One cake-tastrophe to another.

You know you live in a small town when the guys in the highway department can drive one of the town trucks to the hospital to visit a fallen comrade on town time without getting into trouble.

There is a young man who works for the town highway department in our little burg who has been having stomach trouble for a few months now.  He is the third generation in his family to have worked for the town.  His dad currently works there and his Poppi (his granddad) was the highway superintendent for many years.  In our town not only do our boys take care of all of the residents but they take care of each other.

Last week Gary (not his real name) started having some real pain while he and his partner were out plowing the roads.  When they brought the truck back to the barn his partner told him that if his dad wasn't back yet then he was going to take him straight up to to the hospital.  To quote my son he said "This truck knows the way and I'll get you there if I have to."  Well, they got back to the barn and Gary's dad had just pulled in.  They loaded him in his dad's personal truck and rushed him up to the hospital to see what the problem was.

When all was said and done Gary ended up having a couple of inches removed from his small intestine.  Suffice to say he will be laid up for a few weeks.  Here's where the trip to the hospital in the town truck on town time comes into play.  Isn't it great to live in a small town and know everyone!

Twenty-six years ago today I lay in a hospital bed waiting for the surgeon to bring you into the world.  You were born at a time when parents still waited to be surprised by whether they were having a boy or girl.  Imagine my surprise when I not only had a boy but a fully grown one at that, 10 lbs. 4 ozs.

Every day since that day you have continued to surprise me, sometimes good surprises and sometimes otherwise, but always they were Big Dude surprises.  Let me take this opportunity to let you know how much I love you and how proud I am of all you do.  I am not only proud of the good surprises but of the not so good ones as well.  It is the not so good surprises that have afforded me the privilege of seeing you grow into the man that God wants you to be.

Happy birthday.

Outside my window....the sun is shining and, dare I say it, the temperature is up to a balmy 46.  I think we are in the middle of the fabled global warming.  I of course say this with some scepticism since this is New York State and the weather can change in 10 minutes.  I will endeavor to enjoy it while it lasts.

I am thinking....that Layn has a good set of lungs on him.  He is upstairs in his crib yelling his head off.  I think that he may not agree with the idea that it is time for him to go down for a nap.  I may be wrong in my interpretation of what he is trying to communicate since my toddler skills are a bit rusty.  Then again, I could be right too.

I am thankful for....the adoration chapel in the town near ours.  It is a place of peace and refuge that I can utilize anytime that I need.

From the schoolroom....Matthew, MK and I will be hard at it today.

From the kitchen....leftovers from our big Valentines celebration yesterday!!!! Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, and three different kinds of cake!!!!!  Tomorrow is the big dude's birthday so I have to come up with something special for that.

I am wearing....clothes, what else would I be wearing.

I am creating...handmade works of love.

I am going....to take things as they come.  I am going to face the day with peace and serenity.

I am reading....John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

I am hoping....that the marketplace my youngest brother has set up is a success.

I am hearing....peace and quiet.  Must be Layn has become convinced that taking a nap was a good idea.  He usually registers his opinion before he settles down for a good long sleep.

Around the house....everything is status quo.  That means that the kitchen is a wreck and the rest of the house is fairly clean and orderly.

One of my favorite things....sitting in the kitchen in the morning before the day starts with my family.  There is something comforting about sipping a cup of coffee and chatting with Matthew, Melissa, and MK before the whirl of the day starts.

A few plans for the rest of the week....big birthday celebration in absentia for the big dude tomorrow, the usual weekly activities and without doubt God will throw in a few surprises to keep me on my toes and otherwise sharp.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

We had friends over yesterday for our Valentines day celebration.  When this family gets together with friends there is always a game of some kind in the mix.

Brett, his mom, dad and sister played UNO spit with us.  I think my ribs will be aching for a week from all of the laughing that I did.

Someone forgot to tell Mr. Snell that the point of the game was to get rid of all your cards!

I never posted pictures from our Thanksgiving.  Adam came home on leave to celebrate with us. 

We had our treasures, Kay and Betty, over for dinner. 

Afterward we sat around the table and played a rousing game of Texas Hold'em.

Betty cleaned up.  I have come to the conclusion that what you are drinking has a great influence on your abilities when you are playing cards.  Wine helps.

That Genesee beer didn't do Adam any favors.

Jason was definitely hitting the wrong kind of bottle.  I thought I raised these boys right.

Now that Christmas is over and there is no danger of letting the cat out of the bag I can show off a few of the things that I made for Christmas gifts.

This jacket was for Mary-Kate.  I found the music print fleece in the remnant bin and knew that she would love it.  She is also cold all the time so a jacket was the perfect thing to make with it.  The rest of the remnant I am making into a bag to carry her organ music in when she goes back and forth to church.

This cape was for Kim.  She is also always cold.  The butterfly embroidery I did with my embroidery machine and the ric rac I put on to add a bit of color.

This cape I did for Melissa.

This is the rose embroidery detail that I put on Melissa's cape.

To all my family members who bother to view this blog, witness the loss of a landmark from our growing up years.  Arnott's has been closed to business for a couple of years now since the owner and former proprietor is getting quiet advanced in years.  This past week I drove into Verona as is my usual routine and I was witness to the presence of these backhoes in the parking lot.

As the week progressed the gas tanks were exposed and removed.  There are now two very large holes gaping in the parking lot.

Not even the heavy snowfall over the weekend accompanied by the freezing rain was enough to stay the inevitable fate of Arnott's Super Convenient Grocery Store.

Time will tell what this corner will become for the residents of the Town of Verona in the future.

Outside my window...it is gloomy! The temp is 28, which is not so cold, but it is misty and damp out so that makes the cold seem colder.  Am I making any sense?  No, well too bad.

I am thinking....about lists.  Lists of things to do, lists of things that I would like to do, and lists of things that I need to have done.  My head is chock full of lists.  I think that I had better write these lists down.

I am thankful for....benedryl! Yesterday I had a reaction to something, we don't know what, but if it weren't for benedryl I'd have been in trouble.

From the schoolroom....today MK starts her new semester.  Matthew is currently reading in his book about writing.  I will start my classes as soon as I finish this.

From the kitchen...I hear Melissa loading the dishwasher.  She is off today so I think she will be doing the cooking.  I don't know, we'll get there when the time comes.

I am wearing....flannel pants and an oversized tee shirt.

I am creating...saleable items for my new business.

I am going...nowhere today!!!!!!!

I am reading....The Once and Future King by TH White  I needed some immersion in some good literature after being subjected to the worst interpretation of the Arthurian legends that I have ever read in my whole life.  The Arthurian legends do not lend themselves well to a feminist approach.

I am hoping...to finish all my writing early this week so that I can keep the production line going.  Doug just bought me two new books.  One is on adapting and creating patterns for sewing and the other is a manual on how to use all those mysterious feet that come with your new sewing machine.

I am hearing....Melissa in the kitchen, MK at the printer, and the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard of my computer.  Sounds like a normal Monday morning to me.

Around the house....all is status quo. 

One of my favorite things....normalcy, routine, schedule, and the freedom to bust out.

A few plans for the rest of the week....school, sewing, cleaning, laundry, teaching, holy hours, and all the other normal things that I do each week.  I love it!!!!

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you....

A sample of some of the things that I will be working on this week.  This particular dress is not for sale but it can be duplicated.

Matthew vacuuming the sanctuary at our church.  The ladies took down the last of the decorations and left the place covered in pine needles and poinsettia bracts.  Matthew was there to help his Grandma Vito clean up.

We don't get TV stations at our house.  About two years ago we let our dish go because it was too costly for the number of channels that we were actually watching.  I don't think anyone really misses it.  The few shows that we actually watched we can either get online or we do without and no one in this house is really into sports, gasp.

Yesterday being the biggest football day of the year we decided to spend it with our own type of celebration.  Melissa, Ian, and Layn had a very quiet day since Layn has been sick, Ian has been putting in a lot of overtime, and Melissa has been sleepless with the baby.  MK spent the day sewing frantically since her freetime is about to be cut short since her school semester started today, and Matthew went and worked for a friend who had just had knee surgery.

Doug and I, due to circumstances beyond our control (severe allergic reaction) spent the day going to the fabric store to stock up on supplies.  Then we went over to Barnes and Noble to spend a few quiet hours in our favorite store.  We sat in a quiet corner sipping coffee and reading books.

When the time was right we went over to the local movieplex and watched the remake of True Grit.  I have to say that it was surprisingly good.  I was ready to spend the time napping.  I am a died in the wool John Wayne fan and therefore the original True Grit to me was the quintessential interpretation of the book.  Being the proverbial old dog who cannot be taught new tricks it is often difficult for me to accept change.  I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.

The young lady who played Mattie Ross was the perfect balance of earnestness and determination.  Jeff Bridges was an excellent Rooster Cogburn.  He wasn't John Wayne but he portrayed "the one-eyed fat man" with his own flair.  Even Matt Damon, not my favorite actor by any stretch, was an amusing and courtly Texas Ranger. 

Over all I thought it was an excellent portrayal of Portis' characters.  The screenwriters also did a commendable job of staying true to the prose of the book and maintained the charm that Portis puts forth in his novel.

For a few days not everyone has been talking about the big storm that we were going to have.  Every school in several counties is closed for the day today, some were closed yesterday in anticipation of the big blow that we were going to have to suffer today.

I woke up in the night twice and heard the wind blowing and heard the snowplow go by the house and thanked God that we were safe and warm.  Then I promptly went back to sleep.  This morning I woke up to a paltry 6 inches of new snow and a light breeze blowing.  

I should not have breathed such a huge sigh of relief.  A friend (that friendship is currently shaky) informed me on FB that it is now icing out.

This is what it looks like out the North and East windows of my house.

Not exactly the sight I wanted to see this morning.

I heard Matthew running the backhoe and had to go out to see what he was doing.  How can he see where he is going with the windows of the cab all iced over is beyond me.

I will have to brew him a nice big pot of tea.  He has pushed all the driveways clean, shovelled the walks and brushed off my car and freed the wipers so they don't freeze down.  Thank you Matthew you are a gentleman and a scholar.