Friday, December 28, 2018

Nature Friday, Catchup on Cards, and Family Fun

So FINALLY we have to something to share on Nature Friday, sponsored by Jakey, Arty, and Rosy from LLB in our Backyard.

This is the first year that Mom has NOT put her Christmas cacti away in the dark for the autumn months. Truth be told, she forgot to do it. Of course, putting them in the dark never worked very well for her. The plants would bloom, but NOT for Christmas.

Well, guess what happened this year?  They ALL bloomed for Christmas. In fact, the first buds opened on Christmas Eve.





 This white one has a double bud on one stem!!!

 And another flower that wants to stand up very straight and tall!



This is the newest cactus that Mom bought this summer when it was all in bloom.  It doesn't have as many flowers as the other two do, but it still flowered for Christmas.




Here is a full view of the mantle over the fireplace in the kitchen.  So pretty, Mom.

Since we posted photos of the many cards we received from our blogging pals last week (click HERE to see that post), a few more cards have arrived. Mom is keeping her fingers crossed that she didn't forget anyone.  But if she did, we send great big thanks to ALL who sent us cards, email and snail mail.

A few new snail mail greetings:



Clockwise from top:  Millie and Walter, Kat and Gus, and Aunty Yam.




From top to bottom:  Tazo and the Merolli Family; Butterfly, Peekaboo, and Angel Smoky; and sweet Ruby and her Mom.

And some more via email:




Thank you all again so very much.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with lots of good family time.  We had a blast.  The house was bustling with people for four days.  Good food, lots of laughs, fun times, and new memories.

Jigsaw puzzles are always a big hit with all of our family.  Here is one that was completed while everyone was here.  The grandkids especially loved it since they recognized many of the books that Grandma, a.k.a. our Momster, read to them when they were younger.  Even the adult kids remembered them. Another Santa Claus puzzle was started but not finished.  Mom says no puzzle should go unfinished, so she is determined to get it done.  It has a lot of dark areas in it so it is a tough one, but we know she will get it done. 

Another activity that seems to be becoming a family tradition is a visit to one of the many Escape Rooms in our area.  Everyone except Dad did this one on Christmas Eve morning. He had some last minute work stuff to finish.  At Tick Tock Escape, they have the option to do a challenge.  They have two identical rooms with the same setup.  Two teams race against each other to finish first.  One room had Mom, her two daughters, and the four youngest grandchildren.  The other room had Mom's son, two sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, and the two oldest grandchildren.  The room was called "Pyramid Paradox".  Everyone agreed that it was quite challenging AND a ton of fun.  And guess what?  Mom's room won by 4 minutes and 33 seconds!!!  Woo Hoo!!!


Family Fun Photo!!!

Now you may be wondering about us.  We LOVE having the whole gang here.  We get lots and lots of attention.  Someone is always wanting to pet us or play with us or give us treats.  We didn't get to share the main menus of chicken marsala and ham because Mom didn't want us to get sick.  We did get some nibbles of shrimp and crab.  But it was still fun to be with everyone.  Even Lightning got in on the fun, whereas he used to always go to a quiet corner.

Now the time has come to put Christmas away until next year. We think our tree looks pretty sad with all the decorations removed.  Mom is waiting for one of the sons-in-law to come over and get it to the basement for her.


We decided to perk up the tree with a nice pose for you.

Even the cute Santas and stuffies that rested on this hearth have disappeared.  But once again, it gives room for us to sit nicely for Mom so we can get some of those tasty cookies we got for Christmas.

Woos - Lightning (yep, I am happily coneless since last Saturday and doing very well), Misty, and Timber





24 comments:

  1. It looked like a super Christmas. Lady went to clean up Christmas but Man insisted it stay until the 1st, so she is living with this!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your mom's Christmas cactus are just beautiful! I wonder when mom will take down her trees. She is still so attached to the beautiful lights!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow!! What beautimous Christmas Cactus!!!!! How awesome to have them bloom on Christmas!!

    What a fun time you had with your family!!
    xoxo,
    Rosy, Jakey & Arty

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hari OM
    ooohhhhhhh - you got me at puzzles! What a happy gang you have around you. Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Christmas cactuses are a Christmas miracle. We love getting Christmas cards. It looks like your mom is a good puzzle solver. We might have to call her if we get stuck.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You Christmas cacti are beautiful. I am glad you had a wonderful holiday. XO

    ReplyDelete
  7. That cactus sure is pretty and so are those cards! WOW, an Escape Room sounds interesting and congrats to Team Mom!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That sounds like a fun activity. We're glad to see your cacti were all blooming just in time for Christmas. It's great to see that Lightning has been cone free for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Appaws appaws the cacti are gorgeous! Wow! Bryan’s mom had a green thumb w them too.
    Escape room looks like It was a smashing success! You are one fine planner!

    Love the colorful card display.

    Kathie your family is beautiful‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

    Hello to my Woeful friends too.

    It has rained cats and dogs all day. We broke an annual rainfall record set in 1996. Over 60” and more rain coming next week
    Hugs Cecilia aka Swish mom


    ReplyDelete
  10. What a wonderful Christmas you all had! Hooray!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your Christmas cactuses (cacti?) are absolutely stunning! Love the white one!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm glad you had a wonderful Christmas. It's all about family and your three four legged family members are the best.

    Have a woof woof weekend. My best to your peeps. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sure sounds like a fun Christmas at your house. That is one big bunch of people. We just bet those Woos had a great time too. Love the picture of everyone. The Christmas cactus looks great. We have one of those.
    You have a great week end.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds like a wonderful family get together. Bet there were lots of laughs. We think the cacti just want to stay out all year!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gail and I are VERY impressed by your punctual cacti!
    Toodle pip!
    Bertie.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your Christmas cacti are beautiful. How fun to make some wonderful family memories
    hugs
    Hazel & Mabel

    ReplyDelete
  17. Yay! What fun... puzzles, both the traditional kind and the escape room kind! Fun for all, including handsome Lightning. Woo hoo! Truly the Chronicle of Woo Hoos!!!!

    I'm so glad that you had such a good Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow! How neat is that?! I love the fact the Christmas cacti are actually blooming now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. How lovely that the Christmas cactus all bloomed. It's kind of sad to put all the decorations away. I have New Year's party tomorrow so mine are still all up. I'm off next week too so perhaps they will get put away then.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Charlee: "What a great Christmas present, being cone-free! Yay Lightning!"
    Chaplin: "And yay for Christmas cacti blooming when they're supposed to. I guess they finally looked at a calendar!"

    ReplyDelete
  21. I think an escape room sounds like fun! But Momma says I can't go because I'd just sniff out the answers right away and take all the challenge of it. Gotcha!

    The one grandbiped's shirt made Momma smile. She had just about the same one. She went to the same school, and managed the boys' basketball team. :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your Christmas cacti are so prolific! We can never get ours to bloom at the right time! And all your cards are so nice! We are happy that you got to spend some fun time with all your humans...bet you got LOTS of love!

    Kiki and Nala

    ReplyDelete
  23. How lovely that cacti all bloomed for Christmas. That must be a good sign for things to come in 2019. I love the family photo - how fun that you were all together for the holidays! Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2019!

    ReplyDelete
  24. What an INCREDIBLE holiday you all had and I LOVE the group photo!! Super special and pawesome memories for sure!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for wooing at us. We love your comments!