the holly and the ivy...

and my katherine, too!!!



love and God's blessings,
dani xx

mosses monday XII...

on tuesday:P

it was a cold, gray day in december. i had been downtown picking up a few new Christmas ornaments for our tree. i happened to notice a beautiful blown glass ball that i thought the mosses would enjoy, so i bought it, too.

after i left the store, i drove to the moss' home. the cold of the day was compounded by the brisk wind coming off the ohio river. i grabbed the box with the ornament inside, pulled my coat together, and hurried to the door. just a moment after ringing the doorbell, i was greeted by mrs. moss... "come in here, dani," she welcomed me.

as she was taking my coat, i notice a most peculiar smell... or should i say, "odor"?

something smelled very offensive!

i handed her the beautifully wrapped Christmas ornament, and we walked into the den where mr. moss was drinking his afternoon toddy. mrs. moss started to put the package under the tree. "oh, mrs. moss, it is not really a Christmas gift," i continued, "it's for you to open, now."

mrs. moss with box in hand sat down on the couch. "george, look.
dani has brought us a surprise."

mr. moss looked over at me from his leather chair, "well, bless your heart, dani..."

i interrupted, "it's just a little something. i saw it, and it reminded me of you. i hope you will like it."

mrs. moss opened the package. she said she loved the bauble!!!

"look, george, isn't it beautiful," mrs. moss held it under the light so that he could see.

"it is really pretty, mommie," he said affectionately. "you shouldn't have, dani." i smiled; i thought they would like the ornament.

mrs. moss walked over to the tree to hang the ornament. the odor i had noticed when i came into the house had become more and more noticeable. but, i didn't know whether to say anything to them. how do you tell someone that their house...
stinks?

but, it was awful!

finally, i said to the mosses, "do you smell anything odd?"

they looked at one another, shrugged, and almost in unison said they did not.

"do you smell something, dani?" mr. moss asked. "what do you smell?"

"honestly, i smell a strong odor of gas... you don't think you have a leak do you?" i asked.
we all three grabbed our coats and walked out of the house and around to where the gas line entered the house.
"everything looks ok, here," mr. moss said scratching his head.

"do you think we should call the gas department?"
"i have my cell phone in the car." i offered.

"maybe it's the gas logs?" mr. moss was thinking aloud. "mommie, do you think we may have forgotten to turn off the gas last night?"

"i'm sure i turned it off, george," she replied.

"dani, come with me, and we will check," mrs. moss said to me as she took my hand leading me back into the house. "george is afraid of the gas logs..."

within the minute, there we stood in front of the fireplace. before i could utter a word, mrs. moss took one of those long fireplace matches and struck the side of the box!

"OH, MY DEAR, GOD!!!" i thought to myself.

the match caught fire... first strike. there was no explosion;
we were still standing there in one piece, respectively!!!

"THANK YOU, GOD!!!" i thought to myself.

she turned on the gas and lit the logs.
"well, it's not that???"

mrs. moss leaned out the port door and told mr. moss that the odor was not coming from the logs and that it was okay for him to come back into the house.

when he re-entered, he looked at me and said, "you know, after being outside, i smell something, too." he looked over at mrs. moss and told her to go ahead and give the gas department a call.

when i left, the gas department was en route.

an hour or so later, mrs. moss rang to say that the smell was natural gas coming from the drain in their basement... they had called to have someone come to repair it.

WHEW!!! IT WAS NOT THE EXPLOSIVE KIND OF GAS!!!

how funny we two, 'steel magnolias' (aka crazy ladies), were standing in the house lighting a match while mr. moss waited patiently in the driveway for us to give him the "all's clear" to return!
~@~ 
(to be continued...)

love and blessings,
dani xx

ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)

sunday email survey...

One word, and only one word, so here goes...

(unbelievable!!!:)


Me: grateful
Your partner: sincere
Your hair: curly
Your Mother: workaholic
Your Father: gambler
Your Favorite Item: weddingband:)
Your dream last night: forgot
Your Favorite Drink: zin
Your Dream Car: owned
Your Dream Home: mine
The Room You Are In: bedroom
Your Ex: intelligent
Your fear: loss
Where you Want to be in Ten Years? healthy
Who you hung out with last night: john:)
What You're Not: selfish
Muffins: blueberry:b
One of Your Wish List Items: health
Time: marches
The Last Thing You Did: coffee
What You Are Wearing: pj's
Your favorite weather: cool
Your Favorite Book: Bible
Last thing you ate: cookie
Your Life: content
Your mood: happy
Your Best Friends: funny
What are you thinking about right now: friends:)
Your car: commander
What are you doing at the moment: blogging
Your summer: poolside
Relationship status: married
What is on your tv: nothing
What is the weather like: cold
When is the last time you laughed: yesterday

love and blessings,
dani xx

lights, camera...

we had the best time last night!!!
i had taken a long winters nap yesterday afternoon;
and when i awoke, i decided to ask katherine, hannah,
and their "peasants" (jacob and barrett;)
if they would like for me to take them to evansville
to "ritzy's fantasy of lights".

(it is a drive-through display featuring 60 lighted holiday scenes (many of which are animated). ritzy's (a 50's style burger joint) raises money for the local easter seals rehabilitation center.)

yea!!! they did want to go!!!

(peace on earth)

i hadn't been since 'the notorious d' and co.
moved to florida 5 years ago.
our families always piled into our van (aglow with Christmas lights),
dined at dileggi's( a favorite italian restaurant of ours),
then drove through the fantasy of lights.

(nessie on the lake for amanda:)

it was fun with the kids:)
katherine was the only one of the four who had
ever been to the fantasy.



when we completed the lighted tour,
i called and ordered pizzas,
returned to henderson,
picked up the pizzas and drinks,
and headed home with a jeep full of
happy, hungry kids.

it was a great night:D

love and blessings,
dani xx

"thankfully" the dilemma was solved for me:)

you may recall the thanksgiving dilemma i was having just a short week ago. well, it turned out to be no dilemma at all:D

thankfully, on wednesday night, my brother (oj) called to say that his boss had been roasting turkeys all day for his employees. thus, oj told me to make room in the refrigerator for a turkey and...

dressing!!!

what a nice surprise, huh???

so, i made mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, fried apples and corn, yeast rolls, and baked beans (chico's favorite;). i bought a pecan pie and a pumpkin pie. a delicious, afternoon, thanksgiving meal was served at 2 sharp here on the lane. as it turned out, i was extremely grateful not to have to leave the house at all. no crowds!!! yessssss!!! i do not like crowds.

yesterday was a really good day...
good company,
good food,
good weather,
and interesting entertainment:b

after eating, my brother and i watched the alvin and the chipmunks movie that came out last Christmas. it was pretty cute:)

and, while we were watching the movie...

katherine and chico built and decorated a gingerbread house i had bought for them.
they were so proud of their sweet decorating skills that they brought their gingerbread boy and girl in to show us.

(the gingerbread boy???)

(itsy bitsy, teensy weensy, yellow ploka dot bikini???)


however, while they were away from the house they'd just erected and decorated, Maisey (our BIG black cat) decided to check out their handy work. when she did, the whole house collapsed!!!

(the culprit, maisey;)

bahahahahahaaaaa!!!

such is life on the lane:P

how was your day???

love and blessings,
dani xx

a most perfect example...

when i think of the first thanksgiving, i think of a moment in time in which a group of settlers felt so blessed to have made it through the first winter in a new world and to have been able to successfully sow their own crops and hunt, that they just wanted to celebrate, rejoice, and give thanks to God for blessing them with the fruits of their labors!!!

these men, women, and children made it through the proverbial "storm".

(not all made it. probably more didn't than did... so,to say that times were tough would have been an understatement. for those who did survive, it had to have been such a joyful, thankful, blessed occasion.)

thank God!!! it still happens, my friends!!!

people make it through their "storms" everyday:)

i'm one of them, aren't you???

the following is a most perfect example
of the true meaning of thanksgiving...
see if you agree:)



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

much love and God's blessings,
dani xx

wordless wednesday...

maple nut glazed sweet potato cake donuts

or...

turkey???

which would you prefer???

love and blessings,
dani xx

a tuesday tag...

i've been tagged by j at mozi esme for this fabulous five meme!
tweaked a bit;)

Five Photos from my Fifth File:


"the lane" in spring...

Favorite Foods:
1.) donuts
2.) empress chicken
3.) lasagna
4.) teriyaki chicken
5.) pizza

Favorite Colors:
1.) pink
2.) green
3.) red
4.) purple
5.) blue

Favorite Sports Teams:
1.) kentucky wildcats
2.) university of navada las vegas
3.) st. louis cardinals
4.) st. louis rams
5.) atlanta braves

Favorite Treats:
1.) donuts
2.) pumpkin pie blizzard
3.) oreos and milk
4.) reese's peanut butter cups
5.) snickers bar

Favorite Desserts:
1.) donuts
2.) dutch apple pie
3.) peach cobbler
4.) blackberry cobbler
5.) pecan pie

Favorite Ways To Pass Time:
1.) blogging
2.) watching old movies
3.) shopping online
4.) painting
5.) snuggling

Favorite Physical Activities:
1.) walking maggie
2.) wii tennis
3.) wii fitness
4.) vacuuming
5.) ummm... heavy petting??? (lol, don't you love that it come after vacuuming???)

Favorite Music Groups:
1.) u2
2.) eagles
3.) beatles
4.) coldplay
5.) ratpack

Favorite Fruits & Veggies:
1.) donuts
2.) bananas
3.) granny smith apples
4.) peaches
5.) seedless watermelon

Five Obsessions:
1.) donuts
2.) john
3.) katherine
4.) maggie
5.) cleanliness

Five Joys:
1.) katherine
2.) maggie
3.) blogging
4.) travelling
5.) donuts

Five Fears:
i only have really one... loss

Five Surprising Facts:
1.) i shower, shampoo, and shave at least 2 times a day.
2.) i live in a pre-civil war house that part of was slave quarters, and, for those who haven't read my early posts, it is also the house in which i was raised. john purchased it for me for our 1st anniversary
3.) i gained 74 lbs. when i was pregnant with katherine (DONUTS;)
i lost it very quickly, though:D
4.) i am a ralph lauren (polo) addict... a preppy through and through.
5.) i am a gourmet cook.


Join the fun if you'd like!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

mosses monday XI...

one of mrs. moss' favorite things to talk about was her childhood. it must have been wonderful and full of love. little lucy had only a younger sister, nellie; they dearly loved one another... so much so i doubt they ever even bickered. the girls were the daughters of lucy and irvin lauenstein. both girls were born in niagara in rural henderson county.

mrs. moss would smile (crinkling her little nose) when reflecting on their horse and buggy rides to niagara methodist church on sunday mornings when they were little girls. they were devout methodist girls; lucy's and nellie's paternal grandfather lauenstein was a german-american methodist minister. mrs. moss treasured the notes (many written in german) and many of his books her family had kept preserved.
~@~ 

she would get tickled telling of how her mother read the classics to nellie and at bedtime. mrs. moss said she never failed to fall asleep long before nellie.  nellie would then beg their mother to continue reading. then, at the breakfast table the following morning, nellie would excitedly tell lucy the parts of the story she'd missed. the lauenstein girls were close.

as a matter of fact, during the depression, mrs. moss went away to kentucky wesleyan college to get her degree in teaching. at that time it was only a two year course. afterwards, she returned to henderson, obtained a position with the school system teaching math, and helped to pay for nellie's education. she, too, received a teaching degree from wesleyan.  nellie's passion, however, was literature.

the lauenstein girls were lovely... the two even shared the same wedding dress, which their mother hand-made for them. in 1937, nellie wore the gown first when she wed rufus brown. only a month later, lucy wore it when she wed george moss.

the lauenstein girls grew to be two beloved and respected women...
and closer, if possible, to one another.
maybe, that is why late in their lives when nellie became ill...
mrs. moss did, too.

~@~ 

(to be continued...)


love and blessings,
dani xx

ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)

32 nights...

twas the 22nd of november,
and i was a blogger with a mission...
to capture "the rest of (yesterday's) story"
i was a wishin'!!!

i drove by said house
travelling north and later south.
then snapped a couple more photos
to give my posts clout;)

want to play i spy???

(click photos to enlarge)

i spy a cowboy (on bended knee),
3 Christmas packages (one's in a tree),
candy canes to the tune of 10,
and 2 green-sweater-wearing
plastic snowmen.

there is a wagon wheel,
5 Christmas wreaths,
4 deflated inflatables;
what more to you see???



though, in this photo...
it's hard to see the front door.
from this angle you can see...
oh, so, so much more!!!

i spy with my own two eyes
9 little birds perched on a line.
i see 6 more wrapped packages;
two are up high.

i see santa, a cross,
and two, white reindeer,
eight hanging balls,
there's more have no fear:

another wagon wheel,
a charlie brown tree,
a tiny white star...
oh my, oh me!!!

now, when they say, "third time's a charm",
let me say they are not funnin'.
on my third trip last night,
all was lit up and runnin'.




i rolled up my window
after videoing the sight.
i said,

"merry Christmas to all!!!"
(in 32 nights:P)

love and blessings,
dani xx