An Exciting Day!

I got my sugar cookies baked yesterday. Boy they turned out the best ever! I didn't over bake any & I didn't eat any (until last night - I had one with a cup of tea). I was going to decorate (frost) some today, but didn't have time.

I was so excited about today that I didn't take the batteries out of the charger before I went to my Bob Ross paint class, so I can only show you the finished project. It was fascinating & fun. I was so nervous at every step. Putting that oil paint on that canvas isn't like drawing with a pencil with an eraser. I think frosting cakes is easier. They are about the same when it comes to the intricate work & time, but some times the knack just wasn't there. I had the biggest trouble with putting the snow on the mountains & painting pine trees! They make it look so easy, but try doing it! Tap & squish & all those other terms just ran together. Sounded & looked easy when the teacher did it, but by the time you got back to your easel you forgot the first step. We only used 3 colors & then mixed one with those 3 colors. Used 5 different brushes. Everybodys turned out very nice. Not exactly like the display picture, but that is what made each one unique. I was quite pleased even if my one tree was a little goofed up on the branches. Once it was done you could hardly tell from a distance. Here it is:

Right now it is setting on my couch. It has to dry for about 7-10 days. And guess what???? I only have 2 possibilities of where I can hang it & one of those is in the bathroom!!!

Also, I tried to take a couple pictures of my Scratch Art projects. They are harder to take because of the black & the shiny part after scratching off the black paint. This is done on a piece of aluminum that has been spray painted black. It is addicting. I worked on it for about 2 hrs. last night, but my neck was pretty tense when I gave up & said that was enough for one night.

Hey, Toni, beautiful table runner huh? It usually runs the other way, but Bill has to move it to read his paper. No table is complete without W.W. journal & napkins either right? Speaking of W.W., they now have a new/old program. Kind of goes back a few years, but adds a little new to it. I'm sure those who did only Core don't like it as you have to track your points. So that part isn't much different for me.

Our friends, Phyllis & Tom, made it from Iowa today. They ended up taking the southern route through Texas, N. Mexico & Arizona. She has a lead foot & they made it here by 3pm this afternoon. She didn't want to miss her Friday night fish fry at the Legion with the rest of the gang. It was so good to see them & give big hugs! They are real sweethearts! I think everyone who went by had a "sweetheart" greeting for Tom! Thank goodness Faye checked the menu & we can start going with them as they have roasted chicken. That means I don't have to eat Fried Fish.

Bill & I went to Taylor Rays a nice restaurant (like Perkins back home) where you can get all the fish you can eat on Friday nights (even if they bake it!) That's unusual. But of course, we can only eat one helping. You get a lot to start with.

After supper, we took another trip to the Mormon Temple to see if we could get better pictures than last time. I guess my camera just doesn't like Christmas lights. The video turned out ok, but the still pictures were still blurry. I'll post them even though they aren't great. I just want you to get an idea of how many lights they have up. It takes them 3 days to decorate it all. That is amazing! We were fascinated at how they decorated. Some were a whole string of lights just grouped together in trees & along the fences. Some were shaped like hyacinths in the gardens, others just grouped to look like a bouquet of flowers. So even though the pictures are so-so, take a look.

I hope you get the idea of what it looked like. As always, pictures never do justice to what you can see with the human eye!

When we got home tonight we had new neighbors! A big 40' 5th wheel like ours only a Montana is right next to us where Chuck & Denice were last year. They are from New Mexico & will be here for about 3 months. They were here last year on the same street only on the North half. We introduced ourselves (it was dark out when they got here) & their names are Camille & Roger. I felt sorry for them trying to park that big rig in the dark! But I think he did a better job than we did in the daylight! Must have had more practice than us. That backing up is a pain! They are a couple about our age so it will be fun to have neighbors. I just hope they don't mind us using that side of our trailer to sit in the sun. We don't get any on the door side of our trailer. I told them what we did last year with Chuck & Denise with our patio rug out there & then shared it. They have a big dually like us though, so doesn't leave a lot of room for rug, but at least we can sit & visit.

Tomorrow morning is breakfast at the club house & then I'd better get busy finishing up my cookies. Next week I'm cooking the turkey for our table for Christmas. Will have to shop for that on Sunday as we don't have a freezer to put that in. Gene & Faye didn't have room in theirs either, so I just need to make room in the fridge. Soooooooo glad we have 2 refrigerators in this rig. Why did I ever think I could get away with one?????

Well, I think this about updates us for now. Finally got a few pictures. Until next time.................... The Traveling Cardinal's