This is why I am thankful..

We had a great family gathering this weekend at the Cave Homestead (as our son calls it)…Here are a few pics of the controlled insanity…

Left is our “Bloody Mary Bar”…it was well used.. Right is the antipasto buffet. I think I did myself proud on this..Move over Martha Stewart, Dementia Donna is right on your designer coat tails…

Uncle Jr. and Aunt Jeanette were able to come down and spend some time with the family…I ask you…Does that lady in orange look 97 years old???Check out the stretch pants and Cowboy boots…and Uncle Jr.’s shirt color matched her outfit…Our Aunt Neenie stopped over to see her brother, Jr.

Terrie and Detective Tim..   John Wolff and his wife and our daughter, Chris.  The Heiser and Wolff grandkids…..

Our beautiful and elegant daughters….. Ah, yes,this is more like it…Wherever do they get that craziness from??

Above is Maddox Wolff……and brother , Aiden…Third pic is Campbell Heiser..very handsome young men, eh?

Check out that glass with the moose on it…it says “Moose Drool”..We got that at a bar in Montana many moons ago…I remember the beverage being a very strange brew of beer..but I DO remember!

As you can see, we had another fine day here at the Cave Dwellings…We were especially excited to have Uncle Jr. and Aunt Jeanette show up..Dennis drove our Ol’ Blue pick up to their house in Montgomery and picked them up at 11AM, driving them back here in their Cadillac. (Neither one can get up into either of our trucks.) I drove them home about 6PM.  (I was the designated driver, which is HIGHLY unusual…No drinking until after the “gobble surgery”)…Terrie rode with me to help get them safe and soundly into their house, as both are pretty wobbly…Let’s just say that driving their Caddy up was a much more comfortable ride than the ride back…It was a harrowing ride home from their house.  The parking brake light stayed on the whole time, and it WASN’T ON!!! . …So Ter and I decided that Ol’ Blue,  which looks and smells like a train wreck, was similar to a ride at an amusement park…Ol’ Blue also requires someone who knows how to drive a 5 speed stick on the floor…That would be moi.  But this is no easy task after the trouble I have had with my feet!…We felt like Thelma and Louise, and laughed most of the way  home…Thanks, Ter, for the comic relief!

OK, countdown is 1 day…I am STOKED!!..There is only one thing I really don’t like and that is NO IBUPROFEN!…..I have terrible sinus headaches and Motrin or generic Ibuprofen is my drug of choice…but until after the surgery, I can only take Tylenol…and that just doesn’t cut it… I have had a chronic headache from Hell today ( no, not a hangover) , and am really looking forward to being “put out” Tuesday…Thanks for reading, and I’ll see ya “on the other side”!!

Another Cave-a-Palooza…and the countdown is 3 days…

OK, I know it’s been a few days, but not much is new around here…This blog will be short and sweet, but I will fill it up with some of our RVing pictures to keep you from nodding off…

  This weekend we are hosting an early Thanksgiving at the Cave Dwellings…It turns out that this weekend is the only opportunity for all 3 kids and family to get together here…Actually, this is really working out great because my week before Thanksgiving is overflowing…I see my Doc on Monday for the Pre-surgical “pep talk”…then Tuesday I check into Delnor Hospital out patient surgical area at 10:30AM..My surgery isn’t until 12:45PM because Dr. Ghaderi has 2 surgeries before me…I guess that means I just gotta get in line…The only bummer about this whole deal is that by the time I get injected with the “LaLa Land Serum” I will be so damn hungry and thirsty I’ll be excited for ANY fluids to be induced into my system…Oh,…and one other bummer…I am “on the wagon” until after the “procedure”…I stopped my happy hours on Tuesday, as per orders…Also, I cannot take any aspirin products or fish oil until I am off the cutting table…But, Hey!  I am not complaining, folks…This is going to be an exciting journey…and just in the nick of time…I’ve noticed a few guys in orange vests carrying guns following me down the street on my morning walks…looking to score the biggest Turkey of their lives for Thanksgiving dinner..

Today, I am baking lasagna, a ham, prepping a Turkey for grilling..(I feel a strange kinship to this bird), making an antipasto tray, a broccoli casserole, and many other assorted labors of love…Oh, and tomorrow morning, our daughter Chris requested a “Bloody Mary” Bar…,so of course ya gotta  have celery, hot sauce, Mr. & Mrs. T’s mixer, pickles, Worcestershire, celery salt, sweet sour (my secret ingredient),beef stix and hot peppers…Chris is bringing the Vodka.. Me?? Oh, I’ll just have a Virgin Bloody, please…DRAAAT!!

I need to welcome some new followers to this insanity.. Welcome aboard the Cave GMC to "girly timber cruiser", (I never saw your name)…She and hubby moved from NW Wisconsin to  SE Montana recently..She has a great writing style and posts beautiful pictures…Also, a “come on in” to Ingrid and Al Hubbard.  They are living in Colorado, but now preparing their fiver for an extended Winter stay in Arizona…(a note here…Al is from Somonauk, a little town West of where we live, and I knew him from high school..small world…)Y’all jumped in at an unusual time..Graffic photos of me with no make-up and sporting stitches on my throat are about to appear on this blog..I assure you, this is not for the weak stomached..NOT because of the stitches, but because of the “no make-up”……

Seriously ( if you can believe it), I want to thank all of bloggerville for your supporting me in following one of my dreams…to break the “Ross Curse” and get rid of most of my chins…This is something I have been considering for, oh, about 25 years…Things like money and life took priorities back then, but now I am throwing caution to the wind and Den’s money right behind it …Besides, I was just about having to tuck my chins into my bra…..I LOVE ALL OF YOU BLOGGERS!!!! I will post some of our Cave-a-palooza photos Sunday or Monday…Then nothing until after the surgery…hopefully Thanksgiving Day or so…(or sooner)….

“Sally Cotter and the Censorer’s Stone”

 

First of all, I want to thank all the veterans who have served this great country so that we may all enjoy the freedoms we are blessed to have.. A special thanks to Uncle Jr., our son, Kelly…and Dennis….I love you all sooo much and you make me very proud….Thank you for your love of country….Happy Veteran’s Day to all!!!!

  Last night, McGyver and I went to Kaneland Harter Middle School to see the school play…This school houses grades 6th,7th and 8th…Our granddaughter, Taylor Heiser, is an “upper classman”, an almighty 8th grader..She has appeared in every play and musical in Harter Middle School since taking it by storm 3 years ago..This year, the school play was a parody on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone…For those who are familiar with Harry Potter I need not explain..To those who aren’t here is a thumbnail description of the Harry Potter series of books (then becoming movies)…

”Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of a wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's quest to overcome the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, whose aims are to become immortal, conquer the wizarding world, subjugate non-magical people, and destroy all those who stand in his way, especially Harry Potter.”

Harry has a classmate named Draco Malfoy, who is a very evil and mean student at the Hogwarts Academy, and a nemesis of Harry’s…Our granddaughter played the female counterpart to Draco..Taylor’s role was “Ursa Malaise”…(loved the name..)  Here are some pics from the play…(I know, I know….more grandkids photos…Learn to like it ..)

Taylor played it up…really mean and hateful child..totally unlike her real self, but she totally OWNED the part of the evil Ursa!

 

All of these kids did a great job…sooooo much talent in young people, if you know how to bring it out of them….

After the play we took a few photos of Tay and friends…

One of Tay’s best friends played Sally Cotter…Lovin’ those glasses!

Taylor’s Dad, Tim,  brought her flowers…..What a guy….GREAT JOB KIDS..!!!!! You all were amazing…cannot wait for the musical next Spring!!!

  Soooo, today McGyver and I got slightly ambitious and did some raking in our yard..This would be a gigantic undertaking IF we did the whole acre…NOT!! As it was, the pile of leaves out at the burning pile was humongous already…

This is the way we hauled our leaves today..McGyver’s big idea…I have to say it worked pretty well! When we got to the pile, we grabbed onto the tarp and pulled it up on top, then pulled the tarp out from under it..and…TRA DA!! Leaves now up on pile…Then McGuyver mowed our lawn for the last time…Oh, yeah…that photo on the right is me…Den started the blower for me and let me use my “blowhard” energy on the grass in the drive…I gotta tell  ya …THAT SUCKER IS HEAVY!!!…My arm felt like it was going to drop off after I was done…I should have done a crappy job, so he won’t want me to do THAT job again…..

  Update on my future surgery..I went and had my “surgical clearance” tests at our local hospital last Thursday…One more step done in my journey..This Monday, I go see our General Practitioner Doc, Dr. Engelhart, for a pre-surgical physical/consult…If all goes as planned, my next doc visit after that is Monday, Nov. 19th, to see my “God Man” surgeon, Dr. Ghaderi, for a last minute pep-talk before my surgery (the following day)…I am soooo excited..This has been a long time coming..years, as a matter of fact..Hang with me, peeps, and I will take you on this journey with me…But, be forewarned…Moi, without make-up and on drugs could be pretty naaaasty…

“I DON'T CARE!" Harry yelled at them, snatching up a lunascope and throwing it into the fireplace. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"
"You do care," said Dumbledore. He had not flinched or made a single move to stop Harry demolishing his office. His expression was calm, almost detached. "You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix