Christmas, mugs, and gumbo

By Elizabeth Prata

Good morning! It's 2:30 am here. I'm up because I was so exhausted when I got home from school Friday that I could not function anymore by 7 pm so I went to bed. Hence, 7 hours later, I woke up. It's OK, I have two weeks off and if/when I get tired later I'll just go take a nap!

Otherwise I do plan to use my time productively. Coffee will help. See my new "weekend mug" that a colleague gave me for Christmas. It says "I just want to be a stay at home cat mom". LOL, perfect, right?

It's supposed to be rainy this weekend which is fine by me. I like to snuggle in, wearing comfy clothes and maybe wrapped in a plush lap blankie, work on my writing ministry, read, and make soup or gumbo. I still do those things if it's sunny and warm out, but feel more guilty about it, lol. If it's raining it all seems to fit.

The it is predicted to warm up to the upper 60s and almost 70 degrees for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! I'm totally OK with that. I spent enough Thanksgivings and Christmases in New England to have experienced the quintessential holiday season with snow and cold and lights and sleds etc to say "Been there, done that." I equally enjoy live oak, green grass, grazing cows, cavorting horses, crowing chickens, rolling pastures and birdsong at Christmas.

See? That's me behind the horse in a one-horse open sleigh.

With Christmas so near, I hope you get to enjoy a day off or a mini-holiday yourself.

Christmas Break 2018 Day 7: The Aftermath

By Elizabeth Prata

I hope you all had a marvelous holiday. We celebrate the coming of Jesus into the world, in the flesh as the sacrificial Lamb to the Father.

Even people who do not know Jesus or His Father's plan of salvation still celebrate the day. Why? Why do people sense their need for "peace on earth" and "goodwill to men"? Because intrinsically we all know what cretins we are and that at root, we are evil. We are rebellious. We know we need peace, and rest, but do not know where to find it. I'm grateful that Jesus saved me and now I know from whence all Good comes, including peace and goodwill.

I spent a quiet morning at home, where it was pleasant and sunny. I had been invited to a friend's parents' house to have dinner with their family, so that was where I headed at around 2:00. I was to drive to their house and they would carry me to their parents from there. It was almost eerie, driving on the highway with almost no cars. The exit where I get off was barren, as well as the stretch approaching the usually busy strip mall where another Kroger grocery store is. All four lanes, just me and one or two other cars. My usual 35 minutes driving time was shaved by ten minutes, so I stopped in a cul de sac and cleaned out my car and then listened to some Christmas carols before arriving at my destination, so as not to be too early. Nothing worse than a harried mom trying to get two small children ready for the car and having to deal with an early arrival!

We had a wonderful dinner with laughs, then a gift exchange, then some photos in the front yard. I returned home at around 6:00, just after dark, and settled in for some reading.

I am in the middle of a very interesting book, Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage by Hugh Brewster. The author examines the gilded Edwardian era by looking at the lives and times of the first class passengers of the doomed Titanic. Brewster puts his selected passengers' lives in context off the boat and on it, as well as giving lots of information about the boat itself. It's obvious he put so much research into the book. It's not pedantic, however, but a woven story with interesting characters.The reader is drawn into that world almost immediately.

It was a quiet Christmas night here at Casa Prata. After reading a while I watched a few episodes of Blue Bloods, I'm binging my way thru 8 years of the show. Then I turned in, concluding Christmas 2018, but continuing my two-week school break! One more week at home!

Artsy Christmas photos to follow:

Chistmas Break 2018: day 4

By Elizabeth Prata

Man, Kroger was nuts! LOL, after church I stopped to pick up a few groceries, and it seemed that everyone in the world was there. Church ends at 4:30 so it was a peak time, I suppose, and everybody wanted to get their stuff so they could get home, cook and prepare tomorrow on Christmas Eve. The bakery aisle looked like Attila the Hun and his army had swept through. Or the Grinch who left crumbs even too small for a mouse.

I scored some goodies, though. I got another jug of creamer for my coffee. I absolutely love drinking coffee slowly in the morning, creamy and strong. I got two packages of cranberries. They were on sale for a dollar! Have I mentioned I love cranberry sauce? I have a marvelous recipe for cranberry-walnut sauce that uses brown sugar and mustard. So of course I picked up some walnuts. And a roasted chicken. I'll have chicken, baked potato and cranberry sauce tomorow for my Christmas Eve supper.

I'm heading to a friend's house and their family gathering on Christmas Day and having their Christmas lunch meal with them, so that should be nice.

My day was spent quietly. I did take some time to try and add some good shows to my Netflix queue. I was looking for G, PG, PG-13 films or shows. It was a struggle, but I found some and over the week I'll try them out. The animated film Bolt, the upcoming premiere of the new Watership Down, a documentary called The Nineties, and The Iron Giant made the list.

I watched the Crazy Russian Hacker on Youtube and he demonstrated 5 kitchen egg gadgets. I liked them but what I learned most is how to peel an egg- put it in a mason jar with a bit of water and shake it up. I'm going to try that the next time I hard boil some eggs. I HATE peeling eggs and I am bad at it. My eggs come out looking like a pockmarked moon with craters.

Church was sweet and great, full of insights on the 12th chapter of the Book of John, some great standard Christmas hymns, and a super confessional time made the worship time so wonderful. Then it was on to Kroger.

The sunset was stupendous, with pinks streaming out from behind some rain clouds and crepuscular rays shining out. Then I got home in time to just beat the rain. Don't you love that?

I'm going to settle in with a salad, and my book about the first class passengers of the Titanic, "Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage," The author has a real great way of setting you smack into their lives.

Merry almost Christmas Eve, everyone!

Christmas Break 2018 day 3

By Elizabeth Prata

I've always loved Youtube. You can find a wealth of things to watch, on a variety of topics. I've enjoyed 'getting to know' the Maas family on Fathering Autism, Simon's Cat, and Kathryn, who hosts her own channel called Do It On A Dime.

She shops deals at the Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Target and other places, and shows you unique ways to use the items. I like this because I'm so linear, if I see a cookie sheet, it will always be a cookie sheet. I cannot re-imagine it as a picture frame or a doohickey or thingamajig. See? I'm so linear I can't even make up other uses for the cookie sheet. It's a cookie sheet.

Anyway, Kathryn will teach how to find deals and how to use the stuff. She is married, a Christian, suffers from anxiety and PTSD and is cheerful and informative. Her Q&A video below is concise without extraneous filler. Podcasters and Youtubers, please take note. Editing is important.

Anyway, Kathryn's video here is only 5 minutes and she answers various questions. It's a good get to know you vid, she answers while wrapping presents. If you run out of wrapping paper and have a 4 inch wide gap the paper won't meet, Kathryn has a solution for this. ;)

The day dawned cold and bright. The pinks coming up this morning were pretty! I took a walk down the driveway in the pre-dawn chill to snap these pics

Venus

I bought another teapot a couple of weeks ago I'd seen it on the shelf at the vintage store for several months, but I had thought it was a run of the mill pot so even though the price was only $4, I had not picked it up. After all these months of looking at it every time I came into the store, I finally bought it. In researching the pottery mark, I discovered that it was a unique Russian make, a Gardner, but I have not discovered its age as of yet.

In any case, it is likely mid-century. When I installed the pot on my tea cabinet shelf, I noticed that over time, I'd balanced my china designs of the flowered early century patterns with an equal amount of mid-century ware. This surprised me. I had not realized I'd developed a taste for mid-century design.

I think it began when I'd read an article about the Los Angeles Case Study #22 house, also known as The Stahl House, here.

The house is iconic, and has its own Wikipedia entry:

The Stahl House (also known as Case Study House #22) is a modernist-styled house designed by architect Pierre Koenig in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, California, which is known as a frequent set location in American films. Photographic and anecdotal evidence suggests that the architect's client, Buck Stahl, may have provided an inspiration for the overall structure. In 2013 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I've always gravitated to fashion that was more lean and spare, like Chanel as opposed to Laura Ashley. Lean and spare style of the mid-century modern, with its elevated couches, straight edges, and minimalist interiors suit me. Here is the famous photo of the famous house:

Here are a couple of pieces of Christmas wrapping paper a friend gave me, mid-century era. She said it was in her attic and ranged in age from the 1940s to 1970s.

Here are some pics of my walk down the road this bright and sunny afternoon. The air is chill but the  sun is warm, something I always love about a Georgia winter.

Christmas Break 2018: Day 2

By Elizabeth Prata

How wonderful it is to sleep through the night, and awaken refreshed! The common graces are surely praiseworthy.

Though it was supposed to be sunny today, and it still may turn out to be, it's currently rainy and windy and dark. We received a lot of rain yesterday and there are massive standing puddles and leaves blown around.

There is a controversy as to why the tips of the Hershey's Kisses are missing. I hadn't noticed, I unwrap them and eat them too fast to notice the niceties like a well-formed tip. I'm usually gunning for the chocolate explosion on my mouth. But this morning as I opened one for dessert after having cheesy tomato scrambled eggs and a pineapple sour cream muffin, I noticed it.

The minor malformation did not deter me in the least. Chocolate explosion coming up!

The afternoon was filled with a movie, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris. It stars Angela Lansbury in 1993 movie set in 1953. A char-woman (Lansbury) sees a Christian Dior dress on a dress stand owned by  the Lady she works for. Her Ladyship was planning to wear it to Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Ball. The charwoman fell in love with it and determined to go to Paris and buy one. She scrimps and saves for three years goes to Paris, as the title says. Adventures ensue.

The movie would be G-rated, if it had a rating (I could not find one). It's warm and just plain nice. Lansbury is outstanding in it. It's a little known, forgotten film that is just a gem. It is on Youtube so it is free.

The day never did brighten, but only darkened and the wind increased. I've been sipping Earl Grey tea for most of the afternoon and not doing much of anything. Ahhh, vacation.

Christmas Break 2018: Day 1

By Elizabeth Prata

School let out at noon yesterday, after a sweet program of awards, a few Christmas songs, and lots of hugs from and to the little ones. It's fun to see how excited the kids are for Christmas to come. They love all the trappings: the trees, bows, gifts, Santa, the Elf on the Shelf, decorations, and even crazy Christmas Sweater or Christmas hat day.

I was glad to be home after stopping for some errands, namely, gas and food. The grocery store at 2:00 on a Wednesday was strangely quiet. That didn't stop me from getting in the world's shortest checkout line that earned the world's record for taking the longest time. The lady two customers ahead was doing a complicated checkout split into three piles. Oh well, I was on break, no need to worry about how long it was taking.

Today the day dawned rainy and cool, which was just fine. A quiet day at home suited me after all the hubbub and noise leading up to the school break. I woke up at my normal time, 5 am, and I got up then and didn't snooze. I've always been a wake up-get up kind of person. I never had a snooze alarm. I've always enjoyed (and made use) of the fact that if I got tired later I could just go back to bed. Isn't that what vacations are for...my own schedule? Yes indeed.

I've spent the day writing, reading social media, answering emails, and reading my books.

My goal this vacation is to finish:

How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes
Love Came Down at Christmas by Sinclair Ferguson
Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage by Hugh Brewster

I really like the Disciplines book. I'm learning a lot from it and taking many notes. And Gilded Lives I just started today but I got right into it. The account of the first class passengers on the Titanic, their lives in the context of the gilded age, is fascinating.

Two other books just delivered today include The Life of Moses by James Montgomery Boice and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, part of my book reading plan this year.

I did nap, it was needed I enjoy the growth that Murray has evidenced in affection. He has grown to enjoy being near me and doesn't skittishly run off every time I reach for him. He purrs and stays near, even when I reach out to pet him. He sleeps near my head or under the covers curled at my side. This is relaxing, and adds to the comfort and refreshment of my nap.

I don't usually watch tv or have videos or music on during the day, though I did listen to a couple of sermons this morning. As the morning progresses into afternoon, I love just being quiet and listening to the cats snore, or the hiss and pop of the gas heat. The rain on the metal awnings gives a steady unsteady beat, and even the occasional bird outside and the vigorous chicken next door add to the atmosphere. Natural sounds, quiet sounds. The neighbors next door decorate their yard with beautiful lights and I like seeing them through the window when the sun goes down. They make a pretty glow.

My dinner tonight was simple but good: a few pieces of roasted chicken smothered by sauteed mushrooms, and a green salad with orange tomatoes, spring greens, and goat cheese. The Calendar Tea of the Day is, 'Mother's Little Helper', containing hibiscus, rosehips, chamomile, valerian root. I received a lot of goodies from the kids or other teachers at school that I brought home with me yesterday, so I'm trying to pace myself. No dessert tonight.

I don't anticipate tomorrow being much different, though one of these days soon I'll throw crafting into the mix. I'll have a crafting day and make some collages, stencils, bookmarks, and maybe a book or two.

For now I'm going to watch an episode of Blue Bloods and then return to the gilded era of the first class passengers on the Titanic. I hope your lead-in to the Christmas holiday is filled with what you want it to be, and if it isn't, then at least prayer and praise to the Lord for the good that is in the week, namely, Jesus. Have a good one, everyone.

This is what my week is going to look like :)

Christmas Carols: What does that mean? #2- We three kings from...the Orient?

I was always confused by the line in the Christmas song We Three Kings which said they were from the Orient.

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star

Refrain:
O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

The Christmas carol was written by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. in 1857. We truly do not know how many kings visited Jesus in His nativity nor for certain what country of origin from which they traveled. Traditions says Persia.

However since the scripture in Matthew 2:1 says they traveled from the east, then since the east in that time up to now has been called the Orient, then, the Orient it is.

I'd always thought the Orient meant Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, etc. Isn't that the Orient? Is Persia, Syria, or even India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan the orient? Yes, and no. According to Wikipedia,

The Orient is the East, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Eastern world, in relation to Europe.

The term "Orient" derives from the Latin word oriens meaning "east". ... Also, many ancient temples, including pagan temples and the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, were built with their main entrances facing the East. This tradition was carried on in Christian churches. To situate them in such a manner was to "orient" them in the proper direction. When something was facing the correct direction, it was said to be in the proper orientation. (Source)

The Easton Bible Dictionary defines biblical use of east,

The orient (mizrah); the rising of the sun. Thus "the east country" is the country lying to the east of Syria, the Elymais (Zechariah 8:7).

(2). Properly what is in front of one, or a country that is before or in front of another; the rendering of the word kedem . In pointing out the quarters, a Hebrew always looked with his face toward the east. The word kedem is used when the four quarters of the world are described (Genesis 13:14 ; 28:14); and mizrah when the east only is distinguished from the west ( Joshua 11:3 ; Psalms 50:1 ; 103:12 , etc.). In Genesis 25:6 "eastward" is literally "unto the land of kedem;" i.e., the lands lying east of Palestine, namely, Arabia, Mesopotamia, etc.

Whether you are from the Orient or the Occident, we celebrate the Savior's birth who threw away our sins as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12).

Christmas Carols: What does that mean? #1 Bells on bobtails ring

I love Christmas carols, hymns, and songs. Many of them were written a long time ago. I find myself singing lyrics I have no idea what they mean. So I decided to do a series on those lyrics that reference things that are firmly in the past, gone by, or just something we don't know anymore!

Let's start with Jingle Bells. It has a lot of stanzas but we all sing just the first one and the refrain.

Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bobtails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight

[Chorus]
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, hey
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh

This is a one horse open sleigh. I'm in it on the right. It was small, tippy, bumpy, and cold! It made me grateful for my enclosed car with heat and springs.

The bells that jingled were the old fashioned alarm system. In places where the commute was by sleigh, there was usually a lot of snow. The snowbanks get to be piled high and restrict line of sight. To prevent sleigh collisions, the bells were placed on the horses to alert pedestrians and other sleighs in the vicinity.

jingle bells!

But what are bells on bobtails?

It was the style back along to bob a horse's tail either to tie it back so it looks shorter, or to actually bob (or cut) the tail. Shorter hair on the tail helped keep it from waving in the driver's face. The bells on bobtails ring are the bells on bobtail horses ringing.

So that's that! Stay tuned for the next "What does THAT mean?"

Christmas movie watching: Good Ol' Freda

Merry Christmas! I hope your morning has been relaxing. Or at least joyful over squeals and ripping wrapping paper.

My cat woke me up at 6:00. He likes to shoot a glass coaster off the coffee table. I put it under three heavy coffee table books last night to prevent his unique breakfast call, but he still managed to unearth it and shoot it off the table anyway. Good ol' Murray.

Speaking of good ol', I watched a great documentary last night. It's called Good Ol' Freda. For fifty years, the untold story of Freda Kelly remained untold, until Freda herself decided to speak. Freda was the Beatles' trusted secretary since before their rise to fame until their breakup, 11 years overall, and their friend throughout their rise to fame. Yet never then or now did she capitalize on her insider status to grab fame or money for herself. Her integrity is noted throughout the film. The movie synopsis says,

"Freda Kelly, a shy Liverpudlian teen, works for a new local band -- the Beatles -- hoping to make it big. As the band's fame multiplies, Freda bears witness to music and cultural history but never exploits her insider access."

Here is a Guardian story about the premiere, Good Ol' Freda: The Beatles' secretary tells her story.

And here is a review:

Freda Kelly was the the secretary to Brian Epstein and The Beatles and the president of the official fan club all throughout the history of the band, and started with them when she was 17 years old. She was there from the earliest club performances in the Liverpool underground – literally in the case of The Cavern – through and even beyond the breakup. Aside from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr themselves, there’s probably no one living who has more insider info and stories about those heady days than Kelly. And she’s never cashed in on that trusted relationship, nor broken confidences in 50 years. It’s that kind of integrity and trustworthiness, along with hundreds of rare Beatles photos and a soundtrack that features several Fab Four tunes that buoys Good Ol’ Freda from the opening frame.

There are hundreds of candid photos, some archival footage, and the testimony of Freda herself. A documentary that rests as much on one person as this one does needs to ensure the personality is sincere and engaging, and Freda sure is. She's humble and sincere, witty and with a twinkle in her eye, tells the story plainly, but never turning it sordid or gossipy. That's a rare thing for any documentary, but especially one involving the music business. Coming in at an hour and a half, the length is just right. And surprisingly, they managed to obtain permission for four original Beatles songs to be used in the film, along with other great music of the era. All in all, it was a pleasant surprise to discover and well worth watching. On Netflix.

Have a pleasant day with family or whatever you're doing. May it bring you peace, though the best peace of all rests in knowing the reason for the day's celebration, Jesus Christ.

December in Georgia is wonderful

The mornings start off cold, with frost sometimes but the days warm up to a manageable 50s and 60s. The annual Comer Christmas Parade happens the first Saturday of December. Yesterday lined up along the parade route were people in short sleeves. The 5K Reindeer Run also featured people running in short sleeves. It was a mild day, made good by a warming sun. A good time was had by all, according to the photos I looked at on Facebook. That's as close as I want to get to a crowd, noise, parades, and community.

Today I am not cooking too much, though I should. I have veggies I should roast and sandwich stuff I should prepare, but it's a lazy Sunday and I just can't bring myself to. I did make corn chowder and cut up a bowling ball sized cantaloupe. That will get me through the first part of the week. If I wasn't lazy I would make Slaw for sandwiches (cabbage, roasted broccoli, dried cranberries, and Asian mayo put in a wrap). I'd also roast carrots, the broccoli, potatoes, and toast some pita chips. But no, I am still in my pajamas at 2:20 pm and it looks like it's going to stay that way.

Though I had a great week at school and Friday afternoon ended very sweetly with a group of boys I help in writing, I came home with severe sensory overload. For the life of me I can't figure out why some weeks are good but I get overloaded and other weeks that are not so good I sail through the weekend. Friday nights are the Waterloo. I can hang on till 3:30 but then if I am overloaded, all heck breaks loose.

I got home Friday night with my body throbbing and aching, my stomach nauseous, and my head aching to beat the band. I headed straight for the bedroom, put on my comfy clothes, and pitched into bed at 3:30. I stayed there till 6:00.

Which was sad because I was going to go to a Christmas party at 6:00. I was having a bit of trouble getting myself worked up to go, I'm not usually a fan of small apartments with lots of people and loud laughing. I do like fun, just not the kind of fun that most people like. But I wanted to stretch myself and try some social things. However the physical troubles trumped the mental obstacle and my overload meant I couldn't even try to stretch myself and go to a social gathering.

On my weekly grocery shopping I scored a huge bag of baby spinach for 99 cents. It was still all good but the expiration date was the next day. I brought it home and sauteed it up with onion, lemon-pepper seasoning, and fresh lemon juice, thus putting a halt to any temporary spoilage. The next day I made a dip or a spread, depending on how you look at it. I- combined a can of salmon and some mayo with sour cream with the spinach-onion saute. Plopped atop a crisped bagel and it made a nice open face sandwich. It lasted three days for three more meals. Yummy.

In addition to my Christian non-fiction I'm in the middle of, I started Will Thomas' latest book, "Anatomy of Evil." There is a jack-the-ripper type slasher out and about in 1898 London and the enquiry agents Barker and Llewelyn are out to catch him. I really like Will Thomas. He writes well and atmospherically. Saturday night I cuddled up on the sofa with a blanket and three cats in front of my living room gas heat hissing quietly away. Mmm, see, to me that is fun!

My good old car had a breakdown last week but I cannot complain, it rarely breaks down. I have had it for 8 years and that's saying something since it is a 1993 model with 235,000 miles on it. It needed a new radiator, and once it was installed the cold snap came, so yay for me, I have heat in the car again! Just in time. What a relief to find a reputable and cordial and honest garage. I am soooo thrilled. I remember that Seinfeld episode from the 1990s when the mechanic got mad at Jerry and banned him and Jerry was let adrift and at the mercy of an unknown mechanic. As George said to Jerry in sympathy, they could be telling you that you need a new Johnson Rod and you would never know the difference.

Well, just 9 1/2 more days of school then I am out for a 2-week Christmas break. I can't wait!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

After almost a week of sopping, cold rain, the day dawned bright and clear. I'm glad for the people who have to travel. I am only going a mile down the road, to have Christmas supper with friends later.

Meanwhile, I've been playing with my photo editing software. I am making collages, and I am also experimenting with color splash. In Color splash, it strips the photo of color, except for the one spot the editor wants to splash back in. Here are the results of some of the splashes and collages.

In splash, I discovered, the key is to find one large graphic that is colorful. Most of my bird photos are of brown birds so when stripping the photo of extraneous color and adding back in the black or brown, it doesn't make for too much of a splash, lol. Here is one bird photo I'd had that was colorful. Kind of.

In the photo below, I snapped it at Campobello in New Brunswick Canada. It is of a pitcher plant, (a carnivorous plant like the Venus flytrap) and the surrounding color was various shades of green. I stripped the green and added back the plant's natural red.

In these collages, I know I went overboard with adding elements, but I am a child of a first camera being old Olympus with the 1940s huge flash bulbs and using 35 mm film, then waiting a week for your developed photos to come back. Being of an age to see the entry of digital photography into the world and then the added bonus of free photo editing software has simply made me giddy with delight.

In the photo below I began with a picture of the moon.

Then I added stuff. The butterfly is my photo too.

The "If not us..." will become a series on my other blog. The quote refers to Christians who are called to witness and testify to the power of a risen Christ.

In this next collage, I started with a photo of heather, a weed that grows around here.

Then I added stuff. I was reminded of the verse about the wheat and the tares, or the seed that falls on the weed.

I have lots and LOTS of photos of boats. These are both from Lubec Maine, bordering Canada. The natural slate gray of the water and the brown of the dock made it easy to strip the color, retaining the already existing blue on both boats

So that is some of the fun I am having today.

Last night was quiet. A friend stopped over and we visited and had Christmas cookies and tea. Then I watched documentaries and then listened to Louis Prima for a while. Right now I'm going to get dressed and take a walk in the sunshine. With my camera of course ;)

Merry Christmas!

Cold ahead, Thanksgiving ahead, Christmas crafting ahead!

Everyone around here including me, is watching the weather for the coming week with a very wary eye. The high temperature by Tuesday is supposed to be only 35 degrees. The low doesn't usually get that low this early in the season, so people are rightfully worried. Pipes aren't insulated here. There are also lots of animals to keep warm.

I'm looking forward to five more days before the week off for Thanksgiving break. I made some food for the upcoming week's meals-

--Pea soup with potatoes, carrots, onions
--Kale chips
--jalapeno corn muffins
--chopped pineapple (to throw in cottage cheese)

Pea soup is so easy to make, and so good, filling, healthy, and delicious!

I started a Christmas project. I have all these photos I took, some are good, I think. And the free digital software these days is so powerful and versatile, I can manipulate the photos and make lots of things with them. I decided to make bookmarks from my photos, add scripture, print them on quality photo paper at home, and then laminate them at school. (The School charges a reasonable rate for personal use).

Just because the project is digital, doesn't mean it's easily accomplished. It takes time to select just the right photo, add a border that complements the photo, and to find a scripture to match. Deciding on the font and placement also takes skill, just ask any graphic designer. If the end result looks good, that seems like no big deal, but it is a big deal, because the designer did a perfect job that took much time. If the font is too big or too small, too scripted and hard to read, or off center, the project will look clumsy and amateur.

I had a hard time at first with cropping the size of the bookmark just right. Two inches by 7 inches seems to be a good, proportional size for a bookmark. Two of them I've finished will need to be redone because they are too wide. I saw this when I printed out a draft copy. But here are the results of the first pass.

In real life the nail bookmark is easier to read. But you can see the issues. Choosing a photo that isn't too busy is the key. Also being able to see a large photo and crop the parts that will translate well to a 2X7 inch strip, and still tell a story is also key.

In writing when one edits, it's all about what you leave out, and the same is true of any other creative art project. It's all about what you leave out. I'm excited to use the photos I've been taking for these many decades.

I'll paste a logo on the back, here it is

Have a good week ahead, try to stay warm!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are where you want to be. If you're not, I hope the peace of God fills your heart and you can make the best of it where you ended up...

My plans on this bright and sunny morning here in Georgia are to bake pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins and cook corn chowder. I received 4 ears of corn in my Bountiful Basket on Saturday and I'll use the freshly steamed corn for the soup. As for the muffins, I'll use an angel food cake mix along with the canned pumpkin for a lighter version.

I had to go to the Dollar Store for the corn chowder's milk and chips for the muffins. The bakery aisle at the store was pretty well wiped out. I got a slab of chocolate and thought to chunk that up to substitute for chips. I asked a clerk lady if the substitution would be acceptable and she said that there was a second bakery spot and we should check there for chips first. She was a very nice clerk. She was cheerful and happy and helpful. It is so nice to interact with people who are that way, even though she had every right to feel grumpy for working on this holiday. But not a hint of that, and she was service-oriented and kind. Kindness rubs off. Her lesson by action was to teach me that. I have to remember to be cheerful and kind because our attitudes affect people.

I'm almost done with my novel, "When Crickets Cry," and I don't know what I'll read next. I absolutely love turning away from the computer in the evening, sitting on the couch with no tv, no music, no noise at all, except the hiss of the gas heat, and read. It's so quiet I can hear my snuggling cats snuffling in their sleep. I've got a few novels on deck and also the John MacArthur book "Strange Fire" on the coffee table also. So, it will be something. There is no dearth of reading choices in this house.

For me will be a warm and quiet Christmas Eve. I hope yours is wonderful. Whether quiet and just the two of you, or loud and clamorous with the whole family, or in the desert sands in a war place, or stuck in holiday ice, I truly hope your holiday is wonderful, right where you are. It is a heart matter- celebrating love, given from the One who came down as a babe to establish love as possible and everlasting.

How to Wrap a Cat for Christmas

He looks like my Luke...and he and Bert are the best presents I ever got.



HT to my friend Beth Stone, who posted it on her Facebook wall. Her website is Beth Stone Studio, well worth a visit.

It's coming...

Slinky, slinky, it's a wonderful toy!

The children at school are as excited for Christmas as I've ever seen them. They exchanged their stocking stuffers today and they were thrilled over the smallest gifts. Those excited them as much as an X-Box or an iPad. They got mini-Slinkys and it was all the teacher could do to get them to put them back in their box when examining time was over and the next gift was to be passed out. They giggled in delight over a blue candy cane with a ribbon on it. They were totally content with a coloring book and crayons. They were happy kids.

Why do we overload them so in real life?

Today was the second of two staff nibbles days, where we bring something to eat and set up a nibbles buffet in the teacher's lounge. Today I tried the veggie dip (great), spinach dip (great) and a variety of other sweet and savory things. It was all pretty rich though, and by the afternoon my stomach cried uncle and begged for a cantaloupe. I had brought some cut up chilled cantaloupe for a snack and it hit the spot. Ahhh, something fresh and healthy.

Wednesday is a half day and the kids go home at noon. That's good, because today they were NUTS. Teachers from K-to-3rd grade let their classes out in the afternoon for an extra recess. Thank goodness it was 60 degrees and sunny.

Tomorrow after the kids leave we have a staff lunch. The only other obligation I have after that is picking up my Bountiful Basket on Saturday morning, and Sunday church. Otherwise I am IN like a groundhog through the winter!

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year

Waiting for a friend to pick me up to go to lunch, I walked around the yard today, taking winter photos. Enjoy the tour of the yard as I recall Christmas day!. So here is how Christmas went. Christmas was great. I spent it with a few friends in town. At one point on Christmas morning, we drove around in Athens, and were admiring how closed down the city was. "Yay!" we'd say, passing a closed and shuttered Wal-Mart. "Good for them!" we'd shout when passing an empty mall. It was also spooky. Weird that there were literally NO cars (lol, except ours) on the city streets. It was like Day One on "Life After People."

We returned to their house and started making brunch. They had just gotten back the evening before from North Carolina, having visited their daughter and son-in-law for Christmas Eve. Therefore, there was no turkey cooking, lol, but we were thrilled with making 15 grain toast, home fries, and omelets. Retiring to the living room, we watched "A Little House on the Prairie Christmas", hokey I know but sweet and charming also. After that, we exchanged gifts and talked until early evening. That was Christmas.

This Christmas vacation since then  has also been great. I've had plenty of time to do what I love best: read, write, and research. I read Christian novels. I usually spend most of my day researching deep hermeneutics, bible interpretation, and my brain longs for something lighter by the time night comes and it's time to kick back. I read a very good Christian book called "Tides of Truth: Deeper Water." I liked it very much and appreciated the character development and scene-setting. Best of all, it is the first book in a series so there are more coming. I read some other books too but they are forgettable, only time-passers designed to provide their part in a relaxing night-time apartment environment.

Yesterday I spent a good amount of time at the library tutoring another friend on how to use the internet. She is fearful but curious, so we brought our laptops, set them up in tandem at the back table so we wouldn't disturb anyone,  and dove in. Today I went to Olive Garden with a friend who had received a gift certificate and she called me to share it with! Woo-hoo!  We enjoyed lunch very much. I had that great special, the endless soup and salad and breadsticks thing. I admit I had two bowls of salad. If I could make dressing like that I would eat salads every day. I saw a bunch of friends at the restaurant, which was great.

Being in Athens already, and making use of the gas, we did some errands after lunch. She had to go to a vitamin store in the mall, and lo and behold the vitamin store had bulk nasal salt! I've been looking for that since I moved to Georgia. I can get nasal salt for my neti pot/ nasal wash at the local drug stores, but it is in pre-packaged packets, like sugar is. 100 to a box and it's kind of expensive, $11.00. This jar was $5.50 and offered about the same amount of nasal washes. I use the stuff when I have a cold or bronchitis and I would not live without my nasal salt!. I definitely felt like I'd scored!

My friend had a couple more errands to do, one of them being the Christian bookstore in town, an always fun stop. I leafed through a Chuck Norris book, "written by the actual Chuck Norris!" but I wasn't temped to buy anything I had browsed in the store. Back home, I made some tea and checked my Facebook page. And then wrote a blog entry!

Happy 2010!

O Little Town of Comer

What a nice day! Merry Christmas everyone. It is sunny and warm here and I am glad of that for those who have to travel today.

I watched a neat old movie last night on Turner Movie Classics called "The Cheaters." It is a rarely seen and non-DVD 1945 movie that takes place on Christmas Eve. A small movie from a small Production company, made in 1945 it depicts a self-absorbed wealthy, but on the brink of bankruptcy, family taking in a "lost man" and also scheming to cheat the rightful owner of an inheritance of 5 million dollars the family decided should be theirs instead. It all ends up in good fun, as the 'lost man' teaches the family the simple truths of family, love, and selflessness.

This morning I slept late but made up for my lack of productivity by cleaning furiously. Changing the sheets, tonight's repose will be dreamy on soft and clean sheets and pillowcases. I enjoyed learning that baking soda and a damp cloth will polish and shine up chrome. So I set to work on my Lagostina Teapot and the old sink in the kitchen, dim with 35 years' use. Baking soda works so well! Baking soda rocks. I just bought 12 pounds of it by the way. And I found a file on the internet titled "61 used for baking soda" so watch out! I have only been using two uses for baking soda...so I've got 59 more to go!!

This morning's Christmas breakfast was creamy coffee with a couple of strawberry pancakes, and internet time. Then I sketched out the way I want my two collages under production to go, and made some green tea for lunch. Next up is "King of Kings" and, well, and afternoon of TCM Jesus classics. Can't get enough Jesus, that is for sure. If you call me a 'Jesus freak' I would not only say 'right!' but "Thanks!"

I have been reminiscing about all my life's Christmases. I have had all wonderful ones, from one end of the earth to another, on land and on sea. I have been so very blessed materially and spiritually. My good friends this week feted, celebrated, and touted me; my church family loved, hugged, and kissed me like to death! My sister sent me some great photos of the new puppy and the kids. I've received e-mails from my friends who live far away. Most importantly, the Holy Spirit drew me to Jesus and I am saved. I just hope I have been a blessing to all of them the way they have been for me. Thank you everyone!

Merry Christmas! Remember to love everyone and above all, love the One whose Truth will ring forever!

Luke 2:8-10

"In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

A quiet morning

Here it is Christmas 2008. In these parts of Northeast Georgia, the day is cold and gray so far. It is not as cold as it has been, though. The last few days have been well below freezing, into the twenties, and that is cold for here.

I look at the news and I am so grateful I moved here in 2006. It is a never ending delight no escape the snow, to enjoy green grass so much of the year. Never to scrape the ice from my car or shovel snow in the driveway. Wearing a light jacket, if that, and putting on only one layer of clothes for work. Today the forecasted temps are due to rise into the upper fifties.

Speaking of work, I am off until January 6. School vacation is a good long time this year due to the way the holidays fall. I am using the time to get chores done, to visit with some older friends, and to relax and read, make collages and get caught up on Christmas movies.

I just polished off an egg-white/bagel sandwich and fruit salad. (grapes and orange segments). I am sipping weak coffee with a good dose of Cremora, and it is steaming quietly and comfortingly by my laptop. WGBH Boston All Classical Music is streaming Brahms piano and it is so beautiful...

Reading the news at Christmas is always an exercise in futility, simply not much is happening. Which is a good thing. However, I found my new favorite phrase of the day in Forbes, in an article entitled "Good-bye, Gentry," highlighting the growing liberal opposition to the notion of Caroline Kennedy's potential nomination for Hillary Clinton's seat:

The proposed investiture of Caroline Kennedy as the replacement senator for Hillary Clinton has inspired a surprising degree of opposition--at least from other claimants to the throne, such as the Cuomos, and from those obstreperous parvenus, the Clintons.

Isn't that just wonderful? "obstreperous parvenus." Oh my, some people sure can turn a phrase!

As I went around doing my errands yesterday in Danielsville I saw this fat hawk. He was perched on a lone wire strung across the edge of a field across from a daycare. A man piking up his daughter and I watched the hawk for a few moments, and the man said the hawk likes to watch for field mice and pick out his dinner. At first I thought it was an owl because it was so big, but upon getting out of the car and seeing the spotted wings and the lack of "ears" I was momentarily disappointed. But the hawk is a great bird too and I enjoyed seeing its stillness and intensity as he looked for his supper.



Till next time, stay safe, sane, and have a Merry Christmas!