The Best Presents

Christmas presents are nice.  I like them as much as the next person.  But I received two presents this year that are the best of all.

The first was when each of my grandchildren were genuinely happy to see me and showed me with hugs.  Lots of them.  You know how sometimes a kid needs to be prompted to hug a relative?  None of that here.

The second was being surrounded by my children and grandchildren.  Sometimes, what with busy schedules, we as a family have a hard time accomplishing this feat.  So when we all can get together at the same place and at the same time, it is a special treat for me.

I enjoyed every second of it.  Thank you, my family, for such a lovely day.

Love, Mom / Grandma

After it Snows...

in my neck of the woods, there arrives on the scene a small army of Bobcats, large front end loaders and dump trucks.  The Bobcats scurry about pushing snow from curbs into the middle of the street.  The front end loaders scoop up the snow and deposit it into the dump trucks.  The dump trucks haul it away to a vacant lot to await the spring thaw.  In addition to the sounds of engines and buckets scraping on the street, there is the "beep-beep-beep" whenever a piece of equipment reverses direction.  All of this activity takes place in the wee hours of the morning.

In the world of Lily the Yorkie, that little 9 lb. bundle of Energizer Bunny on steroids,

each and every scrape and beep is a direct threat.  It is not a threat to the person who takes care of her and pets her and feeds her.  Nope.  She could care less if the big bad beeping machines drive up the stairs and through the door of our apartment to haul me away.  Not a problem.

Those big bad noisy machines are going to come in and empty her food dish.  The only solution to this horror is to bark like mad and scare them away.

At 3:45 AM.

So after I got out of bed to quiet her down, I sat back and watched her for a while.  Lily has a little doggie bed that she loves.  The bed has a couple of pieces of old blanket in it.  Lily likes to sleep with her nose buried in the blanket.  This morning she pawed at the blanket until a corner of her bed was clear.  Then she went to her food dish, grabbed a mouth full of kibble, and deposited it in her bed.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  When in her estimation she had enough, she covered the kibble with the blanket.  All the while, fussing at the noisy machines in the street beneath my windows.

Might as well put on a pot of coffee.  I'm wide awake now.  The noisy, beeping machines have moved on to the next street needing to be cleared.  And Lily is fast asleep atop her pile of kibble.

Lily is the most annoying, out of control, over the top, naughty dog I have ever had.  And I just love her to pieces.  She makes me laugh, even at 3:45 AM.

The Christmas Story

Every Christmas Eve, my Dad read the Christmas Story from the Bible.  He and Mother wanted to be sure that we understood what Christmas was really all about.  So this is for you, Dad.  I love and miss both you and Mom.  Thank you for teaching me the true meaning of Christmas.

From Luke 2: 1-20

2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

From my cozy little Home Sweet Apartment to you:
May you all have a truly blessed Christmas.

Words to Live By

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.  Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway."

--Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Canning Season Never Ends

So this past Sunday I am just sitting around, sort of being a slug, reading a murder mystery novel that I had downloaded from "Project Gutenberg."  (Those mysteries from the late 1800's sure can be fun!)  And my phone rings.  It is Number One Son.  He wants to know if I have any space in my freezer and I tell him that I do.  Not more than a couple of minutes later he walks through my door with a box that is about 18 inches square and maybe 6 inches high.  And three frozen turkeys.

The place where my forklift driver son works manufactures a large variety of egg and potato foods, mostly for institutions or restaurants, although some are sold in stores.  At Christmas time, the company hands out to the employees a variety of product.  He said that he still had lots of food that he had received, but he knew that I would like what was in the box.  Turns out the box was filled with frozen egg omelets with ham, onion and peppers.  Son isn't fond of onions or peppers and I am, so this worked out well.  I have tried a couple of them since, and they are good, especially with grated cheese on top.  And plain, they make a great egg sandwich.

Anyway, it seems that the store where he shops had the turkeys on sale for 58 cents a pound.  When I tried to pay him for the turkeys, he just laughed at me.  He says that after I get them canned, he will be taking a few jars home with him, and that if he buys the meat and I do the work of canning them, we both benefit.  Makes sense.

So as soon as I have enough empty pint jars again, I will be canning turkey.  I have lots of quart jars now, so I think I will make some turkey broth to can as well.  Broth is something I like to have in my pantry for soups or casseroles or chicken and biscuit dishes.

And I thought canning season was about over.  Not hardly!

We're Having a Heat Wave.....

The temperature in my little Home Sweet Home this morning is right where it should be.  And as I have no desire to go outside and play in the snow, it looks like I can put away the long johns and wool socks.  Although I am going to keep them handy and keep an eye on the temp for a few days just to be sure.  It seems that the night before last when the furnace man put the outer covering back on the furnace, he accidentally knocked a wire loose, which shut down the heat to several apartments.  But it is fixed.  I am a happy apartment dweller again!

Note to Jess:  The problem was just what you said.  The door in the duct that regulated heat to my apartment was not working right.  I had passed that information on to my landlord, who, in turn, told the furnace guy and he either fixed or replaced it.  So thank you for your help!

It is really nice not to have to wear several layers of clothing inside.  And even better, I can feel my toes again.  Life is good.

Once Upon a Time...

there was a family who lived in the woods of northern Minnesota.  Their old farmhouse was drafty and starting to crumble.  This old house was heated with a potbellied wood stove in the kitchen area and a wood stove made from a barrel that sat in the basement.  It was the spring of the year, and the melting snow was seeping through cracks in the basement wall, leaving a couple of inches of water all over the floor.

While the mom in this family was wringing her hands and worrying about patching the basement walls when there was no money for said patching, her daughter reminded her that life wasn't all that bad.

While sitting at the table next to the potbellied stove, the mom heard a flap, flap, flapping sound coming down the stairs from the bedrooms above.  Slowly a pair of feet wearing swim fins appeared, followed by a bathing suit clad body.  Finally the head became visible, complete with swim cap, nose plugs and a snorkel.

This apparition then said, "Mom, could you go start a fire in the barrel stove?  I've invited my friends over for a pool party and I want the water in the basement to be warm."

After the mom picked herself up off the floor and  wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes, she realized that most things can be made better with a good sense of humor.

The mom seems to have forgotten that lately, and she is glad that this memory surfaced, for she needed to be reminded that the world will not end just because there is water in the basement.....or that the furnace doesn't work right.