Happy Weekend End Everyone...Oh Yeah, And...

...get your flu shots! Protect yourself from this evil, maniacal force that is the flu.....bwhabwhahaha. Scared ya didn't I?

Okay, yes. I HAD a regular flu shot but that didn't protect me from what they *say* was a lovely strand of H1N1. And Grace had BOTH shots. But the flu caught her before the shots took hold sooooo...oh what fun she and I have had playing "Pass The Bug". We laugh and laugh and then we cough and cough and wheeze and wheeze. Oh my. But we are quickly becoming human beings again. Or at least, SHE is. It has never fully been determined WHAT I am. Ahem.

Thank you for your sweet emails and comments. It is always nice to know that a friend cares! And I love ya'll back. *smile*

Thank you also to my husband who actually gets online every now and then and posts for me! Not that *I* consider him the "lucky" one as he wrote...it is ME who is blessed. He has been so good and caring and even Dan and Grace have been fussing over me. Or were they just fussing? No...they were actually being sweet. Grace would make Chicken and Stars soup (Don't ask. It just tastes good to me when nothing else does!) and bring it to me when I didn't think I could eat a thing this week. Dan went out to get me drinks and even fluffed a pillow or two. Thanks guys...*smile*

I was dragging due to this asthma phooey while in the Windy City but still loved seeing our friends Jim and Meredith, Sheila, Tony, Tony Jr. and Lisa, Kate and Ginny and Amy and Jolee. Chicago is ALWAYS wonderful and never more so than on a sweet, warm and sunny Fall weekend.

I have some pictures of the kids to share and will as soon as I can. So much to catch up on! As I just wrote my friend Sue, I MAY catch up by next May. IF I am lucky!

But we HAVE begun our Christmas shopping (Shopping online and thanks to my sweet husband who slogged through the crowds on Veteran's Day to get Dan and Grace their *Big* gifts!) and planning Thanksgiving dinner. Wow is this month speeding past! Weren't there just trick or treaters at our front door? Whew.

Thank you for your prayers for my sister in law. Her surgery went well and she is without pain in her back for the first time in weeks. She has a bit of recovery to do but things are looking up! I have been able to help with Brady this week so my brother didn't have miss more work than he needed to. But Boo has been good and loves to play Wii with his cousins so they keep him well entertained!

I hope all is well for each one of you. This glorious season is just flying by so I do hope you have had the chance to get out and really enjoy all it's beauty. Life is so short and filled with so, so much joy. I hope you are able to reach out and grab a lot of it for yourself! You are SO worth it!

Love to you all!

Love and Hugs,

Susie Q

Blowin' In From The Windy City...

Just a few of Susie's pictures from this past weekend in Chicago. We had a great time visiting with good friends and seeing a little more of this wonderful city. As you know, my girl has been fighting a bug and not quite up to snuff of late. Her asthma is really taking a toll on her so I have asked her to rest and take it easy. She will be back blogging and visiting all of you soon! I can not keep her down for long!

She and I would also like to ask for your prayers and good thoughts as Susie's brother's wife undergoes surgery tomorrow.

I hope each one of you is well and having a nice November!

Thank you for always being so good to my girl.

Cheers!

Susie's lucky husband Bill

Uh huh...Still...*cough*..Here...*sniffle*...

...but slow. Oh so slow. Yup. The old girl is still here but running on fumes this week. Thanks to the delightful Mr. D. for reminding everyone that I had a birthday. I just wasn't feeling well enough to do the post I wanted to do soo...whew. Isn't it good to know he can be depended on in a pinch? *sly grin* What a guy huh?

(These photos are part of a series I took last week near Yellow Springs, Ohio.
These are straight from the camera, raw and untouched.)

Uh huh. Yesterday I turned 53 and it was pretty sweet. Except for the fact that I have felt pretty lousy for a few days, I have been spoiled and coddled and loved..not only yesterday but for the last 2 weeks really.

I don't deserve it but I will take it with a big smile on my face and be so grateful for it!

I will have much to report, photos to share and many thanks to send out

 but for now it is back to rest & recover.

And yes! I do remember the giveaway! Aha! You didn't really think I would forget that now did you? Pshaw.

I have 3 winners to announce and will...tomorrow!

Thank you to all who left such sweet comments and congratulations on my blogging anniversary. I really have no idea where the past 3 years have gone but I have loved every minute I have spent as part of this warm and wonderful online community.

 Our October has been just glorious and I have enjoyed each day of it.

I hope you too have celebrated this month and reveled in it's special beauty!

Stay well!

Love and Hugs to you all,

Susie Q

Hey Hey What D'Ya Say...

...We're the Elks and we came to play!

Yup. The kid is now a cheerleader. Pom Poms, a 5 inch thick rules & regulations manual to learn and a zillion dollars worth of outfits and equipment later and it is official! But doesn't she look adorable in the camp outfit? Camp begins the first week of August and she is so excited!

On the 4th of July she and the other girls walked in the Americana Parade here and what fun she had! The expected rain held off until the parade ended so it was

a huge success!

Me? Not so much! *sniff* Mom here was home, in bed, with a virus. Uh huh. All our 4th plans went up in a cloud of fire crackers.

But I am not whining...really! My Mom and Bill enjoyed the parade and Bill taped the entire thing for me so we all watched together. The cookout I planned was postponed but heck. Burgers and hot dogs taste good any time right?

The rest of the family watched fireworks at the high school but Kip, Lucy and Henry and I cuddled under a quilt and watched them on TV. The Fur Three are always good at cheering me up!

I am still not 100% better but well enough to have worked in the yard today! Grace and I spent 3 hours weeding the beds and trimming. This kid loves to pitch in with yard work! I never even have to ask! Me? I have to BEG myself to do it! Truly! Sad isn't it? Puuuuullllleeeezzzeeee Sue? I will let you watch a Brian Dennehy movie if you go out and weed for 1 hour! And so I go, grumbling at myself but I go. *grin*

We are getting ready to head off on vacation this coming weekend...I hope to have oodles of photos to share with you all upon our return. Going to Orange Beach, Gulf Shores Alabama for the week. Poor Dan has to work so he is tending to the house, yard watering and caring for the Fur Three. They are just grateful NOT to be in a kennel! Whoo Hoo!

We are meeting a few of the families that were in China with us. We love these people so much and are so grateful that all of us have stayed close and meet once a year for a reunion. We all can't be at each one but as many come as is possible and those that are not with us are there in spirit and in our hearts. We do share photos and call with one another but seeing the children in person is always such a joy. Grace, the honorary big sis of the group, delights in the little ones, all of which turn 6 this year! That does not seem possible! It was 5 years ago September that found all of us in China...

I hope your week is going well and that your 4th holiday was a sweet one!

Yesterday was Ritter's Dog night and Kip is hard at work on his post to share!

I have promised him to add it to the blog before we head South...

Stay cool, smile a lot and enjoy each day! They are such precious gifts!

Love and Hugs,

Susie Q

Giveaways And Snow And Hellos And Thank Yous And Blogging Weekends....

This has been my entire diet for days now!

And yes! This will be a rambling and scattered post! You figured out that from the headline right? You are all keen minds today! Hi to all my sweet friends and thank you for your prayers and dear wishes. I still feel awful so will not be on here much...I am a MAJOR big baby when it comes to stomach issues. YUCK! Thank you to Billy for being so good and yes. He has been really an angel to me of late. Not that he isn't MOST of the time...well...mostly anyway...well, there are SOME days ya know...ahem. I miss you all and miss blogging and my house is a mess and I have not held up my responsibility with my Church board duties (the minutes were due Sunday and I have yet to type them...I couldn't, I swear...and I worry about being a let down. See what a foo foo head I am?). You should hear the dreams I have been having...I doubt I could even begin to write down all the details suffice to say they are wild and weird and, hm. Maybe I should not really tell anyone this. Scratch that. My dreams have all been perfectly normal. Uh huh. N.O.R.M.A.L. But what IS normal anyway? Uh oh. I can now hear Mama Gump clearly in my head...is THAT normal? Please remember that you do NOT have to be a One Heart One World giveaway participant to enter the giveaway! I know there are a few of you, some I know very well, who have yet to enter mine. Now, perhaps you are thinking you have enough *stuff* or that Valentine's Day will be over when you get these things. There is always next year you silly head! And can we ever really have enough useless stuff? Nah...so add a comment, something like, "Okay Sue, Get off my back. I entered already!" and you just might win my superdeduper, um, snazzy, exciting...okay. Pretty mundane, bordering on not much, giveaway! Yippee! And it snowed last night, about 5 inches. Not enough to keep Bill home but Grace is here and happy as can be. She is making Valentine's Day gifts and writing her class party cards. Dan is here typing up his term paper too and the pets are all under various blankets and throws. Now, no one has mentioned it in awhile and it will be Memorial Day before we know it. It WILL! Do any of you still want to try for a Memorial Day Bloggy Babe Weekend? Was St. Louis still an option that would work for the most people? Center of the country an all... I would be happy to arrange a block of rooms in a hotel if I had a general idea how many would come. Keep in mind that a room can always be canceled later, but to get a block arranged, I have to give them a general #. And then you all would have to call in and make your reservations. Any ideas or input is VERY welcome and ever so wanted. I am easy as can be, I just so want to be able to see as many of you as possible! Let me know okay? You can email me or leave a message via comment here...let's DO this thing!! I wanted to post something we saw last week during Grace's teacher meetings. I had not seen this one and loved it...it seemed appropriate for a Wintry day like today. Thank you again for being so sweet (Not that this was a surprise to me!) Stay well and smile, a lot okay?

Love to you all. Susie Q