Sorry to hear that you have been ill LLQ. Don't try to overdo. Christmas will come regardless:)

Oooh, Lisa I'm glad you are back, actually I did note you had a read of yesterday. Sorry you have all been crook, definitely bad timing. I only realised recently that you are Scottish. My mother's family is Scottish - we are McDonalds from Isle of Harris. I'm dying to find someone from there to get a bit of background.

Interesting you have the same flies as we have, I thought that was an Aussie saying, didn't realise it was universal.

Michi, I cannot begin to comprehend snow like that or how you cope. I guess having the right machinery would help, but it must get so frustrating doing the same thing over and over. How much time do you get for other things!!!

Hi Roo only half Scottish. Grandma was from the Highlands (like your ancestors in the outer Hebrides) too. One of my cousins did some research on us. The big thing he found was that back in the day many of them were illiterate so names got misspelled and it was tricky to figure them out sometimes but he got there. I think there is a data base here with a lot of genealogical links and tips for you to have a look. I knew a MacLeod from Harris once, she was mad about football (soccer). http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ try this Roo it may be of use.

A distant cousin of mine had a professional do a lot of research for us and they actually went over there and met a lot of rellies. It was quite funny, no one knew they had Aussie rellies. Seems one black sheep got a local girl pregnant and did a runner and went to London. Word came back that he became ill and died when in fact he hopped a ship for down under. The local girl actually married a member of another branch of the family anyway. I have Googled the area - it is so desolate, I would love to be able to go over and really sus it all out. I'm more interested now in where they lived and the kind of life they lived.

Oh thank you Lisa, that website looks amazing. I can see many hours of fun ahead. Right now I really must get to bed, I am wilting fast.

Hooroo all, talk tomorrow.

mornin gals!!! we made it! haha! i'm still here and so are you! Yippee!

I'm english on both sides...i think we have one "poor" name, Brown, and one more "affluent" name, Dobbins. But both very english. I have kept my "ex" name, which is scandenavian (sp?) I believe. Maybe Norwegian. Most people misspell both of my names. It can be frustrating sometimes. My parents did it to me with my first oddly spelled name and then I did it to myself by marrying someone with a rarely known name. The funny thing is that I did the same thing to my daughter, never thinking the trouble she would have. I did not spell her first name the "Normal" way either. What in the world was I thinking!!!????

Feeny and Michi...I told you you would have a white christmas! I'm so happy for you. Not going to snow here, but it is very cold here this morn. Someone said that we are supposed to have 40mph winds today. And yes bob...it IS cold here, not 60 degrees! lol!

There may be snow about and hour and a half way on christmas, so maybe that will call for a drive christmas afternoon after all the gift opening ends. Oh yea....I broke down and got the daughter an ipad (the mini). She is relentless in her begging. I told her to forget it, and then broke down last night right before I left work. I guess they have been out of them everywhere, but I think I got the last one on the walmart site. After I checked out, they were all out of stock. How weird is that!? This will have to be her christmas and bday gift combined.

nitey roo!!! sweet dreams!

olldroo, husband and I both grew up in snow country so winter storms and the tedium of snow removal don't phase us. Hubby's favorite piece of machinery is a large John Deere tractor with a heated cab and ultra efficient snowblowing attachment. It is actually a rarity for schools to close because the communities in our area have such efficient plows and road sanders.

I'm not sure if the weather in NJ is that midwest storm pattern moving in, but I woke up this morning with the wind sounding very much like Hurricane Sandy .. very scary, when it's still pitch black outside!! I also either have a tree branch rubbing on the roof, or a tree that was "creaking", and that wasn't a comforting sound either. I was beginning to wonder if the Mayans were right .. but then it didn't lighten up a little! Because of the wind, the rain is "sideways" .. yuck! I'm glad that my town finally got around to removing the Hurricane Sandy debris from my street yesterday .. 2 cut up pine trees that had uprooted, and lots of smaller branches. My "project" for this morning, is having my snow tires mounted; they say it's going to be a bad winter .. another ugh!

oh lordy astraea.....trees creaking is not the sound you nor i would feel comfortable with...it was raining like cats and dogs here yesterday and was not pleasant. At least the sun is out today, but will be windy.
they are showing the airline situation right now on the news. cancellations etc for flight travel for the holiday. oh boy.

It's amazing that the storm has apparently passed, and not even a leaf is moving .. guess it's time to go hunt for the wildlife feeding dishes that blew away overnight! Can't wait for snow (tongue in cheek) .. this photo is of the 1st winter I was in my home on the shore

For a few years, I worked at a company facility that was in a rural residential area. One year we had 17 snow storms, with at least 4" of snow .. some with up to 30". It was just when people began buying SUVs, and they thought they were "magic" in the snow; you'd see many of them off the roadway because they'd just skidded away. That was a good winter to practice driving skills .. especially in a hilly area!

Hi mpoulsom I too had a Scandinavian name. The grief that caused me, spelling, pronunciation. I once called a taxi by phone and the operator said "was that a name or did you swear?" One of the few times I was angry enough to complain. Still it was distinctive and went well with my first name. Our kids have names to go with the strands of my heritage since they have their father's surname.

We are having rain for Christmas, as they say here in Scotland it's dreich (wet, gray, miserable, cold). I like a white Christmas better though even if I can't drive out of our lane. Michigammemom I would love that John Deere! There is a rude neighbour parked (for 6 months +) in our turning circle and first order of business would be to push his large van into his backyard! It's a private road so we can't move him.

Wow! Lot's of snow talk! I'm jealous beyond belief. We're expecting cold storms from Alaska but nothing yet. Hope it holds off til we get the windshield and run some errands.

Lisa! You're back! Thanks for the support, I don't think we give out too much personal info either. It's a real 'whatever' to those who do!

feeny, MM, here's the snow you've been waiting for! Astraea, no snow? just wind?

mpoulsom, you're right! We didn't vaporize! Woo Hoo! Darn those Mayans anyway.

Question - with the new Houzz homepage, how do you search for products as opposed to phots?

Never mind, I got it. It's still early here!

Go to the white search bar in the upper right, once you click on it you can use the arrow to select products, photos, professionals, etc.

Thanks MM, at least that much hasn't changed!

Morning girls, I barely got my walk in before the rain started. I must be getting what astraea had…I think this weekend is going to be freezing. We have had a beautiful Fall, but it is time for a little Winter to hit us. I've been putting off wrapping the gifts, so I'll try to give that some attention. C U later.

Finally I'm baking! Finally it feels like Christmas!

Hi ladies! No snow here just cold. Brrrr.

And my workout last night was walking about 12 blocks from Runtex to the Capitol and back. I wasn't cold at least.

What unpleasantness? Been working so unable to check in too much. Off now! Yaay!
Feeny - good to see you back.

A few addendum's to Murphy's Law:
a. Before you finish your last errand, it will rain.
b. The shortest line at the grocery store will have the slowest cashier.
c. The last person on the planet to write a check will be in front of you.
d. The Telecheck system will be s-l-o-w.
Lordy.

Cookies frosted and decorated...I have the red and green fingers to prove it. :)

I think Larry King vaporized today. Guess it was the end of the world for him.
I'm investigating now...

nevermind....i've lost my mind again! HA! I don't think you can tweet from the grave... oops

ok guys not that you really care, but i finished the backsplash to the left of the stove....where the old wall oven used to be, and incorporated the magnetic knife strip into the mix!

[houzz= https://www.houzz.com/photos/010jpg-phvw-vp~2282069]

Bobbi - here's one.

Murphy was a contractor.

seriously - it drives me nuts when someone gets in the express lane with coupons and then writes a check.

I bought my gifts early, but have procrastinated terribly, in wrapping them! That has to be “job #1” tomorrow!!!!

My addition to Murphy’s Laws of “waiting in lines”: the person ahead of me will have the most complicate transaction ever seen!

When I was at the supermarket last week, the woman in one line was almost finished being rung up, so I got in line behind her & put all of my stuff on the belt. Then it turned out that she had 6 grocery gift cards that needed to be activated, and each generated an individual gift receipt .. that she insisted on cross-checking the serial numbers for. And the whole idea was to jack the bill up enough to qualify for a $60 rebate, and after she checked the numbers, the rebate didn’t automatically print .. and it turned out the offer expired the day before! Sheesh!

Is that a magnetic knife rack .. interesting, but I’d wind up stabbing myself in the hand at some point (LOL).

yes astraea...it's part of my backsplash that is made up of various materials (glass, tile, stainless, "broken things"), but I also had a stainless steel magnetic strip for the wall in the kitchen from IKEA, so I incorporated it into the backsplash design. That magnet is mighty strong! I just hope I don't pull on it and it finally lets go, and I land on the floor and break my tailbone with a knife in my eye! Then I'll have to design some elaborate eyepatch to wear for the rest of my life. A real conversation starter! lol

mpoulson - your backsplash looks amazing! More pics!

Morning all, love all your snow stories they are really cooling me down. Weeks ago they forecast rain for us for Christmas, starting yesterday. Now they are back predicting it again. Has been pretty overcast off and on for days now but no rain, although today looks a little more ominious. Of course I have just put a line of washing out, so I guess it will rain............ another one for your Murphy's law list.

mp your backsplash looks really creative, can we have another photo from further away to get the full effect of it? I love the colours.

Well I read this morning there has been another shooting today in Pennsylvania. The report included a comment by an Emergency Services Worker that they had "neutralised the shooter". No wonder people are losing the idea of "dead is forever". NEUTRALISING!!!! I'm dumbstruck!!!

BH is painting the bathroom today - not enough room for two to work but I absolutely have to finish wrapping pressies and then try to clean the house as much as I can.............. if I can remember how, it has been so long.

Catch you later - maybe you need cement boots to keep you firmly on the ground.

If no one else has started 1221 I will. Let's do a ponderism.

[houzz=]

mp - you are truly talented. That is absolutely beautiful. Sorry I muddled you and creeser up on FB too.

judy - this is 1221 - or is that the ponderism??

A thought for Christmas -

Know how to prevent sagging?

Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

roo, great idea!

G'morn bobbi - judy has already opened today's - a day ahead, I think she has had too much Christmas already.

Roo - I've been losing weight .. can I blame new wrinkles on that? (LOL)

Provided you tell us HOW!!!!

Yes! How????

Is that a question about how to lose weight?

Astraea! You know it is!

MP that backsplash belongs in a gallery! I love the movement. Do I detect a spoon and fork?

I don't want to sound like I'm "advertising", but a couple of months ago I saw something in the health store's catalog, and tried it. It's called "Almased", made of soy & other proteins. You mix it with water (and spices if you'd like), and use it as a meal substitute. First 2 weeks you have it 3 meals/day, next 2 weeks you use it instead of 2 meals, and after that you're down to 1 shake per day. I feel fine & haven't had any unpleasant side effects from it, and it's really worked for me to stop hunger & cravings. I started using it mid-October, and have lost 16 lbs. It's not inexpensive, but I found an online source that's significantly more reasonable.

Oh rats, would be something I can't get, although there are heaps of those type of products here. I tried one many many years ago and ended up in hospital with a weird virus that probably wasn't connected but it has put me off. The only problem with things like that is it is too easy to put the weight back on once you stop using it. I'm trying to work on a sensible diet getting meal sizes right, with regular exercise - I definitely need the exercise to keep my body moving, my legs especially. Just have to get back to the gym for regular workouts. I would love to go for a walk each day, if I could just walk out the door, but I live in such a hilly area it is too hard. Sounds like it is working well for you though, that is great.

Had a diet many years ago that was really good, involved 5 snack meals a day and grazing on raw veges all day. It was great while I was working as I could just have a bowl of veges on my desk and nibble but now I am home I get involved in things and forget to eat. I always start with a solid breakfast and the next thing I know it is 3.30. I usually just have some fruit to tide me over till dinner time, if I eat too much then I have dinner too late and that isn't good.

I totally understand about having a healthy regular diet! My dangerous period is the evening; if I eat late I get heartburn, and I tend to nibble. So if I have a banana smoothie with Almased at dinnertime, it at least eliminates that whole problem. I was just reading up, and it was actually developed in Germany & is a popular product there (wonder if they make smoothies with beer?!)

I like to walk too; in nice weather on the boardwalks by the beach, and in cold weather on my treadmill. Unfortunately all the boardwalks were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy .. guess it's time to go back to the treadmill again! My problem is that I feel good & then overdo it, winding up with enough of a foot injury to stop me for a month or two.