Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Cats Escaping, Food, Dining Room Dressed for Christmas and GUESS WHAT?? We Bought a Nearly New Car!!

 Not only have our cats been escaping lately - but Amber's Bandit escaped, too!
While ours only stayed out for hours - Bandit was gone for days!


Amber was so excited when she finally enticed him to come in!
We are so attached to our feline 'family' that we fear for their safety and worry about them when they get out! I've put ours in 'isolation' aka the guest room when we are going in and out a good bit.
Better safe than sorry with their welfare at risk.
These are pampered cats and not prepared to deal with the 'real world.'

I've been continuing decorating for Christmas and - NO - I did not finish by December first!


It's a work in progress and as I move on to a new room - I go back and add things to the one before.....
as in setting my collectiomn of Christmas book under the living room tree!


I've been cooking every day and this is a fried cabbage and onion dish.


It paired well with a lemon seasoned pork loin and sweet potatoes.


The Christmas cradinal tree is done in the dining room.


A small scale center piece using a siler tray to hold an evergreen wreath with pine cones and faux berries surrounding a candle.


I used a lot  of greenery, pine cones, faux berries, white fairy lights and red in the dining room.


The smaller scaled metal chairs make this room more open and spacious.


Every room seems to take on its own personality.


Rayne will be our only grandchild not to be here on Christmas Eve but she is in my heart and I have her pic here to keep me company.


The dining room is now done - and I added some things but didn't take pics.
Enough is enough!

Tuesday was a super special day for us!


Jesse came over before 2:00 and took us to the credit union to finish up membership papers and then on to the dealership to see the car he found for us.
I told him I wanted a 2022 Chevrolet Equinox and that's what he found for me!


He gifted us several hours of his time and by the end of the day - I had a new car!!
It was dark by then and he drove us home.
What a wonderful car buying experience thanks to my amazing son!
Thank you, Jesse!!!


I woke up early this morning and went straight out to the front porch to look at my new car!
Not only my heart was smiling - but so was the car!!
Can you SEE it??


I'm cooking something everyday and this morning it was a skillet breakfast.
I used my favorite iron skillet and put a large tortilla on the bottom and topped it with four eggs, seasonings, chopped bell pepper, red onions and a jalapeno topped with chopped up turkey and finally a splash of half and half and then shredded cheese!

I served it with a dollop of sour cream and it was SO good!

While Louis Dean puttered in his music room - I spent the afternoon doing errands.
First the Dollar store for batteries, cat litter, canned pumpkin, make up face wipes, dishwasher pods and batteries.
Next up was the post office where I put nearly ALL the over 200 Christmas cards in the drop box.
I will finish the rest tomorrow and mail them off!
My third stop was the thrift store and I bought ONW item! A garland of silver icicles for our bedroom for $2.
On to Aldi for all sorts of good things from wines to Christmas cactus to fresh fruits and veggies and things for a Christmas tea with the grands, flavored gourmet coffees and more!
My last stop was at Walgreens to pick up a Rx for Summer - she will be back pretty soon for a visit.

After unloading everything and putting it all up - I did not get to Louis Dean's bathroom and the hall - which I intended to clean and decorate today.
No worries! I will do it tomorrow and then on to our bedroom, the guest room, sewing room and the gazebo! It's a labor of love and I'll enjoy it all through the winter!

So now I have a fire in the fireplace and dinner is ready.
LD and I will eat and watch a program and then I will go back to working on the last batch of Christmas cards.







18 comments:

  1. My favorite things are your gorgeous dining room table, and the cardinal tree. Stunning! Beautiful car! Is the Equinox an SUV?

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  2. Congratulations on your new car! It's a beauty. So glad Jesse was able to help you with it. I have been doing a lot of cooking too, but you are much more creative than I am. And after having my cat. George, missing for 24 hours, I am so glad that Bandit returned. We love them and worry when they go missing.

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  3. How exciting, a new car. I do see it smiling. That is a lot of Christmas cards.
    I remember when I had cats how sneaky they would be about getting out. As much as I tried to keep them inside cats they always had different plans. The last cat I had snuck by me one day and got out the door and it was the last time I ever saw him. I've always wondered what happened to him and hoped that someone took him in and gave him a good home.

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  4. A PRETTY new car, at that! Congrats, and good for Jesse!

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  5. Congratulations on you new car. Your decorations are quite stunning...so many beautiful things and I too love the table settings. You must have a huge storage area? I have problems finding room for the little amount of decorations that I use at Christmas. It is all so pretty...and I'm guessing you have a lot of visitors that drop by just to see all of the Christmas beauty..

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  6. Linda, Thanks for buying a Chevy. I am driving a Buick now but do love Chevys. Since I worked for GM I like buying their products. Oh your house is truly a beautiful Christmas house. Oh it's terrifying when pets get lost or wonder off. They are family, well most people keep them as family. Love the picture of you and LD, hold each other tight. Love you guys. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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  7. so happy you have been able to keep your cats inside, my constant fear is Bob will leave something open, like a gate and beau will get out, we live on a busy and dangerous street.. wow on having all your grands there except for one. what a blessing. I wish I could make myself see housework as a labor of love. ha ha YAY for the new car and yay for the Chevy.. bob is a GM to the bone. he still is not over the fact I am driving a kia. I need one too, mine is 17 years old. I have seen the Equnox all over town, nice car. God bless Jesse

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  8. Oh a new to you new car!!! happy dance for sure. Congratulations. Our one and only car is a 1999 Honda Accord..Praying it will keep on chugging along.
    Love the closeup of you and Louis Dean. What a precious pose. Print it for sure!
    Your table looks so beautiful. My table still has my fall tablecloth on it. Wonder if it will ever get changed.
    Glad those rascal kitties are safely back inside too.

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  9. Congrats on the car. It looks Brand spanking new ! what a blessing. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed mine. Very trustworthy car.

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  10. Congratulations on your new car. It's beautiful. You home continues to bring joy to all of us. You just whip up all those good meals like nothing!! You are special. I'm finally getting some energy back, and got Fall down and my limited Christmas up! Sending love and hugs.

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  11. Nice looking new car. I love that your son helped with the buying and driving back in the dark. What would we do without our children? We are so blessed.

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  12. the pictures of you and ld are so precious, aren't we lucky to have the best men in the world!? the house is looking amazing, you have a real eye when it comes to decorating. the new car is a beauty, i wish you much luck with it!! the egg tortilla looks so good, i will have to try that. i have been cooking more, especially while mike was here. and i always tend to cook more in the winter, when it's cold outside!! aldi has become very popular in these parts, i go with my mom when she needs to food shop!! i have not even started my christmas cards yet, i have been so busy...i don't have the energy you do!!

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  13. Congratulations on the car! My parents have a Chevy Encore and I wish they had the Equinox. There car is just a little too small.

    I'm headed to Aldi today. I love their seasonal items!

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  14. Ohhhhh...I love your new car! And it IS happy to be yours! I know you'll love it. And your home always looks extra special with all the twinkle lights! Holiday hugs to you and L. D.!

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  15. Your house is so festive! I like each room has personality and a theme. Congrats on the new car. I see it smiling too.

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  16. What a beautiful car! I know you will feel safer driving it!
    Love all the decorations...girl, you wear me out! lol
    Happy weekend!
    hugs
    Donna

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  17. congratulations on your new car, it looks great! So glad you got it. Love all the pictures and your home is absolutely A CHRISTMAS HOUSE......everything in there is so bright and festive, a very fun place to live or to visit. I enjoy seeing all your pretty decorations. Hope your sunday is real nice. Is it cold there? Hugs!

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  18. Congratulations on your new car, and yes, I do see the smile.
    Beautiful portrait looking shot of you and Louis Dean.

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