Giveaways Should Be Arriving

Life got in the way and I was running so behind getting all these in the mail, but they are all one the way. I have 10 packages from the giveaways between the two blogs and one that I sponsored on Magical Holiday Home forum.

The challenge was finding boxes for some of them! In one case, I opened the container and flattened it out and added the items to a small flat rate box. It was plenty big to hold things, but in the original container of the table items, they were stacked and made for a deeper and smaller shape. I did include the original plastic box container. I hope you don't mind dear friend. I think that this was Country Wings gift.

I also left all the small cards at home when I went to the postal center on Friday with these, so they only have the return address! I did put printersdevil above my name and address for those of you who will remember that instead of my given name-Felecia.

Sorry for the delay. I hope that you each enjoy your items.
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My dear sister was with me for almost a week at the end of July-first of August just prior to her move to Nebraska. During this time we also had her precious granddaughters and little grandson for a lot of the time. We had our CIJ family dinner on August 2. I found out that it is way too hot in Texas to cook like this during the heat of the summer! It was great though.

We had around 25 for Sunday dinner and about the same number again on Monday evening for left overs. Dear sis's "man" flew in on Tuesday afternoon so we had the crew again on Tuesday evening. We had planned to all go out to eat that night, but decided that it would be more relaxed to just eat here. We tried to go simple with hamburgers and hot dogs, chip and dip and cookies. However, after a trip to Sam's Club and Walmart, we ended up also picking up potato salads, baked beans and the chips and dips. We also had over 40 ears of Nebraska corn.

Dan called and we asked about the corn in his area and said that we loved corn on the cob. Then he called back that he was bringing corn! It wasn't really food that fit the menu, but it was so fresh! He bought it from a farmer who had picked it that morning!

He brought it in a carry-on collapsible ice chest. He had called to make sure it was okay. However, when he got to the airport it set off the alarms and had to be unloaded piece by piece to be checked. It must have been hilarious. He had one woman who told him that she was going to grab the bag and run! It was the first time for him to meet much of our family and I think he was an instant hit with the corn. Actually he is a keeper and would have been a hit anyway.
But, he sure found his way into this family's heart through the stomach and love of fresh veggies.

Tanya (DSis) and Dan left here on Wednesday almost two weeks ago after we loaded the huge U-Haul to the brim. There wasn't room for much more than a small pillow!! Her SUV was also packed and on a trailer pulled behind as they headed north. My DH and I helped them load everything from her two storage sheds and came home and took a long nap. That afternoon, DD called on her way home to ask me to have the door open since it was storming. I got up and opened the door to find it almost dark and my huge oak trees bending over. DD got home and in about 15 minutes our electricity popped off. Just a few minutes later, my niece called and was hysterical. I thought she was saying that a train was in the middle of her house. We rushed out and headed over there. They do have a train track close by, but it runs the other direction, so I knew that wasn't what was wrong. She was frantic and crying about not finding the babies--her dogs. When we got there, we found a 65 foot tree of about 4 1/2 foot in diameter that had crashed through the side of their house and fell through the roof! My nephew was in the room that it came through and flattened. He had gotten up to go open the blinds when the electricity popped off and saw the tree coming down. He threw one of the little chiauhauas toward the door and tried to get out. He took a lot of impact from limbs and debris, but fortuanately got out enough not to be crushed by the tree. Fast forward a few hours and we had about 15 back here eating left-overs again since we got our power turned on first. They released him from the hospital thankfully with only bruises and sprains.

To say it has been a crazy few weeks is an UNDERSTATEMENT! They spent that night with us as it continued to rain and storm. Their insurance company put them in a hotel the next day but they joined us a couple of times to eat during the week at night and often during the day to get out. We had had their Mini Pin, two birds and fish until tonight. They finally got them into a rental house on Saturday, but they still don't have it furnished completely. I think everything else is to arrive in the morning. At this point, the decision has not been made on whether they are going to pull the house completely down or not. The contractor says that the weight bearing walls are ruined. The tree fell completely through into the laundry room and two huge limbs into the kitchen and living room by morning. It was and is horrendous.

So, needless to say, I haven't felt much like blogging. I also started back to work today. I only work part time and am off in the summer, but during the first few weeks of the school year I am there full time. So, this is my crunch time.

I have been popping in and out doing some reading, but I will be back!!!!! Thanks for the comments that have been left lately. See you soon!

Felecia~printersdevil