Sunday, November 25, 2007

Another Week Flies By!

Oh, this past week was another very busy one. I was lucky that work was fairly light and I didn't have a whole lot to do there, because home matters were a different thing.
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For Thanksgiving celebration I was making dessert. I chose Cherry Berries in a Cloud. I'm sure lots of you have made it: meringue shell, whipped cream-cream cheese filling, and a mixture of cherry pie filling, raspberries and strawberries . It's delicious and takes some time to make. One night I made the meringue and left it in the oven all night. The next night I made the filling and let that sit in the refrigerator overnight. Thanksgiving day I put the topping together and assembled the whole thing. It looked really pretty and tasted delicious.
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I also made a big dish of mashed potatoes to take to my sister's house. None of this may seem like a big deal, but doing it on a second shift schedule gets things kind of mixed up. I can't switch from 2nd shift sleep schedule to 1st shift quickly so Thursday morning I got up at around 10:00 and I was rushing around getting everything ready so I could leave by 2:30.
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Well, we had a nice Thanksgiving. The food was very good and we had a lot of fun playing a game called Hoopla. It's by the makers of Cranium where everyone plays against the clock giving drawn, acted or verbal clues to cards with all sorts of unusual pictures on them. Towards the end, we decided to just act out the clues and it became Charades. We were laughing like mad.
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Here's Misty again at Thanksgiving. As you can see, she's looking like a lion now. Cindy found a grooming service that comes to your home with a big van. Misty, obviously, hadn't been groomed for a really long time and needed lots of attention. Four hours worth for starters!! And they are not done yet - her head has to be done when they come back next week. Now, Cindy says Misty'll be groomed every 4 months or so. Kind of like something I've been telling her for ages.....
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That evening I came home at 8:00 and rushed around cleaning the house because Sierra was coming over the next day. Friday Sierra came over at 3:00 and we had an active and fun evening and next day. We read Mother Goose, played games, watched "Rudolph" and "Frosty", played piano, went to the Quick Mart for cough drops (she had a bad cough), and had shrimp for supper. (The soy bacon was horrid - even I couldn't eat it. Should have bought turkey bacon instead!) She fell asleep at 11:00 and I stayed up 'til 2:30 playing video games (it's that 2nd shift thing again!!). Well, Sierra was up at 8:00 that next morning and I asked her to watch cartoons until 10:00 - I was beat. We had pancakes for a late breakfast and then she did the dishes for me.
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As you can see, she really liked doing dishes "like a big girl". Ofcourse, I gave her a little help with the breakable things, but she lined everything up just so, and kept the silverware separated. The rest of our day was spent reading, walking the pugs on the paths, and playing computer games. After Adeena and Tony picked her up, I laid down on the couch and slept for two hours! I guess Gramma isn't used to a 6 year old anymore. Whew!! We had a lot of fun and she is a little darling.
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After my nice nap, I played "Splinter Cell: Double Agent" and "Two Worlds" video games into the night and vowed I'd sleep as late as I wanted. Which I did.
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Today Ashley came over and we went through the myriad Christmas decorations I have. I gave her two full shopping bags to take home. She is all excited since this is she and Shaun's first Christmas living together. We had a nice long visit and talked about all sorts of things and next Saturday she will come over and help me do some decorating.
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Around 5:00 Steve got back home, Ashley left and then we had dinner. This four day weekend went by in a flash and now I've really got to concentrate on Christmas.
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Here are some pug pictures:
Doesn't Thea look like sort of a funny beach ball dog!?
Oh, Christmas angels!
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We should consider every day lost on which we have not
danced at least once.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Bye for now,
Alyssa

9 comments:

Pam said...

What a lovely post, Alyssa. Sierra is an absolute darling and I have to laugh about the dishwashing thing, my granddaughter, Sarah, loves to do the dishes too. Always has, ever since she was big enough to stand on a chair and reach the sink.

Your dessert sounds lovely and I'm impressed with how you managed it, and everything else, around the second shift.

Love the game playing, we love games in our family, too.

Alyssa said...

Pam - Thank you for the compliments. It's funny, but at certain times, dishwashing can be soothing to the soul. Games sure can add a lot of spark to a family get together. It is always the high point for me. Have a great week!

DeeMom said...

How wonderful Alyssa, your Sierra is a doll, sure looks like you had a great time…
After reading your post I just went Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh how great

Alyssa said...

Dee - Yes we did have a really good time. And I hope we'll have lots more.

Mary said...

This post made me all warm inside. Your granddaughter at the kitchen sink melts my heart. What a good photo, Alyssa.

Misty is a pretty girl. I had a Cocker Spaniel that would get completed shaved twice a year because I couldn't keep up with her knots!

Your pugs look so huggable. Did they have any special treats from the table? Mine did.

So glad you enjoyed a wonderful time with family. Even though you were worn out, it was worth it. I don't have the energy I had 20 years ago, either!

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

Loving pugs must be an acquired taste.

I love the little helper at the sink. It has been a long time since I had a little person like that to share chores with.

Alyssa, I have tagged for a Meme of Five Things About Yourself. You can find the rules on my blog http://philiprobinson.blogspot.com/

Don't feel obliged to do it but i would enjoy learning five things about yourself.

Kerri Farley said...

This post brings back memories of my daughter helping at the kitchen sink...she is 15 now but still a wonderful helper!

What a sweet post and it sounds like it was a bonding time.

Sorry about the soy bacon!!

kate said...

The Cherry Berries in a Cloud must have been yummy. I've never heard of it! I can certainly understand why you were tired out. It must have been great fun over at your sister's eating and playing games. I haven't heard of Hoopla. It sounds like a good game.

Sierra is adorable in her photographs. Young children are great to have around ... it takes lots of energy though.

Garm and Thea always make me smile! They are such characters.

Alyssa said...

Mary - Isn't it funny how little children love doing the dishes, and then as they get older they won't touch them! The pugs had turkey, raspberries and strawberries for Thanksgiving.

Tossing - Yes, pugs are an acquired taste. My mother-in-law thinks they are ugly. Oh, well.The meme sounds interesting and I'll have to do some thinking.

Kerri - I'm glad my post could bring back some good memories for you. Sierra and I are getting to know each other little by little.

Kate - Yes, we had a great time. I always have to tell Sierra not to pose and look natural. She does look like a little cutie - also she has her two front teeth missing.

I think the pugs make everyone smile.