Yep — Christmas! Jennifer and I put up the outside decorations this weekend. It was quite something to watch her climb the ladder as her father held it. Um… isn’t there something backward about that picture? Well, if you know Jim, then… well, nevermind! Anyway, here are a couple of pics:
The house:
The deer in the “woods”:
How is it possible to lose not one set, but two sets of car keys in less than a week? I know they both must be at home, but I cannot find them. I am currently using the valet key, and if I misplace it, I’m in real trouble. I may be in real trouble already — several Christmas gifts are in the trunk, and the valet key won’t open the trunk. Oh, and — brilliant me locked the trunk release from inside the car. The valet key won’t open it either. Geeze……
UPDATE: One set of keys has been found. Where? In my sock drawer. Who found them? Jennifer. Why the sock drawer? That is where the keys stay when not in use. Did I look there? Yes, several times! Why didn’t I find them? No clue…. Jennifer was searching the house last night — knowing that Christmas gifts are being held hostage is apparently good motivation! Now if I can find the other set.
UPDATE: (mid January) Jennifer found my second set of keys! Where? They had fallen in between the kitchen counter and the desk. Guess I didn’t look there, huh? They were just laying there. Now I wonder what I did with the valet key.
The dressing was a success!!! Actually, the entire dinner was wonderful. I ate too much, but who doesn’t on Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving night an entire gaggle of us went to Daddy’s and decorated his house. By gaggle, I mean: Kay, Little Kelly, me, Jennifer, Guy Kelly, Christopher, and Ashley. Kay reports that Ashley did most of the work. After that, Kay, Jennifer, Kelly, and I decorated my house. What a long day.
See http://jimthompson.org/wp/2005/11/27/blog-strangeness/
for an explanation of why this weblog went offline briefly today.
Every year I make my Granny’s cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving. It’s quite detailed and literally takes three days to make. I just finished Day Two which is the hardest. The days are:
Day 1: Bake 3 pones of cornbread and boil the chicken
Day 2: Debone the chicken and mix the dressing (sounds easy, huh? Nope — not at all)
Day 3: Bake the dressing
This all sounds good, right? Just remember, I’m not the cook in the family! So… tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my cornbread dressing is in the refrigerator all ready to go. Hope it turns out well!
My Aunt Mabel died on Sunday. Aunt Mabel was the last of a great generation of Calverts. Actually, she married into the family, but when you’ve been in it that long, it counts. There were 5 brothers and one sister and of all them and their spouses, Aunt Mabel was the last.
The Calvert brothers were all great men — I’ve never heard a bad word about any of them from anybody. I hate that they are all gone, but their legacies live on in their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Aunte Mabel lived a long and apparently happy life in Cullman County. She was 98 when she died.
Good-Bye Aunt Mabel — say hi to all the Calvert Clan in heaven!
Except a deer in the headlights! Kay and I were going to Cullman last night, taking the backroads as usual. On Pines Road — a dinkly little two-lane-middle-of-nowhere road — a deer crossed the road in front of us. Actually, as we came around a corner, there was said deer in our lane. He (she?) continued across to the other lane and I thought we were in the clear. No such luck — poor little Bambi turned around and ran smack into the side of my car. Driver’s side. Poor Imogene. I had slowed down when I first saw the deer, so I wasn’t flying anymore…. I’m not exactly sure how fast we were going, but I’d guess around 45.
What an awful sound it was. We stopped on the side then turned around to see if the deer was lying in the road. We scanned the area, but no deer. I sure hope the little fellow (gal?) wasn’t hurt. We pulled into a driveway to inspect Imogene (aka The Car). To my utter amazement, I found no damage on her. Of course it was dark, but what we could see was very encouraging. We stopped at a gas station to inspect her under the lights and that brought confirmation. Other than a tiny fold or buckle in the driver’s side door and a scratch, there is no other damage!!! I still can’t believe there’s no damage. From the sound the poor deer made when it hit the car, I would have bet money the side of my car was gone.
Hope the deer is ok today.
