I may end up doing something like that. I don't look forward to hauling the tree upstairs piece by piece. The stairs in the house are very steep and you end up carrying things vertically, not good for a full, heavy tree box.

I love chicken noodle soup, but I don't like it when veggies are added. Normally I just make the boxed soup mix and add chicken, but that's only when I'm feeling unwell. Kreplach sounds yummy. I need to get a decent recipe for butterballs, because some people add those to their soup as well. My great grandmother made butterballs all the time, but I haven't found her recipe while going through things at my grandma's.

It does, because I use my left hand for everything, including slapping my leg to get a puppy to come to me when I say 'come here'. I though about putting a finger splint on the finger, but I kept forgetting and I probably would have caught it on everything.

I remember seeing a list on Pintrest about what foods you can't feed dogs. Chris and I are trying to avoid giving table scraps or people food to Ruger because we don't want her to start begging or expect it over her dog food. My grandmother's dog used to just get fed table scraps (still does sometimes) and she will turn her nose at dog food.

I had an Australian Shepherd who was always outside, but I can't remember when we left her outside full time. I was three or four when I got her. I know she was in the barn for a while, then she moved to a pen outside. Ruger is a lab mix, and seems fine outside at the moment, but she's got her jacket on. Chris would like to have the garage back and not have it smelling like all the messes Ruger has made during the night.

Sounds like a beautiful tree. 😄I haven't been in Dollar Tree for year, but they do always have neat things. There's a new store here called Five Below, where everything is $5 or less. I've been in there once, but I'll have to venture in there again to see if they have anything that could work as decorations for the tree. If I leave the tree up all year, it will make it easier for my next year when Chris is deployed, especially if I leave the lights and garland on and just swap out the ornaments.

My sincerest sympathies for the loss of your grandfather hugs Holidays are hard after the loss of a loved one, especially when it happens so close . My grandmother passed away 2 months before my wedding last year Take whatever time you need, I'm always here. hugs

I wonder if they will have new ornaments in the old box of ornaments for this year

Although we're pixels on a site Our thoughts are with you day or night Much love to you and yours we send And hope in time for things to mend ❤

(and like said, each Santa Shark category is separate. But you can join 1, 2 or all 3 - but each is a separate gifting & person )

Ah, I had no idea what the requirements were but I suppose that stops people abusing the system with fake accounts.

10 csc in the pool today, huzzah!
Just catching up with everything, party last night and tree/house decorating today! Newest niece is 3 months old and loves the colour change santa decoration!

Hope you're doing OK.

What an elegant HA!

Huzzah for holidays, we all need some down time, ooh, luck you for the nice long holiday time. I will be away for part of December for a trip, but hopefully wont miss out too much on all the fun.

Oh, that's a point, new ornaments would be very nice.

Love the zombie/blankie combo! Seasonal and spooky. 😄

Thanks! I figure zombies probably don't really get cold, but that doesn't mean they can't still enjoy fluffy blankets. ;)

I'm really liking the items we've been getting from Melody so far! Looking forward to seeing what else we get this month ~

I had wondered that, too. I'm saving my ornament boxes just in case. - I'm trying to gift the empty trees with currencies like vesnali coins and steamworks trinkets. I figure everyone can use those. - I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather. It must be difficult. I can't even imagine. - I like the melody gifts so far this year, too.

I need to start gifting friends. Is everyone's wishlist up to date? I've tried to add some inexpensive things to mine.

The blanket is a lovely item, I think it'll make some fun HAs. Excited for the other Melody stuff.

Yeah, those are ideal for empty trees, thanks for helping out. :)

I am putting off my main gifting on site until later in the month, I have holiday prep and work stuff now, but it should be quieter later on. Happy gifting!

Yeah that's why I haven't opened any ornament boxes yet. I also haven't bought any this year yet either because I have some stashed in my vault from last year.

you're most welcome! :) I'm so very sorry for your loss <3

still catching up Yeah, I haven't been through the Vesnali stuff fully either to be honest, but I wishlisted as much as I could and decided this one was too pretty to not get.

Ooh, well done with the Fantine tiers, that will be a proper sense of achievement! Really appreciate the food item help, made it much more doable for next time.

We're having a slightly warmer spell, well not freezing, so that's a bit better. I understand the breathing in cold weather issues, do take care of yourself.

Good luck with getting the rest of your gifts sorted. Sometimes it can take a while especially if there's a few different things and folks to buy for. Are you online or real shop shopping?

Well, that's pretty organised getting the puppy pen completed! You should be quite well organised for the festive season even if not everything is done. Doll patterns are great, I found a couple of Barbie ones on eBay, for doll doctors scrubs and ball gowns! That's an idea, I can keep an eye out for any damaged dolls of the same size and shape that could be testers or foot models!

It can still be hard to say no when you are a naturally helpful person. Yeah, there's no point in making stress for yourself, holiday gatherings should still be fun, even when they're busy. If you won't have fun, best to hold off doing it.

Did you get the tree done? I've been seeing quite a few houses locally putting up their decorations this weekend, it's starting to look quite Christmas-y now. Did you have enough tinsel and things?

Yeah, the weather will definitely be a factor in puppy care and housing! At least you have options.

That's one of the better ways to do black Friday sales, finding g stuff you were already interested in and getting those on the deals! Hope you find some good thrift items, I am popping in again Friday - I found some books for my youngest niece last time! Yay for Xmas fun tunes!

Oh, I don't get the "twinkly" type of migraines, so it's interesting to know they have that same effect.

Best of luck organising and getting to all the family events. We have the same, plus my other half is trying to sort his dungeons and dragons group meet up too!

Any Sharks not on my friend list please send a buddy request if you want to be friends. I will be putting stuff under trees and sending WL presents to everyone on my list in a couple weeks. :D

Thanks for all the messages of support ❤

I sent more detailed message to friends (sorry for the repeat)

Trying to keep myself distracted to not be super sad. I’ve been trying to help others on Subeta in little ways, in honour of Grandpa. I would have done some anyways... but doing extra in his memory. He sure loved to make people smile.

Writing of distractions... Alchemy: -Thank you to those that have informed me, ignore reminder. For those that haven’t notified me: ... if you want something from the alchemist, please let me know what ... if you don’t want anything, please let me know

I just discovered our 5 Below a couple of weeks ago :D I am going to go back and get some Christmas presents from there. Yeah the lights are usually the pain in the butt part lol. I hate dealing with them.

I was kinda disappointed when she didn't stick around long enough to do anything, but I didn't push the issue :( Congrats on the CSC! Doing good., Right now we are finally watching the Wonder Woman movie. Loving it so far!

- Kreplach are yummy when they're made well. Like any dumpling, they can be too doughy and very heavy. Good ones have a tender thin dough around the filling. I also like matzah in my chicken soup - but prefer just matzah rather than the traditional matzah balls. And I'm fine with veggies, but traditionally there are mostly just carrots and celery.

I'm not familiar with butterballs (except the brand of turkey, of course) - what are they?

You need some sort of split/glove combo - maybe you or someone could invent one that works.

Lots of people feed people food to dogs. And most of the time it's okay, but now we're becoming more aware of those things that can cause serious problems. It's also true for medication. An aspirin can kill a cat.

With a jacket and a warm dog house, sounds like Ruger is mostly all set. And you can always make some other arrangements if there is any particularly cold weather.

- I would think that zombies are always cold, although whether or not they can feel it is a good question. LOL

LOL yeah I suppose that's more like what I meant.

But anyway, I kind of like the idea of a zombie who lives in like Centropolis or something instead of the Underground, and is just trying to enjoy the city life (or un-life) without seeming too scary to their neighbors.

- :-) Yes, that sounds like it could be interesting. In some ways that sort of reminds me of the ghost Doodle that Google put up this last Halloween. A ghost who just wanted to get along and be part of the group and not scare others away. Did you see it? It was kind of cute - if you missed it, you can see it here.

I've been through enough of the Vesnali items to wishlist the animal items. I can't even remember how many coins I have left.

Thanks. I was two tiers behind at the start of Fireside and completed one tier. Now I just have the final tier, until a new one is added next year.

We've had a warmer spell to, but its supposed to end tomorrow I think. I always had a hard time in gym class when we had to run in cold weather. It always felt like I couldn't breathe very well, or I was getting stabbed in the chest.

Thanks. We've got something figured out for my parents, a stack of gift boxes filled with sweets. We'll probably get a gift card for my brother and his wife as he doesn't want us to get anything but they are giving us a gift. I just have to figure out what I'm giving Chris which won't be easy, because he doesn't want more Star Wars items and any tools he wants are expensive. A mixture of both, possibly, but I do most of my Christmas shopping in stores. Its the best way to find gifts you didn't expect to find.

Yes, and the puppy enjoys her pen. I think she was getting tired of being cooped up in the garage. I have some older doll patterns that I might try using at some point. Oh, making your own ball gowns for dolls would be pretty fun, especially with all the different kinds of fabric you can buy now that isn't super expensive. Its what I would do. I always see barbie dolls at thrift stores that have had their heads shaved or are missing a limb. I think I even have a barbie doll that's missing her hair.

It is, and I like to help people, which can be a bad thing sometimes if I don't make time for myself. I'd rather have fun during the holidays. I'll save the stressing for baking Christmas treats. There are some extended family Christmases that I would rather hold off on going to, however with Chris deploying for a year, we are going to all the Christmases on his families side. For the Christmas with his grandpa, some of his family always suggest hosting it in Texas (one family lives in Texas). If it was hosted in Texas next year, I would probably stay home as I don't want to travel that far by myself and I couldn't leave the puppy for that long.

Haven't got the tree done yet. Chris got home late tonight, so we'll work on decorating it tomorrow (fingers crossed). I had a long day today anyway. I had to wait for the guy who trims my horse's hooves to show up and then I had to wait for my landlord to show up because he needed to pick up shelves. On a sadder note, I'm losing all the shelves in my craft room :( So we'll have to buy wood and L-brackets to build new ones. Still not sure if I have enough tinsel. If I don't, I'll try to remember to buy some more Tuesday.

It will, so far she seems to be doing fine outside with a jacket on. I brought her inside last night, but I think tonight we will try leaving her outside as she's figured out everything in her pen.

Those are the sales I love. I also shopped at JoAnns on Black Friday, but I didn't think the sales were as great. I did buy some things at JoAnns but I think I spent more than I should have. I plan to stop at Goodwill again on Tuesday when I go to grab some groceries. By then I may also have a bag of items to donate too. I went to Goodwill twice last week and found four brand new Lularoe shirts for $4 each. I've been wanting to try some of the Lularoe clothing but never wanted to spend the price. 😄 I watched some vintage Christmas cartoons tonight on Youtube. I have the ones I watched on VHS, but I found them on DVD on Amazon for $6, so I may be ordering that soon!

I haven't got the 'twinkly' type for years, but I;m still wary about it. I only got them when I first started getting migraines my sophomore year of high school. That year was terrible! I was getting 1 major migraine at least once every two weeks, that would send me home.

Thanks and best of luck to you too! I'm hoping to work on the hexie quilt this week so that I have something for Sunday.

I first saw a 5 Below store in Minnesota this summer but never looked into what it was. Then one was built in the town an hour away from me, so when Chris and I spent an evening shopping, we did some snooping. Quite impressed, especially with the wide selection of items. I'll have to visit the store again soon.

I don't like messing with the lights either (or the garland). It gets caught on everything as you try to put it up.

I watched Wonder Woman a few weeks ago with Chris, and quite enjoyed the movie. There's going to be a sequel coming out in 2019, I think.

I'll have to try making kreplach sometime. When I find carrots and celery in my soup, I typically pick it out. Whenever I eat the Raman noodle cup of soup, I always pour the extra veggies out and then pick out the rest. One thing I enjoy making and eating is verenika. Its great with German sausage, but I have a hard time finding it around here.

German butterballs are similar to dumplings or matza and can be added to soup. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm hoping I can find my great grandmother's recipe or one online that could be close.

Yeah, or a cover on my finger that has padding galore on one side to provide cushion. I think pretty soon, I'm going to have a splint/brace for every joint. I've already got one for my ankle, knee, wrist and finger, and I have a sling on hand to if I ever need it. I've learned that KT Tape is my friend and comes in handy for relieving pain and supporting areas that hurt. I use it a lot on my elbow and back.

I always see people recommending giving baby aspirin to a cat or dog for pain and I always cringe. I would rather call my vet and find out what I could do to relieve pain for my pet until I could get them in. My grandmother's dog gets bits of steak and roast (easy to put her CHF pills in) and sometimes gets mashed potatoes. My grandmother used to give her bread soaked in milk and a few table scraps and she never had any energy. With how she runs around now, you would never guess that she's a senior dog.

She seemed to enjoy herself outside today. I think she's figured out the space in the pen is her's and she's free to go in the dog house when she wants. She pulled one of her favorite toys in there, so hopefully when she goes to sleep tonight, she'll go in the dog house. The pen is made with chain link fence, so if we needed to, we could wire sheets of plywood or wafer-board to the sides to block wind and snow and could probably figure out a way to put a cover over the pen as well too, if it needed it. Otherwise, she could always spend the evenings in the garage with her space heater.

- I'd send you a recipe, but I never had one. I can remember my grandmother making them, but she died when I was still pretty young, so I get mine from the deli.

I'll have to look up verenika becaus I don't know what that is either (LOL) but it sounds interesting. I like to learn about (and when I get a chance) try new foods.

Maybe just invest in an internally well padded suit of armor? LOL (sigh)

Seriously don't give aspirin to cats - it's toxic (and I'm not sure if dogs can take it either). At least steak or roast beef is probably okay for your grandmother's dog to eat as dog food often is made using beef. Although, it can depend on whether your dog is on a special diet - or eating dry or canned dog food too.

Good to hear that she is enjoying the outdoors. I'm sure you're right that she was getting bored in the garage. There's no one else in there to keep her company or to play with. And I'm sure that she'll either sleep in the dog house, or else move in there if she gets cold.

Aw, somehow I missed that when it was around, but that was really cute! Thanks for sharing it :)

But yeah, just a zombie person who has grown tired of being in the Underground and wants to experience the stuff they used to do before they were a zombie again. Like living in a comfy little house or something and celebrating the holidays and all that sort of stuff.

- you're welcome, glad you enjoyed it.

Sounds like the start of a science fiction story - or even a series.

Heya Sharkies!!! I was looking for a thread in the Lumi forum and didn't see one so decided to come say hi over here, instead. <3

, like everyone else, I am loving your HA! XD

Thankfully the FB has been reminding for Melody's Cottage or I already would have missed a day. faints

and That's a good idea to go through event lists for wishlist items! I fell behind on a few and should buff up the WL with affordable things. Usually I just put crazy expensive stuff on there as a remind for myself, not for other people to get.

I'm so sorry for your family's loss. squeezy hug I really hope you are able to support each other to get through this holiday season. <3

Good point about the new ornaments, I should wait to buy any boxes until they let us know. :o The kitty ones were last year, weren't they? They are so cute...

This past week was midterm week in my classes, bleh. 4 more weeks and I qualify for my associate's though. Besides that, been busy playing otome games on Steam and on my phone. XD I finally bought Stardew Valley during the Black Friday sale on Steam, too. Saved up enough hourglasses to unlock V's route in Mystic Messenger, phew! SO MUCH DRAMA, lol. Oh and playing the Animal Crossing app, SO ADDICTIVE!!! My phone battery can't keep up, lol. Besides that... Last year, my son spent Christmas with my soon-to-be ex, so we are pretty excited to have him with us this year! <3 He's suddenly gotten into Godzilla and King Kong, it's super cute. XD