New toy - maybe

I love this new "thing - a - ma - bobber" but I cannot make it work in gmail! GRRRRRRRRRR!

Christmas Baking

Lil man and I made fudge last night. I was gonna make Magic Cookie Bars but had no magic. I made chocolate fudge without nuts because one of my favorite little girls is allergic to nuts.



This reminded me of a story from long, long ago.


Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away there lived a mom with 2 little girls, 2 little jobs, and just enough money. It was Christmastime in the kingdom and the mom and the little girls were making candy to give as gifts to the babysitter (who was helping), the landlord, the mailman, etc.

We were making 2 kinds of candy at the time. Walnut Bourbon Balls and Unwalnut Bourbon Balls.

The littlest girl, 6 at the time, rolled one of the UBB into a perfect ball and placed it in the paper cup and said, “There, isn’t she pretty?”

I said, “Yes, it is, baby, but why is it a she?”

“No nuts, Mom.“

Reindeer Facts

REMEMBER

THIS AT

CHRISTMAS

TIME

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a roly-poly, jolly old man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

Fun Monday 120307

This week's Fun Monday is hosted by Robinella. She wanted to see the post that we most wanted other people to see again - or for the first time for our newer friends. This is a blog that I originally wrote on my MySpace page before I found out how much easier this is.

Jimmy(originally posted 12/15/06 on MySpace and in April on Blogger)

I spent a great deal of time trying to decide what to call this blog.

This has been a very stressful week, just not for me. It has been stressful, though, for a great many people that I care about and I just feel so danged helpless.

Wednesday evening a friend of mine died. It was not expected and, unlike some people I have known who were ill for a long time, it was not welcome.

It's kind of ironic because my friend was ill and we sort of expected him to die early - you know, before all the rest of us do. We just expected it to be his disease that killed him and not a horrific traffic accident.

It is my nature to find bright spots. Sometimes I find this comforting and sometimes I find it incredibly annoying. Any way you cut it, though, it's what I do.

Sooooo- it was a single vehicle accident and no one else was injured - bright spot.

His widow has faith that is truly strong and deep, along with a church family who will be with her every step of the way - bright spot.

He evidently was either dead when his vehicle hit the tree or death was instantaneous - bright spot.

We all have wonderful memories, a lot of which make us hysterical, by which to remember him - bright spot.

And last, but most certainly not least, he is with God - incredibly luminous glorious and radiant bright spot.

We loved you, Jimmy

The Christmas Centerpiece

A while back, I wrote a blog about rednecks and included a picture of a centerpiece that was a collaboration between me and my grandson.

Well, autumn is over and Christmas is near.

Lil man went through the shotgun shells and we had only red and green shotgun shells for the Christmas centerpiece.

Then he brought me three yellow ones and asked that they be included. I asked why and he said yellow like the star of "you know, that town" and three because the star led the three wise men to "you know, that town" where the Baby was born.

His first time using the wire cutters.

Please note the "wise man"

Yep, just like we wanted!

Real Life Curriculum

I was tagged on the 1st with this by Deb:

Rules: Devise a list of 5-10 courses you would take to fix your life. It's more fun to be in classes with friends, so include one class from the person who tagged you that you'd also like to take. Tag five.

The class that Deb is already offering that I would most like to take is:

Listen Up- Talking to someone and they just stare at you nodding, but not really listening to you. Then get out your rolling pin and take this class. They will learn to the difference between "hearing" and "Listening".

My husband and I used to drive truck cross-country for a living. I am a talker. I need noise like I need air. My husband? Not so much. I decided once to not initiate any conversation and just see how long it took for him to talk to me. You know, we were in the same vehicle and all.
The longer it took, the more aggravated I became. Finally, after 4 days! I exploded! I screamed and yelled and ranted and raved and raged and finally asked him just what the heck was the matter with him.

"I thought we were just getting along".

Yeah.

OK, back to the subject at hand. Additional classes that I would offer:

Manners for morons: I am not talking about which fork to use or which stemware is appropriate for which wine. I am talking about the fact that when I say "Thank you" to anyone, be they a clerk or a waiter or the mailman or my grandson, the correct response is "You're welcome" or anything similar. It is not a grunt or a shrug or total ignorance. OK, that's weird. I meant ignore - ance and it came out ignorance. Hmmm. and no, I did not just call my grandson a moron or ignorant.

Words - they're not just for books any more: Taught in conjunction with the above listed course. Extra credit. Non-verbal communication is appropriate for use in church, movie theaters, and theatre in general. Otherwise, if I ask a question, I would like to HEAR an answer.

Faking it for fun and profit: OK, that's a lie. There's no profit involved in this but it can be fun. If you wake up in a crappy mood, fake it. If you are out in public and someone asks, "How are you?" and it's really just a pit of a day, smile and say, "Fine, thanks. How about you?" Very few people really care and those that do already know (or will read about it in your blog!) There are enough curmudgeons out and about. Do your part to cheer up the world - fake it!

Survival Cooking: Nope, no bugs or odd crunchy things (hopefully). I'm just talking about everyday cooking. No one should learn, at the age of 18, that if you let spaghetti cook long enough, it will get fuzzy. This course would just cover the 5 things that most families eat ALL the time. There are restaurants for everything else.

Now, to tag the unsuspecting:

wolfbaby (where have you been?)
overwhelmed with joy (I don't think we've ever even met but I like to read her)
Juls (because I can)
and C.J. (because I want to know the answers

We Need a Little Christmas!

Here, in response to a post I read earlier, is a gift for my child.

(Just click on the package)

Happy Late Birthday and Merry Early Christmas!