This and That, November Through March

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia went to the Outer Banks in early October. I always worry when they take a trip, but they had a great time.

 

I think this was at Bodie Island Lighthouse.

 

At the Roanoke Island Aquarium.

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I'm not going to go into a lot of detail because of how much time has passed and because I don't remember most of the details lol, but we had a great Thanksgiving (desserts were pumpkin pie and apple pie), Anniversary (31 years), and Christmas (desserts were pumpkin pie again, key lime pie for Charlie, and homemade chocolate chip cookies). I don't remember what gifts were given. Lydia had a great time though. She loved the talking, singing tea set we got her.

 

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December 27th, Sean called me so that I could hear what Lydia calls me. (She hadn't called me anything prior to that.) He and Ashley were showing Lydia pictures of me and saying, "Who's that?" Lydia said, "Mema". It melted my heart to hear her say that with her sweet voice. She gets excited when she sees me and says, "Mema!" And when Sean's talking to me on speaker phone and she hears me she says, "Is that Mema?" Charlie is "Papa."

 

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On January 9th, I had to bring Loki to the vet because of blood in his poop. Thankfully it wasn't anything serious. He had a full anal gland, which the vet took care of. 

 

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Saturday, January 24th, it was forecasted that we would get a bunch of ice with very cold temperatures, and probably have power outages. We didn't get as much ice as was expected and we didn't lose power, but it was very cold (single digits and teens at night and in the mornings; 20s during the day). 

 

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia came to stay with us (they live about a mile or so from us) in case they lost power. I had bought a lot of food for all six of us (I had to go to five different stores to get everything we needed because people were buying up everything; I went to Walmart, Food Lion, Dollar General, Lowes Foods, and Harris Teeter) and ended up spending over $600! But at least I didn't have to worry about us going hungry.

 

We have a generator, so I cooked up a few meals ahead of time that we could heat up and have a hot meal each night for supper.

 

We got ice and sleet that Saturday evening and Sunday morning, which meant the roads were iced over. Sean, Ashley, and Lydia left sooner than we felt like they should have (Sunday afternoon) because Sean was going to try to go to work that Monday. They made it home safely, but Sean wasn't able to go to work.

 

This was taken on January 27th.

 

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Saturday, January 31st (and I think into Sunday, February 1st), we got 13 inches of snow. The biggest snow we've had in awhile. Again, I had go to three or four different stores to get what we needed because of people clearing the shelves, but I didn't spend nearly as much that time.

 

 

 

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Some time in January, Sean and Ashley told us that they're expecting another baby. On February 28th, we found out that it's a girl! She's due in September.

 

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My 53rd birthday was February 7th, Kelly's 26th birthday was February 8th, Charlie's 57th birthday was February 21st, and Lydia's 2nd birthday was March 11th.

 

Lydia is such a sweet, smart, funny, sassy, adorable little girl! She is a joy to our family and friends. She loves cats, dogs, horses, buses (yes, buses), dinosaurs, and frogs. She knows her ABCs, colors, can count to 10, knows some words in sign language, and is learning to count to 10 in Spanish. 

 

She's at that adorable age where she can't say many words correctly and has such a cute voice. Fish is feesh, car is caw, bus almost ends with a lisp, she can't say the R in horse (well, she can't pronounce the R in any words; Ls are also difficult), Kelly is Keggy or Keh-yee, dragon is gaggon, frog almost sounds like the F word. She says our cat Effie's name really well, but can't quite get Loki.

 

Anyway, I could go on, but I'll stop now. :-)

 

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Tomorrow (technically today), March 21st, is Sean and Ashley's 6th wedding anniversary! 

 

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Lydia is supposed to get tubes for her ears this Monday. She gets an ear infection nearly every month (except for the summer) and had two in one month last year. They've had to reschedule the surgery several times because if she gets sick (like a cold or anything that causes congestion), they can't do the surgery. As of today, she's not sick. Here's hoping and praying she stays well. 

 

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Thanksgiving, New Purchases, The Walking Dead

On October 14th, Charlie traded the red truck he bought from work for a white truck from some guy he knows. The red truck was a Ford; the white one is a Dodge Ram (dually, diesel), I think. I don't remember what year it is. I haven't seen the truck yet. He has it at some guy's house where he's doing work to it.

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October 30th, my friend Skyla in Louisiana died. She was only 40 years old. Last I heard, the police were still investigating.

 

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This past Thanksgiving was the smallest Thanksgiving we've ever had. My mom worked, my brother was with his girlfriend and her family, Ashley was sick. Sean did come by that night, but otherwise it was just me, Charlie, and Kelly. I miss the Thanksgivings when I was with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

 

Our meal was turkey (I sent the leftover turkey with Sean for Ashley), stuffing, black eyed peas (closest thing to a vegetable that I like lol), broccoli, mashed potatoes and gravy, and crescent rolls. Dessert was apple pie and pumpkin pie.

I don't usually do a special meal for Christmas (I usually just cook whatever I'm in the mood for - a good, home cooked meal, but not a traditional Christmas dinner), but I'm thinking of doing something a bit more special this year. Charlie doesn't like turkey much, so I may do ham. Though I don't like ham. lol 

 

But I'm thinking maybe country ham so that I can do country ham biscuits for me. I love country ham biscuits. I don't think Kelly likes ham either (or pork at all; not even bacon!), so I may cook a couple chicken breasts for me and her. Also perhaps macaroni and cheese, dressing, collards (I've never made collards, so I'm thinking of getting some already made from a restaurant if possible), some other vegetable maybe, black eyed peas for me, maybe cranberry sauce (haven't had it since I my teens or early twenties), biscuits. I'm still thinking about it. I'm not sure yet what desserts we'll have. Sean wants me to make chocolate chip cookies. But you also kind of have to have pie for Christmas. Maybe pecan pie and chocolate pie or cookies and cream pie.

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Lots of purchases since the last entry where I showed my purchases. Mostly shoes. I kind of went crazy with the Blowfish shoes. One pair a week. I still want a red pair.

Color: Bento blue. Purchased from Amazon for $39.08 after tax. Shipping was free. This is their picture.

 

Purchased from Amazon for $36.60 after shipping and tax. This is their picture.

 

Purchased from Amazon for $29.89 after tax. Shipping was free. This is their picture.

 

Purchased from Amazon for $42.66 after tax. Shipping was free. I really wanted these, but they sold out. Then the price went up to around $50. So I waited for the price to come back down and then ordered them. This is their picture.

 

Purchased from Amazon for $42.65 after tax. Shipping was free. This is their picture.

 

 

Purchased from someone on Poshmark for $23.13 after shipping and tax. This is their picture.

 
 

Liz Claiborne skirt. Purchased from someone on eBay for $33.49 after shipping and tax. This is their picture.

 
 

Chaps vest/cardigan. Purchased from someone on Poshmark for $22.06 after shipping and tax. This is their picture.

 

 

Keds. Purchased from Amazon for $47.98 after tax. Shipping was free. This is their picture.

 

 
 

Agnes & Dora dress. Purchased from eBay for $26.68 after tax. Shipping was free. I bought some black tights last week to wear with it.

 

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This past Sunday night was the series finale of The Walking Dead. I was much more emotional about the show coming to an end than I thought I would be. Even when watching the penultimate episode, I cried a little just because it was close to the end. The finale was sad in places (two deaths had me practically ugly crying), but it had a mostly happy or hopeful ending.

 

Complaints or scenes I wish were different: 

 

SPOILERS!!

 

Rosita's fall and then being able to get back up, let alone not get torn to pieces, was a little too unrealistic. Even in a show with zombies. lol But I'm still glad she did and typical Rosita came up swinging. The jump to the pipe on the wall, and she, Eugene, and Gabriel being able to climb it was questionable to me. Could they have really done that? But I'm glad they did make the climb.

Rosita's death after being bit wasn't consistent with the deaths of others who've been bit in the show. She didn't look or act sick - no sweating or signs of fever or anything. And when she died, she closed her eyes peacefully. Though at the same time, I didn't really want to see her struggling at the end. I'm glad they didn't show her getting stabbed in the head before she could turn into a walker/zombie. I was already crying pretty hard.

Daryl and Connie didn't kiss! Me and so many fans wanted/want them together so badly! lol I don't "ship" often when watching shows or movies, but I've wanted them together since the scene in the cornfield when Connie was trying to save baby Adam. If at the end of Daryl's spin-off show he and Connie don't get together I'm going to be a little ticked! lol

 

I would've liked to have seen Oceanside once more. We got almost nothing about them for a long time. It's my favorite location in TWD because it's at the beach. And I like that the women and girls of Oceanside were surviving after Simon had all their men and boys killed.

I wish we had gotten more of Jules and Luke before they died, but I guess the actor who played Luke was busy with other projects. Still, his death was so sad! When his friends (Connie, Magna, Yumiko, & Kelly) were around him sobbing, I was crying hard. Other people crying makes me cry.

Favorite scenes:

 

SPOILERS!!

 

Rosita, Eugene, and Gabriel saving baby Coco and two other babies.

Eugene and Max had a baby (and apparently got married some time during the time jump since we see him wearing a ring) and named her Rosie after Rosita. 

Maggie talking to Negan about Glenn (he was beautiful and good) and how she can't forgive Negan for what he did, but she can see he's trying to be a better person, etc. Probably the best scene in the episode, in my opinion.

 

The huge explosion that took out part of the Commonwealth so that they could kill the herd of walkers. I thought it was so cool! And the CGI was really good.

I loved when Princess (Juanita) and Max rescued Mercer. Especially when Princess said, "Baby, get back!" before blowing the door off his cell. I also like that she let Max hug her brother Mercer before she (Princess) jumped into his arms to kiss him.

Ezekiel is the new governor and Mercer is the lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth.

Carol has taken over Lance Hornsby's job. I guess that means she'll be checking on the other communities and making sure they have what they need.

 

I love that most of our group survived. Including Dog the dog! It hurt to lose Rosita (basically an OG character), but we still have Daryl, Carol, Connie, Father Gabriel (aka Father Gangsta - talk about a character with an arc!), Princess, Ezekiel, Jerry, Mercer, Lydia, Elijah, Maggie, little Hershel, Judith, Aaron, Gracie, RJ, Annie (really expected her to die), Negan, Nabila, Jerry and Nabila's kids, Eugene, Max, Coco, Yumiko, Kelly, Magna, Dianne (more of a background character, but she's been around a long time). I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.

It was great to see Rick and Michonne at the end. I will be watching their spin-off, as well as Daryl's (Daryl Dixon) and Maggie and Negan's (Dead City).

 

I loved that as we were listening to Rick and Michonne reading the letters they were writing that we got to see all those who survived and those we lost along the way. That part had me crying, too. So many characters we loved and miss (and some we don't lol) - Glenn, Beth, Lori, Shane, Dale, Hershel, Tara, Enid, Jesus/Paul, Shiva the tiger, Henry, Noah, Sophia, Siddiq, Andrea, Carl, Merle, Tyreese, Sasha, Bob, Abraham, Deanna, Alden, Jessie, Amy, T-Dog, Jacqui, Jim, Morales, Milton, Lizzie, Mika, Denise. We also saw Morgan and Dwight, but they've been on Fear the Walking Dead for a few years now.

My favorite characters of the show are Daryl, Carol, Glenn, Connie, and Dog. But I also love Princess, Ezekiel, Jerry, Gabriel (in the last couple seasons), Aaron, Rosita, and Mercer. And the rest of our group I care about and I'm glad the ones who survived survived.

I will miss this show. I didn't realize how much I would miss it until we got to the last couple episodes. So sad that it's mostly over, but we've got a few spin-offs coming. We better see Rick and Michonne make it back home to their kids and friends. And we better see Daryl make it back to see Rick and Michonne and to get with Connie.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Park, Milo, Holidays, and Anniversary

November 11th - Kelly, Milo, and I went to the park.

 Milo had a lot of fun running around.

 

 

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November 15th - Milo had to have an ultrasound at a specialty vets office. They saw that his liver is significantly smaller than it should be, nodular, and mottled. They think it could be cancer or copper storage. He will have to have surgery so they can do a biopsy. Surgery will probably be in January or February. For now, he's on special food and acts totally fine - loves to eat, playful, energetic.

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November 25th - Thanksgiving. Mom, Sean, and Ashley came over. We had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, black eyed peas, stuffing, crescent rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and chocolate chip cookies.

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Speaking of Sean and Ashley, they moved out of my mom's place and into their own place 2-3 weeks before Christmas. Right down the street from my mom. Ashley's dad moved in with them. They also bought a new washer and dryer and a new stove.

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December 17th - Charlie and I celebrated our 27th anniversary. We went out to eat before our anniversary and then on our anniversary we went out again and had Kelly with us because we also had to do some Christmas shopping.

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December 25th - Christmas. Mom, Sean, Ashley, and Del came over. (Del came over after the others had left. He had been to our mom's house earlier.) We got my mom a blanket with a Christmas pattern and thick, purple house socks. (She loves thick house socks.) We got Sean and Ashley a knife set and a cutting board. We got Del a gray and black flannel shirt and a black thermal shirt.

Sean and Ashley gave me a black Loki T-shirt (it just says "Loki" on it with each letter being a different style; the O is gold, the other letters are different shades of green) and two books from my Amazon wish list - Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber and All the Little Hopes by Leah Weiss. They got Kelly a lantern wax burner, a pack of French toast scented wax, and a pink blanket. (Kelly loves blankets.) They got Charlie golf balls.

 

Mom gave us money.

We got Kelly a Wanda/Scarlet Witch Funko Pop, a stuffed Grogu/Baby Yoda, a Slytherin pillow with stuffed snake, a video game, a pink blanket, and a bat T-shirt. (Kelly loves bats and Batman. Sean's nickname for her is "Bats".) I got Charlie two golf shirts (Izod and some kind of Pro Golf/PGA brand) and a pack of dress socks (which he really needed).

I got a Hawkeye T-shirt, a Loki T-shirt, a Hawkeye Funko Pop, a forest green wool coat with removable hood, and a throw blanket with Christmas cats on it.

For Christmas dinner, we had lasagna. Dessert was Oreo pie, pumpkin pie, and butterball cookies.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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The Holidays, Doctor Stuff, and Sick Dogs

I've gotten way behind with my blog. I told myself several times that I need to post a new entry, but I'd always get busy with other things. I'm setting a few things aside to write this.

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We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. My mom didn't stay for dinner because she doesn't like to eat after 5:00 or 6:00. :-/ We have it that "late" so that my brother can have Thanksgiving with his son and his son's mother's family (he's still married to Jennifer, but left her a couple years ago) and not have to rush here or still be full from dinner there when he gets here. Plus, I don't have to get up real early to cook.

So anyway, it was just me, Charlie, Kelly, Sean, Ashley, my brother Del, and my mom (who didn't stay long and didn't eat). We had turkey (of course), mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas, stuffing/dressing, green beans, crescent rolls, apple pie, and pumpkin pie.

 

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Kelly had her neurologist appointment on December 11th. He doesn't believe she has Tourette's because of her age when it started. He wants her to see a psychologist. The psychologist is supposed to call to make an appointment, but they haven't yet. I may have to call the neurologist and ask about it.

 

After Kelly and I left the neurologist's office, we went to Cugino Forno for pizza. They open at 11:00 and we got there around 11:30. There was maybe one or two other small groups there (2-4 people each), so we were able to sit far from other people and enjoy our amazing pizza.

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Charlie's doctor still hasn't scheduled his surgery. Something we thought they would do a couple months ago. He said he called them yesterday and they said they would let the nurse know. :-/

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Charlie and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary on December 17th. We didn't go anywhere because of corona and because we didn't really want to go anywhere. I cooked us a delicious supper, he gave me flowers, and we exchanged cards.

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We had a nice Christmas. Sean and Ashley came over. Mom came over when she got off work (around 3:00 or 3:30), but didn't stay long. Del didn't come over, but he came by a couple days later because I told him we had a gift for him. He said his apartment is cold and he only had one blanket before our mom bought him one. So I got him a nice, thick blue one. He loved it.

Mom gave us money. 

 

Charlie and Kelly got me an electric fireplace that looks like a wood burning stove for my office. This room gets cold and I was tired of having to wear socks and cover myself with a blanket. I like that when the weather gets warm I can run it without the heat, so I can still enjoy the look of it in the summer. 

 

Sean and Ashley got me a Barnes and Noble gift card, a few boxes of one of my favorite candies (Goobers), a bookmark, and a Fellowship (LOTR) decal for my car (something I asked for that I knew wouldn't cost them much).

Sean loves astronomy, so we got him a small USB light projector that shines blue stars wherever he points it. He can use it in his car or their bedroom. We also got him a blanket with constellations that glow in the dark and a black T-shirt with four or five '70s models split bumper Camaros on it - his dream car.

We got Kelly a stuffed Pusheen lion, a black cloak, a blanket that's forest green on one side and white/ivory sherpa on the other (she loves blankets), an Ahsoka Tano Funko Pop figure, and a video game.

We got Ashley three books - Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I had sent Sean a text with the titles of several books asking if Ashley had read any of them and she hadn't. He said that she said she trusts my taste in books because she loved the ones I got her for her birthday. She told me a few days after Christmas that she read Anna and the French Kiss in a day and loved it. :-)

Kelly and I got Charlie two T-shirts - a blue one with Chevy Novas, Camaros, and Chevelles on it (including a '67 Camaro, the year Camaro that he has) and a white one with Novas on it (including a '70 model, the one that he has).

 

We got Mom a pretty purple cardigan and a pink/purple decal for her car that says "Protected" with angel wings over it and a cross for the T.  I've had a white one like it on my car for years and I remembered her saying she wanted one when I first got it, but I couldn't find anymore back then. So I checked Amazon and found a few.

Sean and Ashley got Charlie a golf hat and golf towel. Some brand that Sean and Charlie like. They also gave him a pretty green Hot Wheels Camaro. Charlie wants to paint his Camaro green, so Sean figured Charlie would like it.

For Christmas dinner, I made a roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli or green beans, black eyed peas, crescent rolls, apple pie, and pumpkin pie. That evening, Charlie got the free month trial of HBO Max so we could watch Wonder Woman 1984. It was okay. The first one was much better.

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Saturday, December 26th, Milo woke up very squinty. He could barely open his eyes and kept them shut most of the time. He started sneezing the next night. Pippin had been sick to his stomach (something that happens to him a few times a year), which usually lasts about a week, but after a week he still was barely eating. His stomach issues had cleared up, so it wasn't that. I watched him more closely and figured it was probably a tooth bothering him.

So, I called the vet Monday morning and they had me bring them in early Tuesday morning. (December 29th.) I was finally able to pick them up around 4:00. They sent Milo home with steroid drops for his eyes and antibiotics. They also took blood from both dogs. They weren't sure if Milo's problem was an upper respiratory infection or something else. Or possibly both. 

 

Blood results were pretty good for both dogs. So Milo probably did have an upper respiratory infection and it's definitely Pippin's teeth or a tooth that's bothering him. There's nothing they can do for Pippin though. With his age and his heart problems, they can't put him under general anesthesia to pull his teeth. I've since started mashing his food after letting it sit in warm water for awhile to make it easier for him to eat and that seems to have helped. He can't eat the canned stuff because it gives him diarrhea.

Milo is doing much better. He started playing again after a couple days on his medicines and is no longer squinting or sneezing. He had a follow up appointment on Thursday the 7th and the vet said he looks great.

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A couple weeks ago, I was having trouble sleeping. I would wake up several times, usually because I was cold. I doubled up my quilts and that helped a lot, but I wanted to get a thicker blanket or comforter so that I wouldn't have two quilts to wash when I changed the bedding. (I only have three.) I got a cheap one at Walmart - just $64 before tax. When I put it on our bed, the material felt kind of thin to me, so I wasn't sure it would keep me warm, but it has. I don't know how long it will last because of how cheap it is, but I like it. I may get a better quality one (on sale) someday.

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I bought a new coat from Dillard's a week or so ago. Actually, I ordered it online. I saw that they had coats on sale and I really wanted a red one, but I wanted to try them on first. I ended up liking the way the black London Fog single breasted looked on me better than the red Anne Klein double breasted. It was originally about $150 and I paid less than $90 before taxes. It came with a scarf, but it was shorter and thinner than I prefer. I was going to bring it to Goodwill, but Kelly said that Rene loves scarves, so I gave it to her. 

 

I can't remember the last time I bought a coat. At least 10 years ago. It's nice to have a new one. My gray one needs a button sewn on it and my other two coats (one long, red double breasted and a dark purple one) are my church coats because they're too nice, in my opinion, to wear while grocery shopping and running around town.

 

 

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This was longer than I was planning, but that's usually how it is with me. lol I hope to do my usual end of the year and beginning of the year posts soon.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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Thanksgiving, Uncle Dusty, and Music

We had a nice Thanksgiving with good food.

My mom cooked the turkey and got crescent rolls and gravy. I did the green beans, black eyed peas, stuffing (Stove Top; I may make my own stuffing/dressing someday), mashed potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, pumpkin pie (Mrs. Smith's), chocolate pecan pie, and chocolate pudding pie. Charlie doesn't like turkey (gasp!), so he grilled some pork chops. My brother ate with us.

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My uncle Dusty (given name James) passed away on December 1st of a massive heart attack. He was my mom's brother. (Her brother David died when he was a baby. Her brother Tony died seven years ago. She also lost her sister Nancy seven years ago. Her other two sisters are still living.) Two uncles gone in 10 days. :-(

He will be cremated this Saturday. I don't know if there's going to be a memorial service on that day or not. Last I heard, they were still trying figure things out.

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I've purchased several new songs since the last time I posted about that.

There are more songs that I want, but I ran out of money from the last iTunes card I bought. I asked for an iTunes card for Christmas (and Daisy Dream perfume because I'm almost out), so hopefully I can buy some more songs in a few weeks. :-)

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Thanksgiving, Plans, Sad Goodbye, Dream Car

We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Though it was only me, Charlie, the kids, and my mom. My mom cooked the turkey. Well, she tried. The directions said 3-3½ hours at 325°, but it was still bloody. So she cooked it another hour at 350° or 375° and brought it over. But when I cut into it, it was still bloody. So I cooked it about another hour and it was finally done.

While the turkey was cooking, we went ahead and ate the sides while they were still warm. I made mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas, stuffing, green beans, and crescent rolls. Dessert was apple pie, chocolate pie, and pumpkin pie.

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Kelly and I are still thinking about going to the mountains. We were going to go today, but that's probably not going to happen. I've been busy this week (busy for me) and don't think I feel up to a trip. We also haven't decided for sure where we want to go. We'd like to do the Parkway (Fancy Gap to Boone), but we also really want to go to Biltmore in Asheville. We may end up not going at all if we keep putting it off though. I don't know. We'll see.

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I told Charlie and the kids a few days ago that I'd like to go see the Christmas lights at Tanglewood. We haven't been since the kids were little. Kelly's excited to go and mentioned it yesterday. Hopefully soon.

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I got an email a couple days ago from our vet saying they're closing for good on the 30th. (Yesterday.) That makes me so sad. We've been taking our pets there for several years. I really liked them and will miss them. From what I gather, their closing was sudden/unexpected for them. They didn't say why. When I went there on Wednesday to get Pippin's prescription food, one of the receptionists (Karen from England) said something about circumstances beyond their control. I didn't want to pry, so I didn't ask what happened. When I went back to my car, I sat there for a minute with tears in my eyes, trying not to cry too much. I felt so silly, but I really am going to miss them.

So I'll have to find a new vet soon. There's one closer to our house that I may try.

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On Wednesday, in addition to going to the vet (twice; I had to go back to get Pip's prescription), I also had to bring the kids to the dentist. That was Sean's last appointment at the pediatric dentist. Neither had cavities, but both have wisdom teeth that may have to come out. They said Kelly can probably wait another year, but Sean may have to have his out sooner. I reckon when he goes to the regular dentist, they can decide.

After coming home from bringing the kids to the dentist and going to the vet a second time, I fell asleep on the couch for about an hour and woke up about 15 minutes before time to leave for church. Oops! We were a little late (it was just me and Sean), but service didn't start until right after we got there. So it was okay.

I picked up a few things from the store after church before coming home. It was nice to change into my comfortable house clothes. :-)

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Yesterday, after bringing Sean and his girlfriend Ashley to their school (a local community college), Kelly and I went first to a station to get my car inspected. Then we went to the DMV to pay the taxes on my car and Charlie's car hauler. (Inspection and taxes were both due by yesterday or there would've been a late fee.) From there, we stopped by Cato (got nothing) and then went to Brixx for a late lunch. We were really hungry and it tasted really good!

After leaving Brixx, we went basically across the street (diagonally, several lanes) to the chocolate shop to get some cherry cordials. She asked if I wanted a ribbon for my box and I chose my favorite color - green. :-)

By then it was just about time for Sean and Ashley to get out of class. (Nearly 5:00.) So we went to their school and waited for them to get out. We finally came home after bringing Ashley home and I made supper - chicken giardino.

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Speaking of Sean and school. He's been going to a math class twice a week. He's done now until January. In January, he'll be going to several classes five days a week. Two or three of those days will be all day. From about 8:00/9:00/10:00 AM until about 5:00 or 5:30 in the evening. He has to take one of his classes online (English, I think) because the one at the school is at the same time as one of his other classes.

I don't remember what all he's taking. A more advanced math than what he just finished, English, Psychology, Human something or other (Humanities?), and I don't remember what else.

After he's done with all those classes, he'll finally be able to start the actual aviation mechanic stuff. Either in the spring or summer. Hopefully he does well in his classes and can start the mechanics course when he expects to.

Ashley is going to school for computer technology or something like that.

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The reason Kelly and I went to Cato is because Kelly's best friend Rene (she'll be 21 in April) is getting married in February and Kelly is a bridesmaid. Rene and her family don't have a lot of money and Rene wants to keep things simple. So she told Kelly to just find a light gray dress. (Her colors are gray and pink.) We've been to several stores and have found nothing that will work or that Kelly likes. (She's very picky.) We've been to Stein Mart, Macy's, New York and Company, Dillard's, Belk, Kohl's, Target, Charlotte Russe, JC Penney, and of course Cato. There a couple more stores we may try. If we can't find anything then we'll have to look online. But we've got to hurry so there's time to order, wait for shipping, possibly have to ship it back if it doesn't work (I hate shopping for clothes or shoes online because you can't try them on before buying them), order something else, etc. :-/

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Speaking of shopping, I bought a cute jacket about 3-4 weeks ago at Stein Mart. It was originally about $40, $78 at other stores, but I paid $29. :-)

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For years I've wanted a Mini Cooper. Well, I've recently fallen in love with something else - Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I don't know why, but I just love them. Kelly said she's surprised I would want a vehicle like that. It's kind of rugged and some look like military vehicles almost, but I really want one. However, the price for a new one is much more than I'd want to pay and I really don't want a car payment. The car I have now (2007 Honda CRV) has been paid off for about 5 years and I've loved not having a payment. Of course, we'd want to check how reliable they are and all that. But if it's good, maybe someday. I want either a black one, a red one, a dark gray one, or dark green/olive green/army green one. It's possible though that by the time we're able or ready to buy one I may no longer be interested. lol


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Thanksgiving, Park Pictures, Books, etc.

Sean took the Math I test a few weeks ago and scored very well. Much higher than he did on the pre-test. Now he's in Math II and will take that test possibly in January. Then it's on to the final Math course and final test. After that, he will probably (hopefully) be starting the Aviation Mechanics course in the spring.

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I had planned on spending Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family, as I've done the past couple years, because my mom usually works every Thanksgiving and I think it's sad when it's just me, Charlie, and the kids. My mom was off this year though and I figured we'd all go, but Mom didn't want to go and said she'd stay home and eat a frozen dinner. *sigh*

So, I stayed home and cooked (my mom cooked the turkey). The food was good and we had a nice time, but I missed seeing the rest of my family. I don't get to see them much and was looking forward to seeing them, but I couldn't let my mom sit home alone eating a frozen dinner, even if she did say she was fine with it. :-/

We had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green beans, black eyed peas, rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pie.

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The day after Thanksgiving (this past Friday), Charlie, Kelly, and I, and our dog Milo, went to Hagan-Stone Park for a couple hours. (Sean was at my mom's.) I love that place, but hadn't been since last year. We really enjoyed walking the trails.

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I've purchased a few new items since my last entry.

I got this at Stein Mart the week before Thanksgiving for about $20.

I got this at JC Penney. Originally $60, I paid about $30.

I'd been wanting a casual jacket (all my others are leather and denim jackets and wool coats) and got this "military" jacket at Stein Mart for $30 or $40.

I only had one sweater to wear around the house, so I went and got this sweater at Target for about $30.

I got this The Walking Dead t-shirt at Hot Topic. I wear t-shirts at home, never in public.

I got this vest at Stein Mart for about $30 or $35.

I also got a Game of Thrones t-shirt at Target (says "Stark"; below that, a dire wolf; below that, "Winterfell"; and below that, "Winter is Coming"), but I haven't been able to find a picture of it.

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Update on Pippin:

We started him on arthritis medication a couple weeks ago and he seems to be doing quite well on it. He doesn't limp as much; often not at all.

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Since my last entry, I finished The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis. Very good book. I highly recommend it!

After finishing The Wolf Road, I read Backs Against the Wall and Tearing Down the Wall (parts 2 and 3 of a trilogy), by Tracey Ward. I gave the former 3 stars and the latter 4 stars at GoodReads.

I'm now reading An Undisturbed Peace by Mary Glickman.



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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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