New Years Eve

I get pretty excited about New Years Eve. I get a good book and settle in and say Yippee at midnight and then I am off to bed. May have a glass of wine with the book. New Years Day is even worse. By then I have finished the book so am really bored. Will fix lunch with the requisite black eyed peas and ham, then I will either clean house or take the Christmas decorations out of the shop window. If I were in New Jersey, I could spend the day watching the Mummers Parade. That is the best thing I ever did on New Years Day. I drove the family nuts because I wanted to watch from morning to night. That thing goes on all day and evening long. It just fascinates me and next year I am going to be there. That is my goal for 2010. See the Mummers Parade. If you have never seen it you have missed a real treat and if you have seen it, don't depress me by saying you don't like it!
Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years Eve and gets up in time to see all the football games. Actually, I bet you could start football this morning and stay up all night and all the next day and night and find a game someplace on the tv. Don't suggest it to Bill because he will probably try it.

Grandad's Big Night

Cowboys rule!!! At least I hope they do tonight so Bill and Tom will have a good new year.
I don't know anyone who enjoys those games more, and I hope it is a good game, but I also really, really, really hope they win. Bill never gets cranky if they lose (that is a prerequisite for being a good Cowboy fan) but he really enjoys it when they win. As long as it is a good game, he will be happy.
I have never enjoyed football on tv. I guess I need the weather and the crowd and the smell of the stadium to get in the mood. That goes for any sport. Love them in person, hate them on tv.
Ride 'em Cowboys!!

Christmas Calories

I had been given to believe that calories did not count at Christmas. Well, believe me, that is not true. I ate candy and pie and dressing and some more candy and gained 2 pounds. Somehow, there must be a way to remove calories from Christmas food. After all, it is to celebrate the Lord's birth...so would he want us to celebrate that with carrots and oatmeal? I don't think so. Maybe now I will have to celebrate my health and get rid of those two pounds plus the 2 I seemed to find at Thanksgiving and the other 2 I picked up celebrating Tim's ordination and things like that. Notice how I manage to blame the celebrations? I am good the rest of the time. Back to oatmeal and carrots. I want to be ready for the next big celebration and it appears I have some work to do before that happens.

The Grand Committment

I noticed that the reading of John Calvins "The Institutes" is to begin Jan 1. I have never read the institutes, I know their importance and the significence of them, but I have never read the 2 book writing. So I will join others on the Princeton Theological Seminary website and begin the reading. I found a copy at Amazon on sale for $50 and I had a $25 gift certificate so got the two books withfree shipping at a $60 savings. Now I am committed. You read (you can actually listen online) each day except Sunday and Christmas and finish by the end of the year. There are papers written each week by scholars and you are invited to leave comments anytime. So there is no excuse and I hope I can encourage others to join me and we can have a weekly discussion group. Aaron had encouraged each of us on COM to read it this year, but he didn't tell us about this opportunity.
I will be reading and hopefully understanding. It is a good thing to use your mind. Use it or lose it and I can't afford to lose anymore of it. Good Sabbath

Day Off

Yea! I am taking the day off. Closed the door early Friday and won't be back until Monday.

Thanks to Rachel for making the surprise present for Tom a success. I think he enjoyed it and I don't care what she says, she is a good writer. I thank her for the story, it was quite good. Now she is mad at me because I am publicly saying something nice about her. Don't care. Thanks, Rachel.

I am going to get my Christmas decorations down and the house back in order so I can get back to work next week and not have to worry about it all.

Wow, this orange is hard to read. I must remember not to use it again. Hope everyone is ready to celebrate the new year. We can be hopeful for a better year for the country and for the economy.
May your New Year wishes be granted.

21st Century

ok, GRANDCHILDREN!!!
I have joined the 21st century. I am sitting here at my computer writing a blog and listening to Johnny Ray sing Little White Cloud That Cried on my Pebble MP3 player that I figured out all by myself. I think I am good for another dozen years or so at this rate. Yea, Gran

Happy Boxing Day

Happy Day After Christmas. I hope everyone received something they liked. I had a lot of things I liked a lot. I especially love the new large print study Bible, even if it is too big to hold!! Over 3000 pages, but it is filled with good information for study and the print is a bit bigger so I can read it easier. Then my little Pebble is nice. Just hangs around my neck with enough music to keep me happy and easy to use. Never thought a ped egg would be a great gift, but it is really nice. Books, smelly stuff, angel, and candy. All things I can use. Ghost gave me some good calendars since my friend Marla died and she used to supply me with 5 or 7 calendars from Scotland. She loved Christmas and I miss her. I am sorry she did not get to see her grandchildren grow up. That is one of the best gifts of all. God gives us what we need and some special things as well. Such as good family.
Many thanks to all who helped make it a happy day for all.
Have a good day. I am going to get some end of year business out of the way and then I am taking Saturday off to just goof off.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas day. Enjoy the family you have with you and relax in the day.
When I was little, Christmas morning was exciting, with packages under the tree and the visit from Santa the night before. Christmas dinner was wonderful because Dad had smoked a turkey for a week before Christmas. My cousin Pat always thought it was ham because he didn't like turkey and Uncle Harry and Dad told him it was ham. Woe to any of us who said the word turkey. I bet he was 50 before he knew it was turkey. That and Uncle Harry's shrimp salad are the only two things I remember eating on Christmas day. I am sure we had pie and other things, but I don't remember them. I have never again eaten turkey as good as that. I can still smell it. Dad would soak it in a special brine he mixed up in the garage. Then for days they went in the smoker he built and it had to be tended every 3 or 4 hours, day and night. I remember the smell of the hickory as he wet it down. Those turkeys were the best ever and he smoked many of them each year. People all around town hoped to get on the list. He would only do so many, how ever many the smoker would hold. Family came first, then good friends and then maybe one or two other special people.
I bought a smoked turkey one year, and it wasn't like that. So now I have a turkey breast in the oven.
Merry Christmas....have a wonderful day.

Joy and Peace

As we approach Christmas Eve night, I wish you the symbols of Advent. Hope, Joy, Peace and Love. Nothing else is important. I wish I could put my arms around everyone I love this year and hug them for Christmas. But I can put my heart around all of you and give you a hug of love. Enjoy the day and be kind to one and all. God bless us, everyone.

Let it snow

I am almost finished with Christmas orders in the shop. I have two sewing projects left and 1 embroidery order. So we have done well. Now, it can snow. Everyone I love will be someplace safe by tonight, so I would welcome a Christmas snow. But, I don't think it will happen. It is cold and was icey this morning, but I think the sun is going to come out tomorrow. I am sure you wanted a weather report!
I enjoy people when they come in with gifts to be embroidered. It is nice to see folks enjoying the gift giving instead of being bummed out about it.
It is also good to be ahead of schedule, even though that probably means we didn't have as big a Christmas business as usual. But I am not stressed and frustrated and worn out this year and that is good. So, I hope everyone else is having a good run up to the holiday.

Santas Work Almost Done

Rachel and I have been working on a present for someone we love and it is almost finished and ready to be mailed. It is so much fun when you get a good idea to surprise someone with on Christmas. You hope they like it and because you had so much fun doing it, it would be ok if they didn't like it. Each year, I get inspired by someones gift. The rest have to suffer with stuff like money and clothes and the things they want for Christmas. But I have had a good time and that counts for something!!! It is the love that goes with a gift that matters and this one goes with a lot of love.
Now, you can all guess who gets it!!!

Good Day

We had a lovely day with Rebecca and Jason. I am happy to report that his is a pleasant, nice mannered, ambitious and happy young man. He seems to have a very caring way about him and appears to be very caring of Becky as she is of him. I think this is a good mark of maturity and am pleased to see it in both of them. He has a good sense of humor and is at ease with strangers. He knows who he is and who he has been and what he wants to be. So, it was nice to see her happy and she looked radiant.
The only fly on the day was having to let Amy go back to NJ. We loved having her this week. It is special to have her around and we all enjoyed it. The people at church were pleased to have her as liturgist today and she is more professional each time I see her work.
All in all it has been a good day. She left Duncan at 1pm Sun and will not arrive in Philly until 9:20am Monday as it stands now. I hope she gets in then, as she still has to drive an hour to Princeton and gather up things for the 1.45 hour trip to Stillwater. Then on to NYC on Tue to get Jo and bring her back to Stillwater for Christmas. Good thing she has lots of energy. I think I remember having that kind of energy at that age and I believe I remember that I enjoyed it. Now a 1 hour drive is all I want.
Anyway, I have had my Christmas family joy and will wait for the day to celebrate the real reason for the season.
Peace

Childhood Christmas

It is getting close. I remember when I was a little girl and the Myers family(Mothers sister and family) would come for Christmas at our house. Sometimes Gran was there and sometimes at one of the other cousins house. They had 3 boys and since I was the only girl and the youngest, I got spoiled rotten and tormented beyond belief. As Tom was 8 years my senior, I don't remember him being in on the meaness.

We always had a Christmas program, but I don't remember the boys doing anything. Tom may have been forced to play his clarinet sometimes, I am not sure. I know they had to suffer through my recitations. Either The Night Before Christmas, the Christmas Story from Luke, Little Orphan Annie (why that one you are asking? It was one of Grans favorites, so if she were there it had to be done) and another poem by the same poet. Uncle Harry told some of his tall tales that I believed. We all slept on the floor and in the morning we destroyed the Christmas Tree. I remember the first year I didn't get a doll. Wow, that was a hard Christmas. One year I received a white Bible and that was special. I always had a chenille robe to wear and slippers and I still have a picture of me when I was about 10 in the robe I remember most. I think that was also the year I didn't get a doll.

It was a sweet and special time. During and just after the war, we enjoyed candy and that was special. New shoes were a great item. So were new wool coats. Dad and Uncle Harry always played practical jokes on each other and I loved being in on them. One year during the war, Dad would buy a bag of Bull Duram anytime he could and save it. Uncle Harry rolled his own cigarettes and he used Bull Duram. It wasn't easy to obtain and he cherished his Bull. For Christmas one year, Dad took all those sacks of Bull and built a man out of them. It was quite a feat and must have taken him days to complete. Uncle Harry slapped his knee and laughed in his loud, booming Armenian voice and had tears in his eyes. He loved that man and it took him awhile to take it apart to smoke the Bull. Those were fun times. I believe we almost always had snow, but I am sure if you look at the weather history you will find that is not true.

When it snowed, we always took the sleds to the 'bluffs' or 'white hill'. I am not sure why none of us ever died during those outings. Cold!! My word...we came home with wet clothes and tried to dry them out and get back to the hill before the snow was all gone. I can still smell the wool drying by the fire and the open kitchen stove. Yuk..that is a nasty smell.

Rachel and Tim and Joey will enjoy the snow this year. Well, perhaps everyone will but me. It almost never snows in Duncan, just ice.

People are good

I know people are basically good. Becky's boyfriend, Jason, was due in to Wichita last night from
Korea. The wind was too bad for them to land and he had to return to Denver. Well, that broke both their hearts, but he will be in this afternoon. The good part is this; when they got back to Denver, the pilot announced they had a soldier coming home for Christmas from Korea and he hadn't seen his family for a year, so would they let him deplane first. When he got up to leave, the passengers applauded and he was stunned. Then when he was eating dinner, a couple came and ate with him and paid for his meal. Then when he checked out of the hotel, the hotel would only let him pay $25 and now the airline has bumped him to first class. He was really surpirsed at the kindness of people and most appreciative. People really are good, if they have a chance. I know Becky will be very glad when he is on the ground and they can be together. I am anxious to meet him, they are coming saturday and taking Amy back to OKC to catch her plane Sunday afternoon.
It will have been a whirlwind week, but I have enjoyed it. Tim and Rachel are expecting a foot of snow today and Joey is in the middle of a storm, I think. Rachel did a job for me and I can't say what it is right now, because it will ruin the surprise for someone that reads this. But she did a great job and I appreciated it. I am so lucky to have such a fantastic family. All around, they are talented, kind, sweet, loving and good. What a great Christmas!!!

Terrorists

Yesterday I heard them say that they are trying to guard against terrorists using our financial system to destroy us. I think they are a bit late with their thinking. I think the terrorists have already taken us hostage financially and we are just too foolish to recognize it. Then I heard Donald Trump say that the people who were 'Madoffed' got what they deserved because they were just greedy. Imagine him saying that, but then I guess he thinks he works for his money and they didn't. Seems we need to just go back to doing what we need to do and making things and selling them at a reasonable profit and taking care of each other and the needy and those who are helpless . People get panicked and don't understand what is going on and no one sems to be able to reassure them. Me, I am going to make Doug dig me a garden!!!
Anyway, I think we are our own worst terrorists. Just need to settle down and keep our wits about us. But then I am a pretty simplistic person and not clever about money.

Strange Visit

Amy went to Wichita this morning to visit Rebecca and see her apartment. She will be back tonight, after making a stop in Guthrie at the cemetary. She said she felt like she wanted to make a visit to the cemetary this Christmas, didn't know why, but wanted to go. Well, I know why. Every time there is a significent happening in my life, I like to go the the cemetary and spend some time. Maybe it is because I grew up going to the cemetary and it is a comfortable place for me, with lots of family around. Mother and Dad would have been married 82 years this Dec 11th. It does not seem they have been gone so long, but Amy and I have always been able to make that connection with them and feel their strength and love when we visit Guthrie. I guess that is because we grew up that way because I know we are not closer to their memory in Guthrie than anywhere else. Just know it was a place Mother liked to be so it is a meeting place. Anyway, Uncle Harry and Dad always planned to meet there for their political arguments and discussions of world affairs. So it is not unreasonable. Anyway, it will probably give her some affirmation and strength to plow on with her plans for the ministry and counseling.
We all have our special places of meditation and thinking. Central Park, the cemetary, baseball park, local lake, special birds, smells, sounds.......focusing our thoughts. So let's focus on the baby Jesus and the manger this week.

Happy Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday with gorgeous flowers, angel, throw, dinner, phone calls, cards, wonderful family and good friends and employees. I don't know what else a person could want. It is the being considered worth a fuss that makes birthdays ok things. Otherwise they would be miserable days. Had a lot of busiiness that day and a customer brought me a gift because she liked the job I had done for her. Don't tell me there are not some really special people out there. The more I look around, the more good I see. People do care about each other. Just sometimes they let something get in the way of being good to each other. And that is a shame, because it is much easier to be nice than mean.
To all my family and friends, thank you for a nice birthday. And the best gift was having Amy with me.
I remember when I was a child, Mother always made sure I had something really special for my birthday so I wouldn't feel cheated having it so near Christmas. That was kind of her, but I always enjoyed sharing my birthday month with Jesus. I was twice blessed in this life, once with a fantastic family spanning many generations and knowing Jesus. What more can you ask?
Blessings of the season on all of you. And thank you.

Saturday

Wow, it is already Saturday and tomorrow is a big day, in many ways. So much to do, but I am a little bit ahead of my work schedule, so that is good. If the weather cooperates and everyone can get where they are going, that will be a real blessing. Anything else is a plus. Becky is all excited to have Jason coming home and I am excited to meet him and have him with us for a day. It makes me happy to see the children happy and especially when they are on the brink of something new in their lives. This is my Christmas wish...Let them all be happy and healthy and a blessing to their fellow man. (or woman, as the case may be).
Now, work things call....and a Sunday School lesson to prepare.

My Baby

I am starting to get excited. My baby is coming home for a few days next week and I am going to be so happy to see her. Daughters are wonderful inventions of God. They are a delight when they are little, and a pleasure when they grow up to be women, but when they get old enough to be your real friend...that is fantastic. Sons are nice and I would not want to give mine up, they have their own special place, but daughters are the gift for having lived. Granddaughters are right up there with them, too. I will get to see one at Christmas and the other two early in the new year.
Now, I must hurry back to work so I will be caught up when she gets here...or even ahead. Since my embroidery help went home sick a few days ago, I need to stick to my schedule.The nicest part of having her is that I don't have to clean house for her. She understands and doesn't care.

Christmas Shopping

I am doing shopping tonight, some I can do on line and some I just get ideas about. Every year, there are some people I can find dozens of gifts for and none for other people. This year, I have a good vibe about everyone but one on my list. That causes some concern because that person is quite special and the gift I was making will not be ready on time and I am struggling to find a replacement that has meaning for me. Gifts are only special when the giver has been able to find that something that speaks to the recipient of the love that went into the selection or making of that gift. Something they can really use, really want, really don't need but would enjoy, really be surprised by..........Here's hoping you are having good luck with your shopping and you will be pleased with your selections and the gift receivers will be delighted. Happy shopping

Peace

Bill and I lit the Advent candles today and it seemed surreal to be standing there talking about peace while looking into faces that looked more like hate and panic. As we look at next sunday and the coming of Peter Steinke and the first action committee meeting (which I am a member of
the idea of peace seems a long way away. I don't understand how a church can get to this point. We should be of one accord and ready and willing to serve the cause of Christianity. Next Sunday will be the Advent Sunday of Joy. Perhaps we can have one hour of joy before we have that meeting and then we will all remember it is not about us but about Jesus and get down to the job of being Christians and doing the work of God. Perhaps Peace will fall on you today. I hope so.

Pancakes

Today was our Scout troop's pancake day. It is amazing how many people show up for that event. There are two big troops in town, ours and the Methodist and they each have a pancake day and they are always good. Today the pancakes were delicious and it made me wonder why restaurants can't make good pancakes. We don't have one place in town that can make a decent pancake and that is frustrating because it is one thing that I eat on my diet that satisfies me. Anyway, this year they were good and the bacon was good, but Bill says the sausage was cold and it was so gray I wouldn't have eaten any even if it had been on my list. All in all, it was fine. Why don't I make my own pancakes? Never have been very good at that. Always see lots of folks and that is nice. This afternoon is the Christmas parade and I have my music playing on the sidewalk and the sun is shining and I hope it will be a good day for the kids.

White Christmas

I am listening to Bing Crosby sing White Christmas on the internet. On the sidewalk I have Christmas music from the 40's. Christmas, of course, is timeless..a blend of eras, cultures, races, and creeds among those Christians for whom Christmas is the biggest connection to each other.
We all love a white Christmas, unless we or loved ones are traveling. I remember one year we were on our way to Guthrie to spend Christmas with grandparents and Amy was about 6. All the way there she kept saying (aloud and to herself when her brother threatened to beat her up) "make it snow, make it snow." We chided her about it and I don't know if it was the form of a prayer or a plea to Santa or just a chant. Now, it was not in the forcast to have snow, but some people didn't understand that. By the time we arrived in Guthrie the snow flurries were coming down. By morning we had a beautiful snowscape that we all enjoyed. I always think of her when I hear Bing Crosby sing that song. Perhaps she has always had faith that I did not see. I do know that now she is certainly a faithful person. Perhaps not that God will make snow when she asks for it, but that God will provide what she needs when she needs it. And for everyone else if they leave it in His hands.

Happiness

I have spent a lot of time in the past months deciding what my happiness IS. It is not having lots of money, it is not having lots of friends, it is not having lots of energy, it is not having lots of all those things I always thought I needed to be happy. It is simply being alive and having peace. All those other things may make me happier for awhile, but being at peace seems to be the one thing that you have to have to be happy. So, I am at peace with God, with my family, with friends, with myself. My only roadblock to peace seems to be in the church. That is ironic. That is where peace should abound. So to acheive peace there, we may have to participate in some upheaval. When that peace is accomplished, I look forward to more complete peace. But probably when that time gets here, there will be something else to threaten my peace. May Christmas bring peace to all I love and even those I do not love. If ever there is a time for peace it must surely be Christmas.

Losing a Friend

We lost a good friend yesterday. John Douthit died. They had just sold their house and moved to a house across the street from one of their sons. Bill and John served together on the school board and then when we were in Scotland, they were sent over for a two year stint and we enjoyed each others company a lot. He and Bill played a lot of golf together. We had some really good times and made some interesting trips around the island together.
John was a gentle man with a great sense of humor and full of patience. I will miss his smile and laugh. You know when you reach our age that friends begin to leave you and I would not wish him to spend another sick day on this earth, but I will miss him and am grateful to have had his friendship for these many years.

Good Food

We had good barbque and some strange dessert that was good, but not brownies. I entered a protest.
On my way to the City today, I thought about the book, Three Bags Full, that I read and bored you all with. I had discussed a piece in it with my sunday school class this week and it all finally fell into place today. It is theologically very deep. I had missed the theological point of it until this morning. Perhaps the author did not intend that message, but it is there. Now you have to read it. Not with that in mind, but I want to see if you see it, too. Even if you don't, it is a fun read and worth the time to enjoy it. I plan to read it again. Don't be surprised if it shows up in your Christmas box.

COM

Tomorrow I go to the City for an all day Committee on Ministry meeting. Normally it is a hard meeting with churches and ministers misbehaving and needing help. Tomorrow will be some of that, but the big thing is our examination of a minister receiving her call to the little parish in SW Ok. It will be good to see those 3 churches served with a permanent pastor again, and a joy to see
Sue ordained and serving the Presbytery. Plus, we get lunch..which means that maybe Martin is barbecuing tonight and Aaron is making brownies. They do that for us each Christmas and we do enjoy the food and the time for fellowship. I have another year to serve on that committee and though it is time consuming and sometimes draining, I have enjoyed it because it is wonderful to see troubled churches find their way to become better and stronger churches. I love watching the new ministers begin their work and finding their way into the Presbytery work. So, it will be my day to serve and then back to the Christmas work.