The New Year isn't officially here yet but I have fulfillled my resolution to learn something new. I started knitting in a cable stitch-----and in the process am using my bee-utiful new stitch markers---bees!!I hope everyone has a Healthy, Wealthy and Happy 2012

I think we are all set for this rainy, cold and dreary Friday nite. A somewhat roaring fire, a bottle of a quite good Merlot, 2 glasses, a new knitting project on the needles---a cardigan for myself, and a pot of chili on the stove. Oh and my honey sitting by me reading directions on how to assemble a model airplane(men always love toys) and a Bassett Hound asleep at my feet. All of this and no place to go but Home!!!

I've been photobombed! And I wasn't even aware it happened---even after I saw the picture. If it wasn't for my sons to keep me up on trends, I would be totally in the dark ages. And it was one of those sons that photobombed me! I am now going to photobomb someone else---perhaps a stranger!

Santa Claus looked especially handsome this year! And who knew that Santa had such a great sense of humor. This little girl seemed to find Santa charming too!

Whew! It was a wonderful Christmas--I wouldn't change a thing. Like everyone else, we get so wrapped up in preparation that it is sometimes hard to wind down. But yesterday I had no trouble finding some couch time with one of my Christmas present books!!

Can you find me in the photo? It was taken at the historic Toledo Club where they had a beautiful dinner and a Parade of Trees. Beautiful trees scattered throughout the elegant surroundings. Interested in a tree----all it takes is a minimum $300 bid and it may be yours--ready to pick up after Christmas! They had some beautiful trees and ideas but I will take my non-designer tree full of special ornaments collected over the years. Our favorite tree was sponsered by the Humane Society. The tree skirt was a "quilt" made from dogfood bags and the ornaments included dog and cat toys, yarn balls and painted dog biscuits. All in a purple and lime green theme!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours as we begin the "most wonderful week of the year". It's a hectic week for sure, but hopefully we all can find some joy in the season. I am recuperating from a very minor procedure but the time off from work has been extended by a few days. Luckily I worked hard to get my Christmas things done and that has left a lot of time for knitting---and making a yarn family, including the dog!!

It's not all Christmas at our house---just almost. This beautiful Amaryllis is blooming and gives a touch of Spring!In the summer I'll put the bulb outside and hopefully won't forget about it(as in years past and other bulbs) and next year it will bloom again!

Snowmen are beginning to gather. One by one and soon there will be a whole family of snow people. I had so much fun making these as gifts in past years that I am making myself a family--including a Magglio dog!! All they need now will be hats, scarves and gloves and then I will post a family portrait!

We may be a little quirky but we started a tradition last year(can the second year we do something be called a tradition?) where we pack up our Christmas cards, drive 40 miles south to a little town called Rudolph Ohio(the deerest little town in Wood County) and mail them. Once there, they are postmarked with a special Rudolph label. It is just a little corner post office---about as big as a closet. But still-----quirky but fun.

This is the reason the conservatory in the other picture is glowing blue---this beautiful tree with a million, trillion lights. Billions and billions of blue lights! Stunning!!!!!!!!

One of our most beloved Christmas traditions is a trip to the Toledo Zoo's Lights Before Christmas and this year it was a reasonably warm nite. This is my favorite part of the visit. The conservatory arboretum which is a beautiful white structure glows blue in the light of the huge blue lit tree!! It glows like a fairy house!

This is how important Ohio State is to some family members. What started as a traditional Blessing on the slate board for Thanksgiving suddenly changed overnite with the huge announcement of our new Football coach. Apparently someone here thinks Urban Meyer is more important than family. If that be the case, then Urban Meyer can do my Christmas shopping for this family member!

nd I was going to post these pictures earlier in the season and just came across them. We were hiking in a State Park in Indiana and came across these chewed trees----beavers!!! While seeing a beaver dam isn't exactly on my bucket list, I have always wanted to see one---and this is the next best thing. We came across one tree and took a picture and then came across another and took a picture and then noticed that almost every tree was either chewed or fallen!!!!!

And so it has begun. The stockings are being hung, the stairway is decked out and presents are appearing under the tree----and some of them even have my name on them!!!! Outside, however, it is a different story. I feel like I am living on an island as our fields and yards are under water while the rain is pouring down. This may soon be turning to snow through the night however. Very strange weather!

We had some exciting news on Thanksgiving! In a carefully orchestrated operation, our youngest son proposed to his ---now---Fiancee! We knew this question was going to be asked while on a visit to the local park which gave us time to chill the bubbly. There is an official looking picture but I love the random shot. She was on the phone to her Mom, He was day dreaming, my husband was pouring Champagne for everyone and everyone was very, very Happy!

My department at work decided to have our Holiday Party early this year---and it turned out to be a great idea. No conflicts with other commitments--just a relaxing kick off to the holiday season. There is a great off-the-beaten-track jazz club downtown and that is where we congregated. Great atmosphere---brick walls in a vintage building and great music. It put us all in the holiday spirit!

Some years I really have the Christmas Spirit and other years, not so much. But this year, I am already playing Christmas Carols and making lists. My department at work decided to hold our get together early this year---before the Christmas crush begins. So it was a HUGE, wonderful surprise when I came home after the party and found my oldest son had put up our Christmas tree. HUGE surprise. And now the Christmas angel is awaiting the youngest son's Thanksgiving arrival to be placed atop the tree!!!

Another bee by-product in the making! Lip Balm. This was a lot of fun to make----but I still have a lot of beeswax left and may look into making candles.

This was my first attempt at Toltott Kaposzta--or Pigs in the Blanket---or Stuffed Cabbage. This was before they went into the big kettle with the shredded cabbage and came out pretty darn good! The toothpicks were cheater sticks. I was afraid they would come unrolled--but I carefully pulled them out before anyone swallowed them.

We are making Mead----the first known wine made by man, also known as Nectar of the Gods. It is a Honey Wine and we are novice winemakers. We should end up with 25 bottles---if we did everything correctly. The vodka isn't an ingredient. That is the fluid that goes into the airlock---the bubbler that seals the top of the bucket---or in winemaking jargon, the Carboy. Vodka is used so it doesn't grow bacteria like water would. So the carboy is now in a dark room of the basement and we will peak in and make sure the vodka is bubbling and then continue on in the process. More info later---when we take the next step!

In honor of Veteran's Day, here is a picture of my husbands Uncle. He is the happiest looking serviceman I have ever seen. And that was probably because that man loved to fly. From the age of 14 until he was in his 80's, he lived to fly, loved to fly and talked about flying and airplanes. His squadron all crashed and died in WW2 except for his plane and crew. He lived his life like this picture--always with a smile that lit up a room, and a story about airplanes.

We've come a long way this summer---starting with this little box of 10,000 bees. We created a colony, actually felt comfortable being up close to a honey bee, watched carefully and protected our hive from mites, beetles and mice, extracted honey, learned about beeswax, connected with other beekeepers and now consider ourselves BEEKEEPERS. Our little hive is tucked in for the winter. Holes have been drilled at the top to let out moisture, extra food has been added to keep those little workers satisfied and mesh has been added to the openings to keep out the mice. It wouldn't be a catastrophe if the colony didn't survive but we feel very protective of our working insects. They have given us so much----honey and confidence----and now we wait till the spring when we open the hive again and see if all is well. It is 38 degrees now but if we still get an Indian Summer, I may open the hive one more time and add more sugar water/food.

This is my kind of fly fishing. No grizzlies lurking behind you, no waders to protect your from the raging water. no bone chilling cold or long trek to get to the fishing spot. Of course, we didn't catch any fish, but look at the comfy surroundings!!

This is the last seaglass of summer! And the pickings were great----even though I know darn well, the other couple walking along the beach was also looking. There may be more washing up for sure, but the weather is going to change and will be even colder by the lake.

This picture really relaxes me by just looking at it! It sums up our weekend perfectly. Someone gave us a fly fishing get away weekend at a lovely Bed and Breakfast type lodge and the breakfast room was so relaxing. What more did I need---knitting and steaming hot coffee. We didn't catch any fish but we relaxed---and with the time change, I think we slept 12 hours Saturday nite. That doesn't happen very often!!

I am still thinking Honey. We winterized our hive-----by drilling holes at the top of each side to let moisture condensation moisture drain out. We were told that moisture is the worst enemy of our winter colony. The little bees keep themselves warm by clustering and fanning their wings to generate body warmth. Then they rotate their positions so the warmest spots are being shared. The numbers of bees are reduced now that the female workers kicked out the male drones--they are not needed for reproduction and so they don't want to share their food with unneccesary bees. We did add sugar water and sugar fondant patties to sustain them . We closed the lid, said our good byes and will see them in the Spring! Oh---and we added some screening to the opening to prevent Mice! So in the meantime we have been looking at other people's bee products and honey and comparing notes. i made a batch of lip balm from the valuable beeswax and will soon be making honey wine. And------we joined some friends for dinner and they gave me these adorable bee magnets!!! They were made in Findlay Ohio at the Kan Du shop!!!!!!!

Why would anyone in our part of Ohio find it necessary to travel across the county to go on a Fall Color Tour? I 5 hour drive in any direction can take one to some very scenic areas. Our trip to Southern Indiana took in some beautiful scenery--including Brown County Park, Oliver Winery and the Indiana University Campus.

Happy Halloween! From me and Bill the Builder---a coworker at the hospital I work at. All part of the annual pumpkin decorating contest fun! A few days ago, Bill literally lost his head, but with some minor surgery, he is looking pretty good!

I meant to post this yesterday. Smack dab in the middle of campus---is a cemetary. Very peaceful and tranquil. I later found out it was the family burying ground of the farming family who donated the land that became Indiana University. I cannot think of a better final resting place. Some of the headstones were of people who were born in the 1700's.

We felt like college students last weekend---but instead of staying in a dorm, our lodging was the luxurious Biddle Hotel in the heart of Indiana University. So comfortable and so beautiful. The campus is what comes to mind when I think of the ideal college campus---especially with the Autumn leaves giving beautiful color.

We had a wonderful weekend road trip to Bloomington Indiana to spend some time with family. And seriously, how could a trip that started with this SWEET surprise in our hotel room, not be anything but special. One was Red Velvet, one was Spice and one was Vanilla and ALL were delicious. I know this to be true because I sampled each one---I shared them with others but I did get a taste of each one. More pictures to follow----but I had to start with the cupcakes!

My sister-in-law, Barb is lucky enough to have some great grandchildren. And when they were all together recently, they put their talents together and had a pumpkin decorating party. I think it was kind of clever on Barb's part, because at the end of the day, she had some great holiday decorations!

The Tiger's lost-------that is big, sad news in our household. We had this glimmer of hope that they would go to the World Series but not to be. So we drowned our sorrows at breakfast with waffles. And not just waffles, but waffles drizzled with Honey. And not just any Honey, but our own bee's honey. Sweet relief to a disappointing baseball game!

Happy Birthday oldest Baby Boy! 33 years and still going strong! Now if only the Tigers bring you a win for your birthday our life will be complete. Today is Matt's birthday but we celebrated yesterday. He is going to back to back sporting events with his friends!! Have Fun!!!

I am spending the evening with an old, very dear friend and also a newer one. I am re-reading one of my favorite books of all time---A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. And I love it even more the second time around---and for different reasons. The first time I read it, I loved the character who was around the same age as me when I first read it. Now I appreciate the writing style and the history of the immigrant family! And next I am going to re-read The Secret Life of Bees, another of my top 5 favorite books of all time. And the beverage tonite----hot tea with HONEY!!