Back later…

I won’t be posting for a few days.  Back when I am feeling better.

Beth

The Month Before Christmas

The Month Before Christmas

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.

Why the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday'.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, diversity are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet
MERRY CHRISTMAS.  Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

*******************************

You have probably all read this by now.  I received it in an email from my sister.  It portrays my feelings perfectly.

 

Beth

 

Sorry…

I have been missing in action.  I haven’t felt well the last couple of days.  I do feel better today so I will try to check in with you all sometime today.

Blessings,

Beth

The day after…

and the mad rush is on from now until after Christmas.  I am not doing much Christmas shopping this year.  I am giving one nice gift to each person and that is it.  Plus I have two birthdays to buy for, Dec 23rd and Dec 24th.  I love Christmas time but this year I just don’t have the energy to go all out.

Thanksgiving day was lovely.  I was invited to go with my daughter and son in law to my SIL’s brother’s wife’s brother for Thanksgiving at 12 noon.  Sounds complicated but it really wasn’t.  The host and hostess are lovely people.  There was a huge crowd of people there; I counted 47 right before time to eat and several came in afterwards.  Their home is beautiful with a full finished basement that my old house would almost have fit into.  Awesome and the couple built it themselves.  The food was really something.  Ham. turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, at least a dozen casseroles, salads and relish trays and a whole counter full of   hors d'oeuvres . The desserts were homemade blackberry pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie,  brownies, etc.  I stuffed myself.  The hostess even sent me home a small container of turkey and so I had the traditional turkey sandwich for my supper.

I will confess that today I am worn out.  I have laundry to do but my neighbors two doors down beat me to the laundry room.  So I guess I will have to wait on that.

I made an appointment for Monday morning  to get the other repair work done on my car.  I decided I don’t need a new car right now with winter coming on.  We have a snow rain mixture predicted for Monday night.

I hope you all have a good weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a family festival, which is celebrated with much enthusiasm and joy in many parts of the world, especially the countries of US and Canada. People express gratitude to God on this day, for all the valuable things they posses in life. Near and dear ones are also thanked for their love and support. Feasting with family and friends is a very important aspect of this festival. In fact, it is also the most delightful part of this festival. The entire family comes together to offer prayers to the Almighty, before the Thanksgiving dinner and show their appreciation. Given below is a soulful prayer to be offered in honor of God.

Thanksgiving

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

 

************

I hope you all have a truly blessed Thanksgiving.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Why is it…

that when you go to the car dealership for something they always find something else??  I went to the Buick dealership this morning for a new battery.  They found over $300 worth of things that need to be done in the future.  At least it wasn’t written in red.  The new battery cost almost $200 including the labor.  I have decided to wait till spring on this and then I am going to either get a new car or a good used one.  My car is a 2002 Buick Lesabre with less than 85,000 miles on it.  I did find out that the battery is located under the passenger side in the back seat.  I had no idea!

I have been to the bank this morning, Walmart, Food Depot and dropped some books off at Goodwill.  I checked Food Depot for the Hostess Snacks and they have filled that shelf with something else.  However while we were at he car dealership my daughter found a lone Hostess Ding Dong in the vending machine.  For the sake of nostalgia we shared it.  Not a Twinkie to be found in town.

Anyway the morning was very busy for me so I think I am going to rest awhile.  I am on an antibiotic now too and I am pretty stressed out. 

I hope you all have a great week.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Goodbye to my favorite…

TWINKIES!  I love Twinkies although I haven’t eaten them for a long time since I found out that they are loaded with fat and preservatives.
 
source

“A pop-science journey into the surprising ingredients found in dozens of common processed foods, using the Twinkie label as a guide.”    http://www.twinkiedeconstructed.com/Twinkiewebsite/Welcome.html 
 
The study was done at  the University of Illinois which is located in Champaign/Urbana Illinois.  Jim and I lived just 30 miles from the UI.  We both worked at Chanute AFB In Rantoul Illinois.  I carried a Twinkie to work in my lunch every day until I read about this study.  Goodbye Twinkies and now goodbye Twinkies forever.  It has been proven that a Twinkie has so much preservative that it will stand alone without changing  color or becoming moldy for an extended period of time.  It just stands alone and does nothing.  And now I feel this compelling need to check out the local stores to see if there are any Twinkies.

On a serious note, the Hostess liquidation is costing 200 jobs in Peoria.  So this is a really big thing here.

**********

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.  I was fitted with the heart monitor on Thursday which I have to wear for 28 days.
 
Have a peaceful weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Hospital again…

I spent yesterday afternoon in the emergency room at the hospital.  I had an abnormal EKG.  Now I will be wearing a heart monitor for the next month.  I really hate that as I did this for a month last year.  I have had my med changed for my BP again.  All in all I am not a happy camper that doesn’t feel well.  My posts may be sporadic and I may not get around to visit you all.  I will be thinking of you.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Wednesday…

Sunny and cold.  No snow on the ground and no rain or snow predicted for the rest of the week.

Yesterday I went to Kohl’s with my daughter.  They had a lot of nice Christmas items on sale so I got a few of those and my daughter got some new  socks.  I like Kohl’s as they carry my favorite jeans there.

I finally dug out my knitting bag for the first time since I moved here.  At first I thought I had forgotten how to knit but it is just like riding a bicycle, once I picked up the knitting needles it all came back to me.

Yes that is my big old recliner that I sit in all of the time.  Anyone who visits knows it is my chair and they sit somewhere else.  LOL

I need to get busy and clean the bathroom and I am still working on clearing out the CDs.  Sherry, be on the lookout for a small package.  I am not including the cd cases.  I hope you have a few cases just lying around.

Time to visit you all.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

And the north wind doth blow…

but we didn’t get snow, just a lot of wind; some winds gusting over 50 miles an hour yesterday.  We dropped from the upper 60s to the mid 20s last night.  And now I am thinking that Old Man Winter is waiting in the wings.  I am not ready for that.

I am up early this morning, doing laundry, etc.  My niece is coming over for lunch.  She likes to watch Y & R with me.  That show is all messed up now.  Several of my favorites have been fired and more to come.

I am reading the new Virgil Flowers novel by John Sandford.  http://www.johnsandford.org/books.html

 

MAD RIVER

SYNOPSIS · CHAPTER ONE · COMMENTS · COVER GALLERY · REVIEWS

“Bonnie and Clyde, they thought. And what's-his-name, the sidekick. Three teenagers with dead-end lives, and chips on their shoulders, and guns.

The first person they killed was a highway patrolman. The second was a woman during a robbery. Then, hell, why not keep on going? As their crime spree cuts a swath through rural Minnesota, some of it captured on the killers' cell phones and sent to a local television station, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers joins the growing army of cops trying to run them down. But even he doesn't realize what's about to happen next.”

And mentioning for the 100th time, Sandford is my favorite author.  Minnesota readers, is there really a Mankato Minnesota?

Have a wonderful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Veteran’s Memorial, O’Fallon Illinois

 

 

 

I took these photos at O’Fallon IL the last time I visited my brother there.  It is a beautiful place.  May God Bless our veterans.  I thank them all from the bottom of my heart!

Please click on the pictures to make larger.

Beth

Breakfast at the River Boat…

this morning with my daughter and son in law.  A very nice buffet.  I tried not to eat to much even though  it was tempting.

Yesterday was a busy day.  My daughter and I went to Farm and Fleet and did a bit of Christmas shopping.  They have a very good selection of baking items too, pecans, walnuts, baking chips, marshmallow cream all at a very good price.  Walnuts at $5.99 a lb. and pecans at $7.99 a lb. All ready for Christmas baking.

I took a walk over to the cemetery yesterday afternoon.  There is still one beautiful tree over there with the leaves a lovely color of dark red.  The grass is green in the cemetery.  The last time I walked there the grass was dry and crunchy.  We have had quite a lot of rain this fall and are closing the rain deficit caused by the drought.

I guess I will call this the last pretty tree of the season.  Notice the green grass in the picture below.  Taken 8 Nov 2012.

I hope you all have a peaceful weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Sunny again…

I think.  I said it was yesterday and no sooner had I  published my post than the sun went away and was a very dark day.  Since I had made cookies the day before I couldn’t do that again so I flitted around like a chicken with its head cut off.  What to do, what shall I do.

I worked a bit more on sorting CDs and I have already decided that clearing out almost 1000 CDs is a daunting task and not much fun at all.  I never did get  the bobbin loaded on my new sewing machine that I purchased last Spring and now I can’t find the darn cd again on how to load the bobbin.  Speaking of bobbleheads.  lol

But, I have things I have to get done today.  A call from the pharmacy reminded me that I have prescriptions to pick up.  Yesterday I cleaned out the freezer so that I could get a turkey today.  Kroger has them for 77 cents a lb. with a $10 food purchase.  And we all know that I always end up with a lot more than $10 spent at the grocery stores.  I am hoping my son can come home for Thanksgiving.  If he can’t I will save it till Christmas.  I also will need to pick up a spiral sliced ham a little closer to the time.  Oh yum, I have visions of stuffing and gravy and cranberry sauce and the smell of celery and onions simmering on the stove in chicken broth!!

I was thinking that many of you don’t know what I was referring to yesterday about singing Soft Kitty.  If you are a Big Bang Theory fan like I am you know the words go something like this. 

 

“Soft kitty, Warm kitty

Little ball of fur

Happy kitty, Sleepy kitty

Purr Purr Purr”

 

Sheldon always wants this song sung to him when he is sick because his mother always sang it to him..  You can watch the show tonight on CBS at 7PM  CST.  Here is the Big Bang website.  http://www.youtube.com/user/thebigbangtheory?annotation_id=annotation_661293&feature=iv&src_vid=sIp77PUvLTE

I have got to get busy.  I will catch you all later.

Beth

Moving on to other things…

after the nastiest political campaign in history is finally over.

Yesterday it rained all day and so I couldn’t  enjoy a good hair day even after a trip to the hair salon.  Actually very depressing.  Today is bright and sunny and the day looks promising with a high in the 40s.  High in the 60s predicted for Saturday so that will be the day to get out and do something.

It was so dark and gloomy in the house  yesterday that I baked cookies and even frosted them.  Then I gave almost all of them to my daughter and son in law. 

I am working my way through my CD collection and have one good sized box ready for Goodwill.   It is quite a chore and it is actually hard to part with some of them.

I’m singing Sheldon !  I LOVE The Bing Bang Theory!

Have a great day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Hooray, it’s the end…

of the mud slinging and name calling and downright mean political ads and I couldn’t be happier.  I voted a couple of weeks ago,  praying all the while that I was casting the right vote.  We should all know by tomorrow.  I will watch some of the returns tonight.  I will, however, not let it upset me, just pray that the person who ends up in the White House will work for the best interests of our great nation.  I am always so proud to say that I am an American and I love my country!

That said, I am up early this morning.  I have laundry going and an appointment for a hair cut later on this morning.  Just my ordinary routine.  There is nothing I like better than ordinary.  When it gets to be extra ordinary then my mind gets boggled and my stomach gets upset and I am a nervous wreck.

I just found out yesterday that my supplemental insurance is going up $64 a month in January.  I could switch because it is open season for federal employees right now but I am well pleased with my coverage so I guess I will stick with the tried and true hoping that they don’t throw a curve ball at me.  Oh well, if they do I will survive because I am a tough cookie . I am fortunate to be able to afford insurance!

I hope you have all voted.  If you haven’t get moving!

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Not everyone…

          Not everyone in DC took shelter from Hurricane Sandy

 

          God bless them, they never looked better!

This was in an email I received this morning.  If you have already seen this take a moment to reflect again.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

The Tree…

The pictures below are of the tree between the cemetery and my back door.  I have taken one picture on the same day each month.  My goal was 1 year.  Only one more month to go.

 

4 January 2012

4 February 2012

4 March 2012

4 April 2012

4 May 2012

4 June 2012

4 July 2012

   4 August 2012

6 September 2012

4 October 2012 early morning

4 November 2012

Have a truly blessed day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

It’s Saturday…

and I am going the the Christmas Bazaar at the hospital with my daughter this morning.  They have the cutest crafts there.  The handmade dresses for little girls are just adorable.  From now until Christmas there will be one church after another having a Christmas Bazaar.  That is one nice thing about living in a larger city.  Lots of activities and things to do.  I love the Christmas sale at the First United Methodist Church.  The ladies of the church make homemade noodles and use the egg whites to make angel food cakes.  I bought a cake last year for $5.  Those cakes are huge and just delicious, so I am looking forward to that again and also buying some of the homemade noodles.

And then next month is the cookie exchange.

These are the goodies I came home with last year.

My doctor appointment yesterday with my cardiologist was uneventful.  (Thank you God)  For now I am doing better.  Next month is my kidney/BP doctor visit. 

I hope you all have a lovely peaceful weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Blog Of The Year Award…

 

I have been given this lovely award from Janice at   http://myfamilyjaysactivity.blogspot.com/  Thank you Janice!

Think about how many time we have participated in a hop and went thru the list of other blogs linked up, playing along and because they have answered something similar to our answer or something we had thought the same thought we leave them a comment? Those comments build and build between blog friends and we start following that blog author and building a solid friendship. We get them and they happily get us. I have some great friendships all due to the thanks of a blog-hop I joined, I also know some of our super hostess's stay award free on their blogs but I hope they know I applaud them weekly by their fun, challenging, & creative hop prompts they provide us. The opportunity to get these awards from our fellow bloggers and make us happy that we stick with blogging and participating in their challenges. I try to go down the list of the links and leave comments on blog posts and then I try and return a comment on my own post when left one but gosh it is hard to do both so in making my list of fellow bloggers to present this too I am going to go with those blog buddies who I see not just on my blog leaving hope. inspiration, and encouragement but on others as well..... mind you I do not want to leave anyone out I think every single follower is AMAZING but this award has real rules attached ......so here I go with who I would like to award this too - PLEASE check these awesome bloggers out.

1.  http://myfamilyjaysactivity.blogspot.com/  (Janice)  for the brave fight she is facing.

2.  http://maplelanehouse.blogspot.com/    (Mildred)   for caring so very much about all of her blogging friends.

3.  http://ravenhush.blogspot.com/  (Buttons)  for being such a wonderful sweet lady in the face of adversity.

4.  http://morbidscorneroftheuniverse.blogspot.com/  (Joe)  for the inspiration and caring he shows us all.

5.  http://elegantblessings.blogspot.com/  (Annie)  for being my role model; how does she do it?

SO: The ‘rules’ for this award are simple:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

You all are winners to me.  I hope the ones I have chosen will follow through with this.  but only if you want to as you are not obligated in any way.

I am off to a doctor appointment in a few minutes.  I will catch you all when I get back.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth