Charity Never Faileth: Where did I go?

I have had so many people ask me this past week or so where I have been as it has been so long since I posted on here.. Gee didn't know I was so popular hehehe. For the most part I was getting ready for our 12th annual Tri-Stake Finding Your Roots Seminar. We had the greatest attendance this year since 2002 so was VERY excited about that. But basically for the 2 weeks prior to that I was literally eating breathing and sleeping family history.. no wait.. I never slept so cross that one off! When I wasn't working on getting ready for that I have just been spending time with my family. I have been trying to not think of my surgery coming up in 2 weeks today. I developed complications from the last one and a part of me is hesitant about going through it again or even have more surgery. I am really dreading it. But this pain in my chest has got to get resolved. Very few people see the "real" me outside of my family and very close friends that know me but it sure has been difficult putting on a smiling face lately.

We went to our annual Pumpkin Patch. I was very very disappointed. We went to the place we normally go to. They had a petting zoo, a haunted house, a corn maze, a smaller maze for children, a refreshments place, a picnic area with a play place for children, a store that sold produce and homemade items. But there was new owners and they got rid of EVERYTHING other then the pumpkin patch. Everything. When we inquired they said it was too expensive to keep the animals and the gas for the tractor that gave the hayrides. DUH!! Do you realize that you are now going to lose customers who are going to go elsewhere? As it was while we were there 4 car loads of people came in, asked what happened and when told they just got back in their cars and drove off. But we stayed as we didn't know where another place was. It was ok and the kids all got pumpkins and that was the main thing. But next year we won't be going there! Plus they charged by weight of the pumpkin!! WHAT?? It's always been you paid $2.50 for admission and you got what pumpkin you could carry. Rip off!

We had our annual Trunk or Treat on Halloween and that was a lot of fun. I always enjoy going out trick or treating with the grandchildren :)We went to this one house that really had their yard decorated as a haunted place! I wish I had taken a picture of it. Well all the kids would walk up to the door and the adults would wait on the sidewalk but at this house just as the kids got off the driveway onto the entrance to the house Ghosts and skeletons "fell" out of the upstairs windows on ropes and a guy jumped out from behind one of the cars. Well one of the little girls just screamed and started crying lol. She came running to Lareta to be picked up. We thought ok well she is done trick or treating now but she just told Mommy to go with her. I guess the need for the treat was greater then the fear of the unknown :) Lareta asked the guy to take his mask off which he did and he was apologetic :)Then after we did that we headed off to our church where the trunk or treat is held. Basically the children play games for an hour or so inside the gym while the adults decorate their cars. Then the children go car to car to get their treats. It is a safe place for the children. They know the treats they are getting, parents don't have to worry about strangers and adults can actually make homemade treats without thinking it's a waste of time as parents will just throw it in the garbage can. It was a great night.

I am doing a Christmas Baking Exchange on December 2nd so am working on the invitations for that to hand out this weekend. I also am making Christmas ornaments for the staff at the Family History Centre so have been working on that this past couple of weeks.

I have been trying to keep busy which has been hard to do with this rainy weather. I know it's my bad time with my FM and I try and get ready for the season. I increase my Vitamin D to 2000mg a day and make sure I stay warm wearing socks and slippers in the house. I have been working on getting our heat bill down so we have been keeping our thermostat down but being a ground floor apartment it's on a cement floor so it's always cold. We have used our fireplace as well. Keith has firewood from his work so that has been nice. Last week at our granddaughter's sleepover we had a fire going. They thought we were camping and they wanted a tent set up. We compromised by letting them have their beds in the living room but they wanted to roast marshmallows. The only ones I had were the minis and there was NO WAY I was going to let them roast those. So I guess I better remember to get some tomorrow for their sleepover.

I am doing a family reunion for my dad's family next summer and just found out that the parish hall just became available. Whoever had booked it before changed their minds so I was VERY happy to hear that. We were going to have it at the other hall but it technically holds only 100 and I am thinking we are going to be about 130 so we would have been squished. And you can not dance the butterfly in a squished room! I have been working on that, lining up things for the children to do, enough activities to keep the adults occupied and doing everything I can ahead of time. I am really looking forward to that:) I haven't seen most of my cousins since my dad died 19 years ago. I wasn't able to attend my grandmother's funeral which was after that so a lot of my cousins are now grandparents so will be a wonderful gathering.

So that's about it for me. Same old same old different day :) Here are some pictures of the last month's activities :)