Never too old

Last summer my son and husband went to the Newport Folk Festival and saw a singing group called Young at Heart. All of the members were about 80 years old and they tour all over the country and Europe singing covers of rock and roll songs. Some of their picks are Purple Haze, by Jimmy Hendrix, I Feel Good by James Brown, Forever Young by Bob Dylan.

My son said that they were so good he got the goosebumps listening to them. This Christmas my husband got him the Young at Heart DVD. We all sat the other night watching it. I highly recommend it. It was so inspirational and moving and really hits home about the power of song.

They are based out of Northampton, MA and play in that area frequently. I checked their website and right now they are practicing new songs for their summer tour. I sure hope I get an opportunity to watch them perform in person this summer.

Day 2 of vacation

I had my infected tooth pulled today, and decided to go with the Novocaine. I have been putting it off for months so it is a relief to have it out. I brought my IPOD to listen to so I would relax some. I am very anxious at the dentist's office so I was hoping this would help. It was a challenge getting the tooth out as it needed to come out in pieces and the dentist worked hard at it. I turned up the IPOD and I even started to "sing" during the procedure. It was a good coping skill for me. Then I thought I might be bugging the doctor so I stopped for a while until the doctor told me to continue that "singing' was OK with them. So I started back up again, and I found it very comforting.

I felt pain despite what everyone said, but I just rode it out, and did OK. So I have 4-6 months to heal until the implant goes in.

A snow storm is heading our way for the morning commute. Luckily I will be home tomorrow relaxing and recovering and have two DVD's to watch. I received Momma Mia for Christmas and Net flicks sent Hairspray. I have seen both of these movies and enjoyed them, so it will be a perfect day to see them again, or at least fast forward to my favorite parts!

Time for ice on...

Tucker

On the top, is a photograph of my son and his fiance's dog. On the bottom is a painting the husband did of the picture to give to them as a Christmas gift. He only started painting a couple of years ago, so it was a stretch for him to attempt this. But as you can see, he did a great job on it.

A and H were so excited when they opened it. They felt it looked just like him and they were so amazed that he managed to capture their cute little Tucker so well.

Giving them the painting was great fun and one of the highlights of Christmas!

Holiday update

I am enjoying a bowl of turkey soup from the leftovers. A warm kind of day for soup, but a nice light supper is good after all the delicious meals over the holiday.

Christmas Day worked out fine, I was able to stay home and cook as the other relatives went to visit my father in law in the hospital in the early afternoon. He was moved to a rehab center later in the day on Christmas where he is doing better, but still struggling with an infection. Because he is confused, I don't believe he was even aware of that it was Christmas. Hopefully, he will be able to come home in a few weeks.

It has been a busy few days! Christmas Eve we went to my cousin's house to celebrate with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We have been doing this since I was a little girl. There are over 50 of us now as the family has grown over the years. It is a fun and crowded time! Over the years we have scaled down the menu from the all the fishes, to make it easier. Although the food is great, it is the company that can't be beat!

My sister had all of us over last night at her house for a nice dinner and gift giving. We had a really nice time and ended up staying later than expected!

Today we ran to Borders to use a gift card my husband got for a gift, then home to make turkey soup and continue putting the house back together.

I am getting a bit nervous for Tuesday because I am getting a tooth pulled. I have had an infection for a few months now and have been able to tolerate it with not much trouble. Dentist said that even if an infected tooth isn't causing problems that you can feel, it can still be doing damage in the body. So I decided to just get it done and over with and go for the implant. a

So I have tomorrow to get my nerve up!

My father in law is still in the hospital and will be through Christmas. The good thing is that he is doing much better. He has responded well to the antibiotics and improving daily. He will go to rehab after he is discharged, which will give my mother in law some much needed respite.

I have all the shopping done and now I can concentrate on just getting the house in order and the meal preparations. I am making turkey and using brand new recipes that I got off of the Oprah website. I never cook new recipes for holidays, but there is a first time for everything!

I hate when the phone rings late at night

I am sitting by the phone waiting for the husband to call. My son is driving him up to the hospital because my father in law is being taken there by ambulance. He has not been well for a while now and was in and out of the hospital in the summer. My poor husband was already sound asleep for the night so to wake him up with bad news was hard to do.

It is hard with the elders. We are only 20 minutes away, but with the snow and ice tonight, I know it will take them awhile to get there. My mother in law was going to follow the ambulance, but she is not supposed to drive at night at all. I know it will be hard for her to wait for them, but I sure hope she does because we don't need to worry about her being on the road on a night like this.

It will be a long night.

Brooke is here

Winter storm Brooke is hitting our area today, making it yet another stay at home and off the roads kind of a day. This storm is supposed to turn into sleet and freezing rain later in the evening, so I don't expect to get out of here today at all. I have home made tomato sauce simmering on the stove and my husband, son and I will have our usual Sunday dinner here without the rest of the clan.

We were planning to get over the Stew Leonard's today to buy a turkey for Christmas dinner. Hopefully we will be able to get there tomorrow. I still have a few things to wrap and could consider myself done with shopping, but I never feel done until 12/24.

I more concentrating now on getting things ready for Christmas dinner. I am having the in-laws here this time. I think it may work better than it did on Thanksgiving. So I am getting out all my Christmas plates and serving dishes and getting the house in shape and organized. I like to do as much as I can a few days before.

So I should cut this break short and get back to work!

Sons

Today was a great day. My older son came over to visit for a while and was hanging out with his younger brother who just came home from college. They both helped shovel snow and did a few little jobs for us and then we watched a movie. Later the husband made pizza for supper and the older one decided to stay and join us.

It has been a very long time that the four of us were together hanging out on a Saturday with one away at school and the other living on his own and engaged. I just looked over at the two of them sitting on the couch with the Christmas tree lights all lit up watching a Christmas movie and it was like a flashback from the days long gone. It was a tender moment.

I am very pleased that the boys are very good friends. They get along well and respect each other. It makes me happy to see that they have such a strong bond and will be able to depend upon one another. Sometimes things do turn out just how you imagined.

Let it snow

There is nothing like getting a snow day off from work a few days before Christmas! Even though it wasn't snowing in the morning, all the schools in the state closed in anticipation of storm Austin. It started after noontime and it came down fast and furiously. Even the state departments dismissed all non essential employees before the snow started. It think that was a first!

Any way, what a great day. Home to wrap and bake and get some things done without pressure of needing to be anywhere else! The youngest son came home from college yesterday so it was nice being here today to hang out with him as well.

We are supposed to get 12 inches or more of the white stuff. Lots to shovel and dig out from.

Pizzelle cookies that I made with my grandmother's pizzelle machine. Mmmmm good.

Finally put up our tree up today and it feels good to have it all done. Pretty much puttered around the house listening to Christmas music afterwards. I made a good dent in my shopping by doing it on-line. So I am feeling good that I am getting caught up some.

My favorite ornament is this tatted star made by one of the students who used to go to my school. I think I posted the picture last year. It was pretty cool to see a young man with this talent. We always encouraged him and hoped he would turn it into a little side business for himself. I hope sometime he stops in and lets us know what he is up to now.

Short post. Maybe more time tomorrow.