National Pie Day!

Just in time for my new diet! Wow a Blog a Day for two whole days but, this is a special occasion. Second only to National Chocolate Day in importance, National Pie Day is ranked as a major holiday around the free (or at least inexpensive) world. Last year I celebrated with a Pi Pie -

This year I found an even more appropriate Crustation to herald the event. The Mac Pie!

That's all I got to say. I'm off to the nearest pie shop to celebrate!!!

New Year, New News!

I must have dozed off there for a couple of weeks. I had so many good ideas floating around in my head that I created some sort of Blog Jam. I wanted to talk about weight loss resolutions, weather conditions, bird feeding and the Chicago mayoral race and what happens? A new Grandkid arrives! I already have big Grandkid news from up Nord where Eddie is venturing out on his own two feet without parental aid and down here, Saffie learned to sing the ABC song (and sing the ABC song, and sign the ABC song and sing......) So, after a false alarm trip to the hospital Sunday night, Derek and Jeanna took off for the real thing Tuesday morning. In almost no time at all little Sebastian Byron showed up. my principle participation in the delivery was as head driver of Super G (Super Granny) to her appointed posts. When the call came, early Tuesday morn alerting us that mom-to-be was heading to the hospital, we grabbed our prepacked bags and set off to join Saffron to wait for news of the birth. Unfortunately I hadn't planed on the fine city of Fennimore plowing our street and piling snow across the foot of our driveway. It only took about a half hour before one of our neighbors with a husky pickup truck and a tow chain freed us from our snowy situation. The baby arrived at the hospital before we arrived at Saffie's side. Jeanna and Derek had the foresight of making arrangements with a friend who lives nearby to stay with Saffie until Super G got there. Mom, Dad, Big Sister, Super G and baby Sebastian are all home and doing well while Grandpa is trying to plow through the Blog Jam and post some sort of semi-entertaining blog.
Sebastian's birth is the big news as he puts the Grandkid number at nine but in June, Daughter Summer will provide number ten who will be, what I'm told, the last in my Grandkid collection. Not that I'm suggesting anything to my older Grandkids, but, I'm clear for "Greatgrandkids". Enough said.
In the weight loss area - I need to lose some weight. That's mainly because a lot of my favorite clothes don't fit anymore and Lands' End isn't doing too much in the way of stretch-and-wear outfits. My first thought was to merely try to grow taller. I checked with the Marquise Du Sade web site but the cost of a better quality rack is cost prohibitive. So, my new approach is to simply eat smaller portions. With a little research I found that many foods come in smaller sizes for fatties like me. As an example, I've found Mini M & Ms and those little candy bars are also very handy small portions. There's even a lot of mini cookies on the market and I've found some tasty little pies as well. We should be seeing results in no time.
I'm not going to give the weather the satisfaction of giving it space here and the birds are feeding fine on their own so I'm going to wrap this up with a picture of Sebastian and dinner.

Sebastian before a certain football game yesterday.

After the game!

An example of M & Ms lite. Notice how much smaller those babies are!

On The Thirteenth Day of Christmas.........

Tis the time to be unjolly. Fa La etc. As Old Man Winter drones on, Old Man Santa and his Elves head back to the North Pole. Unfortunately they don't bother to clean up the seasonal debris that accumulated in homes of good little girls and boys around the world. We may not be the best little boy and girl in town but we do have a giant share of Christmas debris, aka decorations. There comes a time when the moon, stars and tinsel are aligned and the magical light that glows from every nook and cranny in our little antique palace starts to dim. (Let me tell you, there's nothing worse then a dim cranny) Suddenly out of the dimness emerges...The Spirit of Christmas is Over. When she swings into action a wise old man finds safe haven before he gets swept up and packed into one of the many plastic totes that cover the back wall of our garage. An amazing fact is that after taking into consideration the amount of things that are broken, worn out, or given away, we usually end up with just a little more heading back to the garage than came out of there only a few short months ago. Another thing that always puzzles me is that no matter how carefully and systematically things are packed away, next year one or more keepsakes will be missing for at least a few weeks only to turn up one of the Easter decorations totes. As the last tote finds its proper spot on the garage shelves the old guy creeps out of his hiding spot only to realize that his part of this seasonal ritual has yet to be tackled. Here's where Mother Nature springs to the rescue in the form of snow and cold weather. Yep it's the old "Outside Lights". The weather along with "Old Folks" warnings by the weather guy on TV give me a little reprise and a simple unplugging will add to the "seasons over" appearance. I promise, on the first warm, snow-free day, I'll be out there with my ladder, risking life and limb pulling those lights off my gutters.
Now as we settle back enjoying the new year and waiting for the arrival of the next Grandkid, (due any time now) the house takes on an almost serene atmosphere. But, it won't be long before those afore mentioned Easter totes will appear in our dining room and bunnies, eggs and chicks are the main attraction for a month or so. Then comes Autumn (Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations) and then the "Return of the Christmas Totes" starts again. I must admit that Jo does a wonderful job keeping our place cheerfully decorated and doesn't ask much help from me other than to stay out of the way during the metamorphosis. (except the dreaded "Outside Lights") So, for now I'll just unplug those "Outside Lights" and admire my nonseasonal house until the minor holiday stuff shows up (Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day and Groundhog Day).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The "Staging Area" formerly the dining room table. All decorations must pass through this area before and after the Christmas Season.

A rare peek at the tote toting "Spirit of Christmas Over".