Almost February!

Well, February is almost here! Usually, February is our month with the most snow and cold, gray days. But it seems like we have had a lot of that in January this year! We are leaving town next weekend to go to Vegas to see our nieces and nephew. We just finished packaging up our Valentines gifts for them.

Some of you know our friend, Skip Hoyt. Skip performed at our wedding reception and has also performed around town, and joined us on a few karaoke nights. Skip is in Atlanta this weekend performing for America's Got Talent. Way to go Skip!!!!! You can hear Skip perform most weekends at the Dock.

Stay warm and listen to some good tunes.

Cary

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful.......

Here comes the snow! I got off early today and joined hundreds of others in the slide down I-675. Hope you made it home safe and sound if you were out in it.

We have been ready for snow at our house for weeks. Down came the Santas and Up went the snowmen. Here are some glimpses of a few of the men who have taken over our home. There's much more~

Our snow should stop by tomorrow afternoon, then hopefully we will get some sun shining on our winter wonderland. Calling all wine drinkers!! Bundle up and come to the Taste of Wine for some singing! It is always a great night and standing room early, so come early to get a seat.

Musically, Cary

01-01-11

I hope you all had a great New Years Eve. Brenda and I celebrated with friends and the band 24/7. Good music and lots of dancing.

We asked our 100 year old Grandpa if he ever made New Year's resolutions. He said he had made them in the past but doesn't do them any more because they are just something to be broken. However, he has made 2 that he was able to keep. One was to never eat watermelon in the winter, and the other was to quit chewing tobacco (that was easy cause he tried it once and hated it)!

Today, Brenda and I sat down to review our "to do list". This is actually a "bucket list" but we developed it while sitting at the wine bar a few years ago, before the movie Bucket List appeared. Here is our progress, thus far:

1. Plan for retirement - We are back on track again this year, following 13 months of unemployment. We are so grateful for my job and we can plan for our future retirement once again.

2. Get together with Denise and Bill- These are our wonderful friends in Scotland. Since writing this, we have seen them in Mexico, Scotland and Malta! Keeping on track with this goal.

3. Celebrate our 50th anniversary! On track with this one! Brenda says she is not tired of me yet!

4. Go to Napa Valley- Not done yet, but we are certainly drinking more wine!

5. Go to the Greek Isles- Not done yet. Still a goal. Until then, we eat Greek food and go the the Greek festival....not a great substitution, but it's all we have!

6. Stay home one weekend night a month- We've been more of this, if I'm not working!

7. Entertain guests again- Yes, we have been doing more entertaining. Just small groups now, since we have downsized to our "cottage".

8. Get away every winter quarter. - Yes, have met this one. Florida 2 years ago, New Orleans last year and going to Las Vegas this February and New Orleans again this March.

9. Get back to Mexico! - Yes, met this one! We went to Puerto Vallarta in October. Wonderful!

10. Go see our Awesome A's - Yes, we were there in July and we had an Awesome stay with us for over a week this summer. We are also going back in February.

11. Make Christmas less chaotic - hmmmm. Making some progress. Our Christmas shopping was completed by November. And, we had a great Christmas in Evansville this year with a fun couple of nights thrown in staying at the boat (casino).

12. Become the "glue" - We have been working to get our family back in touch with one another and have accomplished that. We have reconnected with Brenda's cousins and brother and we have reunited my family through planning grandpa's 100th birthday party and continuing our contacts with one another.

13. Health and fitness- Well, this is ongoing!! End of discussion.

14. Save $3000 - On target. Uhhhh....would do better if we quit spending!

15. One week per month, do not go to the grocery - We have been striving to do this. Continued.

16. Hawaii cruise, or Alaska - Yes! We are booked for an Alaskan cruise in June! Can't wait!

17. Vacation with the "boys"- Yes! We are going to New Orleans with them in March!

18. Go to Sante Fe and Lake Garda - Future plans!

Happy New Year everyone! Whether you make resolutions, a bucket list or just let "come what may", I am wishing you great things in 2011!

Cary

And Visions of Sugarplums (dog treats) Danced In His Head

Our beloved Gizmo, is happy and joyous all year round but he still gets caught up in the excitement of Christmas. He was thrilled to see the Christmas tree go up Thanksgiving weekend, and more thrilled when we hung up his stocking. He spends hours laying under his stocking and staring at it...or sitting by us on the couch and gazing over at his stocking and wimpering. He also liked to lay near the gifts under the tree, looking but never disturbing them. Amazing that he can remember these things from a year ago!

Brenda and I shop for Christmas gifts year round, so our Christmas shopping was basically completed months ago. We only had a few things left to get. Those were for (you guessed it!) our dog and cat. Yes, we are among the pet owners out there who shop for their animals. So, we braved the Christmas crowds and horrific traffic to travel to two stores to find just the right gifts for our Gizmo and Ollie.

As I gave Gizmo his Christmas bath last night, Brenda stuffed the stockings and added his gift to those under the tree. Finally, THE night had arrived! As Brenda and I exchanged our gifts to one another, Gizmo got to open his gift. He carefully tore off the paper to reveal a giant teddy bear. The teddy bear was larger than he and wow, did he love it! That bear was drug from one end of the house to the other, shook, growled at, cuddled with and eventually slept with!

Gizmo also got to explore the contents of the stocking and choose one gift for the night. He chose a rawhide treat. The other toy and treats will stay in the stocking for to choose over the course of the next few nights.

So, that has been Christmas at the Nobles! Now, we are off to celebrate the rest of the holiday with family.

Merry Christmas to you all! Cary and Brenda

Poem on a dog's Christmas by Shel Silverstein

Tonight's my first night as a watchdog,
And here it is Christmas Eve.
The children are sleepin' all cozy upstairs,
While I'm guardin' the stockin's and tree.

What's THAT now . . . footsteps on the rooftop?
Could it be a c*t or a mouse?
Who's THIS down the chimney?
A thief with a beard - And a big sack for robbin' the house?

I'm barkin'. . . I'm growlin' . . . I'm bitin' his butt.
He howls and jumps back in his sleigh.
I scared his strange horses, they leap in the air.
I've frightened the whole bunch away.

Now the house is all peaceful and quiet again,
The stockin's are safe as can be.
Won't the kiddies be glad when they wake up tomorrow . . .
And see how I've guarded the tree.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Christmas music fills the air. Judy is in Florida singing "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas". Vic entertains Daytonians with "Walking Round in Women's Underwear". Sandy Bette does an awesome "Santa Baby". Our wine drinkers will be listening to Jan, Jamie, Jenny and Gail this Friday night singing Christmas favorites such as Merry Christmas Darling, All I Want For Christmas Is You, Tennessee Christmas and Hard Candy Christmas. You can have a Blue Christmas if you buy the Reisling in the blue bottle! Join me to celebrate the season at Dayton's #1 rated Wine Bar, A Taste of Wine, this Friday night. Or, if you aren't a wine drinker, join me Saturday night at the West Carrollton VFW.

Happy Holidays! Cary

Christmas Preparations With A Cat

Our free time in the past two weeks has been spent almost entirely on Christmas preparations. Three days to put up decorations, two days to cook for a family dinner, two nights to write Christmas cards, one afternoon of making crafts together (yes, I actually DID crafts with my wife!!), 2 days of shopping and more! Now, we are dealing with the constant battle of keeping Ollie, our darling kitty, out of our Christmas tree and off our counters with lots of pretty dangling, sparkly items sitting on them. We have discovered a great deterrent by shaking pennies in a can.... one big shake and he runs off to hide. However, Brenda still has huge struggles with him as she tries to wrap the presents. The shiny paper, crinkling sound, ribbons, tape, boxes and opening of the closet doors are just too much for him to resist. She is constantly picking him out of boxes, removing him from the closet, pulling him out of the bag of bows and chasing after him to get her ribbons! Read below to see what she is up against!

Wrapping Presents with a Cat

Clear large space on table for wrapping present. Go to closet and collect bag in which present is contained, and shut door. Open door and remove cat from closet. Go to cupboard and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper. Go back and remove cat from cupboard. Go to drawer, and collect transparent sticky tape, ribbons, scissors, labels, etc. . . Lay out presents and wrapping materials on table, to enable wrapping strategy to be formed. Go back to drawer to get string, remove cat that has been in the drawer since last visit and collect string. Remove present from bag. Remove cat from bag. Open box to check present, remove cat from box, replace present. Lay out paper to enable cutting to size. Try and smooth out paper, realize cat is underneath and remove cat. Cut the paper to size, keeping the cutting line straight. Throw away first sheet as cat chased the scissors, and tore the paper. Cut second sheet of paper to size - by putting cat in the bag the present came in. Place present on paper. Lift up edges of paper to seal in present. Wonder why edges don't reach. Realize cat is between present and paper. Remove cat. Place object on paper, to hold in place while tearing transparent sticky tape. Spend 20 minutes carefully trying to remove transparent sticky tape from cat with pair of nail scissors. Seal paper with sticky tape, making corners as neat as possible. Look for roll of ribbon. Chase cat down hall in order to retrieve ribbon. Try to wrap present with ribbon in a two-directional turn. Re-roll ribbon and remove paper, which is now torn due to cat's enthusiastic ribbon chase. Repeat steps 13-20 until you reach last sheet of paper. Decide to skip steps 13-17 in order to save time and reduce risk of losing last sheet of paper. Retrieve old cardboard box that is the right size for sheet of paper. Put present in box, and tie down with string. Remove string, open box and remove cat. Put all packing materials in bag with present and head for locked room. Once inside lockable room, lock door and start to relay out paper and materials. Remove cat from box, unlock door, put cat outside door, close and relock. Repeat previous step as often as is necessary (until you can hear cat from outside door) Lay out last sheet of paper. (This will be difficult in the small area of the toilet, but do your best) Discover cat has already torn paper. Unlock door go out and hunt through various cupboards, looking for sheet of last year's paper. Remember that you haven't got any left because cat helped with this last year as well. Return to lockable room, lock door, and sit on toilet and try to make torn sheet of paper look presentable. Seal box, wrap with paper and repair by very carefully sealing with sticky tape. Tie up with ribbon and decorate with bows to hide worst areas. Label. Sit back and admire your handiwork, congratulate yourself on completing a difficult job. Unlock door, and go to kitchen to make drink and feed cat. Spend 15 minutes looking for cat until coming to obvious conclusion. Unwrap present, untie box and remove cat. Go to store and buy a gift bag Hope your pre-holiday activities are going well! Cary

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

What are you thankful for? My list includes ( in no particular order): family, friends, loved ones, pets, music, my job, good health, chocolate, airplanes, beaches, living in the USA, books, sunshine, changes of season, great food, coffee, ice cream, tequila, wine, beer, sunrises and sunsets, the many colors of humanity, imagination, cell phones, and high speed internet. And, when I count my many blessings, I include you. Hoping you have a blessed day and enjoy eating lots of turkey.

We are having a nontraditional Thanksgiving this year. Our son is hosting it, with a Mardi Gras theme. Cajun turkey, creole food, feather boas, beads and masks..... I have been "tasting" that turkey all week! Yum!!

Enjoy your day! Cary