Our Weekend

Since I am to play the organ for the service this morning some practice time was needed. I did go to the church twice to do that. Pictured here is the organ that I play on for Sunday service. You will notice that the keys are the reverse color of what you normally see on a keyboard. The reason is that this is a tractor organ. I think I am spelling that correctly. When you play a note, the key is attached to a string or wire that runs down and underneath the bench and up to the pipes that are behind where the organist sits. Then the pipe is opened and the sound comes out. It is a different feel to play it than most other organs or pianos. You can see some of the pipes and a different view of the keyboard in my new header layout.
On Saturday we went to the holiday parade. When my kids were growing up this was held in the morning. We used to participate when my son was in scouts and when they got older, they marched with their high school band in the parade. Somewhere along the way, the parade got changed to an evening event. People could decorate their floats and cars and whatever with lights.
This tower was at the top of a building near where we stood to watch the parade. I took it just before it got dark.
I had a hard time getting good pictures because it was too dark. The ones with lots of lights showed up better. This is one of the floats with lots of lights. It was mainly community groups participating in the parade. Like sports groups, dance studios, businesses, churches, schools, scout groups, 4-H groups and so one. It was a long parade. There seemed to be at least 3 car clubs so all the cars in those clubs made it long. I was surprised to see a PT Cruiser car club. That was the kind of car we rented on our last trip. Most of the cars were black, made it hard to get good pictures, even with the lights.
This car is from an older model car club of some kind. The lighter color helped to make it visible in the picture.

Our church participated in the parade for the first time. I managed to get a picture of them. I almost missed my chance to get the picture. Candy was tossed to the children along the parade route. One of the teens from our church noticed us standing there and handed us some candy too. I thought that was cool. We had a fun evening. I was glad we went to it instead of being stick in the mud folks and staying home. Rather actually, it would have been going home instead of attending the parade. We were in town already for me to practice at the church.

The only thing that disappointed us was the parents who failed to control their children. The kids kept edging further and further into the street, especially the ones across the street from us. They were goading the participants into tossing them candy. Also getting too far out into the street made it hard for the ones driving the cars and trucks pulling floats to avoid them. Many of them had to veer over towards us. Being dark, sometimes it was hard for the drivers to really watch for the kids and avoid them. Most of the parents over there were have a drink from a bar that was right there and yakking with each other and appearing to be totally oblivious about what their kids were doing. It is these kinds of things that makes me wonder what the world is coming to these days.

Pink Saturday #11

I think I am finally getting to the end of the pictures I took at the Pez Museum. It is not really a very big place, but there is a lot to absorb in there. And I still didn't touch on everything they had there. It is amazing how much is in that small place.

This picture above is a photo of a couple of the For Better For Worse comic strip in a frame. They are autographed by Lynn Johnston. Included in the frame is a note from Lynn which is a thank you for a Pez bouquet she had gotten from them. It looks like the word "Note" is in pink.

In this picture is a few of my collection of her books. Being Pink Saturday I included the only one I have with a pink cover. If you saw my "100 random facts about me" post, you will have seen that I mentioned having two books autographed by Lynn Johnston. The book on the right "The Last Straw" is about the 3rd book in her collection. It was the one I was missing several years ago. I looked everywhere for a copy. I checked online and kept getting a message that the book was out of print. Aack! How was I going to get a copy? I happen to find Lynn Johnston's website, where I go visit everyday now, and I noticed there was a link to contact them. So I did and asked them where could I get a copy of that book. They wrote me back asking for my address and said they would mail me a copy. I did that and after a few days or so, I was surprised to actually get the book. And not only that, but the book was autographed! However, there was no bill included with the shipment. I wrote back asking how much I owed, and I never heard back from them. So I guess it was intended as a gift. Of course I was thrilled with that!

This picture shows my two books with her autograph. The second book I got from her in person. She was at the Charles Schulz Museum a few years ago and we went to go hear her speak. She did drawings with an overhead projector as she spoke. It was so cool to see her for real. Her Silver Annivesary collection was just out. They had it available for purchase at the museum. So we bought one and got in line to have it autographed. It was so cool to get that. We knew one of the volunteer docents there. Actually he is a pastor and he has been a guest pastor at our church several times, including when I happen to be the organist. So because of that he remembered who I am. He gave us a personal tour of the museum that evening after we got our book signed.

Happy Pink Saturday to everyone. Thank you to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Her link is in my side bar. Click on the pink doll and visit others who are participating in Pink Saturday. Thank you for visiting me.

Our Thanksgiving

Decided to play around with the photoscape program again. This is what I came up with using the pictures I took yesterday. We had a good day. There were seven of us. I still wore myself out getting ready and doing the meal prep. I could barely move by the end of the day. But after a good rest I can move this morning. Which is a good thing since I have to go to work. No Black Friday shopping for me. Then we have a memorial service to go. At least I hope I can get off work on time to go to it. I was asked to play the organ for this service, but couldn't commit since I had to work. Fortunately another organist was able to fill in for this one.
Anyway, on to yesterday. In the above pictures are the decorations I added for the day. The top three is my center piece for the table. I found the turkeys at Hancock fabrics for 60% off I think. The faux gourds I got there too. They are sitting on doilies that also have in my hutch. Forgot to get a picture of them on the shelves. In the bottom two pictures is a goose that I made I don't know how many years ago. I made him from a panel of printed fabric. All you had to do was sew him together and stuff. I have him sitting on a bed of fall garland. I have decided I am going to try and use the goose in more of my decor.

This is a glimpse of our meal. The top left is the turkey and the Festive Onions. Then we have the stuffing and my green bean casserole. Not the same green bean casserole a lot of other people make. The bottom left shows the stuffing again, the squash casserole my mother made, the gravy and the cranberry sauce. Yes we use the jelled cranberry sauce. It is what we are used to in our family. The bottom right is another view of that end of the buffet area. The fabric is a table runner that I made many years ago. I also used napkins I made out of the same fabric.

Hope everyone had a happy and yummy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who visits!

Now Thank We All Our God

Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wonderous things has done,
In whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mother's arms,
Has blest us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

Oh, may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us,
And keep us in his grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all harm
In this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God,
Whom earth and heav'n adore;
For thus it was is now,
And shall be evermore.

By Martin Rinkhart, 1586-1649; translated by Catherine Winkworth 1829-1878

Sung to the Hymn tune "Nun Danket Alle Gott" by Johann Cruger, 1598-1662

This hymn has been favorite for a long time. I love playing this hymn on the organ. If I happen to be the organist on Thanksgiving Eve or around Thanksgiving, I usually like to place a prelude or offertory piece based on this hymn tune. I have a book of Chorales for the Organ by Marcel Dupre and he has a chorale based on this hymn tune that I have played often. I do play the organ this Sunday, but will be focusing on music appropriate for the 1st Sunday in Advent.

Peace and Love,

Linnea

The Weekend

Yesterday, we were busy getting the house ready for Thanksgiving guests. Well, today too. But anyway, one of the things we needed to do was to get all the moneyback recycling out of the house. That included aluminum cans, all glass that says a deposit was paid on it, all water bottles and others that we get money back for if we return them. So we had a bunch to take to the recycling center. We went to the next town for that because it is a better place. We got a whopping $23.60. I kept $10 and let my husband have the rest so he would have some cash in his wallet. He rarely has any. But on the way there I realized I never ate lunch. So after we finished I decided we could go and get a hamburger. A place we like to go to around here is Wendy's. Yum. We were surprised that the Wendy's we go to had been remodeled. Don't know how long ago that was done. But is was very nicely done. We had a pleasant and relaxing time eating our hamburgers.

This sunset I have pictured here was our treat on the way home. It was so pretty, I told my hubby to pull over so I could get a picture. I did this shot with no flash. That just added to our pleasant time out. Then once we got home, it was back to the grind to get more cleaning and straightening done.

My husband needed to be at church today since he was assisting minister today. I did that role last week. But today I woke up with a horrible headache. Probably part due to stress and part due to PMS I guess. I thought I had stopped having Aunt Flo visit 5 months ago. So I was surprised it came again this weekend. A very heavy Aunt Flo and headache, ehhh not feeling so hot. I am better now. I did manage to get more cleaning done again. After my hubby got home, he cut up some the extra boxes we had around the house and put them in our recycling can. I did a lot of shredding and paper recycling. Our recycle can is practically full and it won't get picked up until Saturday this week. Our trash is normally picked up on Fridays. But the trash collectors get Thanksgiving off, so our day gets put off till Saturday when that happens.

I hope I can be ready for the dinner by Thursday. I do have the turkey in the fridge now doing its thing, defrosting. I wonder if I can make it dance around and defrost faster. Probably not.
Tuesday I will shop to get whatever I still need to get for Thursday's meal. The ingredients for the stuffing and the rest of what I need for my Green Bean Casserole. Also a little something for an appetizer. Don't know yet what I want to get for that. Hope everyone else is about ready for Thanksgiving!

Ta ta for now, Linnea

Found a New Inspiring Blog

Exploring others blogs or the links others leave in their blogs can really take me places. Met a new friend Lucy already and I found this inspiring blog by Jeanne Winters. I found her when I visited Heidi Ann at Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly.

Jeanne has a new line of Simply Inspiring that is coming out at our local Hallmark shops. She is doing a give away too. I really like her things and plan to get to a Hallmark shop soon so I can see her things. Can't today. Have a bad headache and we don't have one in our town. But I can visit one after work. There is one located not far from my place of employment that I go to now and then.

She also has a great idea for Decoupage Christmas Card balls that I want to try. It is a wonderful way to recycle old Christmas cards. I just love that idea.

Pink Saturday #11-PEZ Musuem

I have a few more pictures of the Pez Musuem I had not shown before. Plus I did some cropping on other pictures so you can see better what was in the pictures.
They had a few things made from the Pez candies. This Santa sleigh was one of those items. The candies look kind of pink to me.

Here is another sculpture made from the Pez candies. I think it is the fairy tale Rapunzel.

A close crop of some of the colorform boxes. Looks like there is some variation of pink in there.

How do you like this one? A viewmaster that looks like Big Bird from Sesame Street with those Hot Pink sunglasses. I think that maybe my favorite item in the musuem.

Thank you to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting this Pink Saturday for us. There is a link to her blog in my side bar if you want to check out others who are also participating in Pink Saturday.

Happy Pink Saturday!!

Three Or More Thursdays

If you are looking for my Three or More Thursdays, go here. It is on my sewing and craft blog this time. Thanks for coming to visit!!

100 Random Things

I saw this on Lynette's blog and thought I would try it too. Let's see if I can come up with 100 random facts.

1. I was born in Los Angeles. Won't give the year, but I am over 50.
2. Lived in California all my life.
3. I have lived in 13 different homes in my lifetime.
4. Born hearing impaired.
5. Started wearing hearing aid at age 5.
6. Now I wear 2 of them.
7. Sometimes I will go a whole day without them just to take a break.
8. Had many years of speech therapy to correct my speech.
9. Now many people think I have an accent.
10. Graduated from college.
11. Went to college again to learn what I do now.
12. That took 7 years of night school.
13. Never went east of Kansas until 1976.
14. 1976 was my first time to travel through several states, besides those between California and Kansas.
15. I have been through, or touched down, or visited 28 different states. Not counting my home state.
16. I started sewing when I was 9 years old.
17. Learned to crochet in high school.
18. But never learned to knit.
19. Started piano when I was 7 years old.
20. Started flute when I was 9 years old.
21. Started organ lessons when I was 15 years old.
22. My fingernails are almost always short, why? #19 and #21.
23. I am right handed.
24. I can write upside down with both hands. Separately.
25. Worked with severely handicapped children for 12 years. That is why I can do #24.
26. Only one speeding ticket. On Mother's Day in 1987.
27. Why? I was trying to get to a church where I was substitute organist and it was foggy. Driving to fast for conditions. Darn fog!
28. That one is off my record now. LOL!
29. I was sure teased about that though from my brothers.
30. I once thought this black chess pawn on the floor of my closet was a cricket and I go screaming down the hall, "There is a cricket in my room."
31. I was teased by my brothers for that one too! Sheesh.
32. I have never broken a bone.
33. I don't like to watch scary movies. I'm afraid I will have nightmares.
34. I prefer Romantic Comedy and some Dramas. Also good family movies too.
35. But if it is not Closed captioned I don't watch it at all.
36. I hate it when the bonus material on DVD's is not captioned. That really bugs me!!!
37. I mean, don't they realize the hearing impaired would be interested in the bonus features too. GRR!! As you can tell, that is a real pet peeve of mine.
38. My netflix queue is over 300. I'll probably never get through it.
39. Ok, I am a Starbucksaholic. At least it is not alcohol.
40. I rarely drink alcohol. Not even wine much.
41. And I live in the wine country. Oh well.
42. My usual drink when eating out is H2O.
43. I have 2 children. Had 2 miscarriages when we thought about having a 3rd one. So never had that 3rd child.
44. My mother-in-law cried when my daughter was born. Well, so did my father-in-law.
45. My daughter was the first girl born in my husbands family in 36 years.
46. My kids grew up in the same town I did.
47. I met my husband in a church.
48. We have been married 29 years.
49. Never played Bingo.
50. But we worked Bingo for 7 years while our kids where in their high school marching band. That was how we raised funds for the School Music Department.
51. I have been in 3 car accidents. Not hurt in any of them. Yay!
52. But had nightmares for 2 weeks after the one when I was 12 years old.
53. That one happened in Wyoming.
54. We were still able to drive that VW Bus home the rest of the way home to California.
55. Had braces.
56. And headgear too. Yuck!
57. Was so surprised to be able to read the billboards after I got my glasses when I was 9.
58. Been to Carlsbad Caverns twice.
59. Been to Grand Canyon once.
60. Been to the Alamo once.
61. Been to the River Walk in San Antonio once.
62. I learned to drive on that VW Bus.
63. The other car I learned to drive on was a 61 Volvo.
64. Both were stick shift, so I had no choice but to learn stick shift.
65. I drive an automatic now.
66. But I can still drive Stick shift if I have too. Would probably forget to shift though. :-)
67. Used to camp a lot.
68. Used to water ski a lot too.
69. I read a lot.
70. I always have to have something to read when I go to bed. May only get one sentence, maybe one page read, but still have to have that book.
71. Cooking is not one of my favorite things to do.
72. I would rather play on the computer or other things rather than cook.
73. I cooked a turkey for the first time when I was 34.
74. That was my first time to host Thanksgiving.
75. My grandmother always did it until she couldn't do it anymore.
76. I always take my Green Bean Casserole to family gatherings now.
77. I dropped a molded jello on the floor one Christmas. Was trying to get it on the plate when oops!! It slid to the floor.
78. I scooped it up and took it anyway. Shhhh...don't tell anyone.
79. Hey, I had just mopped the kitchen floor so it was clean. :-)
80. I got away with it too. I guess I was brave then, and no one got sick. Whew!
81. For several years we used a live Christmas tree. Rolled it in and out of the house each year.
82. I used to hang my clothes on a clothesline during the warmer months.
83. That way I could afford to run the air conditioner when I needed it.
84. We are not allowed to do that where I live now. Darn!
85. I have to iron my clothes before I put them away.
86. I almost never complete my ironing pile. More gets added before I can finish the original pile. 87. How long ago was the original pile? I don't know....:-}
88. My all time favorite author is Debbie Macomber. I keep all of her books when I get them.
89. I also have a collection of For Better For Worse by Lynn Johston.
90. I was so disappointed when she ended her storyline this summer.
91. I have two books autographed by Lynn Johnston.
92. I have seen her in person when she came to do a talk and sign her 25th Anniversary Collection. So cool to see her in person.
93. I have also been to Niagra Falls once.
94. I have been through a portion of Canada. That was how we got to Niagra Falls.
95. Had a Sheltie for 13 years.
96. Had a hamster for one year. He died on my birthday that year.
97. Both of my grandfathers died on Jan 16, but 31 years apart. How bizarre is that!?!
98. Did not feel the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. The one where the SF Bay Bridge had a section fall, and the Cypress Freeway in Oakland collapsed.
99. Why did I not feel it? I was on a train ride at the Nut Tree at Vacaville. My husband said when the kids and I got off the train, "We just had a major shaker". I did not believe him at first. But my parents did not know where we went for the day and were really worried about us.
100. I have seen a total eclipse. I think it was in 1978.

Yay! I did it.

Blue Monday #8

This time it is Blue Monday at the Pez Museum in San Francisco! But first I want to thank Smiling Sally for hosting Blue Monday for us. Her link is the Blue Jay picture in my side bar! Ok, now back to the Pez Museum. You know how at the hotels and such they have those display areas where business can put their brochures? Well, when checking it out after we got to our hotel Wednesday evening we found one for the Pez Museum. So we decided that after I was finished with my Continuing Ed Seminar we would go there. With our GPS it was easy to figure out where to go. The guy there gave us a personal tour and said it was okay to take pictures. Yay! So I took pictures!
This is also my first attempt at posting pictures after playing with the Photoscape program I downloaded this weekend. I am getting the hang of it and find it fun to do. In the picture above you see the original pez displayed in a poster from when it first came out. I forget what year, but the name comes from that long word you see on the side of the PEZ box. So that is how it got the name. In the upper right there are some Blue Smurf pez containers. Aren't they cute? Then going down next are the Ninja Turtles. Remember the Ninja Turtle movies? My kids used to enjoy watching those. Then across the bottom we have the Flintstones, Charlie Brown and Popeye, and in the last picture a very rare PEZ. It is rare because the heads were interchangeable. But it had to be discontinued due to choking hazards for children. So now a set in it's packaging is very rare.
This museum also had old toys. In the first picture you can see the Easy Bake Oven on the bottom shelf. Next is all the varieties of Viewmaster and some reels. The reel design has not changed, so even the old reels can be viewed in the current style viewmasters. I still have my old one from when I was a child. At least I think I do. I will have to check and see if it is where I think it is.-----Ok, I'm back. I had to check, I do still have it in it's old plastic box that holds the Viewmaster and reels. Then in the bottom row there are the original and more recent Mr. Potato Heads. Remember those.? The middle picture has Colorforms. I think that is what they were called. I remember playing with those too. The last picture has an old PEZ dispenser machine. I know there is lots of blue in these pictures.
The last picture is my blue Morning Glory. I had gotten some seeds, but was late planting them. I thought eh, I'll plant them anyway and see what happens. The vine did grow. The other day I was surprised to see a bloom when I looked out the window. I guess these unusual warm days is confusing my flowers. My impatiens that were in my Three or more Thursdays are still going. And now my freesia bulbs are trying to come up! I thought they were supposed to bloom in the spring. Like I said, my plants and flowers are all confused! Today I noticed some trees blooming and decided they are confused too. Hope you all have a Happy Blue Monday!

Fires in Sylmar!!

Scroll down for my Pink Saturday Post.

Earlier when I was checking out Pink Saturday posts, I happen to be on the blog of The Happy Wonderer and Ellen was talking about the Sylmar fires, when I noticed another email coming in from family about the fires. I was stunned to find out that my husband's brother and sister-in-law had to evacuate their house. The house across the street from them has burned to the ground. My sister-in-law tripped and fell over the hoses when evacuating and had to go to the hospital. I don't know the final word on that yet, but so far it looks as though a couple of toes are broken.

What is really strange is that we were just at their house on our recent trip 2 weeks ago. We stayed there the first 3 nights. So I am trying to get my mind around the fact that the house across the street burned down along with whatever else has been burned so far. At this point, theirs is still okay as far as I know. If you had seen my traveling Pink Saturday and Blue Monday last week, a few of the pictures I used were things at their house, like the pretty teapots and the blue and white birdhouses in the yard.

They are definitely in my prayers along with everyone else affected by the firestorms. This is so scary. This warm weather is so unusual at this time of the year in California. We had temps in the mid to high 80's yesterday and today in our area in Northern California. I hope it cools soon so that the fires can be brought under control.

Oh, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were able to go to their son's house. Keep all those affected by the firestorms in your prayers. Thank you. ---Linnea
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UPDATE: We heard that the fire blew by their house without damaging it. But they have no power so they are staying at their son's house. Also my sister-in-law does have a couple of broken bones in her foot.

Pink Saturday #10

I can't believe I am now up to my 1oth Pink Saturday. Thank you to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday for us. Go check out the other Pink Saturday listings. The list keeps growing. Click on the Pink Saturday Logo on my side bar to visit Beverly.

Today I am posting pictures I already have. My granddaughter in pink!
This is an early picture. She has that pink heart on her outfit and the background has pink. My son labeled this picture "The Bird Perch", when they sent us this one. I have to laugh every time I look at this picture.

Here Shaylee is wearing the first outfit I made for her. Plenty of pink there. The outfit was still a bit big for her at that time.

This is a cute pose of her. Looks like to me she is saying "Ida know". You know that invisible character in the comic strip "Family Circus".

This one was taken last Easter. She is in that dress I made again. This time around it fits her better. Shaylee has pink things in her Easter goodies.

My daughter-in-love calls this one "Pretty in Pink". I thought it was cute too.

Shaylee drawing on a Magna Doodle thing. Can you see the cat she drew there? Pretty good for a 2 year old! Her mommy had to quick take the picture before the drawing got erased.

That is my Pink Saturday for today. I hope everyone else is having a Happy Pink Saturday!!

Three or More Thursday #3

Three or more Thursday is still a new thing going here. Thank you to Tam at The Gypsy's Corner for hosting this. I am doing this as a scheduled post this time. I need to head to SF to attend a Continuing Ed course that I need to renew my license. The license needs to be renewed so I can continue to do my job. In case you are wondering, SF means San Francisco.
I decided to choose pictures I have in my files since I didn't have time to create new ones. These are 3 pots I used this past summer and arranged them in an interesting group of three with different heights. I liked the way the before picture turned out. Turned into an interesting composition with the mixture of colors there.

I planted impatiens in the pots. This is an early picture after then had been growing for awhile. My impatiens got much bigger than that by the end of the summer. I really enjoyed this viginette over the summer. I am hoping to add to it some next summer. I am not sure what I will do yet.

Have a Happy Three or More Thursday while I am busy cramming my brain with more education for my job.

Bathroom Diva Pictures!!!!!

Drum roll please----the moment you have all been waiting for------drum roll----we have new Bathroom Diva pictures for you. Not one ----another drum roll---not two---drum roll please--but FIVE diva pictures. Yes and they are from FIVE different bathrooms! All of them done on our recent trip.

First up is the bathroom at the Aloha Steak House or whatever that place was called. The one where we ate lunch before going to the wedding in Ventura. We have my daughter and I standing behind that nice faux plant there. You will notice that I had a hard time not looking at my camera instead of the mirror. Even though my daughter would remind me to look at the mirror instead. Sorry, habit.
Next up is the bathroom at the reception. My silly niece joins us for this one. When the girls were growing up, people would frequently think I was out with my two daughters. No, folks, one is my daughter, one is my niece.

Ahh, different clothing. Must be a different day. This time we are at the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant where we had the yummy in the tummy Sunday Brunch. We are sort of behind a faux plant again. Oops, forgot to make sure that reminder was out of the picture. Well, it is a good reminder anyway. I wash my hands a million times at work, well maybe not a million, but a lot.
Ahh, bet you know where we are here. Yep, Medival Times! A fun place. Umm, the mirrors are kind of high there. or maybe it is because we are kind of short. I mean we barely made it into the picture. Any higher and all you would be seeing are our gorgeous crowns. LOL!

And last the "Bye bye" picture. Taken in the hotel lobby bathroom, when I made one last trip to the potty before heading for the airport. I am actually looking at the mirror in that one. I guess I finally got the hang of it. Sorry we did not get any in one of the Disneyland bathrooms. Too many people in the bathrooms. I have to admit I was a little shy taking the pictures if other people were around. They would probably think I was off my rocker!

For those who have not done a Bathroom Diva picture yet, this was actually fun to do. Well, as long as others were not in the room. Heehee.