SCATTERED THOUGHTS

Christmas is coming
Dallas is getting fat
Would you please put a penny
In Val’s hat.

That’s what my little sisters used to sing whenever Christmas was coming around. The little devils.

Well Val is gone now but you can send the pennies my way just the same. With inflation, I think you should make that DOLLARS now. All those wanting to donate - send me an email and I will gladly give you my address.

Here I sit with my tree all decorated (since early Nov.) and my house all decorated for Christmas, but I have no furniture. The company I ordered it from - guaranteed me - I would have it in plenty of time for Christmas. Now they claim they aren’t supposed to tell you WHEN you are going to get your stuff. Can you imagine that? What kind of a company works that way?

If I don’t get that furniture soon and get some sort of satisfaction from this company, I am going to spread their BAD name all over the net and warn people not to buy from them ever again. Something has to be done about this injustice.

Other than that, I am all ready for Christmas. All the gifts are wrapped and ready to go and I am ready to go. I am spending the holidays with one of my daughters and Christmas day at my parents house.

I am finding this time of year a little harder than usual as I don’t have my hubby around. Being alone sucks, but God has been taking care of me and I am so thankful for that.

I think when my sisters used to sing that song, it was really a curse they were putting on me. Sure enough, every Christmas Dallas seems to get fat - but where are the pennies? Only half the curse is being fulfilled. I really need to get a handle on this weight problem.

With my diabetes problem, I am eating much much better than I ever used to, but losing weight is so slow and depressing. I guess losing it slow is better than one big chunk that I would end up gaining back.

From my previous blog, I notice more people like snow than those that don’t. I still can’t figure it out though. So it looks nice - big deal. Lots of things look nice but are far from nice. You still didn’t give me any valid reasons for liking the white icky stuff. Sure, I like the look of snow on a moon lit night as well but that is as far as it goes. I still hate the snow itself. The look is pretty but the substance is yuck.

Well my friends, as you can see, my mind is all over the place today. Can’t really get a handle on blogging so I guess I will bid you farewell for this session.

Have a great day.

I HATE SNOW

What is it about snow that fascinates people so much?

Snow is:
precipitation in the form of small white ice crystals (notice ICE) formed directly from the water vapor of the air at a temperature of less than 32°F (0°C) (Notice Cold cold cold).

Some like snow but I have never been able to figure out the fascination with those tiny little flakes of wetness. What gets people so excited about it? It is beyond my comprehension. You can’t swim in it or bathe in it. You can’t wash your clothes in it or do your dishes. You can’t even water a lawn with it as the amount of snow is equal to about 100 flakes to 1 drop of water. It’s cold and sticky and yellow sometimes. You can’t really eat it. So what is all the hullabaloo of snow?

Maybe people like it cause it makes them feel like little gods cause they can walk on it like Jesus walked on water.

Oh I know, some say it looks so beautiful. Who are these people? Since when is "white" such a beautiful colour. I can have a piece of white paper in front of me and I don’t think it is that beautiful.

To me snow represents emptiness, desolation, barrenness, bleakness, nothingness, wilderness, deadness, and most of all - work - backbreaking work.

Snow means the end of summer and fall - that’s like death. It brings ending and closure to fun times. It means loss of life and great cost to cities.

Some facts:

Based on National Weather Service records for 1961 through 1990, Rochester, New York averages 94 inches of snow annually and is the snowiest large city in the United States. Their annual municipal snow-removal budget was $3.7 million in 1995.

Buffalo, New York, is a close runner-up in terms of U.S. large cities with the most snow. A 39-inch snowfall in 24 hours in early December 1995 cost the city nearly $5 million for snow removal.

Snow kills hundreds of people in the United States each year. The primary snow-related deaths are from traffic accidents, overexertion, and exposure, but deaths from avalanches have been steadily increasing.

In Canada we get a lot more snow than they do in the States so I can just imagine what our snow budgets for the year cost the taxpayers, not to mention the loss of lives and costs of accidents.

It is slippery and causes accidents. It is blinding. It causes the power to go out and people to freeze to death. It is cold, cold, cold. It causes traffic jams and causes people to lose time at work and school. It causes heating bills to go up and seems to bring the cold and flu with it. It causes millions of dollars in accidents and the loss of lives. Get a whole bunch of snow together and it causes avalanches.

So tell me - WHAT IS SO GOOD ABOUT SNOW???? Really, there must be a reason some people love it so much.

That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. Have a snow free day.

MOM AND DAD - MY HEROES

I have the greatest parents a person can have and I want the whole world to know it.

My mom and dad have been married 55 years and have set an example to their six daughters of what marriage is all about. They have shown us that with God’s help, all things are possible.

My mom is the center of the wheel and keeps us all united. We girls are the six spokes and my dad is the outer covering that keeps us going.

Mom has always been the center and has kept the family together and close. Family get togethers are very important to her.

Mom is from the "old school" way of doing things. She grew up on a farm and learned to make everything from scratch. That woman can stretch a dollar further than anyone I have ever met. She still bakes her own bread and buns and she is in her 70's. And ooooh the delicious bread and buns she does make. Just can’t buy that goodness in any stores.

Homemade soups are her specialty. Yum yum. She can turn anything into the most scrumptious soup. My husband grew up never liking soup but before too long, mom had him turned around to a soup lover - especially if you had the home made buns to dip into it.

When we were growing up, mom used to make all our clothes. Six girls to dress in dresses. She would whip them up with no patterns and they would all match.

Mom was a stay at home mom and we always knew she would be there for us. If she did take on extra jobs to make ends meet, she would do them in the evenings or on weekends. She not only took care of us, but many different relatives that would come to live with us on many occasions.

Mom was the one that got up with us in the middle of the night when we were sick. I will always remember her beautiful cool hands on my fevered brow. I also remember standing at her side by the stove when she would heat the eclectric oil to south my earaches. Then she would give me a nice hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. She always knew what to do.

Dad was and is a story teller. He would play with us and tell us all sorts of stories. We loved his stories and still do. He would make up these really sad stories and we would sit and listen and cry and cry, and then beg for more.

The odd time, he would decide to make supper for us. He would make these pan fried potatoes that were sliced super thin and would fry them up for us. Ooooh they were delicious. He would also make his famous "Pst, pst." toast. He would do this by singing bread on the stove element till it was browned on both sides.

Dad has always been our "Mr. Fix It". When we were younger he made us all doll cribs one Christmas. One year he made a ramp and connected it to the ceiling of our garage. All the kids in the neighbourhood would pile on and we would swing and sing away.

He can fix almost anything and if he doesn’t know what he is doing, he will pray about it and get step by step instructions from God on what to do. It is truly amazing.

He loves joking around and playing practical jokes on people. Like dressing up as an old woman and visiting our neighbour. She had no clue it was my dad.

He has worked very hard all his life providing for his family. Even when he lost his job after 25 years of working for the same company, he didn’t find it beneath himself to take on lowly jobs. He taught us that a good work ethic is priceless and caring for your family is what matters most.

Mom and dad taught us from young that having a belief in God was a major part of our lives. Dad would faithfully bring us to church each Sunday even if we had to walk. It was just a natural thing to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour when we got older.

I see others that have come from broken homes and have had abusive fathers and mothers and I thank God for the family he gave me. But for the grace of God, it could be me that came from those homes.

My mother reminds me of the virtuous woman talked about in Prover 31:10-31. My father reminds me of Jesus. A simple man with the heart of God. Always ready to help and do what must be done. Someone you can approach and not be afraid of. Someone who helps those around him. Someone who is truly human and fun to be with.

My mom and dad are my heroes.

HELP, IT SNOWED AND I CAN'T GET OUT!

It seems winter has hit with a force. This is the scene from my front door. What happened? Yesterday there was still green grass and lovely weather. Today, winter set in without warning. I was shocked when I got up this morning to see all this snow.




Those living in the south - consider yourself so blessed. I can not imagine what it must be like to live a winter without snow. Never in all my years have I ever experienced a Christmas without snow. I was wishing that maybe this year - but.....not to be.

I am sure that some of those "hardy" people are so thankful the snow is here as they can take out their snow machines and go flying through the snow. Me, I would rather curl up under a nice warm blanket and hypernate the whole winter.

It's times like this that I am realy going to miss my husband.


Ha, ha, I fooled the snow this year. I am ready for Christmas before the snow came. Have my tree up already. Mother nature can't fool me. Hee Hee.



Have yourself a very nice and cosy day.

JUST CHECKING IN

Howdy strangers. I guess it is high time I write again. My renovations are nearing their end and I am waiting on some living room furniture. Just last touches to be done. You will have to wait for pictures though as I will only post the finished product.

Besides renovations, I have been busy running back and forth to doctors and for blood tests. I have been diagnosed with Diabetes and am back and forth checking for sugar levels.

I finally bought myself a glucose meter the other day so I can check things out for myself. So far my levels seem pretty normal so I don’t know what the fuss is all about but I am still going to try to eat better and get healthier.

I think I lost weight but I can’t remember what I weighed last time I went to see the doctor and they didn’t have it on record so I can’t be sure. If I did lose any, it would only be about 5 pounds, which is good. Little by little just by changing my eating habits instead of losing a lot on some diet fad.

I also bought myself some exercising equipment and plan to exercise. Problem is right now I can’t get the stuff together. Will have to wait for one of my son-in-laws to put them together for me.

My grandsons are doing great. They are both so adorable. I was going to include little video's of them but "Castpost" doesn't seem to be working right now. Oh well, something else you will have to wait for.

Hope you have a terrific day.