Good Day "45"

Good Evening--we arrived home at 7-30pm after being on the road since 8-00am included in that were 2 stops of 2hrs and one for 45mins then we hit heavy traffic on the m6 north-bound and then 2 hrs in a jam at Warrington.

The weather was kind to us we managed 3 days out without any rain in all it was a nice 5 day break.--nice to be home though.

Thanksgiving dinner went wonderfully. I took my mashed potatoes, bread rolls (homemade) and a new and simple recipe, Orange-Cranberry Sauce. 

All of the food was wonderful, and I can rolling home. I now feel like a Weeble - Weebles wobble but they won't fall down - .

Four weeks now until Christmas. I don't start the decorations until the 1st, so a few days yet.

I got another surprise today from my neighbors across the street, the most beautiful multi-colored red-pink fresh ponisetta plant. WE are half getting out of Thanksgiving today and half into Christmas. Spent the afternoon with my sister in-law also. They are saying snow flurries, though very briefly come this Tuesday...500 foot elevation, that should catch me. But I know this already, amoung the three of us not so healthy these days, we all had headaches and stiff necks today..yep, snow is coming...better heck the bird feeders.

Other then that, I was using my youngest grandson to keep tabs for me on everyone...I first sent him to sissy's bedroom, he comes back and I asked him what was she doing, he said she's laying down and on her computer....so I sent him to check on grandpa downstairs, he came back and I said so how's grandpa doing?...he says so innocently....he's doing "good" grandma....and I said...what's he doing?...and started laughing. Oh, he's watching an football game. Maybe I should have him check on grandpa more often..... make sure he's always being good? It is that time of the year. You know if your " naughty or nice" these days by if "Victoria Secret" pays you an knock on the door. Of both the boys...I lost every game to them in cards, every thumb wrestling contest, and tried to keep out of the competition.....oldest one I haven't won an " uno" card game with him since he got out of kindergarden I don't think....and it's all so "cool" how he just lays them down when your least expecting...and yells "out"..I win. Makes you want to rumble under your breath kind of..."KIDS!"..... I go back to my housework now. and be good myself. Talk later on..drag out the long johns..it's gonna snow.

Glad Thanksgiving went well Sue 

Shirley good luck with your Ponisetta, I can kill them in a matter of hours. I've stopped buying them as it became a family joke as to how long it would be before the first leaf fell off 

Nice to see you back James, that's one heck of a long journey, the M6 is a nightmare some days. The quickest I've done Padstow from home is 6 hours including a 15 minute break at Bristol. I don't tend to hang around but sometimes the M62, M6 and M5 do their very best to muck up your day. Glad you had a nice time  

Poinsettias don't like the cold, or even a drafty window Ruth, keep them warm and lightly watered and they will even continue to bloom next year!

I see the boy is back in town then! Welcome back James hope you had a great time in Cornwall.

Thanks Ron, I've tried everything, every year for as long as I can remember, I've decided I'm a failure. Last year I bought one mid December from our local supermarket, it said on the packaging 'Guaranteed until 7th January'. I took my receipt, my packaging and my dead plant back to the shop on the 22nd December 

I bought a bunch of flowers instead and they lasted ages. 

5 months 

5 days if I'm lucky, they are the only thing that dies on me. All the other plants in the house thrive, some better than I'd like. At the moment I'm overrun with Aloe Vera plants, so are family, friends and neighbours  

Hope you get the knee sorted James, my friend has a knee problem and it can make her life a misery.

Nice to see James back again...hope the knee gets better for you..stay off it, might of been all the foot work on M6 going on.

Ok, the Poinsetta's...few people know this...it takes someone works in the gardening of them...many of them are killed after they are bought by the stores not placing an plastic bag over the top of them to keep the wind chill factors off what are basically hot house plants up until they get sent to the stores. BUT...if you know this...ask them for something over the top after purchasing them. Most retailers will comply  with few problems. I use them yearly as I just loved them back in Bruton Parish Church pictures of the Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia all natural 1700's decorated village. They do everything with fresh fruit and flowers...outside. They have snow, but's it's rare most the time to get past ground cover. They do an " living" 17OO's presentation of live as was back then. But many Catholic Churches use them extensively as decorations also...there's not ot many flowers blooming this time of the year in the bright red's and colors they come in.

Thanksgiving is down now...and Christmas is basically up...hubby went out to the kid's house to get the boys, see if they can get in the attic and pass down the ornaments and Le Max village and help us..ifI can work on that tomearrow...it will mostly be done...just little things..we put up the outside décor earlier this morning. So it's now..."Season's Greetings" everyone.You guessed it, lit up red poinsettia's with green leaves and white lights around it. Anything else amounts to light netting placed on the bushes walking up my entry way...or my twinkjling snowflakes on the entryway decking. We opted couple of years ago no more outside roofing lights, we'd do the windows inside instead of climbing on the roof....and an nice ground feature instead that would take your eye. Let the" younger ones" do their thing now...as they say. I must get going for now..have an nice afternoon.

Hi to all POEsters...

So right Shirley>>>Ok, the Poinsetta's...few people know this...it takes someone who works in the gardening of them...many of them are killed after they are bought by the stores not placing an plastic bag over the top of them to keep the wind chill factors off what are basically hot house plants up until they get sent to the stores.

As we know from our past involvement in the flower industry that was formerly known as 'Annas Flowers' (with several outlets in Oxfordshire) flowers need to be treated with the greatest of care and what Shirley has stated does happen, so the plants are likely doomed from the start!