2006 Has Arrived

It is officially 2006. I went outside a little before midnight and looked at the stars as the new year arrived. I said silent prayers for those I love and for those I don't. I said prayers of thanksgiving for graces received and prayers of entreaty for graces needed.

2006

I'm having a very sedate New Years Eve, as I usually do. My brother and sister in law and I have been out to dinner and are back on the farm before 7 p.m. I'm not a big partier, so this day is largely lost on me. The last few years I've been with Nathan on this night - always at home, but always together - so this year is definitely different. But, change is good.

I visited the cemetaries today and put new flowers out. There's something very spiritual about connecting with one's history in that way. It's a way to honor the past and realize that our future is ultimately right beside them in that place, which means the present is all the more important.

I do not make New Year's resolutions, but I do use this time of year to think about what I want to focus on in the next year's time. I think this year will be the same as last - more serious about quiet time for prayer, meditation and thinking. That was my focus last year and it was a good one. I need to do even more of it.

It's hard to know what you think when you never take time to think.

Rainbow Beauty

This afternoon about 4 o'clock, we were treated to an amazing sight - a double rainbow. It was incredible.



It went all the way across the sky, clearly defined. I've only ever seen one or two double rainbows before. I couldn't get a shot of the whole thing because my camera doesn't have a wide enough lens.



We didn't know about it, but BC came down and told Mary Ann. She ran in to tell me. We were looking out the living room window and when I went outside to take pix I realized it was a double rainbow.



I went back in to let Mary Ann know so she could come outside and see it too.

For the briefest of moments, there was the beginning of yet another rainbow on the left. You can see it faintly in the photo below. It's just to the left of the main one, about where the trees start. It was faint, but clearly visible, but it never fully developed.

Bits of An Old Life

I hit the road today to catch bits and pieces of old lives I've lived. I guess that's as good a way as any to say it.

My destination was Murray, where I spent my first year of college and where my Aunt LaVerne is buried. I wanted to put new flowers on her grave and just see what had changed in the town since I was there a couple of years ago.

On the way I stopped in Mayfield at the Happy House Restaurant. I was just driving by and saw it and thought - hey, that looks like a place I would like - so drove around the block and visited.


It is the home of Mayfield citizen Howard Happy, who owned an office supply company. The house was built in 1937 and has been a restaurant for about 20 years.

I had the chicken with curry dressing. Dressing was Hellman's mayo with curry in it. Really, it was quite delicious. The chicken was shredded white meat, and there were grapes, almonds and other goodies there. It came with the dressing piled on top of the meat so you could mix in as much or as little as you wanted.

When I saw it on the menu I was instantly reminded of my favorite lunch at Angelina's Tea Room in Paris - the curried chicken salad. They're not the same food, but both are good.

I love the south. Other places note what sort of fine wines they have. Here they noted on the menu that they use only Hellman's Mayonnaise. So do I. Great minds think alike. I'm brand loyal to very few things, but that's one of them.

Anyway, it was a very pleasant diversion. I enjoyed the salad and finished off with a cup of chamomile tea. If I lived in Mayfield this would be a regular stop, as it was for many of the others in there. The staff knew them by name.





I give the Happy House a high rating. The food was good, the staff excellent, the service great and the surroundings charming.

I went on to Murray and did my business there. I had planned to hit the library on campus, assuming they'd have a wireless connection I could tap into. However, it's Christmas break. So, I decided to head on down/up the road to Paducah and go to the library there, where I know there's a good connection.

Unfortunately, their wireless connnection was not working. I did, however, get on another one. The signal wasn't great but I did get a few things done. I needed to upload another podcast and had not realized that I still needed to download some files for converting to mp3 format. I was able to get that done there.

Also met a gentleman there and had a pleasant chat about various computer things. I was downloading and uploading while we were talking - always in a race before the battery dies.

I was reminded of how much I do not know about computer and technology. I wish I knew more. I'm really just a geek wanna be.

Quiet Day

I have not set foot outside of the house today. I slept in, which has been a rarity for me the last few weeks. I got up, showered, and started working on Mary Ann's computer. She was infected with the lop spyware. Good grief. I didn't think I was ever going to get it off of there. I deleted and rebooted and edited the registry and rebooted and searched and rebooted in an endless cycle until the late afternoon. But, finally, success when I logged on and didn't get that infuriating little toolbar.

I spent the last couple of days in bits of time now and then getting rid of the my search bar. Yeah, you may not call it spyware/adware/malware. Sorry, if I didn't get a choice about it being put on my machine, it's not something that should be there.

Anyway, tonight her computer is loading faster and running better and I'm thriled I was able to help.

I've been working on my Art of Gracious Living podcasts tonight, as well as some other projects. I'm hoping to get answers to questions I have about this set up in the near future. I'm not in the business of generating content for people for free.

Terry reports that all is well at my house and I'm happy to hear that. Had a nice note from Jim today. It's good to be in touch with him regularly. All in all a nice day of hunting down computer bad guys and working on computer things.

Tomorrow I'm going to put flowers on my Aunt LaVerne's grave, as well as some others. It's nice and warm here, which is great. Last year we were snowed in with over two feet of snow. So, this is a pleasant change of pace. I'm trying to just ignore what it says about global warming and enjoy the fact that I'm walking around in T-shirts during the winter.

Sport Shopping

I went to shop today. I'm calling it "Sport Shopping" because I wasn't really longing for anything, but I go every year on the 26th and didn't want to miss out. Generally, I'm not much of a shopper, so for me to shop for as amusement is quite unusual.

I was in town before 6 a.m., and considering it's a 35 minute drive, you will know that I got up early.

My big finds of the day where some Martha Stewart tea ornaments at K-mart and the Hallmark Barbie ornaments. Between Greg and me we got all of them.

I got home about noon and went immediately for a long nap. I got up and showered just in time for everyone to arrive for dinner tonight. Mary Ann cooked yet another wonderful meal and we all had a good time.

Dylan's girlfriend came, and I hadn't met her before, so that was nice. Also, Dylan's best friend, Ben, who is a very smart cookie, came down. We were all playing a trivia game after dinner and he's not one to be messed with when it comes to history and politics. Very smart. I'm sure his parents are very proud of him. At one point, I answered something at the same time he did and felt better about myself because I tied him on a question.

It was also fun to see Kim's parents - Clydie and Ann. I always enjoy them so much.

One of the things I did today while in Paducah was go to the library and enjoy the wi-fi hot spot so I could upload some pix from yesterday's Christmas celebration.

I call this the "Meeting of the Minds" - That's my nephew, Bobby, who's just two years older than me, on the left; his father in law John Henry in the middle; and my brother, Jackie, on the right.



Santa was able to get the ipod to BC in time - nano, of course... but just barely - it arrived at noon on Friday. I had BC pose with it Christmas morning.

I'm not sure if he has had time to download many songs onto it yet or not. I can't imagine when he would have as he went hunting this morning and this afternoon. It's duck hunting season, and missing a morning of hunting is a near crisis. I heard shots even on Christmas morning, but none of our family was out then.

One of the things I love about the hunting is that it gives me some good gift options for them. There are about as much widgets for hunting as there are for cooking. And while I don't hunt, I certainly understand the affection for widgets of various sorts.

We had a full day - the morning at Bobby and Cathy's, then church at 10, then lunch at Mary Ann's, then opening presents with everyone, and then playing games in the afternoon.



One of the things I love about my family is there's always lots of laughter. Everyone is funny. I'm not sure how we got so lucky, but everyone is funny.


My nephew, Jackie, on the couch here, is a great story teller. I always love it when he starts a story because I know we're going to all be laughing at its conclusion. He can also enjoy someone else's story.

His brother, Bobby, is no slouch in the story telling department either. But, he's a king of one liners.



We were all getting tired by the end of the day yesterday. At one point, Jackie was reclining to read the questions from the game. It was a good Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas

It has been a full and wonderful Christmas Day. The Ipod nano that was a must have arrived at Friday noon, the presents all got wrapped, the food all got cooked, the games all got played, the family is all worn out. So, that's a successful day I think.

I woke up a little after 4 and although I didn't get up until about 7:30, I never fully got back to sleep. BC called and we went up to see what he got, which included the Ipod his mom thought Santa wasn't going to get on the sleigh in time to get under the tree.

We then went to Christmas morning services and came home to a wonderful meal, compliments of my Sister in law, Mary Ann. We talked and laughed and joked until time to open presents and then continued throughout the opening. Kim and I gave each other the same gift. Apparently we both think the other needs to bake more bundt cakes in the shape of roses. Who would have ever guessed that? We've had more than a few laughs about that.

We then played games - Buzz word and Eat It. We're pretty lax about the rules and the teams, but much laughter ensued.

Now, it's 9 p.m. and I'm ready to hit the sack so I can go out and shop tomorrow with the other fools. Sometimes I wonder at myself. I know my Mama raised me to have good sense, it just seems to escape me every once in awhile.

Christmas Eve

Santa comes tonight. So much excitement in the world it's nearly palpable. I still get excited by the holidays. I'm at my brother's house and there are presents piled under their tree, and now I've added mine and tomorrow more will be layered in. I'm reminded of just how incredibly blessed we all are. Not only to have presents, but to have each other.

This past week, Peggy wrote me a nice note in which she said something that really struck me - that she always feels good for people who have family to "go home to." I'm lucky to be one of those people. Although I have no parents, husband or children, I still have family to go home to who are happy to see me as I'm happy to see them.

I'm also lucky to have my friends, who are my family away from family. The kindnesses that people extend - even the smallest of things - are beautiful grace notes in daily life. It's comforting to know Terry is at my house while I'm away, that Diana will be popping in, that Greg will be out on Dec. 26 just as I will and we'll both be excited about the next Christmas.

I love that "forward looking" part of the holiday season, where I start getting ready for the next year. The continuity of it pleases me. I love the idea that Christmas is always coming, always around the corner.

This week I've heard from old friends, former lovers and new friends who've called or written to wish me Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas. It has been a wonderful few days. I love hearing from people who've been in my world at various stages of life.

If I haven't gotten back in touch with you yet, it's not because I don't want to - it's because there's not much cell phone signal here at the end of Terrell Road, and dial up is a slow computer connection. I will be in touch. Your presence in my life is appreciated.

This is also an opportune time to thank those of you who read the blog regularly for your good wishes, written or only thought. I'm unable to respond to comments at the moment but know that I appreciate your thoughts. And, to each of you, I appreciate the fact that you read along about my little life.

May we all have some moments of childlike wonder on Christmas.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my 44th Birthday. How did this happen? I'm perpetually 28 in my mind - at times when I'm feeling especially mature I'm 34. I can't seem to make myself any older than that in my mind. It's not even a physical thing - although goodness knows I do not like to see the beginnings of crow's feet beside my eyes. It's more an attitude thing.

Of course, truth be told, I'm somewhat like a 4 year old in many ways. That's what I think every time I pack up a little bag of "toys" to take with me somewhere. OK, so my toys are paper and pens and books and watercolors and - OK, as I think about it - they're much the same things you might take for a small child.

I guess age isn't really that much of an issue as long as you feel good. I'm blessed to be healthy, have a job I really enjoy, a nice warm house to be in, grateful for wonderful family and friends, and on the right side of the dirt. What more could one ask?

Security Threats

My average phone calls go something like this:

Call Number one:
G: Hello
P: Hey, wanna go get some lunch?
G: Sure.
P: I was thinking about Roys.
G: Roy's is always good.
P: I'll call you when I'm backing out.
G: OK, bye
P: bye

Greg lives three blocks away. If I call him when I'm backing out he's out the door just as I pull into his drive way. Remember that use of the cell phone network the next time you get an "all circuits busy" signal.

Call Number two a few minutes later:
G: Hello
P: I'm on my way
G: OK
P: Bye
G: Bye

I feel safer knowing the government wants to listen in on that. I nearly fell asleep writing it down. I can't imagine how the poor sap who has to listen in on it feels. And you thought your boss was wasting your talent. Of course, they don't have to actually listen, wire tapping - which really isn't wire tapping in the technical sense - is far easier these days - practically automated.

My phone calls are pretty damned bland most of the time. Pretty utilitarian. Pretty ordinary. There's no plotting, no planning, no phone sex, nothing of note. But I still just don't like the idea of the government listening in just because they can. Why? Gosh, I think it's because I was raised in the US - and made to study civics, where we learned about things like "freedom." Remember civics? Yeah, I know, you gotta be a "certain age," back when things like that were deemed important and actually taught. Now of course, the government has seen the light of what happens when the populace understands their rights. They start to expect them, dammit. So, Step One: Stop telling them they have any rights.

Do you think we're now the country the rest of the world is looking at thinking, "Geez, why is there not rioting in the streets? Why do they not rise up as a people and take back their country?"

Twas the Blog Before Christmas

Someone sent me a link to this at FeedBlitz and I thought it was just too good to not share.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005
'Twas the blog before Christmas

'Twas the blog before Christmas, when all through the house
No blogger was stirring, no hand moved the mouse.
The postings were stacked by the tag cloud with care,
In hopes that more readers soon would be there;

The users were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of updates danced in their heads;
And me with my podcast, downloaded like that,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out from my laptop there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the portal I flew like a flash,
Tore open the reader and refreshed the cache.

The enclosure attached soon gave me to know
That new entries were here, more news I should know.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a raft of new updates, eight headlines so clear,

With a quick Wiki update, who could it be?
Our investor, of course, a leading VC.
More rapid than eagles his portfolio came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Blogspot! Now Feedster! now, Movable Type!
On, FeedBurner, FeedBlitz! (On Marketing Hype!)
To the top of the feed! To the top of them all!
Now blog away! blog away! blog away all!"

As valuations that before the wild bubble do fly,
When they meet with a fund, mount up to the sky,
So up to the top of the investments they flew,
With RSS data, and named it Web 2.

And then, with a twinkling, I read in my news
Each notable posting, contrary views.
As I drew back my hand, and was turning around,
Down to my trackback he came with a bound.

His comments were brief, what was ado?
Were adwords OK? Did users click through?
A bundle of mashups he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

Our AJAX - how it twinkled! Our tagging - how merry!
We socially networked to his brand new BlackBerry!
Our RSS valid, we were well syndicated,
We subscribed to the feeds that we loved (and we hated);

The stump of our web site held tight in our teeth,
The hyperbole encircled his head like a wreath;
We tagged Technorati, we blogged with the best,
On Feedster we surged and made the A-list.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And marked us on Frappr, and Flickr he searched.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
Updated his blog, up our OPML rose;

He sprang to his feed, gave his investments a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!"

**

With best wishes from FeedBlitz to everyone this holiday season!

(c) www.feedblitz.com 2005
Full reproduction permitted only with full attribution and links intact.
Technorati: FeedBlitz RSS Bloglet

Two Surprises in Two Days

It has been a busy couple of days and I've had two surprises in two days - and both of them were firsts.


Last night was our Red Hat group and we had decided to do it at my house as a potluck. What I didn't know was that they were having a surprise birthday party for me last night, which was so sweet.

Teresa, Diana, Julie, Debbie and Susan N. all brought me gifts - Diana made cupcakes - Debbie took pix - they sang. It was really nice. And, it was a first for me. I've never had a birthday party as an adult. Actually, I've never had a birthday party at all that involved friends. When your birthday is two days before Christmas, it's a little tough to pull that off - for the obvious reasons.

Even without all of that, it was a nice evening all the way around, with special gifts shared and some wonderful memories made. I had gotten ornaments for everyone.


I was touched by the generous spirit of these friends. Debbie posted a photo of me blowing out candles on the cupcake on her blog at www.bluebix.blogspot.com.

Tonight I had my board over for dinner at my house - nothing fancy - just soup. We've done this every year that I've been the Executive Director and it is always fun. They surprised me with a very nice gift, and it was completely unexpected, but very generous of them.

This year we invited spouses too, and that was even neater. It was good to see everyone socialize. I didn't have time to take photos as I was busy replenishing the table and such, but it was a fun night.

I'm blessed to have a wonderful board of directors - exceptional people who are committed to our mission. I'm grateful for each of them.

I served chili and veggie soup. I had planned to also make potato soup but had a little something extra put into my day and ran out of time to get that done. I reached down to put something in the garbage disposal this afternoon and got shocked. Yes - shocked! When I hit the switchplate I got shocked again. So, I called Zenor electric and - thank heavens - Dennis was just leaving another job so could come right over. He eventually found the problem and took care of it, but it took awhile. I was just glad he could come right away and glad that I'm on longer afraid of my kitchen.

I've almost got everything cleaned up already from tonight - maybe one more load through the dishwasher. This was my last party of the season, but instead of feeling relieved, I'm a little sad that it's over for this year. I've had six gatherings in 11 days and I could do another six, but Christmas will be here quickly.

I love to entertain. It makes a house warm and inviting to have the energy of lots of people passing through the doors.

This Day in the Life

Some time ago, I got an email, asking for contributions to a book in the making. The concept was to ask women to share their journal entries from a particular day - June 29, 2004. Those would then be compiled into a book, offering a snapshot of women's lives.

Well, the book has finally arrived. I'm sure it's going to be fabulous. There's a voyeur in all of us and getting to read other people's diaries is certainly one manifestation of that.

Publisher's Weekly had this to say: "There is not one piece in this compilation that is not captivating. Following up on the editors' first collection of journal entries published in 2003, they selected 34 diaries out of 493 submissions written by a cross-section of American women on June 29, 2004. The collection's success rests on both the astonishing variety of participants and the sincerity with which they describe an ordinary day�These women communicate bravery, compassion, humor and perseverance in this compulsively readable volume."

Open House

My Christmas open house has gotten net play on other people's blogs. I'm flattered, to say the least.

Check these out...

http://blueblix.blogspot.com/

http://thelope.blogspot.com/

A Lovely Sunday

I stayed in bed until late morning, which is very unusual for me. I woke up but stayed in bed reading for awhile.

I didn't have anything time specific on my agenda today and that was a lovely feeling. Of course there were things I wanted to do and needed to do, but nothing time specific.

I spent a large part of the day puttering around the house, organizing things for Christmas, making sure I have all the gifts bought and wrapped and organized. I have not put the ornaments on the packages yet so I'm still doing that. I also got the ribbons on all of them. I've had a hard time deciding what color of ribbon to go with this year.

Greg and I went to Skaets for a burger tonight and Terry joined us to keep us company. Tonight was the first time I've been out on the roads since the snow.

I'm having the hatters over tomorrow night but I have the cooking already done for that.So, I'll just have to tidy up the house a bit when I first get up in the morning and I'll be ready.

I have a ton of work things to do tomorrow so it's going to be a busy day. Tuesday I'm cooking for my board so I have to cram a lot into tomorrow.

Cards Out - Shocks In

I'm guessing we're all busy with holiday preparations. I know I'm behind on a few things and Christmas is one week away. I did get the last of my cards out the door today. I have to get the ones out that are local, with party invites, early - and if I don't get them all done at the same time I can get lax about the others. And I sometimes do.

The past week has been busy for me. I've had something every night and just didn't get the rest of them out but fortunately, they're on their way now.

It is snowy here, with travel advisories. The TV is running constant crawls about cancelled activities. I had invited my Altrusa group over tonight but only a few showed up - for the obvious reasons. Just can't be helped. No way to know what the weather will be, but those older ladies are not going to go out and drive in this.

I cooked today and puttered around the house. I don't have a party tomorrow, and I'm glad. I think I need a day of not having a schedule. I have some writing I need to do but hopefully that will go smoothly.

The weirdest thing today was when I reached for the dryer handle and got shocked. I don't know what the deal is there, but obviously have to figure that out. I just wanted some freaking dry socks. Obviously, there's a problem. I'm not sure who to call about it since I don't know what the problem is. Seems there's always something.

Dinner With Friends

I invited Sondra and Greg over for dinner tonight. Sondra cooks for me and I wanted to return the favor, and I wanted to have her over to share the Christmas season.

Not too long before dinner Terry called to see if Greg wanted to go to Anchor. When Greg told me I suggested he invite Terry over, too. Terry and Sondra hadn't met before, but it was nice.

I made a spinach salad with toasted pine nuts and grilled portobello mushrooms. I served it with a Bertolli Balsamico dressing and it was really good.

I also made my favorite chicken breasts, cooked in soy sauce, garlic, vinegar and honey, along with green bean almondine, corn and mashed potatoes and gravy. I also served Brookville cole slaw, compliments of my friend, Molly. We had our CHICKS gathering last night and she brought it to share. I was planning to make coleslaw and that made me think about making Brookville's version. She very generously offered me what she had and that was all I needed.

After dinner we went into the living room and had tea and coffee. I made Oatmeal cake, because it's one of Sondra's favorites. I sent some home with her and with Terry.

The last few days have been full of gatherings.

On Wednesday night I had the Creative Sisterhood group over. Teresa couldn't come but everyone else was here. It was an exceptional night. Very, very cool.

I shared about my podcasting ventures. I've been picked up by Podcasters News Network, so hopefully that will work out well.

Last night was our Christmas gathering for CHICKS. That's always a fun night. There were only eight of us there last night but it was good.


It was a spur of the moment decision to cook dinner for tonight but I'm glad I did. I rarely cook "real" food - I just like to bake - but it's good to do it every once in awhile.

Tomorrow I will get up early and begin baking. My Altrusa group is coming over tomorrow evening so I will bake all day tomorrow.

Well, it's time for me to hit the sack. I've been getting up very early and going to bed very late. It seems that tonight I'm actually tired a little sooner than normal so maybe it has caught up with me a bit.

The Eyes Have It

Greg took some head shots of me tonight for a project I'm working on. I couldn't resist playing with them.

We thought maybe I should make the catch light into a Christmas bulb or a bell shape.

Accordians

Tonight was Altrusa and there was entertainment - six women playing Christmas carols on accordians. It may sound weird - OK, it was a bit weird - but it was fun. We also did an ornament exchange. I got a cute little snowman I really like.

Also, one of the ladies who was here Saturday night brought me an ornament she bought in Russia. I'm so thrilled with it. I tickled to have it on the tree. I so love ornaments and this is a really special one.

I spent the day working on MHA projects. I woke up really early this morning and started working on something I've put off for months. It took me a long time to get it done but it is out the door and I am tickled by that.

Tomorrow night is Creative Sisterhood. I'm not sure what I'm going to make for it yet but will probably get up early in the morning and do that before the work day starts. I've got a busy day tomorrow.

Plumbers and Friends

My day started with an early morning call from the plumber saying he could come at 10 this morning if I could be here. Fortunately, I didn't have anything time specific until 11:30 so that worked out well. The leak was a simple problem so that was a bonus.

I had lunch with Leah. It was good to see her. I don't get to see her nearly often enough.

I spent the whole work day doing paper kinds of things - it's the season for that. I can spend Dec., Jan. and Feb. on the computer it seems.

This afternoon it got up over 50 degrees so the guy came and did some touch up work on the outside of the house. It's supposed to be nice tomorrow too, so I'm hoping he can get more done. We'll see.

Tonight Trish invited Teresa and me over for dinner. It was a wonderful supper. Then we talked until after 10:30. There's something special about being in someone's home. I'm always honored by such an invitation.

Party Photos

I promised I would get more photos up and there will be yet more coming, but I wanted to get up at least a few more today.

I've had multiple requests for ornament close ups. I will take some more, but here is one that Greg took last night of a little baby Jesus that I always nestle into the tree.

It's not really an ornament, but I bought it in Rome years ago, with the idea of using it as one and it has been on every tree I've done since then.

Father Christmas even popped by. Gary is the husband of my board president and it has been a delight to get to know both of them. Peggy is just wonderful and they are both always willing to help with anything.

Gary is such a charmer - everyone who meets him falls in love with him. I'm always trying to send him baked goodies and Peggy is always telling me to stop feeding him. They're both wonderful people.

Somehow we managed to not get a good photo of Peggy last night. Of course, when Father Christmas arrived later in the evening, he was the hit of the party and we all wanted our photos taken with him. It must be hard being a celebrity.

Mia was a big help yesterday, as were Greg and Mark. Greg even vacuumed. And, if his mother happens to be reading this - yes - there is photographic evidence of it. Mark worked so hard. He was quite the trooper.

It's always more work than you expect to throw a party, but it's so worth it.

We got tickled last night and just could not stop laughing. Left to right is Andrea, Diana, me and Teresa.

I will share more photos in the coming days, but I'm ready to call it a night. I went to bed about 4 a.m. and got up about 9, so I'm ready to go to sleep.


We went to see a Christmas play this afternoon and that was a festive addition to the day. Otherwise, I've just enjoyed the day. Last night was so much fun that today has just been a lovely continuation of the event.

Tomorrow night Trish is having Teresa and me over to dinner and I'm really looking forward to that. It's so rare to be invited to someone's home for dinner, and always a treat.

Christmas Open House

Tonight was my annual open house and it was a really fun evening. Greg took tons of pix and I'll post more but thought I'd just pop up one shot tonight.

There were about 40 people I'd guess. I served baked goods of various sorts. We laughed a lot.

It's always good to connect with people.

I will write more and post more pix, but it's almost 3 a.m. and I've been awake since about 8 a.m. so I need to get some sleep.

Father Christmas even made an appearance!

Jesse's First Time

Well, I've been fortunate a few times in my life to be someone's "first" for one thing or another. Tonight was something I never expected.

(And it couldn't have been more innocent so get your mind out of the gutter.)

Mark is down for my party tomorrow and he and Jesse went out to dinner then came by to help me with things. I was cooking and offered Jesse the spatula from the cheesecake to lick.

Much to my surprise, he told me it was the first time he had ever licked the bowl/spoon/spatula.

I was so surprised I mixed up something else, partially so Jesse could lick the bowl.

I had no idea I would ever get to be this "first" in someone's life without giving birth. Life is full of surprises.

Art of Gracious Living Podcast #4

I'm busy preparing for a holiday get together happening in about 24 hours. Always at this time in the process I start to question my own sanity at doing such a thing. But, come tomorrow night this time I'll be glad I did.

Click here to listen to the Art of Gracious Living Podcast #4

Screenings and Magazines

We had a screening this afternoon. We had someone come in who was suicidal and we were able to get them help. I'm touched to be a tiny part of this process.

After the screening, Julie, Greg and I went to Skaets for a burger. Then they both came over to my house. Julie helped me decorate more on the tree. I think I have one more box of ornaments and then I'll do icicles and it's done. I will try to take some photos and post them.

I got the magazine today that I wrote the article on Food Traditions for. Greg's photos look nice.

I'm now trying to convince myself to drag the trash dumpster out to the back alley. It's 5 degrees here and the ground is covered with snow. I do NOT want to go outside. I was thinking about waiting until in the morning but it's going to be 3 degrees at 8 a.m. So, I either have to keep it another week or get my butt out there.

At times like this I really miss having a man in my life.

Merry Little Christmas

Today was one of those days when I'm so very thankful that I can work from home sometimes. Because today was a day when I wanted to do that. It was frigid all day. It's 4 now. It has snowed almost all day. It's just been a generally unpleasant day to be out and about.

I was supposed to go to the diversity luncheon today but didn't. I spent that time dragging up more boxes of Christmas stuff from the basement and making myself homemade pizza.

Tonight I decorated and made some real progress. I finished the lights on the tree early this morning and started decorating it. Then I did some more tonight.

At one point I snapped a photo of the various boxes of lights I had unpackaged to add to the tree. I buy a supply every year when they get cheap so I'm prepared for the next year. I have almost depleted my supply this year. I went a little crazy with the lights.

People are always asking me how many lights. A few years ago I stopped telling people because they're either one - shocked. Or, two - shocked and disapproving. I just stopped telling people how many - then I don't have to deal with it. This year is my best one ever, I think. I was glad I had a stash of lights from which to draw. I just say there are "thousands" of lights. That's accurate. And vague.

There was an accident on the corner about 5:30 tonight. I heard it and went out on the porch and looked. I'm not sure what happened but there were police vehicles there for more than an hour afterwards. I never saw an ambulance, but there were flashing red and blue lights for a long time. I walked out onto the porch, but that was as far out of the house as I got today.

I truly am thankful I can work from home. This time of year I've got a ton of paper/computer things to do and I generally do those on my home computer anyway as the work computer can't handle too many things. So, I had a productive day without having to go outside.

Greg got home tonight and I'm so glad he's back safe and sound.

It's rare I'm interested in something on television but I wanted to see the White House Christmas special on HGTV tonight. I was a little disappointed in it. The plan this year was to use all natural things - lots of fruit and fresh flowers. I guess I'm old fashioned. I like my red and green and glitter and glow. The other stuff is fine as additions, but I need my basic Santa and tree contingent covered this time of year.

I took some video of the tree with the lights on today - before I started putting ornaments on. I had planned to post it but I'm not sure what format to use and how to get the .mov file my camera took it in into whatever is useful. I found a tool to convert it into an .avi file but those seem really large. Oh well, maybe I'll figure it out.

I have done a couple more podcasts. Those are easy for me since I can just adlib them, and they seem to be striking a cord with some people, so that's good.

Well, time for bed for me. We have a screening tomorrow and I have a lot of things to do before then.

Art of Gracious Living Podcast #3

I love Christmas and one of my favorite parts of it is putting the ornaments on the tree. I have some I've picked up on trips and also ones people have given me. I treasure them as they're tangible reminders of the relationships I'm blessed to have.

Listen to Art of Gracious Living Podcast #3

Snow!

It's a blamy 7 degrees at 4:06 a.m. And we have snow... not a dusting but enough to cover the ground.

I looked outside the second I woke up. I decided to just stay up. I think I'll put some pumpkin bread in the oven, turn on some Christmas carols until Morning Edition comes on, and work on the tree.

Last allied veteran of the Christmas Truce in WW1 Dead

Reuters reported on Monday, November 21, 2005
in a story by Peter Graff

The last known surviving allied veteran of the Christmas Truce that saw German and British soldiers shake hands between the trenches in World War One died Monday at 109, his parish priest said.

Alfred Anderson was the oldest man in Scotland and the last known surviving Scottish veteran of the war.

"I remember the silence, the eerie sound of silence," he was quoted as saying in the Observer newspaper last year, describing the day-long Christmas Truce of 1914, which began spontaneously when German soldiers sang carols in the trenches, and British soldiers responded in English.

"All I'd heard for two months in the trenches was the hissing, cracking and whining of bullets in flight, machinegun fire and distant German voices.

But there was a dead silence that morning across the land as far as you could see.
"We shouted 'Merry Christmas' even though nobody felt merry. The silence ended early in the afternoon and the killing started again."

Troops in the trenches swapped cigarettes, uniform buttons and addresses and even played football in one of the most extraordinary episodes of the war.

Parish priest Neil Gardner of Anderson's Alyth Parish Church in Scotland said he had died in his sleep and was survived by a large family, including 18 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.

"He was a wonderful old man: he was gracious, gentle, he had a great sense of humor and a fine sense of wisdom from his experience spanning three centuries," said Gardner, who also served as chaplain to Anderson's regiment, the Black Watch.

Anderson also served briefly as a member of the household staff of Queen Elizabeth's uncle, Fergus Bowes-Lyon.

With Anderson's death, fewer than 10 British veterans of the war remain alive, of whom only three or four were veterans of trench warfare on the Western Front.

Attention has turned to the last survivors in recent weeks, with filmmakers bringing out documentaries in time for this month's Armistice Day holiday, marking the day the guns fell silent on November 11, 1918.

Don't Get Creative With My Christmas Carols

I've been playing Christmas Carols tonight while I work on things around the house. I have a few CDs that I haven't listened to before. I popped in one and they were doing something I hate - getting creative with old standards.

People - DON'T do that. We just want to hear the pretty song, the way we remember singing it during the nativity play as a kid, we don't want your interpretation.

If you want to interpret something, write it first. Otherwise, just stick to the script. Don't go trying to get fancy. We just want to hear "Away in a Manger" just the way we sang it when we were 10, only we want you to do it pretty. That's why we bought your CD.

OK, if you're Aretha, you can get creative. Otherwise, just stick to the basics.