Currently...

It's 9:00 on a Wednesday evening. The cat and I are snuggled in on the sofa as the wind howls outside, the mercury drops, and rain does its best to put an end to the drought we've been in. If not tonight, then sometime tomorrow we will see the first snowflakes of the winter. It's possible we will see 2-3 inches of white stuff by Saturday morning before it turns back to rain as the temperatures climb into the 40s.

Reading... My pre-ordered copy of Janet Evanovich's latest installment in the Stephanie Plum saga, Now or Never, has arrived. I'm holding off until Friday evening to begin reading it.

Listening... to whatever the consumers at work are in the mood for. Today it was Christmas music! I usually try to wait until after Thanksgiving to listen, but we were working on Christmas decorations so it kind of fit the mood.

Watching... an odd mix of Hallmark and GAC movies, Tim's violent guy movies, and things like Expedition Unknown and Ancient Aliens. So, basically the normal stuff for me.

Loving... helping the grandchildren make Christmas presents.

Thinking... about my upcoming appointment with my doctor on Friday. Last Tuesday I noticed the palm of my left hand looked yellow...sort of like it had been colored with a highlighter. It faded a bit as the day went on and I didn't think a lot of it. It was still yellow the next day and the next, though not as bright. 

At that point I was a bit concerned and Googled it. One of the top possible reasons that came up was too much NSAIDs in one's system. Given the pain in my legs these days that seemed a possibility so I stopped taking everything. No pills, no patches, no creams. At least none that had NSAIDs in them. The yellow went away. Saturday I decided to try taking 8-hr extended release Tylenol. It was better than nothing, but not the greatest. Sunday I decided to try Aleve after reading it was considered the safest NSAID since you only take 1 pill every 12 hours. Overlapping it and the Tylenol seemed to do the job a bit better. 

Then yesterday at work I noticed my left palm was yellow again. It faded as the day went on. Today it was also yellow, but less so. I called Monday for the appointment. I think I need to find out what is going on...and I'm trying not to think too much about some of the other causes in my Google search like liver disease or autoimmune diseases.

Feeling... not too bad, actually. I'm beginning to think some of my aches and pains were actually caused by the NSAIDS I was taking (it can happen).

Celebrating... nothing in particular and life in general.

Grateful... to my mom for putting together and pulling off a surprise party for our anniversary this past Saturday. On Saturday evening she and John were supposedly taking us out to dinner and when they pulled up in front of the place where we'd held our rehearsal dinner 40 years before...I just thought they'd chosen it for that reason. When we walked into the dining room we were blown away to find some family and friends gathered along with as much of the wedding party as was possible. It was a wonderful evening!

Enjoying... cozy evenings at home.

Laughing at...

Currently...

The weather... it's 36 degrees, clear and calm. 

Reading... I just finished a Christmas romance. I forget the name. I'll be starting another this weekend. Probably. I haven't had much time to read lately.

Listening... to a lot of political commentary and interviews. This is a fascinating time, politically speaking, and I am interested in hearing what both "sides" are thinking.

Watching... still a lot of Hallmark movies and lately, thanks to the grands, a lot of Christmas classics.

Loving... this sweet girl, who will be joining our daughter's family in 2 weeks. Her name is Presley and she is a Basset Hound. I've always wanted one, but being a Basset grandma will give me all the cuddles and none of the headaches.

Thinking... my job is going to get tougher in the near future. We were already a little short staffed due to a few people leaving. My department hasn't had a supervisor for about 2 months and there are no possibilities in sight. Friday one of the supervisors in the shredding department passed away. His daughter and ex-wife work there, too, so both of them have been out. Another person from my department is done after Thursday and another announced that she is retiring at the end of the month. They haven't been able to get anyone to sign on in months. We are going to be working incredibly short staffed.

Feeling... thankful.

Celebrating... this coming Sunday is our 40th anniversary. Whoa. How did that happen? It seems like it was just yesterday.

Grateful... for all the little, mundane blessings and miracles that make up each day. The ones I don't always pay attention to.

Enjoying... the early darkness and cooler weather.

Laughing at...

(Sunday) Stealing Into November

Whew! I can't believe we're already into November, but at the same time I'm relieved October is behind us. Halloween is the very biggest of deals at my workplace and my department makes the "magic" happen so this past week was hectic, crazy, exhausting, and FUN! 

I have a few photos from the party to share, but not too many as I have to be careful of showing faces.

First up...this is my finished wall. I went with a zombie swamp theme. There was supposed to be a contest with voting, but there was just too much going on. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, anyway, and everyone loved it. It's hard to see all the detail but there are fairy lights in those (real) tree branches and a little lantern. I used green mesh for the moss. All those little light things in the picture are zombies and other assorted swamp creatures.

These are my coworkers' walls. They are really cute, but we obviously had different visions. Ha!

There were some really great costumes (wish I could share them, but if you are friends with me on Facebook you can see the official post from work that I shared).

And finally, there was me, the crazy cat lady.

Now on to Sunday Stealing...

1. Local events, parades, or festivals - either in your hometown or state.  There are so many holiday markets coming up this month I don't know where to start with those, several towns have Christmas parades and Indiana, PA (Jimmy Stewart's hometown) has the It's a Wonderful Life parade. Of course, every community has its light up night.

2. Life update - what's happened recently, moving house, family wedding, vacation, new pet, visited with a friend, and so on.  I already covered what's been happening at work. At home, I kept our daughter's dog for the past week while they were on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN. They just got home tonight. 

3. Do you have any family traditions this month?  We got married in November so celebrating that is a tradition, I suppose. We will be marking 40 years on the 17th. There is always the big family dinner on Thanksgiving and playing games and watching movies or the dog show afterward. (We are not big football fans.) Thanksgiving weekend is always for decorating for Christmas.

4. The holidays are about two months away, do you begin shopping or creating now, or wait for December?  There's no hard or fast rule on that for me, but I started in September this year. With the economy the way it is, then the whole thing with the dock workers' strike looming, it felt a little more pressing to get started. I've been picking things up here and there when I come across something I know will be loved.

5. What is your favorite November memory?  Our wedding, of course! It was big and fun...and it was the last time my whole extended family was together. Other than that, I'd have to say one of my fondest memories is of the Thanksgiving when my son was a year old. We were living with my grandmother and my parents had arrived the day before. We spent the evening in the kitchen, even Tim and my dad, making the stuffing and doing all the prep work for the next day. My dad NEVER did stuff like that and Tim rarely does so it was a very special time of talking and laughing.

6. Now that the weather is getting cooler do you prefer staying indoors or going outdoors? What do you do?  It hasn't really gotten all that much cooler yet. The nights do cool down but the days are still pretty warm for this time of year. I like the indoors and outdoors equally, but with all the trouble my legs give me these days I'm prone to be indoors more. I enjoy watching the fire, cooking heartier meals, watching movies, playing games, doing puzzles, and reading.

7. Describe your favorite local restaurant.  Keystone Kitchen is a little place in a nearby town (less than 10 miles) that serves great homemade foods. It's casual and very friendly. Megan's family likes to go there, too.

8. Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving?  Thanksgiving. Friends are always welcome at that.

9. If you could take any class, what would you select?  I've always thought it would be fun to take a couple's cooking class. I'm not sure Tim shares that thought so probably some kind of art or craft class.

10. To celebrate November would you rather enjoy pumpkin pie or sweet potato? Pumpkin! I am that girl who started eating and drinking everything pumpkin spice flavored back in September.

11. How do you handle setbacks or failures?  Admittedly, there may be some frustration and/or tears, but that is usually short-lived. I tend to pick myself up, dust myself off and see what I can do to fix the situation. If I can't fix it, I try to learn something from it. Then I move on.

12. If everything in your house had to be one color, which color would you choose?  I have no idea. I tend to hate monotone color schemes when I see them. I love color and like to use it (my living room walls are pumpkin spice orange). There is a lot of brown in the mix, though...so maybe all shades of brown. If you're forcing me.

13. Who or what would you haunt if you were a ghost?  I don't want to haunt anyone or anything.

14. Have you ever worn clothing with the labels still attached?  Not on purpose.

15. What's something weird you recommend everyone try at least once?  Taking a walk in a cemetery, looking at the artistry of the headstones, reading the stones, thinking about the people's lives.