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Musings on anything. |
 My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| This afternoon, while I was blowing leaves off my patio and front entrance, I saw snow flurries. I kept blowing in the cold wind. By the time I got to the front, the patio was dotted with rain drops, and the white stuff had stopped. Then I noticed the sun was shining in the west. We can get it all in one day. I didn't stay out long. I have constant sinus trouble and it was windy. My leaf blower is battery operated, which meant the battery was going to die soon anyway. I tried to wind up my garden hose, but it was too stiff in the cold. I undid the knots and looped what I could on the hanger. When I went in, I looked out the patio doors (opposite my front door) to see the wind scurrying dead leaves across my clean patio. Oh, well. Good for now. |
| Just reporting back. The woman I know who has spent the last month sleeping in her car minus a few days in the hospital. She finally checked into the Salvation /army when a bottom bunk was available. The Army has very strict rules and practice "tough love", which we knew about at church, but didn't feel we had the right to direct her life. Normally, they allow someone to stay three weeks, but will allow an extension if the person is cooperating with the program. She can't work, so there is no job in line, but they do have a place for her which will require over 90% of her income. Of course, she qualifies for food stamps and clothing at other sources. She has Medicare. In the meantime, she has a comfortable place to sleep, she is safe, she gets three meals a a day which she claims is "not bad". And she is warm all day. I predict that in a few weeks, she will even look healthier and rested. One item that surprised me, but I am glad for it. They take all the person's money and direct their spending. They get budget counseling. Her soon to be ex-husband is also sheltered there. They've put him to work already. He is quite intelligent but never grew up. He's been sponging off his wife. So now that will be one less burden to her. He will be on his own program and get his own place. If you know someone who is down and out, urge them to go to the local Salvation Army. And make a generous donation. |
| There are so many traditions of various origins. I don't really follow any these days (years). When I was young, we had a neighbor who said it was bad luck for a woman to visit your home on New Year's Day. It made me wonder why she brought us back luck by coming into our house. My mother claimed that you had to take down the Christmas decorations on New Year's Day or you would have sickness in the household. Now I know people who don't take them down until Epiphany which is January 6 (observed the second Sunday after Christmas in church). I have known two women who had spectacular trees that stayed up all year long! Everything else came down, but not the trees. Some people can't wait to take them down, maybe as early as the day after. All my relatives had oyster stew for Christmas breakfast. For the first day, it was black eyed peas, cornbread, stewed tomatoes, and cornbread and any kind of meat (leftovers?). Today the younger ones prefer pizza or gyros. I stick with beans and tomatoes. It's a vegetarian day for me. I take down the decorations after the first, a little at a time, because I'm lazy and because I didn't get to enjoy them enough while they were up. When I was much younger and generally feeling better, I would sing every Christmas song I knew. I don't sing that much any more, and I didn't get saturated with seasonal songs this year. I never once heard the hippopotamus song or Alvin sing he wants a hula hoop. Traditions don't mean as much without a family. So I can go with the flow or not. I don reminisce quite a bit early on about my parents and brothers, even my late ex-husband. But we can't live in the past. And we don't need to make new traditions. Just live in the moment. |
| If we believe Dr. Seuss, Christmas is not about wrappings or food, but can't be stopped from coming around. And if you believe Ebeneezer Scrooge was truly redeemed, then you know a worthy goal is to live every day all year long like Christmas Day. To do that without buying presents or too many groceries, we could try remembering the four candles of advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. And not just at church or in religious contexts, but in every aspect of our lives. The Christian has hope for a better tomorrow, so she does not give into despair for long. Joy is something we can share with others or all alone in our manner and on our faces. Peace is not just something to talk about or pray for. We are to be peacemakers, at home, at work, at play, at church, on the highway. (And it's hard sometimes to feel peace, much less be an instrument of peace, when driving in traffic.) And then there is love. The birth of Jesus, the man, is a story of God who set aside his divinity to become a frail human like us. He came at Christmas to show us God loves us, to show us how to love each other and others who don't believe, and how to love God. If we think about Christlike love, then justice and mercy follow. So this year, we can be vigilant and ask ourselves each day, "Am I observing Christmas in my heart and actions today?" |
| I hadn't wanted to entertain for Christmas, but some family members invited themselves and told me what time they would be here. So I planned a meal and adjusted the furniture to accommodate a crowd around the tree. Then on Christmas Eve, 24 hours before they were due, they told me they had other plans and I was invited, too. I was disappointed. I had spent a lot on groceries, a menu was all planned, napkins folded, shrimp was thawing, etc. Now the rug was whipped out from under me. I wasn't sure the other relative meant for me to be included in the new plans. But I went along. My brother and his small family were thrown by the last minute invite as well. I felt like we were intruding on the host relative's in-laws, although we are all acquainted. However, it turned out to be more fun than anything I had planned. There were games and prizes for the kids. We ended up outside in the cold because there were so many kids and friends late in the afternoon, and they were very physical in their competitions. It was more memorable for the kids than any sit-down dinner and gift exchange would have been. I'm not a serendipitous person. I do have food that will probably be tossed out (the ham will last if stored properly). But the spur of the moment venture was new and a little exciting, something new to do o future occasions. Sometimes throwing in a monkey wrench is a good idea. Besides the first Christmas was anything but routine. Why not shake things up a little bit? The value of family, laughter, and fun outweighed well laid plans. |
| It's a quiet and cold night. All my gifts are wrapped, although I am short two. There is no where to shop at this late date and I don't know what to get them anyway. Dinner is under control. I'm not expecting company until 2 pm Wednesday. Tomorrow, I go to church for a low key candlelight service. I will open a can of soup afterwards and get everything ready to cook the next morning. It's a simple menu, since one family will going to brunch first. I fixed a batch of fudge for some reason. It doesn't look like it will truly harden, I'll check in the morning. I didn't over-decorate this year. It seems like such a waste when I don't get that much company any more. And my health just interferes too much. But I intend to have a good holiday, and be as cheerful as I am normally. I'm a positive thinker. I know that Christmas is not about getting or entertaining, but it's a reminder, like Scrooge said after redemption, to keep every day as though it were Christmas. |
| On Saturday, my great niece and nephews came to my house to make cookies. I had everything ready in advance, since I knew they had somewhere else to go for the afternoon. One table was set up with flour and a cutting board with roller pen. The dough was chilling in the refrigerator. The royal icing had just been made and sat on the kitchen counter. Cookie sheets were lined with parchment paper and sitting on top of the stove next to the table where cookie cutters in various shapes waited in the flour. The dining room table was lined with wax paper and cooling racks and many kinds of sprinkles for decorating. First order of business, everyone had to wash his or her hands. Then I set them to rolling the sticky dough and getting a feel for what was too much pressure on the dough. We lifted the cookies over to the pans and put in the preheated oven. When they were done, I handled the hot pans and moved them over to the racks. While one or two painted cookies, one would keep rolling and cutting. They moved finished ones over to plates to finish drying. My intention was that they would eat one or two each, take a few home, and share the rest with the kids group at my church. That didn't work. They did refrain from eating them up. However, each one insisted on keeping the ones he or she decorated. There was no sharing this year. I got out plastic containers for them to avoid smearing the icing that wasn't quite dry. They had to go to a soccer game. I didn't have time to argue, and I didn't want to be the Grinch. I had no cookies to take to church except a few not quite burned ones. It was a good project to have with kids under 12, but I still felt disappointed. I thought we had done a better job of teaching them the spirit of sharing. I I don't believe they hoarded the cookies for eating, but because they were pretty. They were their own little works of art, and they just couldn't part with them. Still even works of art are sometimes meant to be shared. I failed in the lesson of giving as its own reward. They only said thank you to me because their mother forced them. |
| Once a year, we have a dinner with the kids from the housing project down the road. We pick them up on the bus for activities twice a month. For the dinner, some parents com and regular church members. We had volunteers cook ham, and sides, with mac'n cheese for the kids, and store bought dessert. We had a jam session, in which 4 guitarists and one saxophonist, performed a few numbers for us. Then we played a game of charades, with each table acting out Christmas songs amongst themselves. My table finished first so we got some cheap candy prizes. The highlight is the unrehearsed Christmas play. The director found years ago that kids get too nervous and uptight about memorizing lines and following directions. So they run through the story, while the adults play music and games. Then they come in in costumes and follow the directions of several adults stationed along the way. The sheep were bouncing all over the place. The angels almost missed their entrance. The wise man (only one last night) passed by the stable. We sing traditional carols at key points in the Bible story. At the end, without ever having said a word, they come back and take a bow. They are rewarded with a bag of candy and can take an ornament of their choice off a special tree. It really is fun to watch. I find myself looking forward to this each year. It is as entertaining as a play rehearsed since September. |
| I am so frustrated. I know a woman who has been evicted and is sleeping in her car. She knew for months this was going to happen and did nothing to stop it. She didn't even pack her belongings. This is an intelligent woman with a four year degree and a ready knowledge of history that impresses everyone. But she can't take care of herself. She is 65 years old and cannot follow directions. My church paid to cremate her father two years ago and has paid her electric bill at least twice. They paid for a U-Haul truck, supposedly for one day, but she kept it a week, before a couple of men went after it and demanded the keys. Volunteers moved her unpacked stuff into the truck and to a storage facility which someone else paid for. The Salvation Army has bunk beds, but she can't sleep in a top bunk because of vertigo. After two attempts to get an empty bottom bunk, she refuses to go back. She sabotages everything everyone does for her or the directions she's given She has to get rid of her cats and is greatly distressed about that. I tried to talk to her about getting a winter coat, and she walked out, saying, "My spirits are too low to deal with it right now." To me, that spells mental illness: she can't face reality. There are shelters in town. There are social workers, charitable organizations, Food Bank, etc. This is a small church that just can't afford to support her. Members have given her cash, blankets, as well as rides and help moving her stuff. You can't take her by the hand and force her to the right offices during business hours and make her cooperate. There is a possibility that she enjoys suffering and being the center of attention. She has disability income and food stamps. She cant manage her own life. It's frustrating for everyone who knows her because they are empathetic. They don't want to see her freeze or be attacked at night. But no one can adopt an old woman who is stubborn and unhealthy. There is the old saying, 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.' In this case, the horse can't be led to water if he just refuses to go. |
| It's that time of year. I cut back the peonies on both sides of my house to about 4 inches. My dad planted them about 20 years ago. He planted everything too close together. The azaleas and the rose of Sharon overshadow the peonies in bloom. I couldn't dig up the peonies because they're too close to the patio slate. Now that they're in the clearing, I can see the shrubs need some severe pruning to make room for next year's growth. This is the time of year for that, too, so the pruning won't get rid of blooms. The cold weather has not chased away the mosquitoes or the bees. I still have to dodge those and wear repellent. While I was at it, I went to the back yard and cut off the irises. I hate cutting those lovely green leaves, unlike the brown peonies, but it needs to be done. I can see where the weeds are now in that bed, and where I need to add top soil. All the beds need mulch, but I'm short of funds. I took the potted geraniums and amaryllis inside. The begonias will be okay until we get freezing weather. My potted strawberries, sage, and chives will be good outside all winter. I have pots of annuals, which don't need to be "saved". I will have to rescue the pots from freezing and store until spring. The yard needs as much attention as the inside of the house. But yard work is much more satisfying. And I get to do it all again, next year, God willing. |
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These days I just have houseplants and one lonely portulaca that came up by seed and has bloomed this past week. I've been "home" for three months and the plants have responded well. But, I long for Thailand.
. Isn't it funny how we take things like electricity and plumbing for granted... until we don't have them. Happy for you!