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Our Daily Thread 12-17-14

Good Morning!

8 Days! 🙂

Today’s header photo is from Janice.

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On this day in 1777 France recognized American independence. 

In 1895 George L. Brownell received a patent for his paper-twine machine.

In 1953 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to approve RCA’s color television specifications. 

And in 1975 Lynette Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Ford. 

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Quote of the Day

“Recommend virtue to your children; it alone, not money, can make them happy. I speak from experience.”

Ludwig van Beethoven

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First up today, the extremely talented Lindsey Stirling

 And since it’s his birthday, some Beethoven, TSO style. 🙂

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Anyone have a QoD?

67 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 12-17-14”

  3. Oh, I thought it must be Janice’s foyer!

    I pulled close to an all nighter having to write the Unbroken story after getting through the movie and all the interviews. Good thing I’m on ‘vacation.’ I’ll be tired today.

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  4. Good morning, Chas, Aj and Donna. Becca and I just finished our morning snuggle routine… It’s such a delightful way to begin the day… I’m feeling incredibly blessed! I never knew how much joy I’d experience from being a mom, or the overwhelming love that would permeate every fiber of my being.

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  5. …and I thought I had a lot of lights on my tree.

    I should be well rested today. I fell asleep on the sofa around 8pm. Went to bed at 9:15 and didn’t wake until the alarm at 5:30. I LOVE when I get that much good rest.

    Yesterday we brought in another real estate office with FIFTEEN agents. That has had me somewhat stressed for about a week. That is off my shoulders. Tomorrow night is our company Christmas party. I have had 185 RSVP’s! I hope the agents enjoy what I have planned for them. Friday we are having a luncheon here at the office for a couple of charities. We had a Listing for Charity Challenge and the agents who got listings during that time got to decided where at distribute $10,000 dollars.

    I am not sure which day Middle Son will be here. He is supposed to be leaving North Carolina tomorrow and driving in. He is going through Jacksonville, FL which makes no sense to me, but he is in charge of his own car. Mr. P talked to Daughter in law and she is aware of all that is going on with Oldest Son. We will be meeting her in Austin, TX on January 4th to spend a week with her and the BABY. Grandpa and Mimi are on babysitting duty that week.

    BG will be having a nice Christmas. She gave me a list and is getting everything on her list but a pair of boots she wanted.

    Monday I went to the Bass Pro Shop (yes, I know you just can’t imagine me there) to get the rod and reel that Mr. P wants for Christmas. No one would help me. They told me that the salesman who helped me on Saturday was at lunch. No problem, I had lunch in their restaurant. I came back out at 12:06 pm and the guy at the register asked me if I was finished with lunch already. He paged the guy they thought helped me on Saturday. He didn’t show up. THREE Bass Pro Shop employees were helping a couple with their purchases, as I stood there until 12:26pm waiting for help. Finally I told my co-worker who was with me that we could leave. Women in business attire don’t hang out in a sporting goods store in the middle of the day without the intent of spending money.
    When I got back to the office I called the store and asked to speak with a manager of customer service. I was nice about it and explained that I had done my time in retail and understood that it was Christmas, but told the manager how I had been ignored. I told them I was looking for a 6 ft medium light rod at a certain price, at Sahara 1000 reel and I needed it spooled with 4lb line. (yes, I CAN pay attention when I have to). The manager of the fishing department called me back. I got an upgrade on the rod and reel at the same price as what I had been looking at and I got a 10% discount. All I have to do today is go to customer service, spay, and pick it up. Just goes to show that you CAN catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

    Now, I have to work.

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  8. Beethoven TSO style! Unorthodox and VERY enjoyable!! Thank you, AJ. 🙂

    Loved the quote, too.

    Well done, Kim. That’s the way.

    I was at a music store in our area a couple days ago, shopping for Christmas presents for my piano students. I may have been there about 10-15 minutes and must have had three or four employees ask me if I needed help finding anything, or offering assistance in ordering any items I didn’t see but might want, etc. Very friendly people, all of them. Even had two of the employees who were discussing something at a desk stop and greet me as I came in the door. I enjoyed my visit there.

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  9. Good Morning, Y’all!

    I wasn’t going to do this…but I laughed too hard not to…

    Kim not only got what she wanted, but she also is going to spay the customer service people! I will NOT mess with Kim!

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  12. Today (last night, really) starts Hanukkah. This celebration predates Christmas. It is the celebration mentioned in John 10:22. It celebrates the cleaning of the temple after the abomination, (desecration) by Antichious Epiphones. In the dedication, the priests lighted the ceremonial lamps. But they only had enough oil for one day. It burned seven days. That is the miracle of the lights (or oil) and sometimes it is called the “feast of lights”.
    Kwanza was invented for some reason and has no meaning at all.
    We used to have a Jewish guy working with us. He told us “Merry Christmas”. We told him “Happy Hanukkah”.
    The YMCA in Hendersonville is having a “Holiday food collection”. I’m not giving any thing to it.

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  13. Noted the same thing, IBNO!

    I’m wondering how Sears makes money. I went in for a 100 piece drill set for my son (only $9.99! On sale). I stopped at the jewelry counter where all silver was 70% off. Whipped out the calculator and got some nice earrings for perfect daughter -in-laws. Found some scarves for two more women.

    Whille checking out in the hardware department, got all those savings, the he asked me if I had a coupon, reaching for his own newspaper.

    I had my own circular but hadn’t noticed that $10 off. He then asked me if we were on the awards program.

    I gave him our phone number and my husband is, with $13 cash back in the account he will never use.

    He offered me that, but because I couldn’t remember my password (surprise!) even after he prompted me with my zip code, he could only give me $10 off.

    I haven’t figured out how much I saved, yet, but I left the store bemused and shaking my head.

    Then I couldn’t find my parking ticket and had to seriously contemplate a $9 lost ticket charge.

    I knew I had put it somewhere safe, I thought here in my pocket with my phone . . . Nothing.

    Finally returned to car to dump out the entire purse, no ticket.

    But I know I put it in my pocket . . .

    Looked up.

    Ah, the pocket of the jacket, not the raincoat!

    All was well.

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  16. Sitting here sipping on my coffee and enjoying the chuckle..oh Kim you are my hero! 😛
    Off to get in a couple of errands before the snow begins to fall…praying for Jo’s safe journey home and feeling very excited for her!

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  18. ?????????????????
    I have an e-mail in my spam filter. It is from a Helen S. I think I know her from this blog (or the WM blog). Some others here are addressed.
    But there is nothing there but an attachment.
    I am afraid to open the attachment.
    Does anyone know what that is about?

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  21. I laughed at that, too, Kim. Last year or the year before I went to a large store intending to pick up two portable video car packages. After many, many salespeople were not helpful (long story) I walked out, drove across the highway and bought from a totally different store. The first store was having problems in retail at the time. I wonder why?

    I am incredibly patient with clerks, because I was one. I know how difficult it can be working with the public. Christmas shopping season can be especially difficult. However, when clerks do not even appear to care, it is another issue all together.

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  22. You know what I’ve found on a lot of suspicious email? If I click reply and look at the return address it’s not from people I know.

    If I’m still not sure, I send them an email (on a fresh page) and ask if they sent me something.

    The answer, so far, has always been no.

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  25. Musical Advent – Day 17: When we think of a Czech carol, we probably think of “Good King Wenceslas”; but although the carol is based on a real Bohemian king, the words are a Victorian English poem set to a Finnish tune. “Nesem vam noviny” (Come, all ye shepherds) is a real Czech carol.

    Come, all ye shepherds, ye children of earth,
    Come ye, bring greetings to yon heavenly birth.
    For Christ the Lord to all men is given,
    To be our Savior sent down from heaven:
    Come, welcome Him!

    Hasten then, hasten to Bethlehem’s stall,
    There to see heaven descend to us all.
    With holy feeling, there humbly kneeling,
    We will adore Him, bow down before Him,
    Worship the King.

    Angels and shepherds together we go
    Seeking the Savior from all earthly woe;
    While angels, winging, His praise are singing,
    Heaven’s echoes ringing, peace on earth bringing,
    Good will to men.

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  26. Anything with attachments I don’t open unless there is a sentence making it clear it is a real connection. Only exception is Bob Buckles but then I look to see if it has the usual strange appearance of spam.

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  32. Yes, the email with ONLY a link in the body is pretty much always spam. You’re OK as long as you don’t click on the link.

    I saw the “spay” term, too, and thought, now what IS that, is it like some southern thing they all do to get discounts and better service? And how can I learn how to do what she did?

    Oy, I’m tired, I didn’t go to bed until after 4 a.m. — I had almost finished my story, but not quite, I was having trouble finding a couple quotes & names I needed, flipping through my notebook, when an alert popped up on the work site that the system was going down for maintenance and I had to “save” sign off.

    I figured I could finish the story (later) in the morning.

    But now it’s morning. 😦

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  38. Roscuro, what a beautiful Advent selection today! I loved the vocal harmonies along with the instrumentation. This is probably my favorite one so far of the pieces you’ve featured, and I’m not surprised to see it is a Czech carol. I have become very interested in Czech music since reading Alice’s Piano this summer. I was just listening to my Dvorak CD, in fact, as I worked in the kitchen. There is so much beauty in many Czech pieces, I am finding.

    Thanks for posting these videos. I’m enjoying following this Advent series. May I bother you with a teeny detail? 😉 I didn’t see a video posted for Day 15 (Monday) and wondered if there was no video for whatever song was on the Musical Advent Calendar for that day, or if it was inadvertently missed?

    The Musical Advent Calendar is a neat thing. What is its origin?

    Thanks. 🙂

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  39. I saw Chas’s first comment with the CULOM in it, and didn’t know what that meant. I figured CUL meant “See you later”, since he was going to the Y, but wasn’t sure about the OM part.

    So I went to Urban Dictionary and learned CULOM stands for “See You Later, Old Man.” 😀

    So much fun, all the things I learn on this site. 😉

    Not to mention all the humor. 🙂

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  40. I’d gladly send NJL a note if I had her email address. Would one of you with mine send me hers?

    And what would Kim do with the female CSRs? Can’t spay them. 😉

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  41. Ok, story is in I guess. Took longer than I thought. Remind me not to agree to work on a vacation week again. 😦

    I’m still glad I agreed to do the story, though.

    So, about the film: It’s good, but the book is better (how many times have we all said that?).

    I had a hard time seeing it with fresh eyes, though, since I am so familiar with the story. But I thought it was well cast and well acted.

    The theme of faith and prayer did run through much of the film, but — they could have helped ease so much of the criticism it’s receiving in Christian circles with a few tweaks here or there.

    In the postscript notes, for example, it made reference to Louie’s “faith.” Why didn’t they just say “Christian faith”? It did seem that there was almost an effort to downplay the specific Christian nature of his faith, although the film opens with the family in a Catholic church (still an active parish in town) listening to a sermon. Louie several times contemplates the crucifix on the wall.

    It seemed to me the family was somewhat on the defensive with the issue, I suspect it’s been the main criticism they’ve had to deal with in the past weeks as the film has debuted in various premier showings.

    The family (my sense is they are also Christian) said the treatment of the faith issue was respectful and that it satisfied their (and their father’s) insistence that it not be left out.

    But I couldn’t help but wonder last night whether some of the details on how that played out were objects of debate behind the scenes during the course of making the film. One family member told me early on that the faith component posed something of a dilemma for Jolie who wanted the film to appeal to young people.

    But I think there still were simple ways they could have strengthened the Christian message without being preachy. So in that sense it feels like an opportunity lost.

    Then again, the subject certainly wasn’t ignored and I suspect it will still impact movie goers who already are being prompted by the Holy Spirit to seek after God.

    Some of our local history buffs quibbled about some of the childhood scenes, but the filmmakers did consult at length with the historical society in recreating the town and clothing styles of the 1930s (but strange because it was all filmed in Australia — even though Louie’s old family home, church and high school remain intact and looking much as they did in his growing up years; why not use them and film some of those scenes locally?).

    Not sure the film will be a super award winner. But I suspect it will do well at the box office and will enjoy a long life on DVD and cable, especially around Christmas time and Veterans Day.

    By all means, go see it. It’s a remarkable story. And if you haven’t read the book, do that first.

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  44. Neutering can apply to both sexes, but spaying is only for females. In the animal world, at least, I’m not sure about the application to retail sales clerks.

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  45. Anyone else excited by the sounds of delivery trucks rumbling down the street? Waiting for DSW clogs…and the garbage truck just faked the sound of a delivery truck. 😦 🙂

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  48. have to clean my room here and then off to the airport. At least the Brisbane airport is air-conditioned. On standby you check in, they give you back your luggage and say, go wait over there for several hours while we see if we have space on the flight. Then, if you get a seat, you rush through security and run to the flight.
    Praying for enough seats for me!

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  50. 6 Arrows. Good research at 2:29.
    I thought everyone knew that.
    We used to tap it out in morse code when we were leaving one station and switching to another.
    e.g. When we were leaving WSY in New York and connecting to CSY at Santa Maria in the Azores.
    The “Old Man” might have been a 22 year old woman, for all we knew. but no matter..

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  51. My dogs get excited by the sound of a delivery truck when it’s still a block away. The trucks don’t always stop here, of course.

    But I guess it happens often enough that they are conditioned now to think something’s coming for us and that they will be called on to BARK and chase a delivery person off the porch once again!

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  52. Cool, Chas.

    Jo, thanks for the update. I woke up once last night and prayed for you, and thought to myself, “I wonder where in the world Jo is now.” 🙂

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  57. I went out just a bit ago and picked up my new rod and reel. It looks pretty much like a rod and reel. I also took one of my dad’s watches and had it spiffed and polished. Mr. P should have a decent Christmas.

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  60. This is from Jo, over on Facebook: “Amazing, someone is praying! I went to check in and they gave me a boarding pass! That never happens! Yesterday I waited three hours in the heat. Usually they tell you wait over there, not today. California here I come!”

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  61. 6 Arrows, on the missing day, I’ve been posting these on Facebook and here – on Day 15, I posted Mary Did You Know performed by Pentatonix on FB, but as I didn’t have a lot of time that day and that song had been posted here already, I didn’t post it here.
    As for the origin, I suppose it is my very own invention. I grew up with the Advent Calendar tradition (mine was made from 24 matchbox drawers with candy or gifts inside each day) and I love Christmas carols – so I combined the two. I do the research – it is a welcome break from my studying – and find the carols on YouTube.

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  62. Yes, 6 arrows. I made a mistake. Kim would be able to spay the females, not the males. But then, she is not a medical professional, so I would not want to find out the results of her attempts at either process.

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  63. Re the high risk takedown – I guess they thought the trailer was stolen? And my son has long hair, a long goatee and tattoos – maybe they judged by his appearance. Last night he told us that his boss was phoning him right as he was being stopped to ask him if he was being pulled over. Dumb boss. Waste of police resources, stress and inconvenience for employee.

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  65. Thanks, Roscuro. I did see when Mary Did You Know was posted here previously. I listen to all the music videos AJ and everyone else post. I can see how your search for the videos and the commentary you offer would be a welcome diversion from your studies. Your taking time to do that blesses me, as well.

    I see the two Karen’s on this blog cross-posted Jo’s comment from Facebook. Kare on this thread at 7:34, and Karen on the prayer thread at 7:35. 🙂

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