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  My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| Not a well known day, even in churches, today is the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar, Christ The King Sunday. Next Sunday is the first Sunday of the liturgical year, being the first Sunday of Advent. The significance of today is that Christians believe in the ultimate crowning of Christ as The King of Heaven and all creation. Advent starts over with the waiting for a Messiah. So the year builds with a final long pause between the Ascension and the crowning, supposedly the time in history which we are now in. We think of earthly kings and all their power and opulence. A heavenly king is a different picture, although grandeur and splendor are still words that apply, earthly treasures and expense are not a part of it. Majesty and greater power apply. We may pass it off as a fairy tale, but if we pay attention to life all around us, we may see glimpses of it. |
| There's a party for a one year old today. I have to work, but my dad wants to be there for his youngest great grandson. My brother is coming more than 20 miles away to pick Dad up and go back to the same area for the party. Dad was saying that he is such a burden to my brother. My reaction was "You did things for your mother and you never thought she was a burden. You did things for your aunts and uncles because you cared about them; they were never a burden to you. Do you think you raised your children to ignore your example? Don't you think we all love you enough to do things for you?" I didn't mention that he did things for his sister and his in-laws without complaining. He's always been there for his kids, even into his eighties. Now that he's slowing down, his children and grandchildren don't mind looking out for him. It's what he taught them. He just made one of his half laugh, half snorts. He can't handle emotion. His father didn't either. But he's been a good man all his life. His kids know that. The boys really look up to him. They see fewer flaws than I do. A burden? Sometimes it may feel that way to me when I'm running around with a broom trying to clean up after him, but, no, he's not a burden. We;re in his debt. We live like he taught us. We take care of our family. |
| As I predicted before I started, I'm not doing well on NaNoWriMo. I don't know how I made it through October Prep, but I scraped by. I won't reach my goal by the end of November, short of a miracle. I do have to work an 8 hour shift Thanksgiving Day, but not starting until 5 pm. That gives me enough time to serve, sweep and load the dishwasher. Most of the company will be gone by the time I walk out the door. I'll have to stop and change about 4 and leave by 4:30. (I had hoped not to go in until 7 pm, so I could squeeze in a short nap.) It will be a terrible night, with an ungrateful public. 'm already encountering the sour mood from the public before the crunch even hits. You can encounter 50 wonderful people in a day, but that one short-tempered person or nasty attitude wipes out all of it. Too bad it doesn't work the other way around. My cold is better. I got my flu shot. I've got to make sure Dad gets his. I have overnight guests coming Sunday. I'll be at work when they arrive and will get home about their bedtime. I have to clear out my computer stuff to make room. The bed is covered with books, and stacks of paper. I hate disturbing my filing system! I really need to get my computer up and running and attach the printer. I tried programming my laptop for the printer, but it won't work. I've got a lot of things on hold waiting for that printer. And it's harder to navigate this laptop than it is my desktop. Oh well. If I had a tech savvy relative, I could ask for help. I have one who knows about drones and DVD players and music, but that's about it. My plan is to boil eggs on Sunday, in between church and work, to devil them on Monday. I'll cook ham on Tuesday, and Turkey Thursday morning. The sides I'll cook Wednesday night and heat up on Thursday. One more miscellaneous note: I discovered that plain Acorn squash is good with raspberries. I cut it scooped out the seeds, baked in a pan with water. I scooped out the insides after it was done. The skin is tender and tends to scrape up easily. I sprinkled with cinnamon the second day (we ate it plain the first day). I stirred it just to mix in the spice. On my plate I added a few raspberries and it was wonderful. The sweetness of the berries was the perfect accent. It was a healthy dish. |
| Does everyone find November as burdensome as I do? It hasn't always been this way. I'm actually working fewer than 40 hours, so it should be easier. And I don't commute more than 15 or 20 minutes, which is better than I had it for over a decade. Maybe I'm just getting too old to carry on as usual. Right off it comes to mind that this is the first year my father is retired for the holidays. That adds extra stress. He's under foot and trying to do things his way on his time table, but he hasn't realized yet, he can't do it on his own any more. So that's more stressful for me. He can't drive as much, so I take him more places. Just caring for him and cleaning up after him is time-consuming. He was going downhill anyway, but I think not working has accelerated his befuddlement. Plus, there are more babies in the family. They come to visit Big Pop while I'm at work on Sundays. When I come home late Sunday night, there are toys everywhere, good vases and flower pots are chipped or broken. Things are missing. Books are not on the bookshelves, and papers are on the floor instead of my desk. I'm not there to protect my property, and Dad isn't able to. I try to lock up and hide things in advance, but who knew that the mother and grandfather would let a one year old get into the fireplace and break my decorative bottles? Bib Pop, who's not too stable on his feet, had to go over and pick him up and carry him away from the fireplace. I'm teaching senior adult women Bible study. That takes a lot of preparation. I sing in the choir. I'm an officer, and they're trying to buy a piece of property, which requires my signature during my working hours. It's been very hard coordinating all the paperwork. I did help pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, and socialized afterward. That was a little stress-relieving, I guess. Then there's health issues. Not just the old man's, but mine. I have ongoing problems which seem to be getting worse, and I have a cold, which just makes you feel tired without doing anything. Coughing is an exhausting activity. My sporadic hours make sleeping difficult. Every year I find myself wishing that some of the family members would make plans to go skiing for Thanksgiving or take a cruise, and make my load lighter. One of my brothers is bringing a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I don't have the nerve to tell him I don't like his pumpkin pie. For $6 Costco makes a fantastic and huge pumpkin pie. I like the idea of catering, but my Dad wants me to cook everything and he's making the menu. I'll probably have to work Thanksgiving night at my job. If not, I might skip the turkey and just drink some wine. |
| Ok, we don't always get what we want. But we don't refuse to work, or take care of the kids, or carry out our normal duties. The farmer still has cows to milk and pigs to feed. Mothers still have diapers to change and lunches to pack. Life goes on, no matter how disappointed we are. Allowing Yale students to miss mid-terms for grieving is wrong. Allowing high school students to miss school or get special counseling is wrong. The pampering is very bad for them and for all of us. Help them buck up and get on with life. Demand it. Teachers, professors and administrators need to grow a backbone. If people protest over a legal election and block the streets, what would they do if the stock market failed, or a company closed its doors leaving thousands of people unemployed? It happens. People lose their jobs, but they don't get excused from obeying the laws or personal hygiene or cleaning house or taking out the garbage. Life goes on. It's unfortunate that this election we had two horrible human beings to choose from. Everyone had to choose the one he or she felt was least evil, or not vote for the candidates at all, but for the direction the party is taking the country.There were scary elements if either of them won. But let's get over the whining, the mud-slinging, and the nastiness. Let's get beyond the melodrama and the outrage. What a nation of spoiled brats we have become! America has been through tough times before, and no worse than now. None of us are old enough to say that this is the worst time in our history. Be truthful. Our country is bigger than any one individual. If the one elected can't lead, he's out in four years. But he may prove to be a terrible orator with a knack for hiring the right people. News commentators and public speakers give a lot of big words trying to stir up trouble, promoting civil uprisings. All those appearing in front of a camera should stop making divisive comments and try working to improve the life of working and poor people. People watching Miley Cyrus crying should just realize that's normal teenage angst. it always happens about something. I probably cried over a few things myself, a little younger, but people of my age didn't have cameras or social media to share it with the rest of the world. We cried our tears and wailed in private. She's been pampered and is just immature. She will gain wisdom with age; that's the only way to get it. The biggest message for young people should be that anyone can strive to be president. You don't have to have the most money to win a campaign. You don't have to be a professional politician. But you should be disciplined. I hope we do have a woman president in my life time. But I hop she is honorable, trustworthy, and has a clean background. I want her to be worthy of the position and not get elected just because she's female. Meanwhile everyone needs to get over their disappointment and start working to unify our country, to live for noble ideals of brotherhood, free enterprise, equal opportunity, and decent standards of living. It can be done. |
| Ok, we dib;t always get what we want. We don't refuse to work, or take care of the kids, or carry out our normal duties. The farmer still has cows to milk and pigs to feed. Mothers still have diapers to change and lunches to pack. Life goes on, no matter how disappointed we are. Allowing Yale students to miss mid-terms for grieving is wrong. Allowing high school students to miss school or get special counseling is wrong. The pampering is very bad for them and for all of us. Help them buck up and get on with life. Demand it. If people protest over a legal election and block the streets, what would they do if the stock market failed, or a company closed its doors leaving thousands of people unemployed. It happens. People lose their jobs, but they don't excused from obeying the laws or personal hygiene or cleaning house or taking out the garbage. Life goes on. It's unfortunate that this election we had two horrible human beings to choose from. Everyone had to choose the one he or she felt was least evil, or not vote for the candidates at all, but for the direction the party is taking the country.There were scary elements if either of them won. But let's get over the whining, the mud-slinging, and the nastiness. Let's get beyond the melodrama and the outrage. America has been through tough times before, and no worse than now. None of us are old enough to say that this is the worst time in our history. Be truthful. Our country is bigger than any one individual. If the one elected can't lead, he's out in four years. But he may prove to be a terrible orator with a knack for hiring the right people. News commentators and public speakers give a lot of big words trying to stir up trouble, promoting civil uprisings. All those appearing in front of a camera should stop making divisive comments and try working to improve the life of working and poor people. People watching Miley Cyrus crying should just realize that's normal teenage angst. it always happens about something. I probably cried over a few things myself, a little younger, but people of my age didn't have cameras or social media to share it with the rest of the world. We cried our tears and wailed in private. She's been pampered and is just immature. She will gain wisdom with age; that's the only way to get it. The biggest message for young people should be that anyone can strive to be president. You don't have to have the most money to win a campaign. You don't have to be a professional politician. But you should be disciplined. I hope we do have a woman president in my life time. But I hop she is honorable, trustworthy, and has a clean background. I want her to be worthy of the position and not get elected just because she's female. Meanwhile everyone needs to get over their disappointment and start working to unify our country, to live for noble ideals of brotherhood, free enterprise, equal ooportunity, and decent standards of living. It can be done. |
| I fell for the advertising gimmick from Amazon. I pre-ordered the new book by John Grisham last spring. I paid in advance. As soon as it was released I would receive a copy. Somehow my dad bought a copy at a lower price at the local grocery store two weeks before I was notified by email that Amazon had shipped my book! It took another 8 days to receive it. I could have just waited for the local stores. I thought I would have it hot off the press! I've cut myself off for the rest of the year. No more new books until I read what I have. |
| uu What a boring show. The performances were so boring I was reading. I finally quit watching. I couldn't take it any more. I thought I was a Carrie Underwood fan, but I was wrong. The song she did wasn't remotely country. And the outfit and set wasn't country either. The performance with Beyonce was horrible in some ways. The words were terrible. The outfit she wore was super trashy. Musically, the women did okay. Women instrumentalists, with some freaky dressed band players. I guess the other women were happy to be performing with Beyonce, but she just won't clean up her act, and it definitely wasn't country. The words were violent, and not for children. I wouldn't want little girls listening to that. The only good thing about the show was a song by Tim McGraw and clips from the last 50 years on the show.In fifty years the show has definitely gone downhill. I'm sure the young crowd liked it, but then they don't know what country music is. |
| November 1 is All Saints Day, on which you remember those who have died the past year. It also marks the change of Holidays from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Oh, yes, time falls back an hour this weekend. And NaNoWriMo begins. I'm in a bit of a jam. I did most of October Prep on my desktop, which I cannot access right now. I'll be going from memory and if I don't buy some new components soon, I'll have to create some new data bases. I just finished reading Fannie Flagg's The All Girl Filling Station. It's wonderful. I couldn't put it down. It makes you think a lot about who you are, who your family is, what influence you have on each other, and so forth. If you like Southern writing, you'll like it, too, even though the story covers the whole country. I learned some history from it, too. We don't get many trick or treaters here. The houses are far apart, the driveways are deep, and there are no small children in the vicinity. We always prepare with decorations and candy. I had two pieces after dinner, and I sneaked one again just a little while ago. I've got to lock them up! I have one bag in the freezer; that just makes them more delicious and tempting. |
| Like it or not, the Christmas season has begun. Target and other stores began their first Big Book toy sale today. The hot toy this year is Hatchimals, running roughly $50 on sale. It's a huge speckled egg that "hatches" a fuzzy, big-eyed animal. Lego is always popular. Trolls are the latest new item. Paw Patrol items and PJ Masks are hot, too. ' You can always count on Barbie and Disney Princess to have many new varieties. Sesame Street and Disney have more preschool items. Shopkins, Twosies, Flipsies and anything with pets please little girls. pretend things work with younger boys and girls, including dress-up items. Books, puzzles, games, and crafts work as secondary items, not the major attractions on their wish lists. Boys like dinosaurs, wrestling figures, Star Wars, and comic book action heroes.Younger boys like trucks, Hot Wheels, and tools. Bikes, skateboards, Nerf, skates and the accessories for safety still work for boys and girls. Now you can throw in tablets, i-pads, and electronic learning games, even for preschoolers. |
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. Isn't it funny how we take things like electricity and plumbing for granted... until we don't have them. Happy for you!
