New Year's Eve

Today is December 31, and it is 70° outside.   It was so warm, I was able to open my doors and windows and get some fresh air into the house, and also put the plants out on the porch to get some sun.   

They are safely tucked inside the house now, because it's supposed to get back down into the 30s tonight.  

Speaking of tonight, I don't have any plans for New Year's Eve, other than watching the Happy New Year, Charlie Brown show and knitting-- in other words, my usual New Year's Eve plans.  

Speaking of knitting, the scarf is moving right along, 

and would be moving along ever farther if I would actually sit down and work on it more.  It's a pretty easy knit, but not quite as mindless as a hat.  

This morning, I got up and took down the outside lights and put them away.  And with that, everything is down except for the tree.  

I'll do that tomorrow.   I want to enjoy it one more night before putting it away for another year. 

The only other thing I've done today was to take my mini chainsaw out and cut some of the fallen branches up into kindling size pieces of wood.  I collect up the stuff that falls out of the trees during storms and whatnot and use it for firewood.  I've also been burning up all the privet I cut out of my fences over the summer.  

It actually makes pretty good firewood.  The biggest problem is finding pieces with a big enough diameter to make it worth burning.  The stuff I cut down had been growing so long, some of it was about 4" in diameter, so I'm doing all right there.  And it was free, so there is that.  

I need to get someone to come cut down that box elder that is growing behind my back fence, too.  It's not a huge tree, but it's a little more than I want to handle by myself.  Eh, maybe I'll get out there one day and see if I can cut it down without killing myself.  Like I said, it's not real big, but because it's so close to the fence, it's giving me pause.  

Oh well, I'll figure it out.  

I guess that's about it for today.  I hope you all have a very happy new year, and all that comes with it. 

Fourth Time

You know what they say, the fourth time is the charm.  

What?  The THIRD time?  Are you sure?  

Whatever.  Man, is it even knitting if you don't rip and re-cast on at least three times?  That is exactly what happened with this little bit of scarf.  

 I cast on, then decided it wasn't wide enough.  

The pattern was written way back when super long, super skinny scarves were all the rage, and knit to the original pattern using the Trekking yarn, a scarf will be about 4" wide and about 8' long.    Now, I do like the long scarves so I can wrap them several times, but I'm over the whole skinny scarf thing.  

So, I ripped and cast on again.  Then decided it still wasn't wide enough, so I ripped and cast on again again.  I got about four pattern repeats done and decided...yep, you guessed it.  Still not wide enough.  I ripped a third time and cast on a fourth.  

The result of that fourth cast on is what you see above.  Cat included for scale.  And because she wouldn't move her butt out of my chair.  But mostly for scale. 

Of course, it's pretty easy to widen this scarf.  It's just a multiple of 6 plus two.  

That's about all I did today, other than watching football and beginning to take down the Christmas decorations.  I'll probably leave the tree up until Monday, but everything else is pretty much already down -- or will be by the end of today.  

Well, packed up in boxes at least.  I may wait until tomorrow to haul it all out to the shed.  

And finally, I don't know what was wrong with me last night.  I couldn't sleep, but it wasn't like normal insomnia either.  This time I just wasn't sleepy.  I don't know if I had too much caffeine too late in the day or what.  Whatever, as I was laying there in the bed somewhere along about 2:30 in the blessed A.M, I suddenly remembered I'd forgotten to renew my driver's license last month. 

Oops.  Fortunately, Mississippi is pretty forgiving about this.  You just have to pay a $1 late fee, and that's what I did when I got online and renewed it this morning. 

Heh, one time when I first moved here, I drove with an expired license for a year, because I was expecting to get a reminder like I did in every other state I've had a driver's license in.  But Mississippi doesn't send reminders.  You just have to remember -- or to check your expiration date every once in a while.

Oh well, at least I'm legal again.  Or I will be when my new license gets here sometime next week.  

Be Proud

You will all be very proud of me.  Why?  

After all these years, I finally signed up for my military discount at Lowe's.  But why didn't I do it before?  Because they've finally got it to where you can sign up on the website.  I don't know how long it's been like that, but I just found it yesterday evening.  

I looked two years ago when I bought my new washing machine, but didn't see any way to sign up online then.  All I found was that I would have to go to their customer service desk and ask them to sign me up.  Every time I went up to the Lowe's in Batesville, I'd think to myself, "Self, you really need to go talk to them about that military discount card,"  but there was always an excuse.  There was a line.  I didn't know if I'd need to bring my DD-214.  I just didn't feel like talking to the rep.  I always had a reason, and I never did it.  

Yesterday, I was on one of my veteran's groups on Facebook, and someone mentioned that you can sign up for the military discount on the Lowe's website, so off I zipped and got 'er done.  The whole reason for this is that I'm seriously considering replacing my dishwasher.  It hasn't worked right in a couple of years, but I'd never really seen the need to get a new one what with it being just me and all.  I don't need a dishwasher just for my one bowl and two spoons that I use per day.  

Anyway, I'm just thinking about it.  I don't know if I'll actually get a new one or not.  I've still got to replace my fences first. 

Today has been an overcast, somewhat dreary day.  I don't think the temperature got out of the 40s, but despite all that, I managed to get up and go in to Walmart and hit the clearance aisle once again. Today's haul was pretty good.  I bought a couple of sets of gift bags, some paper plates and napkins, a new paper tablecloth, and yes, another box of Christmas cards.  

I guess I don't think eight is enough.  HAHAHAHAHA!!  OK, I'll stop now.   

I also found another one of those Snoopy mug and glass sets, so I think I'll give one each to Cody and  Brennan next year.  

They had a whole bunch of wax melts, but only got four.  I wonder where these where at the beginning of the Christmas season, because I sure didn't see them then. 

They might not make it until next year.  Neither will these soaps. 

They're predicting a pretty stout cold snap by the middle of next month, so the hot chocolate will need some marshmallows -- like I don't already have tons of marshmallows. 

And despite having a butt load of sprinkles, I bought more.  

Don't ask why.  I don't even know.   Maybe because they're cute.  They have candy canes, ornaments, gingerbread men, Christmas lights, snowflakes, and stockings in them.  Maybe because I bought this, as well. 

It's a cookie cutter set to make gingerbread houses with.  I think next year, I might try to bake my own.  It does come with a recipe, so that ought to be fun.  BTW, I still need to make the one I bought this year.  That might be my New Year's Eve activity, since I don't go to parties any more.  Or ever did...

I found these cute little pen sets, and bought two to put into Cody and Brennan's stockings next year, 

but the Grogu Pez dispenser is all mine.  

I bought a few more bags of Christmas candy, and a box of half price cereal, because you can never have too much cereal.  

That was about it for clearance stuff, though I did buy another one of those metal buckets -- avoiding the mouse count this time -- and another bag of deer corn.   That's pretty much it.  I didn't even buy any food, other than a bunch of bananas, because I still have plenty at home. 

Speaking of food, since it was such a whirlwind Christmas, Cody didn't even have time to make my gumbo, so this afternoon, I cut up the trinity I'd bought and put them into the freezer.  I'll try to get around to making the gumbo myself one weekend, but for now, I think I'll just eat up all the soup I already have in the freezer.  And honey, it's a lot.  

And finally, you will all be pleased to know I decided which pattern to cast on with that yarn I posted yesterday.   It's an old scarf called Trekking Is For Necking, from the now defunct Nipper Knits blog.  I'd link, but I can't even find it on the Wayback Machine.  Fortunately, I had printed out a copy years ago, when the site was still live.  Good thing, because it's one of my go-to scarf patterns.  It's only four rows, and easily memorized.  

I'll post a photo once it gets long enough to see.   But for now, I'm busy watching bowl games.  

Laters. 

Letting Go

You will all be pleased to know I woke up in plenty of time to make it to Spain's before the store got crowded.  I just didn't.   I lay there in bed a few minutes trying to make up a shopping list, and realized I  don't need anything right now, and wouldn't have a place to put it even if I bought stuff. 

When I opened up my app to check the morning temp, that sealed the deal. 

I decided then and there that there was nothing I needed badly enough to get out into that cold weather when I didn't absolutely have to.   Instead, I built a fire, made a cup of coffee, and spent the morning watching history documentaries on YouTube.  

There was this one really cool one where a guy re-created the explosion that would have occurred had Guy Fawkes succeeded in his plan to blow up King James.   It's an hour long, but worth the watch, if you're in to that sort of thing. 

So, since I cleaned out my lower cabinets over Thanksgiving break, one of the plans for Christmas break was to clean out the drawers.  I mean, the drawers in the kitchen cabinets.  Just to clear up any confusion.  Today, it was the silverware drawer. 

Back when I got married -- yes, I was married for a very short while-- one of my wedding gifts was a bunch of Corningware kitchen stuff.  I had plates, bowls, a casserole dish or two....and silverware.  Truth is, I never really liked the silverware because it had those big, bulky handles that never quite fit into the tray.  

After a time, the handles began cracking, but I couldn't bring myself to throw them away.  Nothing sentimental about it.  They were still usable, if just a bit less attractive.  I'd even begun buying replacement silverware, but still stubbornly hung on to the corning.   Today, all that ended when I came to the conclusion that it was time to let go of it. 

I dumped everything out of the drawer into the sink, sorted the bad stuff out and tossed it, then washed the good stuff and put it all back.  Oh, and I wiped down the drawer itself.  It looks so much neater and more organized now, even though my silverware doesn't all match.  

 It's kind of sad the things I get excited about these days.  Ooooh, and I discovered my Grogu Funko is a bobblehead!

Like I said...thought it doesn't really matter, since I don't intend to take it out of the box.  It's one of those heavy duty collector's boxes, not the flimsy cardboard they usually come in.  

And finally, I've got two skeins of this DK weight yarn, amounting to about 650 yards. 

It is crying out to be knit into something, if only I could find just the right pattern...I'm thinking scarf...but am open to suggestions.  

Nothing

Today was another one of those do-nothing kind of days.  I slept in until 7:00 AM, and shortly after that, my friend sent me a photo of the Spain's parking lot.  She said that's when she always goes, and it's always nearly empty.  I guess I'm going to have to set my alarm and go in that early tomorrow.  I'll let you know how that goes. 

I need to start getting used to getting up early again anyway.  

My main task today was to start washing up all the Christmas containers and putting them away, but besides that, I didn't do anything -- other than finishing Silo on Apple TV, and knitting another hat. 

Silo was pretty good, barring the plethora of obscene language, and as far as I can remember, it's pretty faithful to the book.  I mean, it's been 11 years since I've read those books.  Now, I'm watching  Percy Jackson And The Olympians on Disney +.  Again, it's been 9 years since I read them, but the show seems to be pretty faithful to the books.  I think making a series instead of a movie means they can add more detail. 

While I was doing all that TV watching, I wrote a letter to my Australian pen pal -- which I still need to finish so I can get it into the mail tomorrow.  Speaking of mail, I got two more Christmas cards today.  One was dated December 19, and the other was dated December 20th.  And my friend Peggy told me she finally received the one I'd mailed back in November.  I knew I wasn't going crazy!  Only now she's going to get two from me...

In other news,  I thought I'd decorate some of the cut out cookies that I'd vacuum sealed and froze last year, but I didn't get around to it.   However, as I was getting the cookie icing down from the top shelf of the pantry, I found these kits I'd gotten on clearance last year and completely forgot that I had. 

I still don't know what I'm going to do with them.  Maybe I'll make cupcakes a bit later on, since neither of them are specifically Christmassy. 

They didn't really have a lot of baking stuff on clearance this year, at least not that I could see.  However, the clearance aisle were pretty much madhouses, so I'll look again when I go back on my regular shopping day.  They might have things a bit more organized by then.  Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I managed to nab an extra string of outside lights, so I can put them along the entire length of my  house next year.  

I don't think I'm going to put the white icicle lights up again.  I've never been completely sold on how that looks combining the white and colored lights.  I'm going to stick with colored lights, since I like them better. 

And finally, Cody mentioned that he's wanting to build up his collection of DVDs since digital content can be unreliable.  I didn't think about it while he was here, but later, I messaged him and reminded him that all these are his.  

The ones on the bottom shelf, that is, from Spirit on over.   I'll probably move them into his bedroom so I'll have more room for the DVDs I'm getting. 

I guess that's it for now, because I really need to get that letter finished.  

Laters. 

Christmas Mayhem

It almost felt a bit weird this morning, getting up and not adding a new figure to my advent poster, but then, once Jesus is here, you don't need anything more.  

We had a good, if quiet Christmas -- as much as anything is quiet when Cody is around.  The kids came up Christmas Eve, getting here around 2.  The first thing I did when they got here was to give Brennan her birthday present.  "I didn't forget your birthday, "I told her.  "I just had the wrong date."    I'd given her the Irish Hiking scarf and matching hat, I'd knit, and told her that since she was now a part of my family, she had to have something hand knit.  "You knit this???"  Brennan exclaimed.  I think she liked it. 

After a bite of chicken Alfredo for lunch, we settled in to watch A Christmas Story Christmas, but ended up talking so much we didn't really pay attention.  

We hadn't gotten very far into the movie when I asked Cody what time he wanted to open gifts.  He said, "We're here, and the gifts are here.   Might as well do it now."  And that's exactly what we did.   Afterwards, we laid out all our stuff for our traditional loot pictures -- which my dad had always made us do when I was a kid.   These two pictures are Cody and Brennan's stuff.  

They seemed very taken with the home grown and dried herbs from my garden, and opened each bottle and sniffed them.  Before they even got the lids back on the jars, Cody was already figuring out how he could use them when cooking.  Or making tea.  And Cody loved his wireless meat thermometer.  

"I've been wanting one of these!" he said.  I got him a slightly better one -- read, higher rated-- than the one I got, because I figure he'll use his more.   Well, they both seemed to really like all their gifts. 

This is my pile of loot, and I'm sure you will all be pleased to know that they mystery of who sent the Texas-opoly game has been solved. 

It was indeed from my younger brother.  And look-- a yarn bowl!  Brennan was so excited for me to open that one, and Cody said, "It wasn't on your list, but she saw it and knew you would like it."  And I do!  I had to hurry up and finish the hat I'd already cast on, 

so I could wind the rest of that skein into a ball and use the bowl.

BTW, that is the Call The Midwife Christmas special I'm watching in that photo.   My other gifts include a new hoodie from Grunt Style that I've been wanting for ages.  Just before Christmas, they had a sale and had it marked down quite a bit, so I screen shotted the ad and sent it to Cody, along with the size I wanted.   I also got a baby Yoda (Grogu) Funko, and the complete Tenth Doctor on DVD from my older brother and his family, and the Texas neon sign is a total surprise from an old school mate of mine.  She just up and sent it without warning.  The house shoes, book, and new baking pans are from my sister and her family.  

We visited a little more, and laid out our Christmas Eve snack spread, and after we were thoroughly stuffed with sugar, we went out to look at lights, with the town square being our first stop.  I hadn't planned on getting out of the car, but Brennan wanted to take some photos in front of the trees, so there I was, walking around the town square in Christmas Eve in my pajama pants.  

  

Fortunately, except for us, the square was pretty much deserted.  I took a bunch more pictures, but won't post them all here.  They'll be on my Facebook album eventually.  We drove around for a while looking at lights, and I told Brennan, "You've now seen pretty much the whole of Grenada."  

Christmas morning, Cody and Brennan had a bit of a lie-in, and were actually still in bed when Bren's mother and sister both texted, saying "Where are you?"  They had to jump out of bed, scarf down a bite of breakfast, and hit the road in a hurry.  They'd invited me to come, but I couldn't think of anything more awkward than sitting around at Christmas with a bunch of people I don't know, so I spend a quiet day at home watching movies and knitting. 

BTW, and they decided to take the gingerbread house kits home with them and do them there, because they didn't really have a safe way to take them in their car.  I was a bit bummed, but totally understood.  I wouldn't want them to slam on the brakes somewhere and end up covered in gingerbread and icing.  I told them I wanted pictures, though, so hopefully I can see them.  

Brennan had logged me in to her Apple TV account so I could watch Silo, based on the Wool books by  Hugh Howey.  I'm going to have to re-read those, because I sure don't remember every other word in the books being an obscenity.    Is it any wonder people are getting fed up with Hollywood?

Today, I got up and decided it would be vacuum sealing day, and before it was all said and done, I got five dozen cookies sealed and frozen.  Cody and Brennan took a lot with them, as well, but I still have plenty to eat between now and New Year's Day. 

Then I sealed up 2 1/2 dozen sausage balls in packs of six-- because that's about how many I can eat in one sitting.  

And lastly, I started sealing up some of the fudge and freezing it. 

There is still quite a bit left, so I may freeze more of it before it's all over.  

It was at about this point I realized my milk had begun to smell funny, so I ran into town to pick up a fresh gallon, and hit the clearance sales while I was at it.  Despite having enough wrapping paper to last the next 10 years, I chose three new rolls. 

Non-snowman themed paper, so next year, I'll have a little more variety.   

A bit of good news, I'd been looking at this all season long, debating on whether to buy it or not but never did.  There just happened to be one left, marked down to half price, so I got it!  

The last thing I got -- other than some candy and mixed nuts, and I needed those mixed nuts, because Cody picked through and ate all the Brazil nuts and walnuts, was this Snoopy mug and glass set.  

I haven't decided whether to put it back as a gift for next year, or to keep it myself.   It will probably end up being a gift.  I think Brennan would like it.   Speaking of, I got a bit tickled at her when Cody was eating my mixed nuts, she said she'd never seen nuts still in the shells and didn't know what any of them were. 

The last thing I bought of note was a metal bucket to keep my birdseed in.  

When you raise the handle up, those little notches in the sides lock the lid into place, so wild critters can't get inside and eat up whatever is in there.  I'm going to get another one for the deer corn that I put into my squirrel feeders next time I go back.   That ought to keep the varmints out. 

Funny thing is, as I was standing in line to check out, a lady in the next line noticed the bucket and said she liked it.  I told her what it was for, and she then proceeded to tell me about every single mouse and rat her cats had killed in the last 27 years.  I was so glad when it was my turn to check out.

That's about it for today.  Now I need to go grab a quick shower, and watch the last version of A Christmas Carol that I haven't yet seen this year.  

Laters. 

The Word Became Flesh

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 

After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 

The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us, authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!  My advent calendar is done, 

and Cody and Brennan are on their way.   I got up this morning and made those snickerdoodles after all, figuring that if I didn't make the kids do it, they'd have more time to do their gingerbread houses if they wanted to.  

As for me, I have no idea what day it is.  Seriously, I checked the mail twice today before I remembered it's Sunday.  Oh well, the only day I'll need to remember  is January 2, because that's when I have to go back to work. 

This is going to be a bit short, because I want to get this published before the kids get here, but I'm about to upend everything we've ever thought about Christmas.  Why?  Because today's advent poster addition is the manger. 

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.  Luke 2:7

Now, in this day and age, most of us have come to accept that Jesus wasn't born in a little wooden shed, like the ones we always put up every year in our nativity sets.  The reason we've always imagined the shed-like structure is because when Christianity began spreading into Western Europe -- England, France, and the like -- and the people there first heard about Jesus' birth, they pictured in their minds what they knew.  They imagined the wooden feed box and stable structure they were familiar with, and that's how it became part of popular culture.  

Back in the late 70s to early 80s, we began to accept that the stable was more likely to be a cave, because that's what they were most likely to use as a stable in first century Judea.  But what if I told you Jesus wasn't born in a cave, either?  

It says in the Bible, "While they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered"  (Luke 2: 6), but it doesn't say how long they had been there.  It's highly unlikely they would have just gotten there, because, it's only 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and even if they only made five miles per day, it would have been a two week journey.  

I think if Mary had been that close to delivering, she wouldn't have gone.  The image of Joseph rushing around desperately looking for a room in an inn while Mary is already in labor then delivering the baby himself makes for good theater, but it isn't realistic.  

It's more likely that they would have stayed in the home of some of Joseph's relatives, which probably would have been crowded with other kin-folks coming for the census.  The word translated to "inn" was more likely the word for guest room.  The Complete Jewish Bible translation on my Bible app translates it as living quarters. 

From everything I've read and researched, the ground floor of the house was where the animals were kept, and the family slept on the upper floor. 

And so, because the family rooms were crowded with relatives, some of them would have had to stay on the ground floor where the animals were kept.  And that, friends, is probably where Jesus was born.  And where Mary laid him in a manger.  

Now I've got to finish up, as the kids will be almost here. 

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!  

Happy Christmas Adam!

We got some much needed rain today.  In fact, it rained most of the day, which made for a great day of Christmas show watching.  I watched Veggie Tales The Toy That Saved Christmas, and The Star Of Christmas.  Then I watched Adventures In Odyssey Electric Christmas.  Yes, they're cartoons.  Yes, I still watch them. 

After that, I watched a little known film called Seasons Of The Heart -- the one put out by Feature Films For Families, not the TV movie with Carol Burnett.  It's not available anywhere any more, unless you find it on Ebay or a used book seller.  Or you could subscribe to Feature Films For Families online and stream it.  If you have kids, or are just fed up with the garbage Hollywood puts out these days, that might be an option, because they put out some really good movies back in the day.  But anyway...

Back when it first came out, the church library got the movie, and I checked it out so many times, one day I told the librarian, "I might as well just buy this because I keep checking it out so much!"  And that's exactly what I did.  

Anyway, it's a story about Jed and Martha Richards, who moved to Oregon Territory back in the 1800s.  Along the way their two little daughters caught cholera and died.  Then one day, the local circuit riding preacher brought them an orphaned boy and asked them if they could take him in.  They did, but Martha just couldn't warm up to him.  Then something happened....

That's all I'm going to tell you.  Other than there are a few copies on Ebay...I just checked. 

I took a quick break from movie watching to bake up the gumdrop cookies that I'd said I wasn't going to make, but knew I would in the end. 

Then I watched the old classic A Christmas Carol, the one with Alistair Sim. 

After which I got the sausage balls mixed rolled up, all ready to be baked tomorrow.   

Now for a bit of good news.  I finally heard from Cody.  They're coming up here in the morning and are going to spend the night.  Then they'll go up to Memphis and spend Christmas Day with Brennan's family.  It's going to be a whirlwind trip, because they both have to go back to work Tuesday.  Once I get this published, I'm going to mix up the snickerdoodle dough, and let them make those tomorrow when they get here.  I'm also going to make a cream cheese ball, and Cody has requested the cream cheese pie I make.  I have everything but the crust, so I'm just going to put the filling in a bowl and serve it as a custard.  

I also bought gingerbread house kits for them to do if they have time.  They may want to take those home and do them at their leisure.  We'll just have to see how the day goes.  

We are about to get finished with our Nativity poster, and the third Wise Man is the figure I added today. 

Then opening their treasure chests, thy offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Matthew 2:11

Now, I have to get off of here and get busy.  

Laters.

I'm Weakening

I said I wasn't going to do it, but already I feel my resolve weakening.  

I said I wasn't going to make more than two kinds of cookies and one kind of candy, but now that I've started, I'm thinking, "Maybe I'll just make some peanut butter fudge, too."  And some gumdrop cookies...and some snowballs....

I got the chocolate chip cookies done this afternoon.  I was good, I only ate 5, but they were sub-standard and had to be culled anyway. 

Then I took an artsy fartsy photo on my phone.  I had been scrolling through old posts, and saw all the fancy photos I used to take back when I had a DSLR.  I really miss that camera, but just can't seem to justify the expense of buying a new one.  Back when I got that one, I was so deep in debt, I figured $500 more wouldn't matter.  Now that I'm out of debt, I'm finding it hard to spend that much money on a frivolity.  But I digress... 

I also got the chocolate fudge made -- though it still needs to be cut up, which I will do tomorrow.  I said I wasn't going to make any more candy...but I did buy that extra block of cream cheese.  I could make mints.  And I need to perfect the peanut butter fudge, which I can never get quite right, and I do have the stuff to make Turkish Delight...and there are those gumdrops I vacuum sealed and put into the deep freeze last year...

Tomorrow, I'm going to do the snickerdoodles, and we'll just see what happens after that. 

In other news, I had me a little visitor this morning.  

I'd stepped outside to do...I can't remember what, and heard her meowing.  She was up on the windowsill of the house next door.  As soon as she saw me, she came running, and followed me home.  I gave her some lunch, then about 1/2 hour later, I heard a truck pull into the drive.  I ran outside and called, "Excuse me!  Did you lose a kitten?"  

He came over and got her, telling me she'd dashed out the door this morning, and thanked me profusely.  She's a sweet little thing, and I'm glad she's back home with her daddy.  So is my cat, who I had to chase away from the kitten more than once. 

Now for an abrupt change of subject.  My friend Marcy has been trying to make a sourdough starter.  She mentioned over on her blog that it's not doing right, and she thinks it might be too cold to get it started properly. 

Naturally, me with my goofy brain had to blurt out that I was having the same trouble with my tumbling composter.  It's composting, but going a lot slower than I expected, and I think it's because it's been cold lately.  I think it will go faster in the summer when it's hot. 

Only I could somehow connect sourdough starter with compost...but anyway, in the course of the conversation, she said that she had several big piles of compost, so I mentioned that I also had a big compost pile in an old dog kennel that the previous owners had built. 

Ever since I moved in, I've been tossing leaves, weeds, grass clippings, and all sorts of stuff into it.  Even those roses I cut down last summer got thrown into the same pile.  It looks like this on top, 

but underneath it has turned into nice, rich soil.  

I really need to get out there and dig some of that good soil out and use it.  I guess I could fill in some of the low spots in my yard with it for now.  Maybe someday, I'll plant a small garden, but I'm not really a gardener.  Maybe I would be if I didn't have to work, or at least had a sit down job in an air conditioned space, but after 8-10 hours on my feet at my 99' work station, I just don't feel like getting outside and working in the yard.  

I guess that's about it for today, so let me just show you the advent addition, which is the third camel. 

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.  Luke 2:16

In the interest of full disclosure, this isn't actually my favorite rendition of this song, but it was my Dad's favorite Christmas song, and he loved both of these singers, so this is a hat tip to him. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go get those gumdrops out of the freezer...just in case.  

There Were No Things Done

I did a thing yesterday.  I did a thing the day before yesterday.  After two days in a row of thing doing, I decided today was a day to do no things.   Thus, no thing doing was done today. 

Well, except for this thing:

Yep, I finally finished that Irish Hiking Scarf variation that I've been working on for right at two years now.  For reals.  I looked back through the blog and found I'd cast it on December 19, 2021.  Funny thing, that....

But it's done now, and I won a serious game of yarn chicken at that. 

Then I put that scrap of yarn on my cat's head, only when I tried to take it off, she hissed at me, so she spent a good deal of time walking around the back yard with a piece of yarn on her head. 

I got the scarf and matching hat

washed and dried, then I wrapped them up for Brennan's birthday -- which was the 12th, but I already told Cody her gift would be late.  At this point, I might as well save it for when they come get their Christmas gifts.  I'm still not sure exactly when that will be.  Cody will probably let me know when they're about 10 minutes from getting here.   He does that, you know. 

While all that knitting was going on, I watched A Christmas Story Christmas -- the one about Ralphie all grown up.  I found it lacked the charm and originality of the first one, but it was still a good movie, and well worth watching.   Then I watched Elf.  That's one of those movies everyone seems to love, but I think it's kind of meh.  I'll watch it every few years, but it's not one of my must-watch movies.  

Here's a fun thing.  I found on Tubi (free streaming app) an old 1910 silent movie version of A Christmas Carol.  Yes, you read that right.  1910.  All I could think about was how my dad would have loved to see it.   That was his favorite Christmas story -- besides the real Christmas story, I mean -- and made it his mission to collect every movie version ever made.  In this modern age, when so many versions have been re-discovered and made available via streaming, he'd have been in hog heaven. 

Now I'm watching the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol, also on Tubi, which has ads, but is better than dealing with my temperamental DVD player.  Oh, it plays the discs just fine, but the drawer doesn't want to slide in and out, so you have to fiddle with it a bit.  It's annoying, and I probably ought to replace it, but I don't really watch DVDs enough justify spending the money on a new one. Really, old Christmas shows are about all I use it for as it is.   

Speaking of Christmas, I got two cards in the mail today!

They made my day!  Really, I was starting to feel a bit like Charlie Brown, constantly checking the mail for cards that never came.  I do so enjoy sending cards, and I like getting them, too.  That's something I wish would make a comeback, but with the price of stamps spiraling out of control, a lot of people can't really afford it any more.    Someone in one of my FB groups suggested making Christmas stamps half price, which would encourage people to send more cards, but I don't think that would work, because people would really stock up and use the stamps all year round.  Maybe they could sell pre-paid Christmas cards at the post office, with postage included.  That might work.  But the government would never go for it.  They're going to wring every penny out of us that they can.

OK, now for the moment you've all been waiting for.  Today's advent update is a wise man. 

And the scripture is:  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.  Matthew 2:10

But wait, there's more!  Since today is the winter solstice, also known in some areas as Midwinter, here is a bonus song for you.

That's it for today.  I'm off to watch Scrooge get saved.  

Laters.