A New Member of the Family

Hubby and I got a new household member yesterday. His name is Oreo. Oreo used to live at our house but had made the rounds and is now returned to us. Here's Oreo's story:

About 5 years ago, daughter Jamie and son Nick were both living with me in my condo. Nick had graduated college and Jamie was still in college. I was dating Hubby, who lived in Fitchburg, MA. I was at his house for the weekend when I got a call from the kids asking if they could get a cat. Please, please, please. I said no, we already had enough people living in our tiny condo. But Mom, we are at the animal shelter and we found this beautiful cat and he's adorable and he loves us already and we love him so please, please, please!!

I caved. And they were right. He's a beautiful cat and very cute and lovable. He stayed with me and Jamie when Nick moved out then when Jamie moved out they decided Oreo should go and stay with Nick.

He's been living at with Nick all this time. But Nick recently invited his girlfriend Kelly to move in, and Kelly is allergic to cats. It was a tough decision for Nick.....cat or girlfriend.....but girlfriend won out so he asked Jamie if she could take Oreo.

Jamie had no problem with that. She lives alone and Oreo would be good company for her. Less than a month later her landlord found out about the cat and sent her a letter saying she'd be evicted unless she got rid of the cat. So she asked Hubby and I if we could take him.

Of course we said yes. We can't having this sweet, lovable cat going to the animal shelter. So yesterday Jamie came over with Oreo and all his assorted paraphernalia. His two beds, his scratching post, his little house, his box of toys, his treats, his food, his two litter boxes and bucket of litter. It's like having a new baby in the house.

He seems to have settled right in. He sniffed around everywhere. He seems to like Hubby's studio because after climbing over the piles of stuff he can sit on the windowsill and watch the squirrels in the yard. I assume that when I clear all the Christmas decorationss off the windowsill in the living room he'll like sitting there as well.

He spent half the evening sitting with me in my recliner last night and half the evening lying with Hubby on the couch.

He didn't seem too upset about being closed out of our bedroom last night. I'm a horrible sleeper and having a cat jumping on the bed, etc would drive me crazy. Plus he's a furball and I don't need fur in my bed and up my nose all night.

It's kind of nice having a cat again. We'll see what happens when one of the kids moves and wants him back!

New Year's Eve

My kids gave Hubby and I a Christmas gift of a night out for New Year's Eve. They were very sneaky.....they asked my brother to invite us over for New Year's so we wouldn't plan anything else for the night.

They gave us tickets to Amesbury Playhouse. This is an established playhouse that puts on community theater presentations. My parents go there all the time and love it.

We got there around 7pm (after another snowstorm of around 5-6 inches). The snow had pretty much stopped by then and the roads were in decent shape. They had Hors D'oeuvres and we got a ticket for a free drink at the bar. At 7:30 they served dinner.....prime rib for me and stuffed cornish hen for Hubby. Dessert and coffee was included.

The show started about 9pm. It was Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs. We'd never seen it before....didn't even know what the story was about. It was cute and had some funny moments.

The young boy who played the narrator was impressive in that he had a ton of lines and didn't stumble over them at all......but he was kind of wooden. He didnt' show much emotion. The rest of the actors and actresses were very good.

The show ended at 11:30 and the DJ took over. He played a very eclectic mix of songs, most of them for my generation or older, which we appreciated. The last two events we went to we felt like old fogies because they played more recent music. We danced until the countdown, when we toasted with champagne in souvenir glasses. The party continued on and we left about 1am.

It was a beautiful gift from my children. We had a great time and we'll tuck it in our memory books.

New Year's Resolutions

It's time to make our New Year's Resolutions. We do it every year....is it peer pressure? Do we make them because everyone else makes them? And it's the talk around the water cooler? "What's your resolution this year....Huh? Huh? Huh????"

I've made them. We all have. And they're usually all the same and we usually break them before the week is up. If I WERE going to make resolutions, they would be the standard ones:

1. lose weight

2. get in shape

3. eat healthier

4. be more frugal

5. be more productive

6. watch less TV

etc, etc, etc.

I've made all those resolutions. And I've broken every single one of them. I'm an overweight, sugar-eating, lazy slug who loves to watch TV and spend every penny I make on useless junk. Does that make me a bad person??

I watched an interview on TV with a psychologist who was explaining why people break their resolutions so easily. It's because they bite off more than they can chew and don't make the resolution specific enough. So here is my very specific resolution:

I will not make any resolutions this year.

A New Year

My my, four days without posting! My life must have been pretty boring the past few days if I've had nothing to blog about. We actually had a pretty nice and quiet weekend. We went out on Saturday night and saw the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". It was a good movie. 2 hours and 50 minutes long and I didn't fall asleep! Or even want to! It was pretty interesting and very well-done. Kind of cool too, to see Brad Pitt as a very old man. We used the free tickets I won at my company Christmas party and then spent $15.50 on popcorn, a drink and an ice cream for Hubby. Isn't that ridiculous? We also watched the Patriots game on Sunday afternoon. An excellent game and they won, but their playoff chances were dictated by whether or not other teams won, and the other teams did not win. So even though the Pats had an 11-5 record, they are not in the playoffs. Phooey on that! And spring training for the Red Sox doesn't start for months! I've been trying to get my cross-stitch done. I think if I can make a commitment to take it out every single day, even if it's only for 15 minutes, I might get it done before March. I began working on it last March! I think a year on one cross-stitch will be a record for me. This is one I'm going to keep, so you'd think that would give me more incentive to finish it. I already have a plan of the next one I want to do and I refuse to even consider starting it until this one is finished. My kids got all together and gave Hubby and me a gift of a night out on New Year's Eve for our Christmas gift. Such thoughtful kids. We'll be going to Amesbury Playhouse for a dinner and a play, and then a DJ and dancing until midnight. It should be a fun time. Sadly, I can't even remember if we went out last New Year's Eve! Am I old or what?

Christmas is Over

Wow, that was fast! Christmas is over in one big rush. I worked 1/2 day Christmas Eve and came home and cleaned and cooked and got ready for Hubby's kids to come over for dinner. I made ham and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and veggies. Hubby made some strawberry shortcake. We had a really nice visit and of course got to see our grandchild, Noah. We got him a "bumbo" seat and he really seemed to like it We were laughing over how his little legs just stuck straight out while he was sitting in his seat, so Uncle Kenny, who is over six feet tall, sat beside him just to see how much longer his legs would be:

Kenny and Noah compared grouch faces:

On Christmas morning, Hubby and I exchanged gifts for each other. Hubby got me a beautiful string of pearls and I got him a violin. We had a nice French Toast breakfast before we took off to visit the families. First we went to Westford to visit Hubby's family. They're gathering is extremely informal. Everyone kind of shows up whenever. We try to get together for 11 so we can be together for opening gifts but if someone's not there yet we go ahead without them and they get theirs later. Hubby's Aunt Arlene on the left and his Mom on the right: Wendy, Kenny and their cousin Amanda:

Pepere with Noah:

Memere with Noah (notice the string of pearls!): From Hubby's mom's house we went up to Danville, NH to visit with my family. My family is a bit bigger than his....about 25 people. They'd had a potluck dinner before we got there. When we got there it was just about time to open gifts. My mom's house is a bit more structured.....most of us get one gift. If you're an adult, you are in the gift swap. If you're a child, you get a gift from Grandma and Grandpa. However, if you are over 18 but still in school, you get TWO gifts, because you are in the swap and also get a gift from Grandma. (It's a loophole that the 18-22 year olds love!) So everyone gets their name called, they come and gift Grandma a kiss, sit on the floor in front of her (carefully facing the video camera so grandpa can get them on tape) and open their gift.

Some random snapshots of Christmas at my Mom and Dad's house.

My Auntie Izzy whom I've blogged about. Hard to believe she's 83!

My Dad manning the video camera. He's sporting his new short, short haircut. So THAT's where Nick got his "sticky-up hair"!

Jessica fingers Jamie, who gave her a "grow your own rubber ducky" as a joke gift:

My beautiful niece Samantha - hard to believe she's 19!

My very handsome son Nick:

My cutie pie niece Laura:

Emily trying to look like she's NOT in trouble:

She's delighted with the very soft kitty cat someone gave her:

My brother John acting goofy - or is it not an act??

Jamie and Jessica annoying each other:

Doug is happy with his gift of a six-pack of beer:

My very handsome nephew Ben - John's son - who is visiting here from Wisconsin.

A Very Very Merry Christmas to all my Friends and Family and Loyal Blog Readers! Enjoy "Straight No Chaser".

200th blog!!

Here it is. My 200th blog. Who would have thought when I started this a year or so ago that I'd get to 200? It's been just as much fun as I thought it would be. I know I don't have a huge readership, but the friends and family who read it can keep up with what's going on in my life and get some pictures of my cute grandchildren into the bargain! What's happened since I began? My little Emily turned one year old, learned to sit up, walk and talk. She's become such a joy in my life. In addition, we've got a brand-new granchild, Noah - only 3 months old but already such a little person. It's so much fun to watch him grow. I've got a new job now. It's different, busy and fun. I like working in an office and being helpful to travelers. I do have to admit I miss working with kids though. My parents have gone through some trying times and come through with flying colors. They were strong throughout the whole thing - it was a blessing to be there for them and help them when they needed me. My son Nicholas welcomed a new person into his life. His girlfriend Kelly moved in with him just after Thanksgiving. The two of them are busy making a new home for themselves. My cousin Michael passed away. As a result, I'm welcoming my sweet Aunt Izzy into my life. It's been a blessing for me to get to know her better and do what I can to help her. It's difficult, because she's a stubborn old lady! Hubby and I have gone on a few new adventures.....Montreal, Sturbridge Village, Stockbridge MA. We've had such a wonderful time together. I've spent lots of time with friends. Going out to eat once a month, getting together for Christmas and visiting NYC together. It's appropriate that my 200th blog should fall at the end of the year. New Year's is a time for reflection, to look back on the year past and acknowledge the changes in your life, and to enjoy the memories of great times with family and friends. Looking forward to the New Year is even more exciting. Who knows what it will bring?