I want to wish everyone a very meaningful Merry Christmas! Today is a day to celebrate for this is the day Christ was born. Happy Birthday !! Joy to the world the Lord has come !

A few updates from the past couple weeks -

I had my shoulder operated on -wow what a pain in the patutty! All went well the Dr. re-attached my tendon with 2 anchors and now the healing time. This is going to be anywhere from 4-6 weeks and did I mention NO DRIVING. This is my sidekick - the immobilizer- not very comfy to say the least. Hey no pokin' fun at the hair !


Today is day 15 and I have only been out of the house twice. I think Rick is wanting to shut me up so maybe we will get out for a drive soon :)He has been really good at taking care of me ( thanks MaryAnn) and I found out he is a great cook !! Here he is making breakfast burritos!! They were yummmmmmmy !
He also went shopping for me and picked up this recliner. It is now my bed and probably will be for the next few weeks - or at least 15 more days. I go back to the Dr. on the 9th of Jan. in hopes that the healing is going good and I can get rid of the "side-kick".

Now the mailman has not been so nice - on the mailbox flag is a package-hanging there tormenting me ! What did I do call the neighbor to come down for a visit :) I couldn't and wouldn't go out due to the snow and ice on top that is making our yard an ice skating rink ! So the package was a gift that I had ordered for my sister and a gift from Santa. Yes,that's right I have been good! The Santa gift was a leather billfold ! There is a story behind this ( kinda like the fish story -my family knows what I mean) At work there used to be 3 of us Tina's -Tina W.,Tina C. and me ! Tina W. no longer works with us but is still in the loop-but here is how it started. I went on vacation in 2007 to Dominican Republic and Tina W.(left) & Tina C. (center) gave me a gift to take with me. It was this billfold with their picture in it ! The fun was on -I then held on to it for a while - list it and then found it just in time to pass it on. I got a picture of my head,put it over Tina C. and wrapped it for Christmas and laid it on her desk. She then gave it on to Tina W for Easter and now it is back to me -except this time there's a new face in the billfold - Shelly (right)has came on board so it looks like I need to make a plan for passing it on ! Wanna see this great traveling billfold - feast your eyes on this beauty ! Loaded with fighting roosters and Tina engraved in it :)




I'm already ready to put winter behind us and bring on the warm days and pretty flowers !! Are ya with me ?
I want to thank everyone that stopped by,called,brought gifts,food, sent flowers - it truly is amazing at all the friends I have !! My boss and people that work for me sent these beautiful flowers !
Christmas sunrise - and celebrate and behold - Christ was born !

MY CHRISTMAS WISH FOR YOU

Author: KRISTEN M SACCARDI
My Christmas wish for you, my friend

Is not a simple one

For I wish you hope and joy and peace

Days filled with warmth and sun

I wish you love and friendship too

Throughout the coming year

Lots of laughter and happiness

To fill your world with cheer

May you count your blessings, one by one

And when totaled by the lot

May you find all you've been given

To be more than what you sought

May your journeys be short, your burdens light

May your spirit never grow old

May all your clouds have silver linings

And your rainbows pots of gold

I wish this all and so much more

May all your dreams come true

May you have a Merry Christmas friend

And a happy New Year, too.

Winter has arrived !

The first dusting of snow fell on December 3rd. The snow on the ground, deer on the snow and the sunset made for a great shoot. Now Rick would probably say it made for a different kind if there would have been a "trophy" in the pack. These were all does except one "scrappy" buck as he calls it. This is the scene we get almost every night until shotgun season starts then they are all gone !

Now our second snow fell on Dec, 9th. This was a little more than a dusting. It started out with rain turning to sleet then on over to the good ole white stuff. We ended up with about 2". I was home all day preparing for my laid up time after surgery so I got the pleasure of watching it fall and not having to drive in it. I had the scanner on and it was going crazy all day ! Wrecks,fires and some truck driver running from the law on 218 headed from Missouri to Iowa. I never did get the whole story 'cause I was outside taking pictures. Of course Rick came home so the scanner got shut off. He calls me "Gladys" for listening to that thing :) If you are close to my age or older you know who Gladys is !

(left) Summer is officially over ! The pool is froze solid ! Next summer will be my first at uncovering this beast to see how bad it is. Believe me I will for sure be posting those pictures ! (right) Old man winter is still standing strong. My dad made this for me. I didn't take the whole shot - underneath this beautiful face is a welcome sign.

My pampas grass is heavily weighed down with the snow. This is a good spot for rabbits to hide out but once they pop their little heads out it is game on for our dogs. Harley & Sophie race to the death of the furry creatures. That is fine by me because last winter those little furry creatures ate my trees !

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I have had a couple good photoshoots lately - This is Mark & Pam. I work with her and just met him but all I have to say is they are truly in love with each other. The pictures show it ! Not to mention that mark was smiling so much he said his face hurt !

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Now my other photoshoot was two very cute little girls. Ava & Kami - Ava is the eldest of the two sisters.

In this photo Kami was lovin' the tutu and drooling like no other ! Beautiful little girl ! Full of joy !

Ava - was a blast - she liked to be left on her own to make her own picture. I let her go and that is when she discovered the ornament. It was if she was thinking really hard and studying the designs. She too was a bundle of joy and a doll to boot !

Well as I mentioned above - I will be out of commission for about 6 weeks ! YUCK !! No pictures !! Wait I have a tripod and a remote - let's re-phrase that I will be out of commission for a couple weeks. I won't be getting into any photoshoots but the birds in the yard will pose for me good enough.

I have to have rotator cuff surgery at 10:00 in the morning so that means no eating,drinking or smoking after midnight tonight. That is not good - or at least for anyone around me until I get out of the hospital ! The get me a smoke a glass of tea and a cheeseburger ! Rick is going to have his hands full for a while taking care of me, cooking,laundry,dishes, cleaning - WOW is this going to be a vacation ! No, not really from what I hear it is alot of pain and for those that know me .....all I can say is waaaaaaaa. Yes I am a whiny one ! Pain and me - don't mix !

Well that's all for now until I can get back to typing - with my left hand :) So no comments about typos if you see them.

I will be like old woody - hangin' in there !

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Writing,shopping and setting up props

I'm trying to get a little more creative with my writing so I recently purchased this book. Now,don't worry there will always be stories from a day in my life ;) I just want to beef it up a bit. My plan is to someday write better,captivating descriptions about my old house photos and hopefully get them into a book. Someone that inspires me by her descriptions is one of my contacts on flickr - you can see her work here. www.flickr.com/photos/mcmorr/ My own book - now won't that be great !! I will give you progress as I go.

OK, my title shows setting up props. Well here are a few that I have ready for my photoshoot on Sunday. I will have those posted next week.

What do ya think? This rocking was given to me by my Grandma Johnson a longggggg time ago. It is in immaculate condition. I got this because I was the fist grand-daughter. Ahhh !
This is wrapping paper :)

It was time to update some pictures so what better time than right after a hair appointment. I had finished with the snow look on my backdrop and wanted to get the lighting set so here ya go - ME!

And yes - I HAVE been good ! This is my new hat for the shopping trip for Black Friday. My mom,sisters and sister in law get together every Black Friday to get some deals ! Well this year it was just mom,Gina and myself. Lori had to pick up her daughter,Kathern (sis in law) was tired from her first time of having her family over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner and the other shopper Kim (brothers GF) was tired too. So us 3 meet up at Wal -Mart at 5:00 AM for the fun to begin. Mom makes us wear Santa hats so we are easy to find - it's a traditional thing :) Now can she find us in the store....no ! This year was actually funny - she told us while having breakfast that while at Younkers a lady asked her for the price of something in the store.....why ?, cause all the employees had a Santa hat on ! HA !!

Are we nuts ? YES! This was the crowd I pushed my way through at 5:00 AM to get my Garmin Nuvi for $97.00 at Wal-Mart this morning. I got it,plus more. The crowd was pushy and rude - I think after Thanksgiving they need to start being a little nicer and give thanks that someone don't turn around and smack some sense into them ! I had to go out and have a smoke while Gina held my place in line. This is getting more nerve racking every year but - I will be back at it again next year so I need to get over it :)

Time for breakfast - when you get up at 3, by 7 you are hungry ! We done out usual traditional thing and went to Perkins - the food is so good there !! It was not too crowded when we got there but by the time we left - the line had formed. Now it's off to the casino !!

This grand piano was calling to us ! What a crew - Liberace we are not !! But it was a good photo op ! The spots are dust or at least I think it is. I sat the camera on the piano and used the timer so I could get in this shot :) The next one is mom playing and Gina singing - yeah right ,we didn't want to run everyone off - they are faking it - HA !

Hey look it is a big tree- let's pretend to decorate ! I don;t think anyone saw us because no straight jackets were ordered :)

Day is done and boy was everyone exhausted !! Mom & Gina found yet another great shot at a picture. The only problem was, they didn't want to get up ! The time is now 2:00 PM - we are going to Long John Silvers for lunch then I am headed home - my feet were killing me and I was BROKE !! They were going to hit a couple more stores- not this gal.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. "-Oscar Wilde

Holidays Are Upon Us !!

It's that time of year - get out your measuring cups and all that holiday bakeware and let's make some fudge !!


Chocolate fudge


2 sticks butter ( watch those thighs grow)
5 c. sugar ( yeah that's right lots of energy zappers)
1 can evaporated milk ( not that healthy skim stuff wither - why bother)


Bring this all to a rolling boil and continue to boil for 8 minutes. Set that timer and stir !


After your arm is about to fall off ( 8 minutes) remove from heat and add:


1 tsp. vanilla ( that's the small measuring spoon)
1 small jar of marshmallow creme ( that ooey - gooey stuff, not licking the spoon)
20 oz. of peanut butter or 1 large bag of chocolate or butterscotch chips ( not all at once,hence the word or )


Stir all of this together and pour into 8 x 12 pan lined with waxed paper.


Cool - cut - enjoy !!


This recipe came from my Granny - she was a wonderful lady and a great fudge maker. I remember as a child,going to her restaurant "Granny's Restaurant" around the holidays and standing in front of her "money tree" ( the customers always put money on there for the girls that worked there) and waiting on her to get the fudge ready to eat. She made TONS !!!!! Well I only made a pan of chocolate and one of peanut butter - that is all I am making this year. I usually do about like Granny did and make a ton but, we do NOT need that around here

OK enough in the kitchen let's get out of the house and go shopping - I hit up some antique
shops, goodwill and thrift stores. I found a couple bargains. All of these hats total cost 10.00 not the plume cost more than all the hats but I couldn't pass it up. I gave 12.00 for it. Oh well - I liked it. When I called my dad to tell him about it he said I should have used a peacock feather - men what do they know about fashion :)




Then it was hit up the furniture isles - I found this little tricycle and chest. The chest needs a little antiquing and a good washin' that it will get this weekend. But for 14.00 for both I couldn't pass it up !















OK- back to the picture taking enough prop shopping ! Mom and I went to Washington ( not the state, but the big town of Washington,Iowa) A friend of mine www.myspace.com/Angieguengerich had taken pictures of her kids at this old house so I got the directions and mom and I headed out. It was amazing !! The first thing mom said when we got out was "can you just imagine all the kids playing in the yard" WOW,she read my mind. This house was huge and the yard was lined with beautiful spruce trees.I took several pictures and even poked my head in for a few.
To see more check out my flickr in a few days. I hope to have them posted by Thanksgiving. Speaking of Thanksgiving - Harley (my lab) had her Thanksgiving meal the other day. I looked outside and from somewhere in my country neighborhood she had added another piece of "her findings" to the yard. It was something of the unknown in a quart jar. Yes she was eating it - or at least trying. I took the pictures of her at first through the window and when I went out she stopped looked at me then licked her lips to get that last drop.


I hope you weren't enjoying your supper while looking at that. It was disgusting but she enjoyed it.

Happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone of you. Remember this poem when you sit down for that feast:

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!


Pictures of two beautiful girls and a happy couple coming soon !

Click here

Now if you clicked the link above that will show you how busy I have been.

It was August the last time I added a post boy is that bad or what. I'm going to try to make it a priority to sit down and work on this each week.

Updates -

I had a few of my pictures printed and framed to dress up our dining room and now it is time for more. I have been busy riding around on the gravel roads looking for the perfect picture. I don't always ride alone - a friend of mine Deanna, went with me one day and we found some pretty cool stuff. We came up on an old make shift town of Minerville. You can read more about it here - http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/Minerville-032708 To bad it is a thing of the past. We walked around and took a few pictures then ended our trip.

Mom and I went out a couple weeks ago and found lots of stuff from barns to old schools to this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/harleypass/sets/72157608593605809/ now this was definitely a good day. Tons of pictures where taken and after 8 hours of riding we were beat !

Rick and I went to Quincy for a car show and to visit this castle that I found on the Internet. Both were very interesting. Rick spent alot of time crouching down to look under and all around cars to get ideas and I was crouching with him to get the pictures. The castle was kinda cool, it sits on the banks of the Mississippi with a spectacular view. When we first walked in I spotted a lamp. At the same time Rick and I looked at each other and I said - "that is like the one I have !" See for yourself. The floor lamp is in the castle - the table lamp is in my living room. I got this after my grandma passed away. It belonged to a neighbor of hers so I'm not really sure where she got it from. I did ask the tour guide at the castle if he knew any information on the one there and he shared a little - the lamp was brought back from Egypt in the early 1800's - WOW I could have a real collectible.

Rick has been busy too - a friend from work gave him a truck - well not completely it cost me sending lasagna to him at work :) But anyway, he has big plans to build his own rat rod. Yep you guessed it, done with one project and now it is time for another.

I have been back to the Dr. and have to have rotator cuff surgery - dang it no picture taking for a while.

It is hunting season here so Rick has been strong at it - nothing yet. I will for sure post when he gets the monster buck :)

Now that was a lot of info squeezed in to try and play catch up. I will sit down on Saturdays to post more.

Thanksgiving is coming up and that means BLACK FRIDAY !! Yippee !!! Mom, Lori,Kathern,Gina and myself meet about 4:30AM to knock people down and get some good deals. OK, we don;t really knock people down but we do find some deals. We usually come home with bruised heals and lots of shopping bags. I will be taking my camera along that day to get some pictures of the madness that we participate in. So stay tuned for more fun !!

John Fitzgerald Kennedy:"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."