared in front of my car the relief was so great I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.

When I was a kid my friend and I were playing outside in my yard. She lived across the street from me and for some reason or another she needed to go home for something. The street we lived on was a quiet, residential street, and she ran out into the road without looking. A car was coming and it almost hit her. It quickly braked, tires squealing, and the driver laid on his horn. This got the attention of my friend's mother who came running out of the house. I can remember her screaming. She tore out of her house and ran down the little hill in her front yard as my friend, scared, ran up the hill. The two met in the middle, her mother dropping to her knees and grabbing her in a fierce hug. They stayed that way several minutes in each others arms and then her mother stood up, began yelling, took her hand, and marched her in the house and spanked her. I can remember thinking how unfair a spanking was, yet somehow I also understood, because I had seen the look on that mother's face. I've never forgotten that moment in all these years.

That is the moment I felt when Madison appeared. I wanted to get out of my car and run to where she was walking toward me with her friend. I wanted to fall on my knees and hold her close. I wanted to never let her go. I also wanted to beat the hell out of her.

Instead I held it together as she apologized and got into the car. I yelled all the way home, dropped her off, and then drove the carpool friend home. I called my mother and cried and cried as I drove back home. Then I walked into my house and held my daughter. I did it again several times throughout the evening. We discussed what had happened, how to rectify it, and formulated a plan so it wouldn't happen again. We hugged some more.

I had a hard time functioning the next day. I was exhausted, as if I had run a marathon, and I spent most of the day in a daze. Every stranger I encountered seemed creepier for some reason. I was suspicious of everyone. By the day after that I was back to normal. I know that I should have kept more of a level head and thought about things before panicking, and I know that I still have to let Madison spread her wings. But I also know that I won't be the same. I'm just in a whole new phase of mommyhood. God help me.

10 things about Regis Philbin leaving

1. Yesterday was Regis Philbin's last day on Live, a show he began in New York in 1983.  I don't remember the first time I became a fan, it was long after Kathie Lee became his co-host, but I feel like I've been watching him forever.  He did Live for 28 years, and before that several shows in California.  He said he always wanted to make people feel better about themselves.  He always did that for me. 
2. I thought he was a caring, loyal, and very funny man.  In so many ways I saw my father in him; his hands, the way he crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair, his humor, and his kindness.  I am going to miss having him on my television every morning.  
3. That first 15 minutes of the show was the best of television hands down.  Regis always did it live and off the cuff.  I use to only record that segment when I couldn't watch the show live.
4. I was upset when Kathie Lee left, but thrilled when Kelly Ripa got the job.  I watched All My Children back then, and I felt like a proud parent to see her move up in the television world and sit next to the King.  She's come a long way since those first days.  She did a fine job this week with him, guiding him, and keeping a protective hand on his arm.  Made me love her more.
5. I always felt like Michael Gelman, Live's producer,  had a great relationship with Regis.  I think it changed some when Gelman got married and started his own life, but he did a fine job of sending Regis off.  Yesterday's beginning of Live with Regis walking his walk the way he has for 28 years, in black and white, live, was epic.  I sobbed the whole time.
6. Joy, his wife, is going to go crazy.  I just can't imagine what Regis will do every day without his show.  I'm hoping that somewhere in the world of media there are still people who don't believe in shoving out the old to bring in the young, and that there is still a place for Regis.
7. I loved Regis' loyalty to Notre Dame and its football program.  I'm sure we will never know jsut how much he has contributed through the years to the school, but I've always felt Notre Dame has been a big fan of his as well.  When I took the tour of Notre Dame he was mentioned by our tour guide, and I wondered if that was part of a guide's training.
8. The fact that David Letterman, who never does talk shows, would come on Live tells me all I need to know.
9.  My favorite Regis moments were his interactions with the public, whether it on the street or on the phone.  He is genuine. 
10. As I get older, I realize that there isn't a place for the elderly in this society.  Everything is push, push, get them out so the next generation can show them how it is done.  I hope my kids learn that the elderly have a lot still left in them; wisdom and experience that can't be found in books.  Regis Philbin is one such elder, and I think morning television died yesterday a little bit with his leaving.  I wish him all the best!  Love you Reg!

Out of the mouths of my babes

Me: "How did the ortho appointment go?"

Darcy: "She told me to massage my gums with this toothbrush while I'm watching TV."

Me: "Really? Why?"

Darcy: "Because my gums are growing over my tooth."

Me: "Ewww. That means you'd better get on that."

Darcy: "It means I better watch more TV!"

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want too...

In my brain, despite knowing the truth, I still feel that I look like this girl:

 In my brain, despite knowing the truth, I am thin like this girl:

Many days I feel like this girl:

The mirror, on a good day, tells me I'm really this woman:

And I think, "How did that happen?"

Connie Foot Photo #41

Nothing changed.  The wound and graft look good; no pus or discharge.  The graft will remain stapled on the foot for three weeks before he takes the staples out.  No one to touch the foot for another week.  Carry on.

Out of the mouth of my babes

Darcy: "Let's go get in the car and drive to the Village Inn and get a pie."

Me: "I can not do that."

Darcy: "Yes, you can, it's easy."

Me: "Darcy, I'm not kidding. After what happened today I lost five years of my life."

Darcy: "Well that means you're younger so you can drive."

Me: "No, it means that I lost five years of my life, and now I'll die five years sooner than I would have normally."

Darcy: "Exactly then you should live your life to its fullest and eat some pie!"

Monday morning sports recap

It was a good Sunday of football for me with a Steelers win, a Ravens loss, and me back on the couch next to my Steelers buddy. Even thought the game was televised locally my buddy invited me over and his family and I got to catch up while watching the game. It was made even better by the Seattle Seahawks taking down the Ravens! Thanks Pete Carroll!

Steelers:

• Defense - Working more each week on the mistakes from the past.  If we can just get Woodley back and keep the defense healthy, I have high hopes.
• William Gay - I think he must have gotten quite a beating this past week from the coach, the staff, and the players.  He obviously took his mistakes from last week's game against the Ravens and turned them around.  He won the game yesterday for the Steelers with his interception in the last two minutes, but he made several key plays throughout the game as well.
• Troy Polamalu - All over the field again.
• Antonio Brown - He has taken over Hines Ward's position and boy, did he play it well yesterday.  Hines will be lucky to take a few snaps now.  Did I mention that I shook his hand and talked to him?
• Big Ben - Played with a broken thumb?  Again.  He annoys me sometimes, but then he does something like that, and I think again how if he could just get his head in the game 90 percent of the time he will turn out to be one of the greats.

Others:

• Penn State Saga - Okay, guess I have to start out with the Penn State saga. The whole thing is just sickening, but I think there is much more to the story. I think it is easy to say what one would do while sitting at home on the couch. I think that no one wanted to be involved so he passed the buck.  I want to know how many of the trustees were on board during the first "indiscretion". I want to know who thought it okay for this pedophile to have an office at the university after he was fired back in the late 90's, let alone allowing him to bring young boys on campus. Penn State and its employees dropped the ball all the away around, but firing Paterno? I think he was an easy, big name, fall guy to try to remove heat from those who really deserve it more. Sad situation all the way around for the victims, the university, the world of sports, and the fans.
• TV Choices - So after the Giants couldn't come back in the last minute and the game ended the network chose to switch to the Bears/Lions game where the Bears were ahead by 34 points? Whose bright idea was that?
• Dallas - Were the Cowboys ready to play football this week or what? They creamed the Bills 44-7 and Romo was on the roll the fans and organization have been expecting from him the last 5 years.
• Bad Decisions -  The talk last night was about Atlanta Falcon's coach Mike Smith's decision to run on a 4th down in their own territory with the game tied in overtime instead of punting the ball.  His explanation was a fear of Saints quarterback Drew Brees marching his team down the field and winning the game.  Smith thought that if they got that first down they would be the marchers.  He would have been a hero if it had worked.  Trouble was that it didn't, the Saints got the ball, and won the game by kicking a field goal.  The weird thing about the decision, in my opinion, was that it didn't come with ten seconds left on the clock, but more then ten minutes left on the clock.  Smith's Falcons defense should have been given the opportunity to stop the Saints with that much time still on the clock.  I agree with Coach Dungy on that one.
• Patriots- Did anyone really think they would lose three in a row?  Please.  I think Ryan knew as well...
• Rex Ryan - I enjoyed his interview with Bob Costas last night.  I like him better when he isn't playing the part of the pudgy, full of himself, we-are-the-best and screw-you-world persona.  He was contrite, funny, and I learned a few things about him and his love for the game.
• Hank Williams Jr. - Enjoyed his entrance on the CMA Awards on Wednesday night after Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood's little ditty.  Trust country music to address an issue with hilarity and heart while backing their own.  Football will never be the same, but maybe this will put ole Hank Jr. back in the spotlight once again.

Out of the mouths of my babes

Darcy:  "I think I did really well on the science test.  I'm so excited and proud of myself."

Me:  "Did you know all the answers?"

Darcy:  "There was one I wasn't pacifically sure about, but I looked it up and I got it right."

Me:  "Pacifically?"

Darcy:  "Yes, pacifically.  Yes, I know it isn't right.  I said it today too and my science teacher corrected me."

Me:  "And what did you say to him when he told you the word was specifically?"

Darcy:  "Specifically, pacifically, whatever word it is!  Who cares?"

The Internet is going to make me skinny

Last night on Yahoo the lead story at that time was 5 Bizarre Weight Loss Tricks That Work, so of course I clicked on this seeing that I could certainly shed a few pounds.  And what better way to shed then the bizarre way!  These tricks are so going to help me, not to mention give me a blog entry while doing so.

• Sniff a banana, an apple, or peppermint - Some researcher found that the more you sniff the less hungrier you feel because you are tricking your brain.  The explanation did not say why one must sniff the three food items mentioned in the title, but who doesn't have these foods lying around?  I'm also not sure how often I need to sniff these foods.  Should I carry them in my purse and sniff every hour or only right before I eat?  Guess I'll have to experiment, and it just so happens I bought some banana flavored Starbursts today!

• Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table - A study says that this cut down eating by a third.  Hmmm.  First of all, I don't look in mirrors when there is light.  I shower and brush my teeth in the dark because I look better.  I tend to avoid mirrors at all cost so I think I would just ignore the mirror when eating, but who knows.  Don't know til I try it.

• Surround yourself with blue - Apparently blue is an appetite suppressant so it suggests we eat on a blue plate, on a blue tablecloth, while wearing blue.  Oh yeah, my scrubs are blue!  Easy one to do here as I have all three of those things.  Well, not the tablecloth, but I have a blue placemat, only it's for decoration, and I usually remove it before eating, but guess not anymore.  Oh, and I have blue walls in my kitchen too.

• Shoot your food - I was worried about this when I saw that header because it seemed messy, but turns out they didn't mean with a gun.  I should shoot pictures of what I eat so that I can analyze it.  According to the article I would analyze it after I ate so that I could avoid putting that much dressing, for example, on my salad next time.  Uh, shouldn't I study the photo before I eat the food?

•  Tie yourself up - This too gave me pause until I read that they meant around the waist with a ribbon so that I can feel myself enlarging as I eat.  And I thought the waist band of my jeans was already doing that job!

Connie Foot Photo #40

This visit was the follow up to the Integra Graft surgery she had on Friday.  She did well to stay off her foot, despite having to climb up and down the fifteen stairs to her condo.  The bandage was humongous, although Connie was quick to point out it had been redone by herself as the original was a crappy job.

This is what it looked like before he removed the outer shell.  I explained to him that I had watched an entire video and read all about the procedure, and that when I got to the end it told me to fill out a form to be certified.

Me:  "So I'm now qualified to perform this surgery, and...I HAVE THE SCRUBS to do it!"
Foot God: (laughing) "Good because I'm not certified."
Me:  "I'm ready when you need me."

This is the photo of the graft itself stapled to Connie's foot, doing its job of building and replenishing cells.  Go cells go! Give me a "C"! Give me an "E"!  Give me a double "L"!  Cell! Cell! Cell!  Work, work, work!

Then Connie told the Foot God how to wrap her foot the correct way, and he tried arguing with her in his nonchalant way, and then he did what she told him...or made her think he did.  The two of them pretty much have each other figured out by now. 

She returns on Monday as he doesn't want anyone else touching it.

Connie:  "Well, I'll probably have to touch it as your last job was so bad I don't have high hopes for this wrapping job either."
Foot God:  "Okay, you can touch it to fix my poor wrapping job, but no one else."

Old Pictures - Farm Holidays

Since I checked in on my resolutions a few days ago I've tried to put forth more effort on them.  One of the resolutions was to scan my old photos into my computer to eventually get them put on jump drives.  I decided since I just came from the Indiana farm that I would start there in my scanning project.  Here are a few of the old photos I scanned under the "Holiday" category.

 I know this says it is Christmas, but I think it is probably Thanksgiving 1975 at the kid's table.  As long as my grandfather was alive we still did the Holidays at his house, the farm.  The adults had a table and the kids had a table.  After spending Thanksgiving here my mother and I would then travel a couple of hours to her family's farm for another Thanksgiving, which is probably why I'm not in the photo.

I think I published this photo earlier during my slide pictures, but since it is 1975 as well I'm adding it.  We always spent Christmas Eve at the farm and then we would drive home that night, Rusty and I falling asleep under blankets in the back of the station wagon.  These are the cousins I grew up with and played with in this picture.

 I have a feeling this was after Christmas since it is taken at Aunt Lorene's house.  I thought it might be my grandfather's birthday, but since we are dressed so warmly I figured the December date was probably more correct.  Either way we are giving out gifts and my grandfather is acting as goofy as my father always did!

This is Christmas at the farm in 1978.  In the picture is my cousin Nikky, better known in the old days as Peanut, my cousin Ronnie who just died, my uncle Leo, and my cousins Shannon and Shad.  I'm always amazed at how tidy and sturdy the old house looks...not to mention the people!

Apparently back in the late 70's beards were all the rage.  This is Thanksgiving 1979 if my Dad's dates are correct.  This would be the adult table, and by this time I'm sure I had graduated to it, although I'm not in the picture.

My grandfather died in 1982 and Aunt Lorene took over our holidays.  This is Thanksgiving 1986 and the table is spread out the entire length of her living room.  From left to right:  some guy I don't know, my cousin Shannon, my cousin Little Scott, my cousin Ronnie, his wife Terri, her daughter Shannon, the head belongs to my cousin Shad, my cousin Big Scott and his wife at the time Myra, their son Ronnie,  Little Scott's wife at the time Cindy, my mother's head, me, my sister-in-law Susan, my brother Rusty, my uncle Cockeye, my cousin's husband Ronnie and my cousin Cindy, their daughter Delaney, and Darryl's wife Kathy.  Those dinners were always huge, messy, and delicious.  This is the dinner where my mother and I messed around with Cindy, telling her we were eating animals that the men had gone out and hunted.  I remember that my stomach hurt so much after all the laughing we did.  It is a good memory, and one I talked to her about when I saw her at the funeral this past month.  She and my cousin divorced so I don't see her much anymore, but that night we yukked it up.