Happy New Year everyone!

I finally found the perfect crown for Queen Tootsie! Be safe! Diane

Pink Saturday and one last look...

I found pink ornaments to use for my contribution to Pink Saturday! Pink Saturday is hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. (Okay, I know I'm late, but I finally got here and I'm not on Beverly's list, but I'll try to be on her list next week.)

Note: Sweet Beverly added me to her list!!! How cool is that?!?

Is it too late to say Bah Humbug!?! Undecorating is the most disagreeable part of my holiday. All that time spent planning, oh'ing and ah'ing over forgotten treasures, and finding just the perfect spot. Now I have to drag all those plastic containers downstairs to put away my whimsical friends and treasures. (I started taking some of the decorations upstairs Christmas night but have been dragging my feet with the living room.)

I didn't realize I had so many pink ornaments until I looked at some of them with the drapes open. Okay, I usually have the drapes closed because my 5 little barkers like to lay on the landing and voice their very loud opinions over every person, car, dog and leaf blowing down the street. Ouch! It gets loud around here sometimes!

I thought the pink blown glass ornaments that I bought at the Harvest Festival in San Francisco last year were red. Nope, I think they look more PINK than red! They're on my new silver tree with Swarovski Crystal Snowflakes. Thank you Susan, for sending the link for Ross Simons! (http://www.ross-simons.com/products/B41900.html)


I bought the pink/red ornaments with the intention of making beaded ornament shrugs for them. I have the beads, hmmm, didn't quite get to that project though.


The green blown glass ornament has a beaded shrug. If you'd like the directions, send your e-mail address and I'll send it to you. They take a couple of hours to bead and you have to pay attention to the counting.

Awww, pink glass candy! Aren't these the cutest things?

and another....

Last one...

The gift shop showcased them on a white tree filled with all kinds of candy ornaments. I wanted them all!

This is the prettiest artificial tree we've ever had! It's a 9 ft Bethlehem Lights slim tree. Many years ago, we bought fresh trees. We had several years where the trees didn't want to stand upright and always seemed to crash in the middle of the night. My DH was always very clever finding ways to keep the trees upright. The last straw was the dried out needles that took forever to vacuum out of the carpet. I wanted to put the tree up after Thanksgiving. By Christmas, the needles were falling off at alarming rates, the limbs had a serious droop and then we couldn't turn on the lights.

The window wall is only painted on the dining room side. Now we can finish painting!

Tee hee hee.... See the paint line.

The kitchen tree and gingerbread boy wreath.

You know if snowmen are all over the place that I'd have to have a snowman wreath hanging around somewhere, right?

Pink Saturday is hosted by Beverly at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/. Please see her blog for the other Pink Saturday participants.

Enjoy!

Diane

Merry Christmas My Friends!

Dear Friends,

I'd like to wish you and your loved ones the very best this Holiday Season and to thank you for all of your kind words as well as the inspiration you provide. I truly value the friendships I've made with you all and look forward to visiting your blogs this coming year.

I confess, I'm a snowman-a-holic. Here are some more of my snow people.

She is so cute and just sparkles with all the glitter flakes on her dress.

These guys always make me smile. I set them up on a little bench my dad made.

The big guy on the left is made of sweatshirt fabric.

Mom was with me when I bought this guy. She was incensed that I bought him and said he was the ugliest thing she'd ever seen. Humfph!

Okay, I have to admit the one on the left is a little odd. He has the tiniest little head on a long skinny body.

The snowman tree finally ended up next to the sofa. It was moved all over the living and dining room before settling here.

Merry Christmas my friends!

Diane

Christmas Is Tight This Year...

This one is too funny to not pass on...


My Dear Friends,

It's somewhat embarrassing to admit, I'm not getting an annual bonus and Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:
You need four maxi pads to make a pair.
Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.
The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.
Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.
Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:
* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes:
(1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself.... Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you.

Oh come on! LAUGH out loud with me! This is too good!

My favorite tabletop tree and The Christmas Spirit Award!

Don't we just love our blogging friends! We help each other with laughter, moral support, quick tips and suggestions. Just before Thanksgiving, I was grumbling in a post about my disastrous attempt to buy a white tabletop Christmas tree. (It would have helped had I bothered to read the label on the tree box before I bought it!) Melissa at Melissa's Heart and Home blog chuckled at my post, then came to the rescue. She checked out Amazon.com and found the perfect tree. I quickly ordered it and it was love at first sight when I removed it from the box!

I was so inspired by Melissa's post showing a vignette of a hurricane filled with ornaments that were used to add color and it sparked an idea. I've inherited several crystal bowls and felt as if I were sharing Christmas with their former owners as I added ornaments to them, and felt such a warm, happy glow when they were finished.

Several years ago, my husband bought the sideboard in the picture below for my Christmas gift. I was beyond ecstatic and it's my favorite piece of furniture. It's located on the wall to the right of the front door. I smile everytime I walk by it because I get such a warm, happy and whimsical feeling.

I'm in love with snowman decorations this year. I felt as if I'd gone to a craft fair and hit the mother lode as I pulled the snow people out of their containers. I just had the biggest grin on my face all afternoon that day!


I especially love the one below. I bought it at a Country Folk Art Craft Fair. It is beautifully handcrafted and has fine glitter on it.

I have more snowman decorations to share with you soon!

~~~~~

~The Christmas Spirit Award~

This is a very special award dedicated to having wonderful Christmas spirit! Melissa at Melissa’s Heart and Home shared this award with me. You can visit Melissa’s blog at http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/. Thank you very much Melissa!

~~~~~
Here are the rules for the Christmas award:

You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.
The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.
You must link back to the person who gave you the award.
You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space!
Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going!
Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment.

~~~~~

My favorite things:

The sparkle of the ornaments and the lights of the Christmas tree.

Listening to Christmas music, and unfortunately for anyone close enough to hear, singing along with the songs!

The smell of cookies, pies, and cakes baking in the oven. (Can you tell I have a sweet tooth?)

Watching Christmas movies and shows as I decorate and cook.

Watching our great nieces open their presents!

Reading all your wonderful blogs and sharing in the festivities.

~~~~~
And now I am sharing this award with all the wonderful friends on my blog list, it's located on the right side under followers.
~~~~~
All of them have shown tremendous spirit for the Holiday season!
~~~~~

I've enjoyed seeing the stunning Christmas decorations in all of their homes. Please visit them, they'd all love to hear from you, and leave a comment to let them know you dropped by for a visit.

~~~~~

Enjoy!

Diane

I'm a Doris! The Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

Bridget at http://bigeeesblog.blogspot.com/ and Donna at http://adventureswithtassie.blogspot.com/ took the Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz and added the link to their blogs. I was curious to see which Icon I would be like and imagine my surprise to discover I'm a Doris Day! I love Doris Day movies - this is just too cool! See Bridget and Donna's blogs to discover which Female Icons they're like.

You Are a Doris!

You are a Doris -- "I must help others."

Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.


• * Share fun times with me.


• * Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.


• * Let me know that I am important and special to you.


• * Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

• * Reassure me that I am interesting to you.


• * Reassure me often that you love me.


• * Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Doris

• * being able to relate easily to people and to make friends


• * knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better


• * being generous, caring, and warm


• * being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings


• * being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Doris

• * not being able to say no


• * having low self-esteem


• * feeling drained from overdoing for others


• * not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish


• * criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should


• * being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them


• * working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Dorises as Children Often

• * are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism


• * try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding


• * are outwardly compliant


• * are popular or try to be popular with other children


• * act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention


• * are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)

Dorises as Parents

• * are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)


• * are often playful with their children


• * wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"


• * can become fiercely protective

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends!

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends! This was an e-mail that I received from a friend and thought it would be a fun post.

Here are the proverbial rules.... Just copy the questions and change all the answers so that they apply to you. Since this is the holiday season and we're all going crazy trying to do way too many things, I'm not tagging anyone. Please feel free to post this on your blog if you'd like to play. Tis the Season to be jolly! Fa la la la la, la la la la....

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both! I love to wrap gifts and put them in beautiful bags with awesome bows. I also like to match the wrap to the person or the gift. If I can do both--that is the ultimate win on wrap.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I have had both, but use artificial ones now. Our little fur baby guys are too much of a pain with real trees! I like to put up multiple small trees in different rooms with different themes in addition to a big tree in the living room.

3. When do you put up the tree? Weekend after thanksgiving, but I wish I'd started after Halloween this year!

4. When do you take the tree down? New Years or within the next week if possible.

5. Do you like eggnog? I like non-alcholic, low fat eggnog but I use about 1/3 eggnog to 2/3 milk. Otherwise it's too rich for my tummy!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? OMG--I can't narrow that down to one item. I loved dolls & got one every year till I was in 7th grade. I loved my Barbies. My mom sewed & would make doll clothes for me & I still have them!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband!

8. Easiest person to buy for? Any kids or kid mentality adults...

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both, I'm behind this year & don't think I'll send very many cards out.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't remember receiving any bad gifts. I am annoyed with people who buy something without putting any thought into it though.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I see something appropriate for a person. I bought the first gift in September this year.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes--but only by telling someone, I received this item and can't use it, would you like to have it?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies!

16. Lights on the tree? Of course!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Ave Maria.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Definitely stay home!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sometimes but not right now...

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel, tree finial or whatever is at hand that fits the theme or look of the tree.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I grew up opening presents on Christmas Eve, then Santa came the next morning. However, my husband likes to open on Christmas morning. Bummer...

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? It takes so long to put up all the decorations then time just flies by so fast!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Snowmen this year, but I like red, gold, green, silver & white.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? If I'm cooking it's spaghetti or Mexican lasagne with salad & french bread. If we go out to a restaurant, I usually order some type of shrimp.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Crown moldings & baseboards. My son has been installing them in his house & he's awesome! (I'm so impressed with anyone who can cut angles!) I hope he's going to do ours for Christmas. {Chris asked a couple of months ago what I'd like to have for Christmas. I said crown moldings & baseboards in the MBR, and we would supply the materials if he'll cut & install them. He thought that was a very good idea. Now he just needs a new saw, since the borrowed one he was using had to return to it's home.}

Merry Christmas!

Diane

A dark and stormy night.....

They were together in the House.

Just the two of them.

It was a cold, dark, stormy night. The storm had come quickly and each time the thunder boomed he watched her jump.

She looked across the room and admired his strong appearance... and wished that he would take her in his arms, comfort her and protect her from the storm.

Suddenly, with a pop, the power went out...

She screamed...

He raced to the sofa where she was cowering. He didn't hesitate to pull her into his arms. He knew this was a forbidden union and expected her to pull back. He was surprised when she didn't resist but instead clung to him.

The storm raged on...

They knew it was wrong...

Their families would never understand...

So consumed were they in their FEAR that they heard no opening of doors...

just the faint click of a camera......

Have you smiled today?

Enjoy!

Diane

The Snowman Lamp Arrived & A Butterfly Award!

Whooo Hoooo! My new snowman lamp arrived yesterday afternoon! This is just too adorable when it's lit up. I ordered the lamp with an extra red marble sleeve from Lynne at http://lynnesgiftsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/. The cutest little silicone looking light bulb came with it too.

I've been busily decorating small trees and moving them around the house auditioning locations. My husband periodically hears glass tinkling and asks what I'm breaking. Hmphf! It's hard work moving those decorated trees. The snowman tree works well with the new lamp in the picture below. They moved to another possibly tentative location under the stairs later on last night. New pictures to be taken soon.

Can you see our new paint colors? My DH painted 2 walls in the dining room and we love the colors. (The colors are washed out. Think I need to give up and use another camera.) The moldings & baseboards are still on the list of things to do.

I received my new white Christmas tree today! It's partially fluffed and waiting for ornaments. I still have to get out our 9' tree and decorate it too. ugh.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Awww, isn't this the sweetest Butterfly Award? Thank you Bridget, for presenting this to me. You can read Bridget's wonderfully witty blog at http://bigeeesblog.blogspot.com/.

The rules for this award are:
1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. Nominate 10 other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs


My 10 nominee's for the Butterfly Award are:

1. Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
2. Gloria at http://wwwhappytobe.blogspot.com/
3. Lynne at http://lynnesgiftsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/
4. Tam at http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/
5. Lynette at http://lynetteslam.blogspot.com/
6. Buffie at http://buffiesblaaaahg.blogspot.com/
7. Melissa at http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/
8. Deb at http://lavenderchick.blogspot.com/
9. Ann at http://ann-jamesaskeltonyahoocom.blogspot.com/
10. Kristen at http://kristenscreationsonline.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Diane

Snowman humor...

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and I need to clone myself! A store room that will eventually become a closet had to be cleared out for a new door. Whooo Hooo! The door was installed yesterday! Most of the Christmas decoration containers were put in a stack when the storeroom was tackled, UGH. A holiday tablecloth for my DIL's classroom is in the works, a tax project has to be completed and I'm still trying to put out the decorations. Whew! Now I know how Santa feels this time of year. With such a busy time of year, I thought we could all use some holiday humor...

Frosty The Snowman - Lyrics by Steve 'Jack' Rollins and Steve Nelson

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,

With a corncob pipe and a button nose

And two eyes made out of coal.

Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,

He was made of snow but the children

Know how he came to life one day.

There must have been some magic in that

Old silk hat they found.

For when they placed it on his head

He began to dance around.

O, Frosty the snowman

Was alive as he could be,

And the children say he could laugh

And play just the same as you and me.

Thumpetty thump thump,

Thumpety thump thump,

Look at Frosty go.

Thumpetty thump thump,

Thumpety thump thump,

Over the hills of snow.

Enjoy!

Diane

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged to post 6 random things about myself by Gloria, aka happytobe. You can read Gloria's random things on her blog, http://wwwhappytobe.blogspot.com/.

Here are the rules...
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1. My Mom could wrap the most beautiful packages. She would buy all kinds of stuff for me at Christmas and wrap them so enticingly. She always made such a big game of shaking, feeling and guessing what was in the package. I learned my lessons very well, and became the sneakiest package unwrapper/rewrapper perfectionist you could ever imagine! I'd come home from school and there would be all kinds of packages under the tree. When I knew she wasn't around, I'd take a package to a corner and very carefully pull the tape loose and unwrap the package, oh and ah over the present, then carefully rewrap it, and realign all the loose tape perfectly. You'd need a magnifying glass to tell I'd ever been in the package. Mom never knew. However, my dad watched me one time. He didn't tell Mom, thank goodness, but he did tell me about it after I was married. YIKES!

2. My first job was in a candy store for 2 weeks during a strike. If you're around chocolate all day, that's about the last thing in world you want to eat. BUT, the store also served ice cream and I became addicted to bubble gum ice cream. We would dig the bubble gum out of the ice cream to chew. I know, very bad, and I'm appalled at my behavior now, but it seemed like a great idea at the time.

3. I got a Christmas job at Woolworth's because I had experience working in a candy store. Oh joy, I got to work in the candy department.

4. My first real job was a long distance operator on an old cord board. I was 18 and absolutely hated that job, but stayed for 2 1/2 years until I was able to transfer to another department.

5. A friend at work arranged a blind date for me with her boyfriend's next door neighbor. That blind date became my husband! We were 20 when we got married. He worked in construction and was out of work our first Christmas, so he'd go over to my folks house to hang out. I think it probably helped that Mom was baking umpteen kinds of cookies and he was the sampler. One day, Mom made my lunch and he brought it to me. I ate the sandwich and looked for cookies, but there weren't any. He said Mom didn't pack any for me. Well, I called her right before I went back to work to find out why she forgot the cookies. It seems that Mr Piggy ate all of them before I got to the car to eat lunch! He's never lived that one down!

6. Ya know, this is hard to do! Hmmm, I'm 5' 8 1/2". I have a white "skunk stripe" just off center above my forehead, I'm getting gray all around, but the stripe went first. I have hazel eyes, that are more green than brown.

Rather than tagging individuals, I'm inviting everyone to post 6 random things about yourselves.
So if you're reading this, consider yourself TAGGED!

Enjoy!
Diane

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you all have the most wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving.

We have so much to be thankful for

And one of the best is good friends!

Happy Turkey Day! Don't eat too much...

Diane

*UPDATE!* Do you read labels?

I am usually a label reader. I want to know what's in the package. I've been shopping for a white tabletop tree and they don't seem to be the "IN" tree this year. One of my blogging buddies saw white trees at Walmart, so I checked them out online. They looked good and off I went to buy a tree. I walked back and forth, reading and weighing my options. I was visualizing a tree filled with all my snowman ornaments and how festive it's going to look. The 4 ft tree didn't have quite the look I was going for, but at $25, I could make it work. The 7 1/2 ft one had the right look, but it was $98 & I only needed the top portion of the tree, so that was out. I brought my hubby along, and the cart was rapidly filling up while I looked at trees. I needed to hurry up! I grabbed the box, put it in the cart and off we went. When the box was scanned, it was $35. I protested, something was mentioned about the label on the box, I didn't quite understand what she was saying, gave up and finished checking out. We were loading the car up and the tree box was the last one to go in. I started to hand it to my DH when my eyes locked on the label of the box for the first time. 6 1/2 foot jumped off the box! I'm a DORK! I pride myself on reading labels and I was in such a dither, I grabbed the wrong box and didn't read the label. ARGH! I tromped back in, stood in line and returned the tree. No, I didn't walk back to the other end of the store to look for the 4 ft trees. I went home. Yes, I'm white treeless, but I have some time and I'm still looking.

UPDATE! Thank you Melissa for finding the tree on Amazon.com. I just ordered a 3' Pre-Lit Norway White Iridescent Artificial Christmas Tree Multi Lights. Here's the link if anyone else if looking for a white tabletop tree, http://www.amazon.com/Pre-Lit-Norway-Iridescent-Artificial-Christmas/dp/B000PJ9B38/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1.


Product description for those curious folks like me:
3' White Norway Artificial Christmas Tree from GKI/Bethlehem Lighting Item number H81028 848000
The Norway features snowy white foliage with a touch of iridescence producing a shimmering effect. Lights are distributed generously and evenly, every branch is radiant. External lamp locks and Twist-Proof lights provide added security against loose connections and misaligned wire contacts. Designed with safety in mind, the Norway Christmas Tree is made of flame-resistant materials and its sturdy trunk and base add stability to keep it in place.
Features 100 Multi-Color Lights
Approximately 24" base
Tree stand included
Materials: PVC/Metal Hinged branch construction

Whooo Hoooo! One more item off my list of things to do!

Diane

Thanksgiving chuckles...

I seem to have that oh so common ailment amongst bloggers, I'm blogstipated again. Since I haven't thought of anything amusing to write about for awhile, I thought about pursuing this from another perspective. We need some levity to help relieve some of the pre-Thanksgiving stress. Did you know that if you Google funny Thanksgiving pictures , you'll find all sorts of pictures, jokes and general information? Here's a few jokes and pictures to hopefully tickle your funny bones.





Ode to Thanksgiving
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Funny Thanksgiving Turkey
It was just before Thanksgiving in Walmart and a woman was anxiously picking over the last few remaining turkeys in the hope of finding a large one. In desperation she called over a shop assistant and said, 'Excuse me. Do these turkeys get any bigger?' 'No, madam, 'he replied, 'they're all dead.'

Dog and Cat - Unlikely Friends at Thanksgiving

Funny Thanksgiving Sparring Partners

Where's the Thanksgiving Turkey?
I know the wife bought a turkey. But where on earth did she put the bird? (Lynne should like this one!) The Turkey - A most difficult bird to cook
Louise was away from home on Thanksgiving Day for the first time and she was missing her home and family desperately. Louise decided to cook a turkey herself, just like her Mum used to, so that she could feel closer to her family.
Louise returned home for the celebrations and recounted her experience to her Mum saying, 'Mum. it was so difficult to eat the turkey.'
'Why was that, dear' asked Mum in a concerned way, 'was it not cooked properly?'
'How would I know?' responded Louise, 'it wouldn't sit still.'

Did you know?
Turkeys can have heart attacks. Groups of turkeys, sometimes known as a rafter of turkeys would drop dead when the Air Force was conducting test runs and breaking the sound barrier nearby.
Apparently turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.
Excessive turkey breeding has caused turkey breasts to grow so enormous that the turkeys sometimes fall over.
The Pilgrim Fathers would not eat lobster because they thought it was a giant insect.

How were Turkeys so Named?
It may have come from the noise a wild turkey makes when it become frightened: it sounds like 'turk - turk – turk.'
The original inhabitants of America called the bird a 'firkee.'
Christopher Columbus, the explorer, took some of the wild turkeys of North America back to Europe. People enjoyed eating the meat. It is possible that traders along the Mediterranean casts , known as Turkes, may have brought some of these birds hence they came to be called 'turkey birds.'
In Spain, the turkey was often referred to as Indian fowl, an allusion which is repeated in the French 'dindon' formed with d'Inde which means 'from India'.
Some say Columbus thought the turkey was part of the peacock family. So he decided to call them 'tuka' which is the word for peacock in Tamil, a language spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka.
The wishbone is a tradition of Thanksgiving. Allow the wishbone to dry. Then, two people grasp each end of the wishbone. After making a silent wish, they pull it away. Whoever gets the joint portion, gets their wish. This is the same at Christmas in the UK.

Enjoy!

Diane

A Bookworm Award!

My blogging friend, Kristen, passed the Bookworm Award to me! Kristen has been busy decorating homes for the holidays and sharing her beautiful work with us on her blog, http://kristenscreationsonline.blogspot.com/. She has some of the greatest ideas to decorate our homes.

Here's how it goes:
Pass this on to 5 blogging friends.
Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.
Write out the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that...

Time-Kissed Destiny by Constance O'Day-Flannery

"My God!" she whispered aloud, as a shaking took over her body. "What just happened?"

With an unsteady hand, she grabbed for the towel lying on one of the built-in shelves and wrapped it around her wet hair. As she stood, staring at volumes of nautical books, Kate unconsciously fingered the gold medallion that hung from her neck.

I'd like to pass this award along to the following ladies:

Buffy at http://buffiesblaaaahg.blogspot.com/

Bridget at http://bigeeesblog.blogspot.com/

Cindy at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Deb at http://lavenderchick.blogspot.com/

Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

This was fun, pass it on!

Diane

Just a note... For those of you who are interested, Constance O'Day-Flannery has written a number of books where characters travel back & forth through time. The subject has always fascinated me. I had a stack of her books, as well as some others that I need to re-home. I'm always trying to clear out what I now consider clutter, that I used to hold dear to my heart. I was once an avid reader, but my aging eyes seem to go wonky sometimes, so I don't read as much as I used to. My tastes have changed too. I was addicted to historical romances for many years, now I prefer books dealing with forensic medicine & crime scenes. I watch a lot of Dexter, NCIS, Bones, CSI & Law & Order type shows on TV too.

Female Heart Attacks

FEMALE HEART ATTACKS: I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read. Do you know how to recognize all the signs of a heart attack? This is valuable information, and may save our life some day. To sum it up, call the paramedics immediately!


Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction)

Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have, when experiencing a heart attack? You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor, that we see in the movies.

Here is the story of one woman's experience, with a heart attack.

"I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM, with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma, that one would suspect might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy LazyBoy, with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was, that I hadn't taken a bite of anything, since about 5:00 p.m. After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat....

Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!

I lowered the foot-rest, dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, if this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else. But, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer, I may not be able to get up in moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics ... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in. I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but, I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.

'I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home, must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.

'Why have I written all of this to you with SO much detail? Because, I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.'

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body. Not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI, because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.

My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation, than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And, if you can, take an ASPIRIN. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road!

Do NOT have your panicked husband/wife who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you, instead of the road.

Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live, and if it's at night, you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Doctor will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack, because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.

Pain in the jaw, can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says, if everyone who gets this email sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at LEAST one life! Please be a true friend, and send this article to all your friends (male & female) you care about!

An Autumn Friends Award From Gloria

My sweet blogging friend, Gloria aka happytobe, awarded me with the Autumn Friends Award. This is so cute!

Now for the rules:
I need to list 5 things I've always wanted to do, then contact 3 bloggin’ buds, and pass the award along to them. Only I'm going to skip the part about passing it along to 3 buds and let anyone who wants to play along, play! That means, TAG – YOU'RE IT! Please let me know you’re playing so I can read your post! :0}

I loved Gloria's answers to the 5 questions, and you can read them by clicking on her link, http://wwwhappytobe.blogspot.com/

1. Have a white Christmas at home, which isn’t very likely because it doesn’t snow here.

2. Move to a single story house with LOTS of STORAGE! I’m so tired of carrying laundry up & down the stairs, and I still have a bunch more to do.

3. Finish all the remodeling projects in our house! Hmmm, that means lots of painting, sheetrock, taping, texturing and on and on and on...

4. Start the cabinet and furniture refinishing projects that I keep saying I’m going to do but haven’t started any of it yet because I don’t want brush strokes. Yeah, I’m anal & I admit it…

5. Get a boob job to pick the girls back up & put them back where they belong! (Maybe I should have said a breast reduction & relocation!)

So what 5 things have you always wanted to do?!?

Enjoy!
Diane