well that's cute.

Christmas at the Bleisaths.

i wonder what i was talking about here?

me and katie.

clay and ashley's husband...can't remember his name which is embarrassing.

there's me and katie again, watching the guys play wii. those pictures came out blurry.

playing catch up.

a really beautiful hornet (i think) that found itself in my kitchen.

Car for Sale!

We are selling our Saturn. Please feel free to forward to anyone you know that is in the market for a great car. It has 96,500 miles, drives great, has been well maintained, has fun perks (sunroof, power everything, cd player, brand new tires, etc.)

First Fall Harvest

It's small but all of it was so tasty! Especially the brocolli.

Greyhounds!

Had some greyhound buddies over to let the hounds romp in the back yard.

Lita had fun too.

Brunch and Puppy

I hosted a brunch this past Saturday for some of my girl friends. Such good food was brought by all and Ashely brought her new puppy.

Augusta Opera at St. Pauls

Jeff and I drove to Augusta on Sunday to see my dad sing in the Augusta Opera at St. Pauls. He did a great job! Beautiful music....

Jeff and Lita do a little dance.

Here's a little example of what we do around here for entertainment.

beets, brocolli, carrots.

not sure when to harvest these. the brocolli is close, i think. Beets are starting to show their heads but they aren't quite as big as I think they might get if i'm patient with them a little longer. Donna and I pulled a dragon carrot today just to see. it was about 6 inches long, but has a ways to go too. I think. We stuck it back in the ground. Hope it keeps growing. If not, there will be more. Since this year was my tester garden, i think i will have, when it's all over, approximately 12 beets and 13 carrots. perhaps next year I'll plant more seeds. now that i know I can actually help them grow.

the Bird & the Beetle

Lita Beeta.

The bird feeder hanger mom gave me and Jeff for our birthdays. No birds to show in this picture but so far I've seen these birds on it: White-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, house finch, downy woodpecker, redbellied woodpecker, tufted titmouse, carolina wren, and a cardinal.

Things on the Outside

are finally raked up! I worked day before yesterday in the back yard getting it all cleaned up (probably 2/3 of the leaves that are going to fall have fallen already) and it's so nice to go out there now. Today Donna helped me finish up the very back and then i moved on to the front which only took about 30 minutes. But, i'd venture to say that we moved about 100 pounds of leaves altogether. maybe more. really, it was a lot. Here's me showing you how many leaves. And, that's really only half of them. These are only the ones that were compost worthy!

17 Baked Potatoes?

That's what i had left over from a get together for some folks from Jeff's church that ended up being much smaller than anticipated. Luckily, a friend took 5 off my hands, but then i had 12 left over. So, I made a shepherds pie. It was realllllly good. And, probably even better because the potatoes were baked and then mashed (not boiled). Gave it a heartier flavor/texture i think. Biggest, tallest pie ever.

Thanksgiving at the Stullken's House

We were all about due for a traditional thanksgiving this year. Especially dad! Last year, a couple days before thanksgiving, he had to have part of his inards removed...intestines of all things. a cruel joke right before the holiday when you are supposed to eat yourself silly. SO, mom and dad really did it up this year. Here they are getting things ready on Thanksgiving Day morning.

Mom really knows how to get a table looking good. Here's a few pictures (from every angle possible) to prove it.

Jeff and Donna and Joanna (and abe and lita) relaxed upstairs and watched the history of chocolate making.

Abe.

Donna loves Lita Ford. Who is about to start alerting us that Roxanne and Jimmy are here.

Me and Joanna warming our backs by the fire.

Here's the feast!

Donna wonders what to dig into first....

Here we all are! (except photographer jeff)

Ah, the happy couple.

Me and Roxanne, my fairy godmother.

Roxanne and Jimmy!

getting prepped for cards. don't we look excited?

anyone for a game of 3-13?

what to do next?

Donna and Jeff were in cahoots, i think.

Dad snuggles with Abe on the living room sofa. How Abe worked out a deal with mom to be able to get on the LIVING ROOM SOFA, i have no idea. He also has a special relationship with my grandma reed and her sofa. maybe he just has a way with women.

Lita Beeta being lazy.

zzzzzz......

mom has a way with whatever she can find in her yard and in the produce section of the grocery store. this day it was artichokes, tiny orange peppers and fresh cranberries.

the end!