VRBO - ing

Good grief, I'm a VRBO maniac! In case you're unaware, VRBO, Vacation Rentals By Owner, is an amazing site where you can find rental homes anywhere. I mean, ANYWHERE. It should be named Anywhere Rentals By Owner. Ha ha!

So. You go to www.vrbo.com and begin. Choose a state. Or country, I believe. I haven't gone that far yet. Then you designate an area of the state you'd like to visit. Click, and presto! Up comes dozens of rental homes, cabins, and cottages with photos and prices. Also included are details of the property: bedrooms and baths and all the amenities such as hot tubs, fireplaces, canoes and grills. Some properties spell it out all out. Others leave much to the imagination. As in, only a view out the living room is shown. If there are no kitchen photos, that's a red flag to me!

As per usual, I am stepping gingerly into this whole rental thing. But now that Thanksgiving is creeping closer, I'm getting serious. I have a clipboard with my favorite properties, prices and availability. Of course we indecisive Hallers must first choose a date, if not Thanksgiving itself. Which, if you know anything about rentals, makes a big difference in price.

One son has a new job. Our daughter is probably about to move and doesn't yet know her job. All have busy lives and we all live in 4 different states separated by hundreds of miles. It's looking like we'll settle on a few days in November in the Blue Ridge Highlands of southern Virginia. And hope it doesn't snow, because none of us has 4-wheel drive.

The details, oh, the details! But I cannot wait. All my chickies, the big and the small, together in one coop!

Have any of you used VRBO?

Happy 4th!

I'm enjoying some time with family this week and next and taking a short break from blogging. (Though I might post a time or two.) I hope you're enjoying some family time as well, and will pause to realize the beauty of our awesome country. We are blessed to live in a land of freedom, democracy and liberty!

Happy and safe Independence Day, everyone!

egg-cellent Easter!

We cooked up a delicious Easter meal,

though not all my "chicks" were here.

You'd think after the last ten years or so of

an emptying nest, I'd be used to holidays

without everyone ...

but still I miss them.

But it was super to have daughter Katie home from

college, Bill's mom here, and son Mark and

daughter-in-love Jill. A lovely day.

 

Mark showed his awesome turkey-carving skills to his dad.

Cooking is fun, fun, FUN!
(apron from Grandma Haller's estate)

And the girls are just cute as ever.

(missing: Jenny!)

Katie and I put together the table decor ... how do you like it?

And finally, the clean-up crew.

After skyping with little Ari while she ate her lunch,

we enjoyed Katie's masterful chocolate silk pie. Oh, my.

I hope you, too, enjoyed Easter Sunday

with family and good food.

And with thankfulness for the risen Savior.

the Christmas room

Snippets of conversation heard over the years from grandmotherly types, usually sometime in November: "Oh, I've finished my Christmas shopping: wrapping, too!" Or, in January: "oh, I'm getting a head start on my Christmas shopping."

Well how nice gag, I would think, gritting my teeth while roping in four rambunctious youngsters. That'll be the day.

Truth be told, I've never been a savvy, enthusiastic or efficient shopper. Get it all done in one day? Never. My feet hurt, my head spins, and I get exceedingly hungry and thirsty every two hours. And I'm terribly indecisive. Ugh. I. hate. shopping. Oh, I love Christmas and the amazing, wonderful entrance of Christ into the world, but the making of even a modest Christmas for four kids turned me into a stressed-out, snapping mom.

Whadya know, I have no children underfoot to test my sanity during December. I'm beginning to think it's not the "bad guy" commercialism that made me crazy, it was my own expectations and wound-up kids along with the million regular duties resting on my mom shoulders.

So. Seeing as how I almost AM a grandmother, I can now act like one. This includes designating a ROOM for Christmas gifts. Not a closet, not a corner of the crawlspace, not, as my mother did one year (I kid you not) the car-top carrier sitting in the garage, where we walked by every day. Sometimes moms are brilliant.

Today I lined up my few measly bags of purchases on the bed in the spare room. The Christmas room! And shut the door. No hiding. (my husband isn't a peeker.) Very easy. Very empowering. Very relaxing.

Apologies to my children. I love you. But you did make me a bit crazy in the month of December. (I just know some psychologist-type is going to comment that I ALLOWED the children to make me crazy. Granted.)

I doubt I'll be shopping for Christmas 2010 next month, but I'm definitely making headway.

Carolina on my mind

Conquering Kings Mountain, N.C. l to r: David, Dan, Jenny, Katie and Mark.


It was a landmark Thanksgiving for us. We all gathered at son Dan and his wife Jenny's home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Four of us drove south and oldest son, David, drove north from Tampa for three fun days together.

Except for a few Thanksgivings with extended family, we have spent most holidays at home. I've roasted a barnyard worth of turkeys, green bean and sweet potato casseroles. While I can't say I've minded the assignment, I welcome this new season of being the hosted rather than the hostess.

Jenny's passion is healthy cooking and she planned and prepared an impressive array of breads, steamed carrots, salad, 2 kinds of potatoes, a completely new kind of cranberry stuffing and a layered ice cream-brownie-peppermint trifle to die for. And did I mention 2 dinners preceding the Thanksgiving spread? Pretty outstanding for a 24-year-old!

My assignment was the turkey, gravy and 2 pies. Easy. Besides washing a few dishes, I got to knit and read. Kind of like being a grandma without the grandkids.

My two gorgeous girls create a beautiful dessert!

Jenny cooks while I watch.

Dan on the hunt for more to eat...

My oldest, David, and youngest, Katie. Yes - he's holding a knife near his sister's throat.

We were blessed that my brother Mark, his wife Kathy and son Robby joined us!

Mark hits the books...

OK, lest you think all we did was eat, we also had some physical activities: boys chopping wood out in the woods, spirited games of Risk and Cranium, a round of putt-putt where half the holes were underground, and a hike to the top of Kings Mountain west of Charlotte, where my kids - I'm not making this up - had to push and pull me onto a rock ledge for a photo. Wow, I felt old and out of shape and my calves still ache. After all, I live in the FLAT midwest. This was a steep and rocky 3-mile hike lasting 3 hours.





Our four watching dad take a shot ...

Hole in one!

A favorite pic of mine. The game of RISK was a strictly male, late-night pursuit for the 3 days!

Suffice it to say, this was a Thanksgiving packed with blessings. Thank you, Dan and Jenny!

thankful

It's been a very busy week ... and wonderful! Here are some photos to hint at what I've been up to. You'll have to guess until the next post, which might not be for a couple of days.











Hope you and yours are enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend!

Veterans Day

I do not come from a military family. No one in my immediate family is in the armed forces. I look at my three young adult sons and humbly realize that had they been born in a different time, they could be serving or dying in a foreign land.

Today, instead of formally observing the day, Bill and I went hiking with our friends Fred and Lisa, who were off work for Veterans Day. We took our dogs to a park for a short hike on this chilly day. And I got to thinking. We enjoy the freedoms of worship, work, where to live and even hiking with our dogs in this great country. A country that countless thousands have and continue to defend. And died for. Some didn't have the choice to serve, but many do. And still, they leave the comfort and security of home and family to risk their lives. For me. And you.

Freedom. It isn't free, and I'm thankful to veterans for the price paid for it. God bless them. And God bless America.



a Veterans Day hike