Merry Christmas Friends and Family! I always think of the wonderful times I have had on Christmas, and the "little things" that bring me such joy during this season. I often look around to find the smallest reminders that it isn't what I receive or give as a gift, but the gifts that are all around me in sights, sounds and smells. Like the tree, for instance. Just the smell of a Christmas tree can trigger such good thoughts and remembrances of the past. Christmas carols and songs are playing at my home pretty much 24/7. I know Roger gets bored with it, but I sure don't! I love jingle bells, twinkling lights, red bows, green garland, icicles, flannel sheets, baking cookies, the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon and clove, singing to the music playing in the background, wrapping presents, a crackling fire, making pinecone treats for the birds, and A WHITE CHRISTMAS !!!! ( which is pretty hard to get around Atlanta!)

Bandit wants a live squirrel, cat, or bunny for Christmas this year. He thinks if he is a good boy, Santa will leave him one! ( yeah, right!)

From our home to yours, we wish y'all the very best time this Christmas and a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all !!!

Thought you might enjoy a few of my recent pics.... Although we have had one of the driest seasons on record, we have had one of the most colorful fall seasons I can remember since I moved here 21... (ugh!) years ago! Yeah, I said it. 21 years..... I hope not to make it to 22, though.

Oak leaves ^

Sugar Maples outside our office building.... and I have a huge window to look at them, too!

Artsy angle photography!

Color color color! How do you name this one? Orange? Red? Orangy-reddish-pinky-yellow?

I liked the leaves on this maple.... yellow with broun edges! Nice contrast, I think.

As they say here in the Ol'e South.....

Please Pass the cornbread dressin' and some of that there Sweet Potatoe Souffle' honey-chile'...oh! and would ya pass them thar beans 'n greens? They are smack-yo'-mama good!

Boy, am I thirsty!!

So, as most of you have heard, we here down in the South are in a big drought. But what most of you may not know, is how serious of a drought it really is. Our lakes are nearly empty, and we hear daily that the supply may be gone in less than three months. ( that is IF the Army Corp of Engineers continues to release the amounts of water they have been releasing from our dams.)
I took my camera and found some areas very close to me that were shocking to say the least.
This photo shows both the lake and the sign that shows the park closed sign due to low water. This park has a boat ramp that hasn't been used since early this summer. This photo shows how the levels of the water have changed. I could wade through this if I wanted to.

This pic was taken from the top of a boat ramp overlooking Lake Allatoona .

this view shows the dry lakebed. Sad, huh!

Fun in the summer sun? If you like hiking to the waters edge! Not to mention the dead fish stench in the air!

Long story short: Please help us by praying for rain! Even our Gov. Sonny Perdue has called for prayer causing trouble from all the athiests! Let's show them who is really in charge!

Okay....so it's still the same month since the last post.... at least I tried!
I took a trip with a couple of friends to the Atlanta Botanical gardens...actually, it's sort of a standing date with us. We are all into photography, and the Scarecrows in the Garden exhibit is always a fun time.
The pumpkins and squash are so interesting to me. These two look like warty green apples to me! Cute, huh!

Of course, what would a garden be without butterflies?

Or bees?

The bee is carved out of wood. There is also an exhibit called "Giant bugs and deadly plants" going on. There were bees, butterflies, praying mantis, ladybugs, spiders, ants and other bugs I've never heard of!

The volunteers were busy planting spring bulbs.... I always wondered how many they put in there!

This one reminds me of the Grateful Dead! --->

This vulture was staring me down!

This scarecrow was trying to chase off

crows... but not having much success!

The orchid house is one of my favorite places to wander around.



.........and they thought Mormon Crickets were large!

a ghost that looks frightened!

he's probably afraid of the spider! I know I would be! * heebie jeebie *

I was really amazed at the detail in the carvings. It was raining that day and that is why these look so shiny. This bee and flower were at least 10 feet tall!








This scarecrow looks very relaxed.... I think he thinks he is in Aruba! Someone should really tell him that Atlanta isn't a tropical paradise! Actually, this is the day that it rained.... a scarce occurance here in the South this year.... this drought makes me very thirsty!!!

This praying mantis was VERY kewl! I think it's my favorite!

more squash.... these look like acorns!

Scarlett O' Scara

This scarecrow was knitted by a knitting club... my favorite scarecrow of them all!

Blew out my flip-flop, stepped on a poptop...

Cruising the Western Carribean....
Our office took a cruise to Key West then onto Cozumel, Mexico and back last month. I haven't had much time to sit and post my blog until now, so be ready to see lots of pics and endure my rambling!
We flew to Fort Lauderdale and left from the port there, and this is the view from the ship. Our ship this cruise is Royal Carribean's "Enchantment of the Seas"... what a boat! Until you take a cruise, you cannot imagine the size of these ships. I was blown away the first cruise I took with our dental team... I was the only one of the bunch that had not cruised before. I think they all had fun watching me be amazed at everything about the ship. Shopping, eating, and sunbathing seem to rule on these boats!We left Ft. Lauderdale headed to Key West and this was the sunset view seen from the top of the ship. Oh, and I forgot to mention the feeling that I get when I am out in the ocean away from land.... It is a feeling of being so very small and insignificant in this big, big world. I remember the first cruise going up to the top of the boat at 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning and seeing the moon and the stars and looking at the reflection of the moon on the water and almost being overwelmed at how small I felt at that moment. It is unlike any feeling I have had being on land. On dry land, I am much bigger than so many things, but out on the water, I am nothing!

The next morning, we woke up and we were in Key West, Florida. Cute island! Very touristy, but fun to walk around and see the sites. The main island is 5 miles long, and 2 miles wide. Dr. DeMercy rented a golf cart that held all 7 of us and we cruised the streets, jumping out to take pics here and there.

Inside the ship view of the main courtyard looking up to the 9th floor... ( there are 12!) I told you the ship was huge!

Dr. and his wife, Tammy are the greatest bosses around! Very generous and kind. ( We are quite spoiled.)

This is one of my best friends, Rachel. She is our front desk appointment coordinator and she has such a cute personality! We get along great! Yes, I look goofy, but who cares? LOL


This is Mary, she is the 2nd assistant. She and I work very well together. Doesn't she look hot? lol..... truth be known, she is quite shy and I think she was a little overwelmed, too... this was her first cruise!

Norma.... what can I say? She is about as funny as anyone I know. She is one of the two hygienists, and she is also a flight attendant for Delta Airlines. She and I have similar personalities and we get along great, too! ( She is excited about eating! ) .... and I believe her wine was coming shortly, too. LOL

Looking up at a palm tree on Key West... ( one of my favorite pics)

This building is really easy to spot on the island because of the size and color. Most of the buildings on the island are white, yellow, beige, and pastels. Neat building, I think.

This is the Southernmost point in the United States. It is where Interstate 1 begins. Big tourist spot!
One of the most interesting things about Key West was all the free range chickens walking about. I took this pic because it was one of the only chickens I saw inside a fence. As we were leaving, he ducked under a hole in the fence, and wandered out! lol. The first chickens I saw were in the parking lot of City Hall! I was told by someone that cock fighting was popular in the '40's and '50's and when it became illegal, the chickens were let out to roam free and have been ever since. I guess if you were looking for a good chicken dinner, all you have to do is walk downt he sidewalk to find it! Hahaha!

Even the golf carts on the island are classics! Aren't these adorable? Ours had a VW bug front on it!

One of the things you do on a cruise is eat. and eat and eat and eat and eat....... well, you get the idea. This was my dessert one night. I thought it had character, so I took a pic of it... (after helping it a little, of course!)

Another thing that overwhelmed me on my first cruise was the dining room. This is what the place settings look like! I didn't know what utensils to use! Luckily, I was with company that had waaaay more class than I ! They showed me what fork to use and when to use it! Afterall, they bring out 5 courses! Truth be told, I think I just stuck with 1 fork, 1 knife and one spoon... and I drank water, so I didn't need the wine goblet! ( I am such a non high-society girl!)

I think Dr. and I were separated at birth!

The wait staff during our nightly meals performed dances and sang songs.... This guy was soo funny looking, but look at the talent! he is walking and dancing with a flower vase balanced on his head!!!

This is Pam. My roomate for the cruise and our other hygienist. She and I are scrapbooking buddies and we were the only other "marrieds" of the group. She is displaying her "mexican survival kit" she won one day at a shopping information gathering. It has a cozumel hat, a moracca, a blanket, two shot glasses and a bottle of Tequila... she doesn't drink, so she gave it to Rachel. (but not before a picture!) hahaha!

One of the fun things about a cruise is coming into your room after a day of playing to see a "towel animal" sitting there. Our cabin boy was very nice ( I don't think he could understand us, but he was very pleasant and was always smiling!)

Well, that's it for now... I hope it wasn't too much, but I had to pick from a TON of pics to narrow it down to a few. My next blog will be about the lakehouse and yet another scrapbook weekend!

Until then.... C/YA!