Good Morning!
It’s Friday! 🙂
What’s on your agenda today?
We’re about to get whacked. 8-12 inches is now the call. Look out New England, you’re next.
So my schedule just cleared up. Only one thing on the to-do list for me.
Stay home with the girls.
√ 🙂
Quote of the Day
“You can lead a man to Congress, but you can’t make him think.”
Milton Berle
Ain’t that the truth. 🙂
QoD
What’s your favorite “snowed in” activity?
Wandering Views 
Get any snow, AJ?
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It’s Friday. You know what that means?
The Y for us, then Lions for me.
Elvera has a sister in Greenwood who is 87 years old and recently out of the hospital and in a nursing home.
She and Polly are going down to see her.
AnnieLee has lived the longest of any of the Collins’. She has had the least healthful lifestyle: overweight all her life, exercise consisted of going to the mailbox.
Had diabetes for the last 35 years. But she’s still hanging in there. They think every trip to see her will be the last. It’s been that way almost a year now.
I don’t have a favorite ‘snowed in’ activity. It always meant lots of work for me.
Milton Berle had it right. Even the good ones get Potomac Fever after they’ve been there a few years.
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In Texas, we go outside, build snowmen, have snowball fights and have all the fun we can during the few hours before the snow melts.
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Chas, my Dad who died in January at 91, fit your description of AnnieLee exactly except that the mailbox was right outside his front door. Last fall I overheard his doc talking to another doc saying, “if five years ago I’d been told that he would live to be 90 I never would have believed it.” I’m guessing (hoping) it’s just good genes.
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Good morning! Here in Houston, we never get snow. It was a balmy 74 yesterday! I’m not complaining; we have our best weather from now until beginning of June, when it becomes scorchingly hot. But, I prefer being hot rather than cold, so I suppose I live in the right part of the country to suit me.
Our youngest has never seen snow; she’s seven. We plan to take them to Colorado next winter so they can play in the snow. I don’t ski, but my husband does, so they may attempt some skiing.
We just booked our summer vacation
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Oops! To finish that thought, we made arrangements to go to the Cayman Islands this summer for our family vacation. I’m super excited! We’ll be staying in a condo on 7 mile beach for a week! We were able to get a corner unit, so the views are incredible!
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As long as I could remember my grandmother would say things like, “I guess this will be my last Christmas.” or “I’m not going to be here this time next year. Once I asked my dad how long she had been saying things like that and he said since he was a kid. She lived to be almost 90.
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Same in Alabama, Ricky. We have to enjoy the snow while we can.
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Here in Northern VA we have a whole lot of liquid sunshine coming down. It’s just cold and damp today. Snowed in activities? we like to settle in with some hot chocolate and watch long movies that we never seem to have time for like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Of course, that’s after the snow gets shoveled or blown out of the driveway.)
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QoD: We get rained in here in SoCal. Today is supposed to be just such a day. I am having coffee with a young woman I am discipling, but I will indulge myself in my favorite inside activity, reading by the fire, tea at my elbow.
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I don’t like VA winters. Having been raised in upstate NY, and planning a future retirement to MI, I feel like if we’re going to have the cold weather, we may as well have the snow. Here it sometimes snows, but often we get the cold without the snow, and if it precipitates, it usually cold wet rain. and then sometimes we have a 70 degree day in the middle of all that. Pneumonia weather we call it.
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klasko, I have said that many times this winter. If it’s going to be this cold, at least we have lots of snow! But I’m sort of getting sick of it by now. We have about 4 feet on the ground right now, 6 fresh inches on our driveway – thankful for my all wheel drive Jeep and snow tires 🙂
Favourite snowed in activity? Watching the snow come down, knowing that everyone I love is safe at home, and then going out and playing in the white stuff.
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See, for me, I can handle the cold or the snow, but not both at once. It’s OK to have 30 degrees with snow, but if it’s colder than that, then let it at least be dry. Crunching through crusty snow at -10 isn’t my idea of fun.
We got up to about 38 yesterday, first time above freezing for maybe 10 days, and also got some rain overnight. So a good part of the snow has melted, but the backyard is still pretty snowy. (With dog pawprints, and other things dog, all over the yard.)
But my favorite snowed-in activity is probably watching it snow and drinking hot cocoa. The good news is that I no longer have to go out in it if it snows; in Chicago I always did, unless I’d planned ahead to work at home.
I got Michelle’s book in the mail this morning!
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Well I’m glad someone has a copy! How does the book look? I’ll make bookplates when I get home and Ill send you one. Thanks.
Reading is the preferred snowed in activity. One time in Connecticut I read the entire The Long Winter out loud to the kids. Perfect!
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The turnover from rain to ice to snow has happened sooner than expected here. It’s all snow already. 😯
I did have time to run to the bakery for some treats so that’s a plus.
So let it snow. I’m good!
🙂
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And again Michelle, Congrats! 🙂
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We drive to the snow, play, throw snowballs, toboggan, ski (not me, but some), snowboard, then we drive home and go to the beach. 🙂
Seriously, this blizzard is causing grief for all the folks I’ve interviewed out here whose dogs are entered in (or, in one case, a man who will be one of the 43 judges) at the Westminster Dog Show. One dog owner’s flight was canceled last night, so he managed to get on another one — but then that one was canceled, too.
So come on you guys. Make it stop already!
We’re getting rain here today, like Adios, with snow in the mountains where that manhunt is now playing out. They have to catch this guy today. Really. If they catch him tomorrow, my whole Westminster Sunday package will get blown to smithereens. 😦 Arrrg.
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Yes, congratulations again, Michelle — I’m ordering a copy, too. How’s the daughter?
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Snowed in activity: watch it snow; read; watch movies; web surf. I wait until it stops before getting out the shovel.
And here’s some Friday reading for you snow bound New Englanders, and for Chas.
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Ah, just saw on FB where one of my featured dog owners & his pooch, a German pinscher, made it into NY overnight somehow. Yay.
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Meanwhile, the manhunt in our mountains continues, looks like there’s a news conference scheduled in about 30 minutes.
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Donna,
The Weather Channel says over 3000 flights have been canceled. 😦
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U-Verse is down at Kim’s house. I am at work. Have a good day
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It was a bit colder today than it has been this week. Yet when I was on my way to work this morning, the birdies were singing like it was spring. Either they are confused or I am. Probably me.
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Another day here at the Nest. I am home with two small ones and one sick eleven year old. The others have gone to help the VFW pick up trash along the highway. Then off to the livestock auction to see about getting some steers for 4H and get rid of a couple of horses. Our borrowed pasture is only so big.
Spring is in the air as the blackbirds and robins are returning.
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I saw a robin on January 1 with 3″ of snow on the ground. That is the earliest I’ve ever seen one.
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Thanks Peter.
We Lions had an interesting lecture on the white squirrels that are populating the area around here. These aren’t albino, they’re really white squirrels. We have one on our neighborhood. Maybe more.
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Michelle, the book looks good except that they misspelled your name.
(My husband told me to say that. Don’t worry, they didn’t.) I am surprised by the 2102 copyright date, though. It looks good, and I look forward to reading it.
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I mean 2012, of course.
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I realized after I made that joke yesterday about hoping I have enough batteries for my candles, that there really are battery-operated “candles”, so my joke may have fallen flat.
Michelle – Did you see my question to you last night, on yesterday’s thread?
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A few of our reporters (not me) will be on Greta’s show tonight. At least that’s the plan. 🙂
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Karen, I almost exclusively use battery candles now that I have a cat. 😉
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Snow’s still falling (the worst hasn’t hit yet), power’s still on, & Lee, Emily (with sleeping Forrest in her arms), & I are watching We Are Marshall. Good movie.
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Kane & Heidi started to have a little “doggie disagreement” over a bone. Emily jumped up to separate them before it turned into any kind of fight. In that moment, she forgot she had the sleeping toddler on her lap.
Needless to say, Sleeping Cutie had a rude awakening.
(He’s okay, though. If he weren’t we wouldn’t be laughing about it.)
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Favorite “snowed-in” activity is reading. Favorite rainy day activity is also reading. Favorite “too-hot-to-go-outside” day activity is reading. Favorite vacation activity is reading. Favorite weekend activity is reading. Favorite evening activity is reading.
Did I leave anything out?
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Reading, playing board games and baking are all nice for a snowy day. We do not get very much snow in the Atlanta area so I do really love to just watch in awe if we happen to get those large fluffy flakes. Also, it can be a nice time to put some food out for the birds and squirrels once the ground is covered with snow or ice.
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We may not have snow on the outside, but we feel “snowed-in” with all the tax work! Do mounds of paper count for snow? We finally have a scanner for the office so we are not having to use as much paper for making copies this year.
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Karen–will answer when I get home and can actually type.
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“Ditto” to Pauline’s comment above. 🙂
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Thanks, Michelle!
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I just purchased Michelle’s book from Amazon. Looking forward to its arrival! They need to get some more in stock 🙂
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I’m home. What a week — And I have to go in for a few hours tomorrow, but unless everything blows up with the ex-cop on the run, it should (I hope) be routine.
The Westminster dog show story will still go on A1 Sunday, but probably not as the “centerpiece” originally envisioned due to the cop on the run & (yet) another big story on Catholic church sexual abuse.
Much of the dog package, as a result, may run online only. But that’s OK, since that’s where most of our readers are anymore.
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It’s snowin’ like CRAZY! 🙂
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It’s RAINING here. We even had HAIL this morning.
I know.
You’re not impressed.
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Tess just came in from the backyard, she’s soaked! Crazy dog. What can I say, she loves being outside even in bad weather (such as it is around here).
Cowboy’s dry, he’s happy to hang out inside when it rains.
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My niece posted on Facebook a quote “‘If the homophobes really ‘cared’ about ‘protecting’ marriage, wouldn’t they ban divorce?”
This was followed by comments supporting the idea that those against same-sex marriage are not logical, don’t really care about protecting marriage, & just really hate homosexuals.
Treading carefully, I wrote…
“Most conservative religions (Christian & others) are against divorce except in certain circumstances (like adultery, abandonment, or abuse).
“There is a statistic that is often used that claims that the rate of divorce among Christians is the same as in the general population. But a closer look shows that the rate of divorce is much lower among Christians who actually practice their faith by attending church regularly (weekly or almost weekly).”
Katie’s fiance Aaron (who used to be Megan) asked, “The divorce rate is lower if you attend church on a weekly basis? Interesting ……and these facts are where?”
HELP! I know I’ve read that very thing by some on this blog (formerly on WMB). Can anyone point me to a link or anything?
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We have about a foot of snow on our back porch, & it’s coming down hard!
If we lose power, you won’t see me around here, cuz I don’t do that phone thing. I still think it’s funny to see people on Facebook posting that they lost power. 🙂
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To refine my question a bit…I’m googling this, & so far it seems the websites that refute the “fact” that the divorce rate among Christians is the same or higher as the secular population are Christian sites. I’ll keep looking, but does anyone have a link to a secular site that backs up the lower rate?
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I’ve heard that, too, Karen, but I don’t (offhand) know the source.
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Maybe this helps (lots of footnotes at the bottom):
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/09/25/factchecker-divorce-rate-among-christians/
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Among the footnotes (that may be a secular reference):
C.A. Johnson, S. M. Stanley, N.D. Glenn, P.A. Amato, S.L. Nock, H.J. Markman and M .R. Dion Marriage in Oklahoma: 2001 Baseline Statewide Survey on Marriage and Divorce (Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Department of Human Services 2002) p. 25, 26.
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Thanks, Donna. I also found one from a USAToday article that quotes “Bradley Wright, a University of Connecticut sociologist who recently wrote ‘Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites … and Other Lies You’ve Been Told.’ ”
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-03-14-divorce-christians_N.htm
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Prayer for you, Donna on the prayer thread.
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