Like many of you I visited family for Christmas. This year we all gathered at my daughter’s house. We all attended the Children’s service at our daughter’s church on Christmas Eve. It was fun and full of Christ. A wonderful message to young and old alike.  I hope your holiday, whether it was Christmas, Hanukah or another religious holy day, was full of peace and wonder.

Sorry I’m a little late in getting this blog posted. We had a garage fire at our house yesterday so I’m a little discombobulated.  I was out Christmas shopping at the time so missed the whole thing.

Fortunately our neighbor happened to be outside and noticed the smoke coming from the garage. He got his cell phone and rang the doorbell. My husband was laying in bed watching television. He knew we were expecting a FedEx delivery and figured they were dropping it off so ignored the door bell. The second time it rang he figured they must need a signature so went to the door. Our neighbor called the fire department as he explained what was happening. My husband opened the door from the house to the garage. Smoke engulfed him and he tried to open the garage door. It didn’t work. He went outside where we have a keypad to open the door. Fortunately that worked so he took the garden hose and put out the fire.

The fire started near the utility sink which melted. So did the PVC pipes providing water to the sink. Water shot up. Hubby then had to shut the water off to our house. By that time the fire department arrived along with an ambulance. No need for either but they accessed the damage and wrote up a report which we need for the insurance claim.

I arrived home to find my husband and some of his friends standing in the garage. I’m totally oblivious to what had transpired until I noticed the black soot on everything.

Thanks to our neighbor, David, no one was hurt and no major damage occurred. Whew!  Thank goodness for great neighbors.

Living at the beach is fantastic not only in the summer but also at this time of year. On black Friday I bought a sandwich at a local fast food restaurant then drove to the beach where I sat on a bench and munched the sandwich as I watched the activity. There were people walking, riding their golf carts and a few brave souls wading in the water. 

There were even a couple of kids wearing wet suits while they played in the water and fed the seagulls.

What a busy week it has been. On Wednesday I had a get-together at my house with my fellow Coastal Author Network members. Everyone brought food and drink and we lived it up.

Thursday there was an author signing event at the Just Because I Y Q tea shop. I attended to support my fellow authors. While there I bought a couple of Christmas presents for my grandchildren. Couldn’t pass up the “make your own” jigsaw puzzles.

One of our local libraries held a local author signing and I once again supported my fellow authors with my attendance. Next year it will be my turn. I hope to have my first book out in February 2016.

Today I’ll travel down to Charleston for my monthly Romance Writer’s meeting. We’re working on details for a Writer’s Workshop in June 2016. Stay tuned and I’ll  keep you updated with when and where.

Next week is Thanksgiving. Be sure to enjoy time with your family and friends.

This week the United States celebrated Veteran’s Day. A day to remember the men and women who have kept our nation safe. I’m proud to say I have several members of my family who have participated in this self-sacrifice.  My father served in WWII as well as Korea. His younger brother, a sailor, died during WWII. My maternal grandfather was drafted at the age of 35 during WWII. My paternal grandfather served in Europe during WWI. My husband is a Vietnam-era vet and spent twenty years in the Army.  I served in the U.S. Army reserves for eight years. I’m not considered a vet since I didn’t served 180 consecutive days during that time.

I don’t have pictures of everyone but here are my Dad and his father.

Unlike the stores around town I don’t skip from Halloween to Christmas. I take time to celebrate Thanksgiving. I’ve decorated the outside of the house with some metal pumpkins I bought several years ago at “The Longest Yard Sale”. If you read my earlier posts you will know I bought a metal Turkey to accompany my pumpkins at the same event this year.

The turkey is also a planter capable of displaying a beautiful mum. My big decision was what color mum to place in it. I chose a rust color to compliment the green exterior of my house. To make sure people driving by could see the turkey I moved it from place to place in the yard trying to find the perfect spot. Not sure I’m there yet but I settled on this location. What do you think?

Oooops — I didn’t realize until I posted this that you can see my reflection in the glass of the door. Sorry.

I’ve decorated the house for Fall/Halloween and have my porch light on for Trick-or-Treaters. How about you?

I bought a cute little hat to wear. I think it’s suppose to be worn with one of the “sexy” type Halloween costumes. Nope. Not something I plan to wear; although, when I think about it, on me it might turn out to be the most scary thing ever! I also had a manicure with orange nail polish and Jackolanterns  painted on my thumbs. They turned out so cute.

In addition to decorating for Halloween I also made my two youngest grandchildren something to wear. I think they might “dress-up” with them long after Halloween. Any of you who have daughters or granddaughters know the movie “Frozen” is all the rage. I made a reversible cape — teal on one side, purple on the other. The grandson is a fan of the “Paw Patrol” cartoon and the human character wears a vest. Yes, I made a vest that is at least similar.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A few days ago I had lunch at Just Because IYQ where several of my author friends had a book signing. Just Because IYQ is a Tea Shop here in Garden City, SC. It’s a fun place for children and adults alike. You can choose a boa and hat to wear during your experience or stay as you are. Every third Thursday of the month they have a book signing of local authors. They also provide space for a book shelf containing a variety of books from local authors. The tea selections are many in the categories of black, green and white. My all time favorites are Earl Grey and English Breakfast but I’ve tried others including a Caramel Toffee. Yum!

Last weekend was my youngest grandson’s third birthday party. It was at a “jumpy house” — you know those places where kids jump in a giant tub of rubber balls and go down slides also made of rubber. I don’t know who came up with the idea but what a fabulous location for kids to play. At this particular place the staff of young adults were fantastic. They take pictures and set up the room for lunch (pizza and whatever you bring along) and take everything out on a cart to your car when it’s over.  Since it was a rainy day outside it made a fantastic location for a three year old and his friends. Here are a few pictures of the birthday boy, his sister and friends and the “paw patrol” cupcakes Mom made.

Think of me as I traverse the state of South Carolina. Lots of closed roads and bridges. I hope to make my way to Atlanta without slipping into the raging waters of some river that empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Only for a grandchild would I attempt this feat. Yes, we are on our way to a birthday party at one of the many jumpy houses in Atlanta area. Aren’t you jealous? I’ll be sure to snap some pictures and post next week. Of the grandchild, not the raging waters. Well, maybe both if the opportunity arises!

The good news – Hurricane Joaquin didn’t make landfall in the US. My heart goes out to the people in the Bahamas who were hit for more than twenty-four hours. The bad news for the area where I live – South Carolina – the rain seems endless. Flooding in lots of areas. I’m fortunate to be in an location that hasn’t flooded yet, nor do I think it will.  I took a picture of my back yard today — there is a pond. It is higher than normal but still a long way from being a problem. We are scheduled for a LOT more rain today and tomorrow. I’ll take another picture tomorrow and see how we’re doing.

I attended the Moveable Feast last week which is a local event that moves to a different restaurant each week. An author who writes about local people or locations has a book signing and discusses the book with the group. Today Christopher Dickey discussed his book “Our Man in Charleston”.

A few months ago I spray painted two large outdoor vases I had at my previous house. Since then they’ve been sitting in my garage waiting for me to find something to put in them before being displayed on my front porch. I originally thought about installing some nice flowers. Then I remembered how I’d done that at my last house. With the porch ceiling preventing significant sunshine and no rain to keep them healthy the flowers quickly became brown sticks. Brown sticks? Yes!  That’s what I’ll do. I’ve seen a number of magazine pictures with sticks in vases as decorations. I’m sure there is some decorator-assigned name other than brown sticks but that’s what I call them. What do you think of the result?

Today is Mr. B’s birthday. We started the day with a hearty breakfast at a favorite restaurant. Steak and eggs were his selection. We read two different newspapers and had to hurry back home. Why, you ask?

 It’s the first FULL day of college football for 2015. The College GameDay program kicked off the festivities so we had to hurry home to watch. I don’t think he could have selected a better day than this one to celebrate.  Yes, he has his favorite team, Auburn University, War Eagle! However, why limit yourself to one game when there is a plethora of games to be seen? He enjoys them all even when the team he’s routing for does not win. Of course, that doesn’t hold true when our favorite Auburn Tigers loose.  If they fail to win it becomes a day of mourning.

A few days ago I mentioned taking him to dinner for his birthday. I was met with silence. Then it hit me, he’d miss too much football if he took time out to have dinner at a restaurant. So I’m picking up Chinese so he can watch and eat at the same time.

This is the easiest birthday celebration I could have arranged!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Here’s a dress I made for my five-year-old granddaughter. It’s a good thing I have only one granddaughter, it takes me a while to make something for her. I bought the material in May and didn’t work on this until August. Bad grandma, bad grandma.