Merry Christmas to all of you!!! xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxox

Hi Debbie - hope you had a great Christmas too!

And a very Happy Boxing Day to all our friends across the pond.

That's an pretty Avatar Ruth!....here's hoping you All had an good day this year, I'm sorry for being in here late, it wasn't  I wasn't thinking about you all, I knew you'd all be sending each other greetings...I went to Candle light services at the church near by here Christmas Eve,..after picking up my sister..she lives some distance away also,  and had dinner for 10 of us Christmas Day..my house has an very "lived-in" look right now. (OK..it's an mess!) ...You know I went to the 3,000 member church out in this area for the Christmas Program, with its full choir, and it's small orchestra and two huge side screens with the program, it was very nice, they passed around the donation basket also. That got me to thinking of this other church, also an neighbor, I think I'd mentioned before that this church was an Methodist church with an school in it, and they let the hispanics and "Head Start" education program take it over in the neighborhood...over the locals...and then moved out it in an couple of years for an new facilty down aways from it, and that church slowly "died" because of that. Pastor Bailey, an neighbor of mine, father of three, took it over...the remeants of the people "left" call it an "universal" church now. This Pastor has went out of his way to try to bring it back to "life" in the area...by earning the goodwill of its neighbors in the community. So I was telling my sister how, in the snowstorm of last year one of the parishioners lent him an snowplow and for the first time in the 30 years I've lived out here, he plowed out streets wherever there were senior citzens or people he knew were shut in from the weather and how thankful I was for him doing this...he also came by July 4th, amid my drive-way of chaos from my food freezer going out, and all kinds of coolers sitting all over the driveway as I tried to celebrate the Holiday then also, with 17 people, and he asked me, knowing I have an heart condition, how I was doing and I told him, I was pretty "spent" energy wise from the day, I could use some "God strength" and he grabbed my hand and I felt like it just "surged" through me. So it was, I decided if anyone could use the donation platte he could...so off we went to Candle light services on Christmas Eve, my sister and I. The crowd was small...with our candles,singing traditional songs, as he retold the story to Jesus birth... and the simplicity of the service, an gutarist , piano/drum player...we had one of the nicest little services...and he never once took out the donation platte...the entire evening.  So now, this money I was wanting to give to him, it going to have to be sent to him I guess or we go back later someday. Next day I was up early...

well, not to early to cook dinner for 10 of us....we had "adult" nog with cookies, and dinner was marinatred "Montreal" Grilled steak with an blueberry sauce, made for meat, so it was not sweet, but an good fruit gravy flavor ...and "British" receipeI ran across recently, or you had an chioce of Brown gravy or steak sauce...and we had mushrroms off the side. fresh veggie tray, form my dish from where hubby was born, and grew up, and green bean casserole, my sister asked for it, and green salad, with four different type dressings, mashed potatoes and again the brown gravy, and dinner rolls, and all kinds of deserts, from cookies baked by friends to  sugarless lemon cake with zero transfatand sugar free whipped cream topped with rapsberries in an melted surgarless jam...and coffee with sugarless Hazel nut (OK...cobb-nut)creme. I "bammed" the top an good one...like chef Emeril would do with powedered sugar. It was an long day of opening gifts with everyone came by. Even got my LeMax Christmas Village lighted in time, both the English type old city scene, with the church, the bakery and the gift shop and the country house theme, with the kids playing in snow, baby animals being given an bottle of milk and the deer off in the distance, and they stayed lit overnight...with snacks near by of cheese in nut balls and crackers and fresh grapes, and drinks, and chips and dips...chocolates...we go past each other yelling...TWO..only take two...but we all "know" we have sneaked an  few more then just 2 of them...laughs*..box is about gone now. So that' s my story of why I wasn't in here, and most the people are now gone, we have an haven of small dishes of left-overs to deal with in an buffet for the next couple of days. Hubby's birthday is Dec. 30th and the next night is New Year's Eve...never boring around here!!! I get pretty tired at times, so in between times I was "resting" an bit. Do forgive me, but I knew you'd all make it through the day just fine..and I've been telling you "Merry Christmas"... for days now also. I keep seeing this show called "Santa Baby II" and keep thinking of our Barbie here in the web site also. Last night when we took my sister back to her apartment, we saw police with red lights pulling out going the other way from nearly every station we passed and I was wondering what was going on....I understand there was some guy in Sandy on the ihghway with an gun...last I've heard of that one so far. Hubby is here handing me 153 pages in English to my "New" cell phone/text messenger...once again in such tiny print, even my reading glasses can't pick it up very well. Back to school people... my grand-daughter was here last night flipping things around with me, showing me how "easy" it all was..shesh! 

Later...big hugs all around from me!!! Merry Christmas is offically over. it's remenant left is "Happy Holidays" now.... winks*

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Mike!! 

Debbie!! Very pretty avatar!!  

Who's a clever girl then? Thanks Peggy! Lol

Might have been better in the new thread that I just started?