Today most of our kids and grandkids were home for Christmas. It was a house full to say the least but oh my gosh a house full in the very best of ways. Our kids are amazing and I really do mean that in every sense of the word but our grandkids take it to a new level. I love feeling the baby hugs around my neck and taking a chip dive for Grandma when Papa teases them. It was a wonderful day all around spent with amazing kids and the most adorable grandkids ever!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
My husband and I just returned home from a wonderful two and a half week vacation stay at our vacation home in the sunny south. Well actually the first two days were spent visiting family in Wisconsin then we flew from there to Florida. During our stay my frequent comment was Happy Holidays while my husband's was Merry Christmas. I gritted my teeth but said nothing. Surely the diabolical looks to give a hint that he was not being politically correct should have been enough AND those looks were not coming from me! He'd say a cheery Merry Christmas and some looked at him disdainfully as if he had just picked his nose while scratching his butt.
We were shopping yesterday after a rather eventful flight the night before. We stayed over night specifically to do a bit of shopping. Here we are two and a half weeks later and my husband asked me why I said Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas. Talk about a woosh! So I explained to him that saying Merry Christmas was no longer politically correct as it could damage someone's physic or something. Then I told him that not everyone believes in the Christmas spirit or spreading good cheer or simply extending good will to their fellow mankind and Christmas AND they don't want to be reminded of that by someone saying Merry Christmas. His response was BAH HUMBUG!
Bah humbug indeed! We as a society take offense to wishing someone a Merry Christmas. We take offense at using the word gay in a Christmas carol - true story as a teacher changed the word because the students laughed when the word was sung. We can no longer enjoy children's Christmas concerts in the schools or allow our kids to enjoy anything Christmas in the schools become some kids do not celebrate Christmas. I don't even decorate my blogs for Christmas any more lease someone takes offense. Bah humbug!
AND for those not offended
The old fashioned work ethic is putting in your everything, going the extra mile, giving anything you do 110%. Folks cared about the job they did because it was a reflection on them as a person and their personal values. Sadly this philosophy is going by the wayside in our modern society. Folks tend to work simply for the paycheque not caring whether they do a half-ass job or not. They simply don't care how it reflects on them and quite frankly in some respects it is almost a competition to see who can do the worse job. It's rush through the job putting in the bare minimum of effort then act insulted if asked to do a little extra.
It is so refreshing to encounter someone with an old fashioned work ethic. Our vacation home is in sunny Florida. We rent it out if possible when we aren't there. Since we don't live there on a permanent basis we are have no choice but to hire out yard care. The lawns are taken care of by the park but gardens surrounding the house are our responsibility. During our visit in September we hired a gentleman to do the gardens. He arrived at quarter to eight in the morning but assured us he didn't start charging until 8 AM. He worked very hard working through until 1 PM. He repeated this for several days. When he was finished he had a full accounting of his hours and even docked any breaks he had taken. It was amazing. After all this work his total came to $120 and he felt bad that it was that high. My husband gave him $200 because quite frankly the work he did was well worth the higher price. He was very excited with the tip as he could take his wife out for dinner for their anniversary. Sadly this wonderful gentleman who was in his 70's could not continue looking after our gardens on a monthly basis.
We made friends with the bartender at the club house. He lives two doors down from us and recently won the Yard of the Month. I put out a request for garden help in the community forums and he was highly recommended. We had a few others saying they would be interested but we decided to ask our neighbour first. My husband talked to him about looking after our gardens and he agreed. He too has the old fashioned work ethic. He is very meticulous, tending the gardens with as much care as we would if we were here doing it ourselves. He is also very careful about being accountable for every expenditure. Talk about finding a gem with a true, old fashioned work ethic!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
My husband and I have been enjoying some well deserved time off. It has been a very hectic year! Quite frankly we have been through a lot, not as much as some but definitely more than others. Lazy days help heal the spirit, rest the body and revitalize the mind. Everyone needs a few lazy days just to refresh themselves. We are very blessed to be able to take a bit of time off to rejuvenate ourselves during the hectic holiday season!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
My husband and I decided to do a bit of sightseeing to enjoy the delightful, cheery sights of Christmas. It was daylight but we still enjoyed it. Years ago we bundled up our first born, then only a couple of months old, and went Christmas sightseeing. That was the start of many years of taking one or more Christmas sightseeing trips. We usually do one during the day where we will stop at a Christmas open house or take part in a Christmas home tour then another to take pictures of all the fabulous light displays. We did a historical home tour today. It was amazing so I will talk more about that later complete with pictures.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Ok, so you have heard of chili heads but I am a true basil head. I love basil and good gosh one variety of basil is not good enough for me. I grow the common sweet basil as well as five to six other varieties both indoors and outdoors. Basil seriously rules as an herb! When we bought our vacation home in Florida, the first plant I bought was basil. I knew there was no way I could keep it alive when we weren't there but I knew we would enjoy fresh basil while we were there. Then we got to know our neighbours. Our basil plant goes to their house to be looked after while we are gone. The plant comes back to stay with us when we are here. They are great friends and basil brought us together. Basil rules...
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Last week I was sick, not deathly sick but definitely sick and not the best when trying to do a couple of road trips. The thing is it wasn't a definite cold and I still think it was more allergies but at any rate, high doses of Vitamin C with extra rest helped a lot. This week my husband was fine one minute, went out for the morning and came home sick. His was more of an obvious cold but still not a cold given the presentation. It was fast onset, no temperature but major chest congestion. We went to the pharmacy where I stocked up on three cold & flu remedies including my husband's old stand by, Nyquil. I made a nice hot cup of tea for him, tucked him in on the couch and started a batch of homemade beef noodle soup for the next day. It will be a couple of days of him taking it easy. All in all, while we aren't out of the water yet, both of us are on the mend and that is a blessing :)
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
We did a little Christmas shopping yesterday. My husband and I have two very different Christmas shopping styles. I like to spread the shopping out over the year, effectively avoiding the Christmas shopping hubba-ballo. He loves to do the main shopping somewhere between December 23rd and 24th, right in the midst of the Christmas chaos. The stores were not as busy as I thought they would be. We managed to find a couple of great deals. I was surprised to see gift bags, wrapping paper and bows already at 50% off! We stopped for lunch at a great little pub and grill where we enjoyed garlic butter jumbo chicken wings. They were quite tasty. Then we finished up the shopping and headed back to get dinner on. The house sure smelled delicious with the pot roast cooking for the rest of the afternoon.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
November is dedicated to bringing awareness to prostrate cancer. One fund raiser is affectionately known as Movember, were men of all ages can participate in a charity event by growing a mustache. I'm proud to say few of the men in our family participated in this worthy cause. It was quite interesting to see the results. Kudos to all of them!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
