This past weekend my family celebrated the last Christmas get together of the season (that is right, we are a little slow!). My sister and her girls got us these awesome aprons. Pictured with me are Amanda, Jessica, Maddison and my great niece, Rylee. I love these aprons! We rented a building in our area and spent the entire day together visiting, playing games, cooking and eating. It was such a great day. We were all there except for our son, Josh, who is in Alabama, and my nephew, Tristan, who lives out of town and had to work. All totaled, 24 of us were there. I hope to post more pictures of some of the activities we enjoyed.

Oh DEER

I got a call at 6:30 this morning. Of course a call that time of day always makes ones heart race just a little. It was my husband telling me that on the way to work he had hit not one, but two deer (bucks no less). I could tell by his voice that he was okay, but shaken up. It has been foggy most of the week, and this morning it was hard to see your hand in front of your face. The really good news is that he was not hurt, was driving about 25 mph (on a back country road with no traffic)and the deer actually jumped up and ran away. The bad news is his truck did not fare as well. He has a new F-150 that he is so very proud of. It now has a broken head light, grill and bumper. This makes for one sad man. I think once in awhile things like this happen to remind us that life can be dangerous. Even though the call was not a happy one, it made me (again) stop and count all the blessing in my life. Thank you dear God for looking out after my husband!

And the winner is. . .

Over my lunch hour today I went to the local library and quickly checked out 6 books. Since I didn't have much browsing time, I went to some of my favorite authors and grabbed one or two of their books that I haven't read (I don't think I have read them, I will soon find out). Authors included: Wally Lamb, Jennifer Weiner and Anita Shreve. When I got home,after careful examination, I decided to start "Rescue" by Anita Shreve. Actually, since it is a new book, I only have 2 weeks to return it, so I thought I had better start with it. Anyone else ever read Anita Shreve? The first book I read by her was "The Pilot's Wife". I have read several of her other books and enjoyed them. When I have finished the book, I will let you know if it is a "page turner" or not. I think it might be!

Pea Soup!

I feel like talking to Mr. Winter and asking him what else he's got to throw at us this season. It all began in November with unusually cold weather. Then December hits with rain, early snow and colder than normal conditions. We don't even want to talk about January so far. Finally, when there is hope of some of this $#%! melting, the fog rolls in. Coming home from a meeting last night, there were layers of fog. This morning, it appears to have settled in for a long visit. I will probably regret writing this because the one thing we have not had too much of this year (yet) is ice. I think I would take all the above combined before I wished for ice. If memory serves me correctly, one of the worse ice storms we have had was in late February or early March. I guess we are really not out of the woods yet with this winter. It has been such a long month of January, I just feel like it should be about over!
On the bright side, it is supposed to be warm(er) for the next two days, and then get much colder on Saturday. But NO snow or rain in the forecast for the weekend. I am oh so grateful for that bit of news, since we have family traveling here this weekend. It would be so sad to have to cancel because of the weather.

A Change Will Do You Good!

I have been perusing other blogs for the last few weeks. And here is what I have discovered:
1. There are a lot of creative people out there.
2. Cupcakes are the "in" food right now.
3. Families with young children somehow find the time to blog. If I remember correctly, when I was a stay at home mom with young children, I was lucky to get dressed during the day.
4. My blog is bland, boring and benign. Therefore change has come to The Common Touch. Now that I know where I have to go to make these changes, expect more in the future. I lack that discriminating eye, you know the one where a talented person squints one eye, tilts their head and makes a suggestion that will turn Mona Lisa from a drab woman to a masterpiece. Right. . . I don't have that eye. But for now, you will have to settle for a brighter, lighter Blog from me. Heaven knows that the scene outside our windows could use some color (besides gray and white!).
Please, Please, Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the new design and colors. After all, change is good for us all!

Broken Record

Amazing as it may seem it snowed most of the morning. We have had a mostly lazy day. . . with the exception of doing some laundry (me) and driveway blading (him). I watched Social Network and really enjoyed it. It did leave me with some questions, though, so I may have to do some more reading on Mark Zuckerman and Sean Parker. Then we watched Last Song, which I thought was entertaining, but very predictable. I finished Hell's Corner this morning, and would recommend it if you just want to do some reading to pass the time. It was not a page turner (my definition of a really good book is if I keep telling myself, one more page).
Supper is now in the oven, and I am getting things organized for the week. Randy test drove my car down the driveway, and said that it was still hard to maneuver and slick. I think I will go in with him again tomorrow, which means packing a breakfast and a lunch. Oh, I am so tired of winter, and we have a week of January left! Note to self: avoid buying a Fusion again. . . even though I like it, it doesn't get around well in the winter. Another 4 wheel drive may be in my future. It is going to be a long week, but next weekend we are having family in for a final Christmas event, so there will be something to look forward to!

Mason decided to take a break from playing and just read. He is a very active little guy, so when I saw that he had perched himself in a chair with a blanket and a few books, I was surprised. He just read outloud to anyone who was willing to listen!