Category: Thursday Thirteen

1. Friday, I kicked off my Christmas celebrations watching “A Christmas Story” with Hubby and Emily. Since Emily hadn’t seen it, it was really fun to watch it with her.
2. I then proceeded to watch “The Santa Claus” (first one), “Rudolph The Rednose Reindeer”, and “Miracle on 34th Street” while I wrapped, cooked and wrote letters.
3. Saturday, my cousin Janet came up and we watched “Scrooged” with Bill Murray (first time I’d seen it and I really liked it. then I put together a sort of appetizer’s delight of meatballs, artichoke dip (see recipe below), stuffed grape leaves and my own potato salad. I’d give you a recipe for that if I could, but it’s mostly a little bit of this and a little bit of that and then it’s done.
4. Janet and I made her Mom’s recipe for Sand Tart cookies. What was sort of funny about this was that when she sprinkled the colored sugar on them I kept almost seeing writing. Janet said, “Some people use Ouija boards, our family uses Christmas cookies.” But I never could read what was written on the cookies, still I know that they were speaking to me! Then we watched “Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest”. I love Orlando Bloom and Janet loves Johnny Depp so we can watch these sorts of movies without feelings of competition! LOL
5. Sunday we had a big breakfast, exchanged Christmas gifts, I got an awesome Beatles CD and a Lennox Christmas tree ornament, and Hubby got a bottle of Glenfiddich Scotch!
6. Then we took puppy pictures.

7. Sunday afternoon, I prepared for evening guests. We were going to serve Fondue, so I got everything out for that, plus I made a pumpkin pie for Christmas day.
8. Emily and her family came over for dinner Christmas Eve. We ate like crazy, talked and, of course, played with the puppies!
9. Christmas Day I made an Herb Crusted Rib Roast (see recipe below). That was so good. I also watched “Little Women” “The Horse Whisperer” , “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “The Bishop’s Wife” with Cary Grant.
10. The next day my daughter Mandy came up and we had our Christmas. We ate a ton of food, exchanged gifts and played with the puppies! What fun.
11. We also took a bunch of pictures of the puppies too!

12. I set up the two Christmas statuary that Mandy gave me. Snowmen that sing “Let it Snow”, and my church scene with two skaters that play a montage of Christmas tunes. (I adore this!)
13. I end the list of Christmas Happenings with the purchase of my Christmas cards for next year. I did this today when they were 60% off. I love to send cards, and unfortunately in this day and age it’s becoming pretty expensive. So, by buying them now I can continue to send them to all the people that I love.

Merry Christmas!

1. The first thing I do each morning is check on the babies
2. I try to hold and pat each puppy every day.
3. Most of them like it.
4. I always spend time stroking and talking to Greta and telling her how much I love her.
5. I also tell her what a great Mama she is. After all every new mother needs encouragement, even a doggy Mama!
6. Greta is spending a bit more time out of the whelping box and back with the humans.
7. But no one better go near those pups or she’ll come running!
8. She did finally let Fritz come close to the box to see the babies.
9. She only curled her lip once!
10. I am still sleeping next to the whelping box.
11. I can hardly wait to get back to my own bed.
12. I wonder when that will be?
13. I also wonder when their eyes will open?

13 Things That Made My Week Really Happy!

1. Seeing the puppies born this week.
2. Helping to revive the babies after their birth.
3. Knowing that Greta would be okay after her surgery.
4. Seeing how quickly the puppies continue to grow!
5. Seeing what a great mother Greta is.
6. Getting my Christmas letter written and printed out.
7. Getting all the Christmas cards addressed and mailed.
8. Finishing up my baking.
9. Delivering my goodies to my neighbors.
10. Having Fritz do well with the entire puppy experiance. At least, so far.
11. Getting the Christmas lights up.
12. Did I mention the puppies?
13. Having a dream of mine fulfilled.

1. I have picked out 5 cookie recipes to make with Emily this weekend. Chocolate Chip, Ginger Spice, Toffee Bars, Snickerdoodles, and Peanut Butter Cookies
2. All the recipes will be found in the cooking section of my blog.
3. I plan to post the peanut butter cookie recipe tomorrow.
4. I make up boxes of cookies for my elderly shut-in neighbors.
5. I also make up a big tray of cookies for my Vet and the Post Office.
6. I love to bake!
7. I love to eat what I bake! Uh-oh!
8. My favorite cookies are Snickerdoodles!
9. This will be an all day cookie baking fest!
10. I will take a lot of pictures and post them.
11. Hubby’s favorite cookies are Chocolate Chip.
12. The kitchen is right next to the puppy nursery.
13. So I will be close by if Greta has had her babies.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things.

Thirteen TV Shows From the 1980’s That I Watched

1. Three’s Company
2. M*A*S*H*
3. Happy Days
4. Newhart
5. Dynasty
6. The Cosby Show
7. The Golden Girls
8. Cheers
9. The Wonder Years
10. Roseanne
11. Moonlighting
12. Taxi
13. Magnum PI

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things.

Places I Have Been And Loved

1. Germany. Specifically Berlin and Munich. I just love visiting those two places. They are my second home.
2. England. I loved the Cotswalds the best.
3. Hungary. Budapest. A really fun city to visit.
4. Alaska. Our trip last year made such an impression that I will always love Alaska.
5. Nova Scotia. It’s really beautiful there.
6. Greece. Athens. What a marvelous place to spend time.
7. The Caribbean. I love warm sandy beaches.
8. Switzerland. Zurich. There is a part of Zurich where the hills rise above the city and there are still grazing cow pastures.
9. The Florida Keys. Wonderful seafood and a relaxed atmosphere.
10. Alberta Canada. I love it up there in the wilderness, where the Elk and the deer roam.
11. Italy. I’ve only been to northern Italy, but I liked it a lot. I have wonderful memories of a trip Hubby and I took there with Shubi.
12. Austria. Vienna. The best Schnitzel I ever had was in Vienna.
13. Scotland. Land of my Hubby’s ancestors and the only place they can pronounce our last name correctly.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things.

Thirteen Classic Movies I Can Watch Over And Over

1. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
2. It’s A Wonderful Life
3. Doctor Zhivago
4. An Affair To Remember
5. The King & I
6. The Sound Of Music
7. Tootsie
8. Fargo
9. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
10. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
11. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone
12. A Hard Day’s Night
13. The Wizard Of Oz

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things.

The New TV Season”

1. I’ve been mostly disappointed with the new TV season.
2. Of the new shows I’ve seen I like “Ugly Betty” and “The Class” the best.
3. I wonder what’s happening on CSI. The story-lines have been really weird this year.
4. I used to like the Law & Order’s, but I’m sort of tired of them.
5. Still loving “House” best of all!!!!! (Smoochies to Hugh Laurie!)
6. I think the funniest show in TV is “Two & A Half Men”. The kid is the best!
7. NCIS shifted gears this season which helps to keep things fresh!
8. “How I Met Your Mother” just keeps getting better and better.
9. I’m watching CSI Miami on A&E in reruns. Mostly because I don’t stay up after 10.
10. There is nothing on Wednesday that I watch. Sad, but true!
11. Desperate Housewives has had a few funny moments, but come on, some of these situations are just too far out and too wild that even I (a veteran Soap Opera Watcher), am getting a little tired of it.
12. I wonder if any good mid season shows will come on?
13. I’m watching more and more cable TV shows and spending more time on the computer.

Why I Love My House

1. I love my big kitchen. I love to cook and the big family style kitchen is a real dream come true.
2. The views. We are so lucky to have the most wonderful views from our front windows. Sunsets are particularly beautiful, as you can see.
3. My fireplace. I have always loved the warmth a fireplace emits in the winter when you have a nice fire going.
4. My bathroom. We have a big shower in it and also a jacuzzi tub. Put a fridge and TV in there and I could live in it.
5. My greenhouse. What a great place to start seedlings in the spring, and store wood in the winter!
6. The patio. I love my patio. Hubby and I laid all the stones on it, and we really enjoy sitting out there having a picnic, cookout or whatever.
7. The screened in porch. It’s a good old New England screened porch and I love it. Why, you might ask? Well, because there is that 3 hour time frame in the early summer evenings when the mosquitoes will just carry you away! the porch gives us a chance to sit out in peace.
8. My laundry room. It is set up with an ironing board, shelves and everything once could want.
9. A heated garage. I know this sounds terribly frivolous, but it isn’t. We had to do this because the garage is under our bedroom and if we hadn’t heated it, we would have had trouble keeping our bedroom warm. So having the garage heated is a good thing because we never get into a cold car.
10. Our family room. This is the room right next to the kitchen. It’s large, open and bright. This is the room we live in.
11. My bedroom. I love it because it’s where I get the most rest and sleep. It’s a quiet dreamy place for me.
12. The attic. It is wonderful and unfortunately too large. I say unfortunately because we are both pack rats and save stuff we should probably throw out. The attic is full. I keep promising to get up there and throw stuff out. Maybe next year!
13. The cathedral ceilings in the family room. It makes everything seem bigger, brighter and brings the kitchen and family room together in a nice way.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Thirteen Reasons I Love Autumn

1. Going for walks in the woods.
2. The cool temperatures after a long hot summer.
3. The bright colors of the leaves. Orange, red, gold and burnt sienna.
4. The smell of wood fires as people start using their fireplaces again.
5. Apples. Fresh and crisp.
6. Cider. Cold or hot, it doesn’t make a difference.
7. Blue skies. It seems they are brighter and deeper blue in the fall.
8. Quiet. Tourist season ends here in central New Hampshire and our town becomes ours again as the tourists all go home.
9. Apple cheeks. I love seeing the kids around here after they have been playing outside in the crisp air. They have bight red apple cheeks and big smiles.
10. Halloween, my birthday and then Thanksgiving. Can you say good food?
11. Turtlenecks, sweaters and knee socks.
12. Fires in our hearth.
13. Soups, pot roasts, and crock pot meals that I avoid making during the summer, because it’s just too darn hot!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!