Yes, it has been a while since I posted. I caught a terrible cold right after Thanksgiving. I slept 12 hours EVERY NIGHT for like 3 weeks in a row! And I didn’t feel like blogging. So sue me!
I am feeling better but I still cough when I get up in the morning and I am still phlegm-y. Ugh!
Anyway, I had people over for Thanksgiving dinner. I made stuffed delicata squash, vegan mac n cheese, mushroom gravy, and stuffing. Chris and Polly brought a really yummy couscous salad. Here’s our meal:

So, what else have I been up to … I finished raking leaves, and I’ve been painting. I got the first floor bathroom floor replaced, and am in progress with replacing the insulation in the ceiling of the garage. Drywall to be installed tomorrow! And got a bunch of crap cleaned out of there while I was at it!

I made a “leaf tree” for my ex-boss who is retiring. We had over 240 people sign each leaf individually. I painted the tree, and then pasted all of the leaves onto it. First time I’ve used Rubber Cement since high school I think! Her party was last week and she (and everybody) really liked the tree!

And, I joined a Runner’s World Challenge – at least 1 mile per day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. I joined late because I was sick, and my IT Band is still acting up (although is much better) so I have been hiking rather than running, but, I’ve enjoyed doing the challenge anyway. I usually do more than 1 mile. And there is a Facebook page for it so everybody encourages everybody else, asks for advice, and posts their progress – it is world wide so lots of neat photos too!
And we had our first snow!
3 miles on this trail
Here’s my latest painting:


Here is a little ‘colander art’ thanks to the sun coming into the kitchen the other morning and making a nice shadow!
Anyway, I think I’m all caught up now. I saw a neat idea for making a ‘Christmas Tree’ out of branches wrapped in Christmas lights. I’m going to give it a shot – I found some decent branches out in the yard. I’ll check back in when I get it done! Talk soon!
UPDATE:
I forgot to mention that I moved nine 50 lb bags of wood pellets yesterday – that’s 450 lbs!! What a workout! And I also helped a lady at the grocery store – she was doing self-checkout for the first time, and she needed me to walk her through it. Anyway, I plan to make that branch tree today so I’ll do a new post later!
