Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #19

From Carly ~ this weeks subject is "Nap Time"

I don't take naps...so there's only one creature in this house that naps (almost constantly) and that's Miss Gabi Lin. Sometimes (like today) she naps on her pink blanket. Other times it's on my bed, my end of the sofa or when it's hot, she naps on the cool kitchen floor.

Actually now that I think of it~she naps where ever she wants to.

Thank you all so much~

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. Thank you also for the e-Cards and Lori up there in Alberta, thank you for the phone call this afternoon. It was so good to hear your voice.

It's been a wonderful day. Bob and his daughter's #3 and #4 took me to the Olive Garden. Bob had one of their 12 inch pizza's along with soup and salad but us gals had the soup, salad & bread stick feast. It was sooooooooo good!! And we had a delightful time.

While we were at the Olive Garden, my son in law & grand angels stopped by & left a card with a gift card for The Red Lobster & a Shell Gas card. My grand daughter gave me one of her fabulous photographs, all framed. The snow covered wheel of the old wheelbarrow. I love it !

No sooner did I get home, when my friend Barbara and her mom showed up at the door. They came bearing a chocolate cream pie from Shari's. We were so stuffed at the time, I just popped it into the refrigerator. I did get it out about 1/2 hour ago, however and Bob and I each had a little piece. It was very yummy but now I feel stuffed again.

It started snowing about 4:30 this afternoon. It came down pretty heavy and all the roads in the park here are covered. The temperature is just barely 30* out there now so it's going to stick around at least for tonight.

Barbara & I did go out to the movie last Tuesday. We saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." It was such a strange concept for a movie (and book) but also quite good. I didn't realize, until recently, that it is an old story, written by F.Scott Fitzgerald. My son said he had to read it in his high school literature class back in the 1980's.

I've been very bad about getting around Bloggerville the last couple weeks. It just seems the days have been slipping by so fast and I've had so much going on. I'm going to try and do better in the coming weeks. So please forgive me....I haven't forgotten you.

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart.......Until next time, Linda

Getting Older~It's A Fact !

It's true, January 4th is my birthday. I admit to turning 67...there's just no use trying to fool anyone. I'm not a "spring chicken" anymore...I'm a true "old hen."

Of course in January 1942 everyone was a little up tight. Less than a month before Pearl Harbor had been bombed, we were at war. There were blackouts and people were scared that all of America's coastal cities could be bombed at anytime.

But back to the story of this particular day ~ I was told that my dad was working 12 hour shifts as a train dispatcher, from 7pm until 7am. So mom was home alone when she realized that the time had come. There was no one who could take her to the hospital, so she called a taxi. She told me, even though dad wasn't able to be there, she felt at home once she checked in, because she had been working in the Maternity Ward there (she was a registered nurse) and knew lots of the staff. She tried to hang on until dad could get off work but I didn't wait. I was born at 5:27am, Sunday morning, January 4, 1942. Dad raced to Tacoma General Hospital, as soon as he was relieved at work, to be at mom's side. I was looking in my baby book yesterday afternoon and it's dad's writing that filled in all the details. He must have been a proud dad. Usually it's the mom that does that. He even wrote in my birth weight (7 lbs 8oz) and height ( 1 foot 8-1/2 inches)...that made me laugh...mom would have written 20-1/2 inches.

I noticed an interesting note in the back of my baby book; mom wrote "registered on January 29, 1942 with D.A.R. at McCarver School. Identification to be used in case of air raids. Number 9356." I'll have to do some research on that.

Meanwhile, I'm so thankful, that I was born to William (Bill) and Edythe (Edy)Smith. They were the best parents a kid could ever ask for.

I had a lovely evening last night with my brother & sister in law. They took my to Anthony's Restaurant in Olympia~Coconut prawns~yummy!

NORVEGIAN LOVE STORY

Ole & Lena lived by a lake in Nordern Minnesota. It vas springtime, and da lakes vas yust beginning to thaw.
Ole asked Lena if she vould valk across da frozen lake to da yeneral store to get him some smokes. She asked him for some money, but he told her, 'Nah, yust put it on our tab.'
So she valked across, got da smokes at da yeneral store, den valked back home across da lake. Ven she got home and gave Ole his smokes, she asked him, 'Ole, you alvays tell me not to run up da tab at da store.
Vhy didn't you yust give me some money?'. Ole replied, 'Vell, I didn't vant to send you out dere vit any money ven I vasn't sure how tick the ice vas.'

FOOD FRIDAY

TACO SOUP

1/2 pound ground beef, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped green pepper, one 8 ounce can tomato sauce, 1-1/2 cup water, one 16 ounce can stewed tomatoes, one 16 ounce can kidney beans, 1 envelope taco seasoning, corn chips, grated cheese.

Brown ground beef & onion and drain fat when finished. Add water, green pepper, tomatoes, undrained beans, tomato sauce & taco seasoning mix (I use 1/2 of the envelope). Simmer all ingredients for about 1 hour. Serve soup in bowls topped with grated cheese & crumbled corn chips. An additional topping that's good is a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!

One Last Christmas Song As The New Year Begins~

New Year's Eve From Seattle's Space Needle

I just took these pictures of the fireworks show televised from Seattle's Space Needle. It's nice to sit in my nice warm house & watch the show on TV. It's officially 2009 here in Washington now.