66 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 1-1-16”

  9. We never made it out tonight. We did enjoy a nice meal of orange pork loin chops, broccoli, Texas toast, and sparkling apple cider. We had a little vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.

    Pat the Cat has a large looking head and a really long tail, but its body is fairly slim. It looks younger than Miss Bosley. It’s a real cutie/sweetie pie. It is beautiful, but it seems a bit scraggly compared to Miss Bosley.

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  10. Is it 2016 already?
    Where have the years gone?

    Is it Friday yet?
    No YMCA today, I assume it’s closed.
    No Lions either.
    We adhered to our tradition. Went to sleep in 2015, slept the year out.

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  11. I tried to download the song from iTunes. But couldn’t get it to come up. So I can’t.

    The man on the radio reminded us that on this day in 1952, Hank Williams died. In the back seat of a car going from one performance in W. Va. to another. Some suspect he really died in 1951, but it doesn’t matter.
    That is before most of you were born.
    But the thing he pointed out was. The day he died, this song was #1 on the country charts.

    “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive”

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  13. It was Jan. 1, 1953 that Hank Williams died. I’m sure the guy on the radio said 1952. But while having breakfast I started thinking about where I was when I heard about it.
    I was already out of the AF. Getting ready to go to Carolina.
    On Jan. 1, 1952, I was in Prestwick, Scotland.

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  16. I was sitting here ready to post a brilliant comment when she comes in and says, ” I’m ready”.
    Ready for what?
    To go to the Y.
    It’s a holiday, they won’t be open.
    Well, call and see.
    The recording on the phone says, “YMCA will close at 5 pm on December 31 and open at 8 AM on January 1”.
    So, we went to the Y and here I am.
    I forgot what brilliant thing I was going to say.
    😉

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  17. Happy New Year! I saw the new year in, then rolled over and went to sleep. Woke up early this morning briefly, just in time to greet the new year on east coast time.

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  22. I slept in until 10. Went to bed at 11 but was awakened (of course) by all the fireworks at midnight. But it was a good, long sleep anyway.

    I missed watching the Rose Parade (but then I usually don’t watch it — it was always on in my house growing up, especially when my grandparents were visiting, the Iowa immigrants never tired of watching all those beautiful flowers roll by under sunny skies on a winter’s day.

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  25. House is clean, last load of laundry in the dryer….back from a 2 mile run with Lulah….Christmas tree on the porch is down and put away…I’m ready for a nap! I slept through the retirement of 2015 and the birth of 2016….I suppose all is well 🙂

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  26. The biggest thing that happened in 2015 was the selling of Lee’s bread route. That was such a trial! We were beginning to despair that it would ever sell.

    But – thanks be to God! – a buyer eventually came through.

    The very disappointing part was that the amount Lee got back, after the loan to the company was paid off, was equal to only half the amount he had paid into repairs on the truck. And even though the loan to the company is paid off, he had put part of the purchase price on our home equity line of credit, so we still have a few thousand dollars to pay off from that, & a few thousand from the truck repairs, not to mention some personal debt we had.

    Now that that is off his shoulders, Lee is feeling so much better, emotionally & mentally. And we are so very thankful that it didn’t take too long for him to get another job.

    (I will admit that, although I really am very grateful for this job that came along, I am hoping something better will come his way sometime this year. This job pays less than he had hoped for, & he is back to working 12 or more hours per day, & not getting the amount of sleep he should get. In the meantime, he’s enjoying the lack of stress, & “easy” work. “Easy” compared to how he busted his butt every day to get his route finished in a timely manner, & also this route is a bit less physically demanding.)

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  27. Forrest is doing very well in kindergarten, & is a delight to all of us (when he isn’t being a bit frustrating or challenging – like a normal five year old boy).

    Emily & I have grown closer over the past year. She has wonderful plans to take care of me when I am a widow (or for the both of us, if Lee lives for a long time), which I realize may never come to fruition, but it is sweet that that is in her heart. (She’d like to own her own home, with a separate little apartment for me. She’s told me that she’ll make sure it is my style, & surround me with tea pots & books & other pretty things. 🙂 )

    Chrissy seems to remain stagnant in any personal growth as she continues to live with the McKs. 😦

    As for me, I have grown in my relationship with the Lord, which I hope I can honestly say each & every year that goes by.

    Happy New Year to all you wonderful Fellow Wanderers!

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  31. Happy new year! We had a nice evening reconnecting with the summer staff at camp and then we came home around 9:30 and read and watched TV and were just generally lazy until the new year arrived.

    There were northern lights early in the evening last night, but they were quite low on the northern horizon. One day I will remember and send AJ a beautiful picture of the northern lights taken last fall at Kadesh.

    We just had our annual burning of the Christmas tree. Once the fire was going well, we decided to knock over and burn the old outhouse on our property – that was fun! Old buildings make very hot fires!

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  33. Good afternoon everyone. I went shopping today. I got a snow globe for twelve dollars and a pair of pants for 25, I finally found the eye make up I was look for, but didn’t find anyone at either store very helpful.
    I desperately wanted to find some new clothes but wasn’t very successful.

    Pork roast is in the oven, potatoes are marinating, will need to cut up the cabbage and heat up the black eyed peas.

    It has been a good day.

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  34. Well, that was interesting! The best laid plans… and all that. Shortly after I posted yesterday, the water pump engine burnt out (it was actually smoking). It happened, incidentally, while I was in the shower. So, while my father went to town to find a replacement, most of the rest of us (mother stayed home) retreated to youngest sibling several hours early where at least there would be a working washroom – a necessity with several small people. We did manage to have a games night, and my father did manage to fix the pump.

    It has finally snowed a few times and stayed. Today, eldest sibling, young relatives, and I went for a walk in the woods. Now the woods are interlaced with swamp, most of it shallow. Usually by this time of year, it is frozen solid, but this year’s unusually warm temperatures prevented that so the ice was too thin for the heavier ones to walk on. We did try to cross at the narrowest point, but a few of us still managed to go through. It wasn’t more than ankle deep anywhere so there was no danger; but second nephew is highly cautious and panicked every time we encountered ice. More than once, I had to lift him bodily over the patch. Third nephew (four) had turned back to the house, so he missed the excitement, but fourth nephew (two) was on his sled, and was rapidly skimmed over the thin ice a few times. I know what you are thinking, why didn’t you just turn back? It is a stubborn streak we have – when we siblings were young, we might get thoroughly wet walking back there, but we discovered a lot of interesting spots in spite of it all. Young relatives are somewhat city slickers and only are acquainted with established wilderness trails, so we were giving them a crash course in wilderness exploration 😉 😀

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  35. I’ve spent the day cleaning out (and reorganizing) kitchen cabinets. Found some things to throw into the Salvation Army bag, relocated some other things to make room for items I need and use more frequently … I have some antique dishes (Poppy Trail, Calif pottery) from my mom that I can’t seem to part with, even though I don’t use them. They’re not worth a lot of money so not really worth trying to sell at this point …

    I’m too sentimental, I know. Although I’m getting less sentimental the older I get and the more I realize some of this stuff just has to go to new homes!

    Almost time to go to the dog park. It’s supposed to rain Monday-Tuesday, which is good (except not good for my roof). Today, though, looks bright and sunny, highs in the mid 60s — but much colder for sure at the dog park.

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  36. Might want to bundle up, there, Donna. I understand the California dog parks are known all over the world as places of extreme cold. One mustn’t be too cautious. A parka, sweatshirt, sweater, long sleeve shirt, long johns (top and bottom), long pants, snow pants, faux rabbit fur bomber hat, faux rabbit fur mittens, wool socks, cotton socks, polyester socks, heavy boots, scarf, and you should be good to go. It could drop down into the high fifties, for all you know. Don’t forget a backpack with some essentials: matches, tinder (both in water proof containers) spare socks, space blanket, tent, propane heater, flashlight. GPS, flares. Just the usual. And a few to a dozen candy bars. And a water filter. Leave a note on your door saying where you went and when you plan to return and another on your car windshield. Could you call a friend, leaving your itinerary? I hear it is very cold there. Do be careful.

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  38. My iPhone has a compass. And a flashlight. But limited battery life.

    I am starting to get dressed now. I should probably dry my hair first so it won’t ice up.

    The danger could be especially acute as not many folks will be there due to all the games TV on today.

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  39. I think the Iowa football team must have been lost and replaced with the 3rd string. 28-0 in the 2nd quarter? I know Stanford is good, but this?

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  41. I was just outside, putting out some flower seeds. As I was scattering them over the snow, three feet above my flower garden, I glanced over at the pine tree, still completely covered in hoarfrost from the early morning, even though temps have begun dipping again. And as I stood there in my shirtsleeves, pants and slippers, I wondered what it must be like in the frigid zone of the California dog park….let me know how you fare….please…

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  44. News from last night: It might look sunny outside right now, but it’s going to be a cold one tonight during your New Year’s Eve celebrations in Los Angeles. We suggest bundling up.
    Temperatures will be dropping to the mid-40s tonight in L.A. around the time you might be toasting the new year. We’ve had some chilly early-morning temperatures lately, and the L.A. County Department of Public Health extended their cold weather alert through to Friday, according to Daily News.

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  47. I am concerned for that Donna. It could be as cold out there in the dog park as it is in my living room. Sixty six next to the stove. I am going to put some more wood on the fire, it may warm up the dog park a bit.

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  49. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope to be by more regularly in the New Year…. I miss you guys!

    Becca requested to stay up until midnight last night; she voluntarily went to sleep at 9:30. It’s hard to stay up late when you awaken by six no matter what time you go to sleep. Scott turned in at 11:00 and I only made it thirty more minutes…

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  56. Can you imagine her out there if it dips into the forties again? That is almost too much. They need to heat those dog parks, I don’t care if you call me a bleeding heart liberal. I mean really.

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  57. They need to enclose it with glass panels around and above and then fill it with those black balls they threw on the reservoir. That ought to hold the heat a bit. And install passive solar panels on the roof to really make it comfie. And some nice fountains. And some jungle plants. And maybe enclose a ski slope like Dubai. You know, so people can learn about global warming. This is going to cost them some carbon footprints but the rest of us can tighten the belt and turn the thermostat down just a tad. It is what we can do for them. You are in this with me, I know you are.

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  61. I’m back. Someone left early because it was too cold, but it wasn’t me. I braved it.

    A few folks had gone to the Polar Bear swim at the ocean today. Where it was pretty cold.

    I haven’t bought a snow globe in ages — maybe I never have, but I do remember them at home when I was growing up. I’d have no idea what they cost.

    I’m sure there is a range.

    Finishing the kitchen cabinets … In search of a decent movie to watch.

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  63. Last night I made tacos for my family, and I cooked the meat extra fast so that it got crispy.

    Well, I didn’t actually intend to do so. See, I cooked the first side with the stove dial set at about the middle, 5. As I turned the meat, I moved the dial to 3 to slow it down a bit. A couple minutes later as I stirred it I noticed the burner was still red hot and the meat was just about overdone. I moved the fry pan off that burner and turned it down to 1, and watched the burner. When it was still red-hot in two or three minutes, I called in my husband as a witness. I noticed that the burner across the stove was set at about 4 and it was not red-hot. We turned off the left one until it got black, then turned it back on (set at 1) and almost immediately it was red-hot again.

    What’s frustrating about this? A few months ago I told my husband the burners were heating unevenly, and since the stove was still under warranty, we should call about it. I had had very mixed results with cooking rice. Sometimes when the timer goes off it is just about scalded, the water has all gone out of it and it had been left dry. But at least twice as I’ve lifted the lid to make sure the rice is done before turning off the burner, there has sat a panful of water with some rice on the bottom; turning it down has in effect turned it off. Those nights I’ve suddenly discovered at suppertime that I have to keep everything else warm for 30-40 minutes to cook the rice that’s supposed to be done, too.

    The repairman came, tested all the burners, told us they were all working properly. For me it was like, “OK, I know I didn’t imagine this, but whatever.”

    This time I have a witness. One burner at 4, black; one at 1, red. Nope, this is not “even heating.” This stove is about three years old. The one I had in Nashville was 60. I’d trade them in a heartbeat.

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  66. Glorious day in Northern California. We had to pick up Stargazer from a friend’s house in Berkeley. Went down through Marin County and over the Richmond Bridge. The water was a gorgeous blue green and the air so crisp the many hued buildings looked sharp and clean. We could see San Francisco proper from the bridge and the hills all the way to Oakland Airport. From the Berkeley Hills, San Francisco and the Golden Gate beckoned in scintillating colors.

    We drove home through Vallejo, where we visited Mare Island– R’s first submarine station, now long closed, and the site of son #2’s current job in an old building. Poignant.

    And still the beautiful day as we drove home through the wine country of eastern Sonoma County. The vineyards march up the rolling hills I
    in orderly rows, waving their long arms–which will be pruned soon. Bucolic, rustic and rich.

    It was a lovely day for a ride.

    Finished up snickering our way through the Rose Bowl and visiting with the whole family. We bought take-out Chinese for dinner and now I’m ready for bed. So far, 2016 has been splendid!

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