Good morning, wandering friends. We are home. We traveled an extra hour last night because at one point the TPMS indicator light (tire pressure monitoring system) came on. I wanted to find the nearest Honda dealership to check it out. On the way to it, the indicator light went off. I think it came on becuse cooler temperatures can affect it, but I wanted to check to be safe since we were on the road at night. Well, we found the Honda dealership, but it was a farm machinery dealership instead of a car dealership. I can laugh now but there were no laughs among us then for being set back an hour in our travels. We had to come back a day early all for the love of a cat. The vet’s office closes at noon for the holiday and does not reopen until Tuesday.
I hope you are better, AJ. Our son continues to suffer some with whatever he has been sick with. It has been much worse than the minor cold Art had. Enjoy the movie, AJ. Son saw it with a friend recently and really liked it.
Good Morning! And Happy New Year to you Jo!
Which end is up on that bird in the photo? 😉
Janice our tire pressure light comes on when the temps change….I was in a hail storm a couple of times…driving through the hail caused it to come on as it was a hot day….then freezing cold. When it snows it will come on…husband always checks the pressure of the tires and they are always equalized at the correct pressure….all these new fangled things on our cars to make us crazy!!
Day off today and I am looking forward to ending the year that way…we are doing inventory at the shoppe….all day I was stooping, climbing, reaching, bending, writing, counting….what a day! Every tiny little item needs to be accounted for…maddening…..
Are those hawk feathers on the header? We heard a hawk making lots of noise while we were out hiking. I think about all the birds that got displaced when Hurricane Matthew went through. There were so many trees down and giant piles by the roads waiting to be cleared out. I had never personally been to an area hit by a hurricane. It was a sight to see unlike we have ever seen there before. There are still many trees left standing unlike when a tornado hits and totally flattens an area.
I saw it last week and will only say that it is on par with the original three, totally better than any of the prequels. I can’t say if it’s better than Episode 7, since I have only seen part of it.
Yep, it’s a hawk. I’ve gotten photos almost exactly the same as that when one of ’em steals a bird from near the feeder and then goes to the cottonwood tree to eat it. There are three hawks very similar in appearance, and I don’t know which ones live near AJ so I don’t know what species it is, but if it was in our yard it would be either a Cooper’s hawk (the larger one) or a sharp-shinned, usually a Cooper’s. (They’re really virtually impossible to tell apart; The Cooper’s has a slightly more rounded tail and it’s bigger. But when I see it on the fence or the tree in front of the window, I can gauge its size.) Not only do they both look alike as adults, but they have a juvenile phase with very different markings, and they look alike during that. And they both eat only birds. It seems to me they were probably created as one bird but they mated with other birds about their same size and ended up with size variations, like the Canada goose. Since we don’t have the third one in our area, I don’t remember what it is called, or what the three together are called–yes, the three together are accipters. Not positive of that spelling.
When we were in the Smokies last spring, my husband and I were in Cades Cove, minutes before seeing a bear, and we were on a flat path in a meadow that was covered with flowers and dozens of butterflies, mostly great spangled fritillaries. It sounds prettier than it seemed at the time, since I kept hoping for other varieties of butterflies and got brief looks at only two other species, mostly on one kind of flower. Anyway, at one point I happened to turn around and an accipter flew across my path only yards behind me. They are beautiful birds and it was a breath-taking look, though with no chance of a photo.
This week my husband and I saw the Harry Potter prequel, or whatever they are calling it, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” I figured it would have some good footage of imaginary animals, but I didn’t know what it would have in way of a story line. I don’t know whether my husband was interested or humoring me by agreeing to go. But he liked it enough to show interest in getting the video (he mentioned that, I didn’t). It does have a well-executed plot, though I admit it’s still the personalities of the various beasts that was most appealing to me.
Ann, I enjoyed reading your birth stories at the end of yesterday’s thread. So glad you got your babies. 🙂 Such a blessing.
Kim, thanks for your menu ideas on yesterday’s prayer thread. I’m not able to call you today, but those things give me some good ideas for utilizing what I’ve got — a few kinds of dried beans, for one thing.
My husband, without realizing it, gave me a gift idea for his birthday, coming up in February. Something is 60% off somewhere, and I’m not sure if it will still be on sale next week, so I am going to stop in at that particular store today. 🙂
You all have a blessed day. I’ll probably pop in a little tonight to wish the rest of you a Happy New Year’s as we count down, time zone by time zone. 🙂
PS I read all the Harry Potter books and found some better than others. I saw only the first movie, and didn’t like it enough to bother to see any more. I haven’t reread any of the books and don’t own any of them. So clearly I am not a hugely dedicated fan.
Enjoy the movie AJ, sounds like you’re over whatever it was you had.
My cousin and I were supposed to get together to see a movie before the holiday ‘season’ ended, but now the bathroom work is jump-starting again so we’ll have to wait. I enjoyed the original Star Wars movies but fantasy isn’t really my favorite genre so I never became truly hooked on it (nor on Harry Potter). But when the original first Star Wars came out, it was huge, one of those movies that we all stood in line for at the time.
I was up early today and the workmen should be here momentarily … even my rudimentary shower set-up may be off limits after all this work begins, so there will be that issue again.
Janice, I’m having issues with that same light coming on, my mechanic says it’s especially problematic in Jeeps (of course) and so far we can’t seem to get the light to stay off. So I’m living with it until it’s time to take it back in for servicing, but I may wind up having to take it to the dealer (though I hope not).
I received my health insurance savings debit card in the mail, I signed up to have $50 a month taken out of my paycheck initially to try to build the account up, but you can alter the amount at anytime which is a helpful option.
DJ, you’d like the relationship the hero has with each of his creatures, I think. None of them talks any more than any of our animals does, but sometimes he holds conversations with them and you can see their emotions on their faces. The story line appealed to my husband (New York City is doomed! Can it be saved in time?) but the creatures appealed to me.
See, I could easily be one of those ladies who has a pet raccoon, and a skunk, and a fawn I’m nursing back to health to release back to the wild, and a license to raise and hunt falcons . . . not really, since I have neither the money nor the space nor the patience. But I can imagine myself with a pet snow leopard and a kestrel that comes when I call, and imagine what life might have been like in the Garden of Eden, when creatures came to the first pair instead of away from them. When my husband and I go outside, the birds we feed scatter. They even seem to understand that we feed them, but they still flee as quickly as they can–and that makes me a bit sad. Now, the chickadee or the nuthatch will sometimes stay in the same tree or the next tree over, calling, and you know it would be possible to train him to come to you. But even he stays a few yards away, not quite confident enough to come. So there is something super compelling about the man who can take a hawk on his wrist, send it into the sky to hunt wild prey, and then call it back and it comes. Or the fantasy stories of dragons, who are as committed to the one who hatched them as Misten was to me.
Phos nailed it. No atmosphere. We assume all of that but some things need atmosphere.
On the moon, for instance, it is totally dark. Then suddenly, the sun comes up and it is totally light. But if you went behind a rock, you couldn’t read, it’s totally dark.
The lack of clouds and humidity made the dawn approach that in Arabia. It was dark, then almost all of a sudden, the sun was up. No clouds or moist atmosphere to reflect sunlight. Hence, not much twilight.
No sound in space because no atmosphere to carry it.
Light doesn’t bend. But it does reflect. That is what makes it possible to read when you can’t see the light source.
Really convenient the way it happens. Some people think that evolved without any plan or purpose.
The tire pressure light is always on in our Jeep – we ignore it and just check the tires like we would if there was no particular sensor (like in the olden days). No sense wasting money to get it fixed. 🙂
Workers are here, discussing (in Spanish) the framing of the medicine cabinet — most of these pieces were ordered months ago, so it’s kind of fun to take a look at it all again knowing it’s (finally) going in (we think/hope). Real estate guy was here earlier but now is off walking his dog at the marina, but he’s assured me via text that these guys know what they’re doing so not to worry. He’ll swing by in a little while to check in, though.
Maybe I’ll see if my cousin has any interest in Rogue. There are usually quite a few good movies to choose from, the few times I go anymore, but they don’t stay “out” very long. I’ll admit that space films are worth seeing in 3D on a big screen, though.
We’re set for more rain today (and snow in the mountains), it’s supposed to arrive by later this morning — then it looks like rain is in the forecast again on Wednesday and then Friday through Monday, every day. Yay.
Someone’s opened up the flood gates in California, at long last.
Of course, we’ll all be complaining about it after a while.
Good Morning Everyone. I slept late and then took BG to Wal-Mart for toiletries. I bought a 7 1/2 foot tree for $20. Mr. Grumpy Pants wasn’t as happy about it as I was. He wants to know where I am going to put all these trees. Well, the tall, skinny one that I like to decorate can go in the entry or the dining room. The one I bought today can go in the sun room and everyone can decorate it! That way I am happy with my coordinated tree and he is happy with a tree that I let him and everyone else who happens out by decorate. I am even willing to let him put colored lights on it!!!! It’s a win for everyone.
DJ, I am so happy you are moving forward on the bathroom. It will all be great once it is done and your enjoyment of it will over shadow the pain it has been. 😉
When I was in Home Depot the other day I noticed people checking out the (artificial) trees on sale, there were some beautiful ones (not many left though) and I’m sure it’s a good time to pick some up. I bought a very small artificial tree one year online on an after-Christmas sale.
K, sad note on the cute med cabinet vintage green glass knob I stumbled upon online the other day (by accident, wasn’t looking) won’t work. When I took another look at the medicine cabinet I’d bought, oh so long ago now, I realized the latch on it was different, it has a full latch piece in chrome (not an easy knob that could be swapped out). Bummer. But how cute was that for a bathroom cabinet??
Poor Cowboy and Tess, they’re stress with all the hammering going on, we’re all crunched together, now trying to occupy the same small space in the universe, all at one time. Physics. Not working well.
But speaking of creatures, this series on PBS looks interesting:
What does a newly hatched crocodile see while it is being transported to water between its mother’s jaws? How should a wild dog pup behave if it wants to be accepted by an approaching pack of adults?
These and other questions will be answered in a new BBC wildlife series screening this week, in which the stars of the show are not only the animals being filmed, but the animatronic “spy creatures” used to film them. …
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I’ve been debating whether to go to a film this season. Not here, as the closest theatre of any size is a least 45 minutes away, but in the city. However, I have to really want to see a film on the big screen before I’ll go to a theatre. Eldest Niece really liked ‘Dr. Strange’ but the last time I tried to watch a Marvel superhero film (the first Avengers), I was bored by what I found to be non-compelling dialogue (it isn’t that I don’t like action, as I enjoyed ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, or superheroes since I’ve watched ‘Batman Begins’ several times). ‘Rogue One’ looks like it might be interesting, but all the Star Wars films I’ve seen to date have promised more than they delivered, once again, due in large part to the terrible dialogue. I considered seeing ‘Collateral Beauty’ since World had a great review, but a story with so much emotion is best watched on the small screen. So far, the films I’ve enjoyed seeing on the big screen are fantasy family films. Maybe I should go see ‘Fantastic Beasts’ though I’ve only read the first Harry Potter book and didn’t really care for the main character enough to continue.
6Arrows, many years ago my husband was 100% commission. Oh, and if a client didn’t pay their invoice the commission was taken back the next month. He was only paid once a month. I had a base salary of $18,000 + commission. Towards the end of each month I started getting creative with what was for dinner. A package of hamburger meat, a box of wild rice, water, and a couple of beef bouillon cubes baked in the oven. A package of kielbasa sausage, a large can of diced tomatoes, an onion all cooked together and served over rice. (This now happens to be one of Mr. P’s favorite meals and the receptionist at work gets excited when I bring her the leftovers—she swears she can’t make it. I think she is lazy and if buttering me up 😉 )
Hamburger meat, a can of corn, a can of Rotel, a box of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix and some shredded cheese makes “Mexican” Cornbread.
Both my parents would cringe if they knew I shared this but I LOVE tomato and macoroni soup. Boil elbow macoroni until it is done and throw in a can of tomatoes and depending on if you want it or not a pat of butter. My mother was born in 1935 and she called it Depression food. To me it is comfort food.
I could go on and on about the things I can “create” on a budget. Those of you who were with me through my lean years will appreciate that BJ and I never went hungry and she was a picky, picky eater. Things are different now, but I do not forget from whence I came and am thankful for what I have been through and survived.
I want share with you how creative my father could be in a kitchen. I learned to look in the trash can before eating some of what he cooked. One night he made stroganoff. There was something a little off looking about it. I looked in the trash and found the packaging for chicken GIZZARDS. He had made Gizzard Stroganoff!!!!! One night it looked like it might be fried fish—IT WAS TRIPE!!!!!
We have an engine light on in our second car. We just figure that cars didn’t used to have engine lights, so in effect we don’t have one. We aren’t driving the car anyway; it’s the cars the girls drove, and now that they have their own, I only drive it if I go somewhere without my husband. But it has been sitting inside a snow bank since it was returned to us a few weeks ago (the snow has now melted), so I haven’t driven it either.
Cheryl, your comment regarding loving animals, even if they are fantastic beasts reminded me of one of the most visually beautiful and imaginative guidebooks I’ve ever seen. It was published as a companion book to the Spiderwick Chronicles (the book series was OK, the film was awful). It had stunning watercolour paintings in the style of Audubon of all the mythical beasts, like the griffin, the kelpie, the brownie, the phoenix, etc: https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Spiderwicks-Field-Fantastical-Around/dp/1416960953
The knob was $10, I guess expensive but not for just 1 of them. 🙂
Well, maybe that tiny corner ‘storage’ cabinet I will shop for and buy later, after the bathroom is basically put together and I have a better sense of the space, might be a good candidate for it in knob swap. 🙂
Not to restart the conversation from yesterday, but I am reminded how pointed my oldest one’s head was, also, Ann. She was stuck in the birth canal and I well remember the doctor’s effort to remove her from it. There was no pain, as I had a spinal, but I was conscious and the tugging was terrific. It does make me wonder why anyone would go through such a procedure to abort a baby or why late term abortions would ever be necessary.
I forgot the most exciting new of all. My niece is engaged!!!! I am her godmother and have always had it in the back of my mind that I would buy her wedding veil. I have even set aside a little money for this. I told her mother last night, but it is to be a destination wedding. She can use the amount as she chooses. I am very proud of her. She graduated from Auburn and has a good job.
Speaking of yesterday’s discussion. Last night daughter told me the story niece put up on FB. She and her husband wanted to have the baby as naturally as possible and chose a birthing center with midwives for the experience. They paid their money ahead of time and filled out paper work in the event something went wrong and they headed to the hospital so they would not have to wait on paperwork. She was in labor over forty hours and not progressing. She could get no info from the shift changes of midwives. She was exhausted and developed a fever. They finally said she needed to go to the hospital where she waited out in the car for over an hour until a nurse came out and said they could find no paperwork on her. That was resolved she went in, had an epidural and eventually a baby. She was happy with the doc and hospital nurses. The midwives, not so much. None of the money they gave to the birthing center resulted in a baby and they had a huge hospital bill, with no insurance as they thought they had it covered. It was paid by friends and family, of course and they adore their baby but it is taking her some time to recover emotionally from that experience over a year ago.
The light is on – no beeping (thankfully) all the time – in fact the dashboard sort of looks like a Christmas tree with all the warning lights on it! But that’s only the last couple of years – the tire light has been on almost from year 2. The Jeep has over 300,000km on it and is our second vehicle. When we change the oil in our newer Subaru we use that oil in the Jeep – saves a bunch of money!
Kim we do think alike when it comes to trees…the one in the living room has white lights and is “well appointed” they way I like it…color coordinated…ornaments that go well with one another……..the one in the family room has colored lights and is decorated with anything he wants on it….rather retro in decoration 🙂
Mumsee, my sister went to a birthing center some distance from her home. (Nurse midwives are illegal in Alabama, so they went over the border into Tennessee since they were so unhappy with local doctors. That meant that Aunt Cheryl had to be packed and ready to run out the door when they called saying “It’s time,” since I had a two-plus hour drive and they had maybe 90 minutes.) They verified with their insurance that a birthing center was covered–and a birthing center cost maybe a third of a hospital birth, so it made sense that it would be covered, and it was.
After the baby was born, they got a bill. Making a few phone calls, they finally found out that the bill would have been covered except for one tiny little technicality.
She only stayed at the birthing center 23 hours, and the insurance treated it as “outpatient” if it was less than 23 hours, and thus not covered. Had she known of that little detail, of course she would have stayed an extra hour before the long drive home.
She fought that, and I don’t remember how it turned out, except I don’t think they had to pay the entire amount out of pocket. Apparently it had never occurred to the insurance that a woman in labor might be in and out with her baby in less than 24 hours, so they didn’t caution her about the “overnight stay” requirement. But it’s a pretty silly way to handle such a technicality. She went in to have a baby, and you said you would pay for it. It cost the patient the same amount whether she was in for 23 hours or 24, so the insurance should pay it either way.
Kim and NancyJill – I have 3 trees that I decorate to my own taste and then the real tree has coloured lights, antique ornaments and stuff my husband likes. We’re both happy.
It’s a rainy sleepy day here in Atlanta. Miss Bosley is trying to make up for lost cuddle time. Why does going on vacation make a person so tired? We did not find time to do our annual jigsaw puzzle. I guess that is a good thing because it means we got out and about more than usual.
I think we’re nearing the end of the bathroom work for today — the drilling and pounding and other noises still have the dogs unnerved. Wait until the New Year’s Eve fireworks over the harbor tonight start going off.
The potential homeowner “opened up the car door and observed this decomposed body inside,” Donakowski said. “We talked to the current tenants of that location and they were told that the actual homeowners had said basically don’t go in the garage, don’t put anything in the garage.”
Donakowski said there is an ongoing investigation and that the homeowner will be contacted.
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Wow. Real Estate Agents have horror stories they share amongst themselves. I was not part of it but an agent on my team walked into what should have been an empty house with her clients and opened the bedroom door only to discover a threesome—they weren’t exactly discussing the Sunday School lesson.
The worker is gone (left supplies for the next phase in my patio), It’s raining but the house is now quiet and I turned on the heat. So the cat has come home.
AJ, I like the front view of that bird. It’s a juvenile, of course, but do you know if it’s a Cooper’s or a sharp-shinned? (By the way, the third accipiter is the goshawk, and it actually doesn’t look just like the other two. But all three are bird eaters that are good at chasing a bird on the wing in and out of branches.) When they show up, they rarely make a catch, since the birds disappear before they arrive. But I have seen one with prey several times. One day I was standing at my kitchen window and suddenly saw a blur as one swooped in to the bushes just underneath, and emerged and flew to the tree with a house sparrow. It then sat and plucked and ate for at least half an hour. I gladly let him have one. I’d be unhappy if he took a flicker or anything special, but he can have all the house sparrows he wants.
Not sure which, but I think it was a sharp-shinned. It was big. Most of the Coopers are smaller around here. He flew right past me as I was talking with my neighbor. It landed in a tree across the street and started eating so I ran for my camera. 🙂
AJ, actually Cooper’s or bigger than sharp-shinned, and females are larger than males in most raptors. So a female Cooper’s would be (on average) quite a lot bigger than a male sharp-shinned, but a male Cooper’s and female sharp-shinned wouldn’t be as easy to tell apart. And unless you see it with something that allows you to judge size, it can be hard to tell which it is. I did once see a sharp-shinned and knew immediately which it was because of its size–my first thought had been “blue jay” since I’ve seen jays in that tree a lot, and any bird small enough to be mistaken for a jay isn’t a Cooper’s. And it had a very definite straight tail, not curved, and that confirmed it. Other times I see it close enough to judge its size and know it’s a Cooper’s, and then sometimes I just don’t know which it is. Curved or uncurved tail is not nearly as straightforward as they sometimes indicate, in my opinion.
The face! Those eyes! 🙂 Occasionally a hawk (red tail, I believe) will land in my backyard on the evergreen, they’re amazing to watch — and they look so big.
So looks like work will happen tomorrow (after church) and maybe Monday as real estate pal tries to get the plumbing & electrical ready for the dry wall-tile amigos. I will pay my friend, of course, I really appreciate that he’s gone to such lengths to help me out on this.
It’s all going to look very cute, I think. Maybe kind of girly (with the floor hexagon tile pattern I picked out), but old-fashioned, simple (and all new). Best of both worlds. 🙂
We went to Youngest Sibling’s for a New Year’s Eve feast and games night. Naturally, with all the small people, we left fairly early. It had just snowed and Second and Third Nephew got into a small snowball fight as they went to the car. Someone opened the front door of the house just as Second Nephew hurled a snowball, and it ended up inside. Youngest and Youngest Sibling-in-law just laughed and came out and proceeded to pelt Second and Third Nephew with snowballs (Youngest Sibling was a formidable thrower of snowballs in her day). It was a good ending to a fun evening.
Happy New Year fellow wanderers!! Quiet evening at home watching the Monk series…my daughter gave me the entire series for Christmas….fun! Oh and in case some missed it….Clemson shut out Ohio State…. 🙂
I worked at setting a walking record on my fitbit for New Year’s. So many were at the waterfront for the fireworks that it was quite safe, though I left before the fireworks began.
Roscuro, stuff like that puts a BIG smile on my face (your 2:21 link)! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Kim, you’re a treasure trove of information on all things kitchen. I have been pretty kitchen-challenged my whole life, though having had a big family helped me get a little more oriented in that direction. I can still use all the help I can get, though. Thank you!
I told enough birth stories yesterday, and don’t want to scare off the guys again 😉 but I’ll just add one tiny (OK, quite large, really) tidbit to the babies-with-large-heads discussion:
1st Arrow’s head circumference was over 15 inches (and at the 95th percentile), and we discovered that, though newborn onesies were indicated for babies up to 10 pounds (he was 8 lbs. 6 oz.), we couldn’t get the Gerber (pull over the head kind) onesies on him!
I thought, why don’t they make onesies people can actually use!?! 🙂
They worked just fine for our subsequent babies. 😉
Welcome to January 1st.
Oh, I forgot to watch the Rose Bowl parade!
Wait, it hasn’t begun yet, has it?
But it will be over before I wake up.
Donna, save some pictures for me, please.
While scrolling through, I saw something that reminded me of an old New Year’s tradition.
We had to have a dinner that had greens (dollars) and peas (change.) That was good luck for the new year. And ham.
Not really superstition as tradition. A side reason was to get back to sensible diet after stuffing with Christmas goodies.
It generally meant, “Back to business now”.
Chas my black eyed peas are cooked with part of the leftover ham bone from Christmas. I have a cabbage to cook. I am going to have to make corn bread because the butte ilk goes out of date tomorrow. I have hamburger meat that got thawed and not used so we will have the Un traditional Salisbury steak, rice, and gravy. Lest you think Mr P and I are piggies I contacted a friend who has been ill since the first of November and will be sharing with them.
Black Eyed peas are for luck and cabbage or collards are for money in the new year
Good news for you, Jo — the parade is on Monday this year.
Whenever the 1st lands on a Sunday, they push the parade to the 2nd, on Monday. I’m guessing they no longer know why that’s done, but it’s an ingrained tradition that still stands.
You’ve all heard that Ruth Graham, after passing a construction site on the highway, saw a sign that said:
“Construction completed
Thank you for your patience”,
She said, “That’s what I want on my tombstone”. And it is.
After many times of being directed home by GPS in many travels, I think I might have:
“You have reached your destination”.
But I haven’t told anyone yet. I’m thinking about it.
Kim – The other day, you wrote that there were certain men you would not let be alone with BG. That reminded me of my Uncle A, my mother’s big brother. There was something about him that struck me, & SIL, as creepy. When he had lived with us for a year or so when I was 20 – 21, he sometimes did & said things that were inappropriate, & made me uncomfortable, but my parents didn’t seem to notice. (And I didn’t say anything.)
SIL worked three days a week, with my mom babysitting her daughter, but I was a stay-at-home mom. When Uncle A would be visiting Mom & Dad (usually for several days at a time, a few times each year), & was there on days SIL was working, SIL & I had an agreement that I would be over there, too, to make sure Uncle A was never alone with her daughter (or mine). (At that time, we didn’t live in the same town, but about half an hour apart. Not a bad drive, though.) We didn’t let on to Mom what was going on.
One day, when I was nine months pregnant with Chickadee, somehow Mom & SIL got into an argument about Uncle A. I don’t remember why, maybe he was there unexpectedly (to us) & Mom was supposed to babysit, but I couldn’t be there. Anyway, SIL told Mom she didn’t want Uncle A alone with Niece, but Mom thought she was being ridiculous. The argument escalated to them yelling at each other. SIL told me all this over the phone afterwards, & was sure their relationship was irretrievably broken.
Then Mom called, & asked me about Uncle A. I gently told her why I felt uncomfortable about him. It seems to my hazy memory that she hung up on me, but called me back a while later, after processing it all. That day was Uncle A’s birthday, & she said to me, “Don’t have your baby on his birthday,” as she was realizing we had a point.
Well, I didn’t have Chickadee that day, but I went into labor that night, & had her the next morning. There was something about the birth of this new baby into our family that facilitated forgiveness & healing.
Nothing more was ever said about the situation with Uncle A.
Oh, so that means I got 89, the year Nightingale was born.
Speaking of whom. . .There’ve been several comments referring to giving birth, & midwives. Nightingale’s eventual goal is to be a nurse-midwife. But here in Connecticut, at least for now, nurse-midwives can only participate in delivering babies in a hospital. (I’m not sure if we have birthing centers. I’ll have to ask Nightingale about that.)
For home births, which are neither legal nor illegal, only lay midwives can deliver babies, due to insurance concerns (probably because of the murky legality of them). Isn’t that backwards?
What a blessing to be in church on the first morning of a new year. 🙂 It somehow seemed so fitting to begin another year that way.
One of our teaching elders announced he’d be leaving to join the Associated Presby denomination on staff (ed director?) in Nashville in the next few months. He and his wife are expecting their 6th child in about 5 months so (while it wasn’t said) I’m thinking it might also be a way for them to afford a house of a sufficient size — and with a better cost of living overall. He has a law degree (and is on staff also at World Vision), his wife was a translator for the UN when they first met, but dedicating their lives to church and family probably will never make them “rich.” Very smart, talented and funny young guy, he’ll be missed.
We went to my brother’s home for a late Christmas get together/meal/presents. We did have peas and home grown mustard greens as part of our meal. The drive up was quite foggy, and a slow rain fell as we returned home.
“Unofficially” babysat Little Guy for a while this afternoon.
Nightingale & Little Guy were out last night at a friend’s New Year’s Eve party (it was a family party, not a drinking kind of party), & got home sometime around 1:00. Two hours later, a stomach bug virus hit, & she was up much the rest of the night throwing up. (Hoping & praying it doesn’t move to LG & then to me. I usually get hit harder by those things than anybody else in the family.) Being exhausted, she took an early afternoon nap, & Little Guy came downstairs. We hung out together for about 3 1/2 hours. (Hubby had to deliver to some stops due to a delivery not coming in yesterday when it was needed. The bakery he delivers for bakes a lot of their own products, but has some products that come from other vendors.)
He was pretty delightful to spend time with, until he started shooting the dog with his Nerf gun. Then it was time to see if Mommy was awake yet. 🙂
He sneaks down here pretty often even when his mommy is awake. I think because they used to live down here with us, this is just an extension of his own home to him. Then again, sometimes Nightingale behaves like she feels that way, too. It’s like we live “separately together”. Usually we are fine with that, but there are times when Hubby & I say we would like to be alone. Or now & then I’ll tell Nightingale I need some peace & quiet for the day.
The positives of it all do outweigh any negatives. (Though I’ll admit, there are some days. . .)
Cheryl, I believe that a couple of years ago that Georgia had a woman legislator trying to get a similar law on the books to protect the young ones from having a criminal record. As a member of the state CWA group, I called legislators to get them to not support the bill as written. It did not pass theI, and it was revised so a better bill is in place that will be helpful rather than detrimental. I don’t recall the details of the better bill, but if you are interested, you can probably find it online.
Chas’s January 1, 2:27 pm comment about signs near a construction site on a highway reminded me of reading one time, I think in Reader’s Digest, about a highway that was closed near a computer business, or something similar.
The sign in the business’s parking lot said, “www.road.closed” 🙂
Wandering Views 
At 11:06 last night, Cheryl asked, “Where are all the guys?”
We were off hiding Cheryl. Whadda you think? We’re a bunch of dummies?
😉
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When Jo wakes up tomorrow, it will already be 2017 for her.
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We’re going Rogue today. 🙂
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Good morning, wandering friends. We are home. We traveled an extra hour last night because at one point the TPMS indicator light (tire pressure monitoring system) came on. I wanted to find the nearest Honda dealership to check it out. On the way to it, the indicator light went off. I think it came on becuse cooler temperatures can affect it, but I wanted to check to be safe since we were on the road at night. Well, we found the Honda dealership, but it was a farm machinery dealership instead of a car dealership. I can laugh now but there were no laughs among us then for being set back an hour in our travels. We had to come back a day early all for the love of a cat. The vet’s office closes at noon for the holiday and does not reopen until Tuesday.
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I hope you are better, AJ. Our son continues to suffer some with whatever he has been sick with. It has been much worse than the minor cold Art had. Enjoy the movie, AJ. Son saw it with a friend recently and really liked it.
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happy New Year blog friends
Fifteen minutes to go here
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Happy New Year, Jo!❤
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Good Morning! And Happy New Year to you Jo!
Which end is up on that bird in the photo? 😉
Janice our tire pressure light comes on when the temps change….I was in a hail storm a couple of times…driving through the hail caused it to come on as it was a hot day….then freezing cold. When it snows it will come on…husband always checks the pressure of the tires and they are always equalized at the correct pressure….all these new fangled things on our cars to make us crazy!!
Day off today and I am looking forward to ending the year that way…we are doing inventory at the shoppe….all day I was stooping, climbing, reaching, bending, writing, counting….what a day! Every tiny little item needs to be accounted for…maddening…..
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Are those hawk feathers on the header? We heard a hawk making lots of noise while we were out hiking. I think about all the birds that got displaced when Hurricane Matthew went through. There were so many trees down and giant piles by the roads waiting to be cleared out. I had never personally been to an area hit by a hurricane. It was a sight to see unlike we have ever seen there before. There are still many trees left standing unlike when a tornado hits and totally flattens an area.
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2017 here
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Saw Rouge One yesterday. Not bad. Can’t say much for fear of spoilers.
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And I misspelled Rogue.
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Is Rouge One a spoof or spin-off of Rogue One?
I saw it last week and will only say that it is on par with the original three, totally better than any of the prequels. I can’t say if it’s better than Episode 7, since I have only seen part of it.
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Yep, it’s a hawk. I’ve gotten photos almost exactly the same as that when one of ’em steals a bird from near the feeder and then goes to the cottonwood tree to eat it. There are three hawks very similar in appearance, and I don’t know which ones live near AJ so I don’t know what species it is, but if it was in our yard it would be either a Cooper’s hawk (the larger one) or a sharp-shinned, usually a Cooper’s. (They’re really virtually impossible to tell apart; The Cooper’s has a slightly more rounded tail and it’s bigger. But when I see it on the fence or the tree in front of the window, I can gauge its size.) Not only do they both look alike as adults, but they have a juvenile phase with very different markings, and they look alike during that. And they both eat only birds. It seems to me they were probably created as one bird but they mated with other birds about their same size and ended up with size variations, like the Canada goose. Since we don’t have the third one in our area, I don’t remember what it is called, or what the three together are called–yes, the three together are accipters. Not positive of that spelling.
When we were in the Smokies last spring, my husband and I were in Cades Cove, minutes before seeing a bear, and we were on a flat path in a meadow that was covered with flowers and dozens of butterflies, mostly great spangled fritillaries. It sounds prettier than it seemed at the time, since I kept hoping for other varieties of butterflies and got brief looks at only two other species, mostly on one kind of flower. Anyway, at one point I happened to turn around and an accipter flew across my path only yards behind me. They are beautiful birds and it was a breath-taking look, though with no chance of a photo.
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HAPY NEW YEAR! Jo
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This week my husband and I saw the Harry Potter prequel, or whatever they are calling it, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” I figured it would have some good footage of imaginary animals, but I didn’t know what it would have in way of a story line. I don’t know whether my husband was interested or humoring me by agreeing to go. But he liked it enough to show interest in getting the video (he mentioned that, I didn’t). It does have a well-executed plot, though I admit it’s still the personalities of the various beasts that was most appealing to me.
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Have you noticed that the movies always have zips and bangs when weapons are fired in space?
There is no sound in space.
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Happy New Year, Jo. 🙂
Ann, I enjoyed reading your birth stories at the end of yesterday’s thread. So glad you got your babies. 🙂 Such a blessing.
Kim, thanks for your menu ideas on yesterday’s prayer thread. I’m not able to call you today, but those things give me some good ideas for utilizing what I’ve got — a few kinds of dried beans, for one thing.
My husband, without realizing it, gave me a gift idea for his birthday, coming up in February. Something is 60% off somewhere, and I’m not sure if it will still be on sale next week, so I am going to stop in at that particular store today. 🙂
You all have a blessed day. I’ll probably pop in a little tonight to wish the rest of you a Happy New Year’s as we count down, time zone by time zone. 🙂
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PS I read all the Harry Potter books and found some better than others. I saw only the first movie, and didn’t like it enough to bother to see any more. I haven’t reread any of the books and don’t own any of them. So clearly I am not a hugely dedicated fan.
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Chas, explain the “no sound in space.” Is there no sound without oxygen to carry it, or what?
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Enjoy the movie AJ, sounds like you’re over whatever it was you had.
My cousin and I were supposed to get together to see a movie before the holiday ‘season’ ended, but now the bathroom work is jump-starting again so we’ll have to wait. I enjoyed the original Star Wars movies but fantasy isn’t really my favorite genre so I never became truly hooked on it (nor on Harry Potter). But when the original first Star Wars came out, it was huge, one of those movies that we all stood in line for at the time.
I was up early today and the workmen should be here momentarily … even my rudimentary shower set-up may be off limits after all this work begins, so there will be that issue again.
Janice, I’m having issues with that same light coming on, my mechanic says it’s especially problematic in Jeeps (of course) and so far we can’t seem to get the light to stay off. So I’m living with it until it’s time to take it back in for servicing, but I may wind up having to take it to the dealer (though I hope not).
I received my health insurance savings debit card in the mail, I signed up to have $50 a month taken out of my paycheck initially to try to build the account up, but you can alter the amount at anytime which is a helpful option.
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Chas can explain it better, but I know it has something to do with the lack of air in space. Sound waves need molecules of matter to travel through.
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DJ, you’d like the relationship the hero has with each of his creatures, I think. None of them talks any more than any of our animals does, but sometimes he holds conversations with them and you can see their emotions on their faces. The story line appealed to my husband (New York City is doomed! Can it be saved in time?) but the creatures appealed to me.
See, I could easily be one of those ladies who has a pet raccoon, and a skunk, and a fawn I’m nursing back to health to release back to the wild, and a license to raise and hunt falcons . . . not really, since I have neither the money nor the space nor the patience. But I can imagine myself with a pet snow leopard and a kestrel that comes when I call, and imagine what life might have been like in the Garden of Eden, when creatures came to the first pair instead of away from them. When my husband and I go outside, the birds we feed scatter. They even seem to understand that we feed them, but they still flee as quickly as they can–and that makes me a bit sad. Now, the chickadee or the nuthatch will sometimes stay in the same tree or the next tree over, calling, and you know it would be possible to train him to come to you. But even he stays a few yards away, not quite confident enough to come. So there is something super compelling about the man who can take a hawk on his wrist, send it into the sky to hunt wild prey, and then call it back and it comes. Or the fantasy stories of dragons, who are as committed to the one who hatched them as Misten was to me.
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Phos nailed it. No atmosphere. We assume all of that but some things need atmosphere.
On the moon, for instance, it is totally dark. Then suddenly, the sun comes up and it is totally light. But if you went behind a rock, you couldn’t read, it’s totally dark.
The lack of clouds and humidity made the dawn approach that in Arabia. It was dark, then almost all of a sudden, the sun was up. No clouds or moist atmosphere to reflect sunlight. Hence, not much twilight.
No sound in space because no atmosphere to carry it.
Light doesn’t bend. But it does reflect. That is what makes it possible to read when you can’t see the light source.
Really convenient the way it happens. Some people think that evolved without any plan or purpose.
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The tire pressure light is always on in our Jeep – we ignore it and just check the tires like we would if there was no particular sensor (like in the olden days). No sense wasting money to get it fixed. 🙂
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Workers are here, discussing (in Spanish) the framing of the medicine cabinet — most of these pieces were ordered months ago, so it’s kind of fun to take a look at it all again knowing it’s (finally) going in (we think/hope). Real estate guy was here earlier but now is off walking his dog at the marina, but he’s assured me via text that these guys know what they’re doing so not to worry. He’ll swing by in a little while to check in, though.
Maybe I’ll see if my cousin has any interest in Rogue. There are usually quite a few good movies to choose from, the few times I go anymore, but they don’t stay “out” very long. I’ll admit that space films are worth seeing in 3D on a big screen, though.
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Kare, wouldn’t it still alert you if a particular tire were low?
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We’re set for more rain today (and snow in the mountains), it’s supposed to arrive by later this morning — then it looks like rain is in the forecast again on Wednesday and then Friday through Monday, every day. Yay.
Someone’s opened up the flood gates in California, at long last.
Of course, we’ll all be complaining about it after a while.
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Good Morning Everyone. I slept late and then took BG to Wal-Mart for toiletries. I bought a 7 1/2 foot tree for $20. Mr. Grumpy Pants wasn’t as happy about it as I was. He wants to know where I am going to put all these trees. Well, the tall, skinny one that I like to decorate can go in the entry or the dining room. The one I bought today can go in the sun room and everyone can decorate it! That way I am happy with my coordinated tree and he is happy with a tree that I let him and everyone else who happens out by decorate. I am even willing to let him put colored lights on it!!!! It’s a win for everyone.
DJ, I am so happy you are moving forward on the bathroom. It will all be great once it is done and your enjoyment of it will over shadow the pain it has been. 😉
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When I was in Home Depot the other day I noticed people checking out the (artificial) trees on sale, there were some beautiful ones (not many left though) and I’m sure it’s a good time to pick some up. I bought a very small artificial tree one year online on an after-Christmas sale.
K, sad note on the cute med cabinet vintage green glass knob I stumbled upon online the other day (by accident, wasn’t looking) won’t work. When I took another look at the medicine cabinet I’d bought, oh so long ago now, I realized the latch on it was different, it has a full latch piece in chrome (not an easy knob that could be swapped out). Bummer. But how cute was that for a bathroom cabinet??
Poor Cowboy and Tess, they’re stress with all the hammering going on, we’re all crunched together, now trying to occupy the same small space in the universe, all at one time. Physics. Not working well.
But speaking of creatures, this series on PBS looks interesting:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/31/bbc-robot-creatures-spy-secret-lives-animals-wildlife-series
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What does a newly hatched crocodile see while it is being transported to water between its mother’s jaws? How should a wild dog pup behave if it wants to be accepted by an approaching pack of adults?
These and other questions will be answered in a new BBC wildlife series screening this week, in which the stars of the show are not only the animals being filmed, but the animatronic “spy creatures” used to film them. …
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I’ve been debating whether to go to a film this season. Not here, as the closest theatre of any size is a least 45 minutes away, but in the city. However, I have to really want to see a film on the big screen before I’ll go to a theatre. Eldest Niece really liked ‘Dr. Strange’ but the last time I tried to watch a Marvel superhero film (the first Avengers), I was bored by what I found to be non-compelling dialogue (it isn’t that I don’t like action, as I enjoyed ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, or superheroes since I’ve watched ‘Batman Begins’ several times). ‘Rogue One’ looks like it might be interesting, but all the Star Wars films I’ve seen to date have promised more than they delivered, once again, due in large part to the terrible dialogue. I considered seeing ‘Collateral Beauty’ since World had a great review, but a story with so much emotion is best watched on the small screen. So far, the films I’ve enjoyed seeing on the big screen are fantasy family films. Maybe I should go see ‘Fantastic Beasts’ though I’ve only read the first Harry Potter book and didn’t really care for the main character enough to continue.
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6Arrows, many years ago my husband was 100% commission. Oh, and if a client didn’t pay their invoice the commission was taken back the next month. He was only paid once a month. I had a base salary of $18,000 + commission. Towards the end of each month I started getting creative with what was for dinner. A package of hamburger meat, a box of wild rice, water, and a couple of beef bouillon cubes baked in the oven. A package of kielbasa sausage, a large can of diced tomatoes, an onion all cooked together and served over rice. (This now happens to be one of Mr. P’s favorite meals and the receptionist at work gets excited when I bring her the leftovers—she swears she can’t make it. I think she is lazy and if buttering me up 😉 )
Hamburger meat, a can of corn, a can of Rotel, a box of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix and some shredded cheese makes “Mexican” Cornbread.
Both my parents would cringe if they knew I shared this but I LOVE tomato and macoroni soup. Boil elbow macoroni until it is done and throw in a can of tomatoes and depending on if you want it or not a pat of butter. My mother was born in 1935 and she called it Depression food. To me it is comfort food.
I could go on and on about the things I can “create” on a budget. Those of you who were with me through my lean years will appreciate that BJ and I never went hungry and she was a picky, picky eater. Things are different now, but I do not forget from whence I came and am thankful for what I have been through and survived.
I want share with you how creative my father could be in a kitchen. I learned to look in the trash can before eating some of what he cooked. One night he made stroganoff. There was something a little off looking about it. I looked in the trash and found the packaging for chicken GIZZARDS. He had made Gizzard Stroganoff!!!!! One night it looked like it might be fried fish—IT WAS TRIPE!!!!!
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Oh. DJ, I loved those! I didn’t even ask you the price!
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We have an engine light on in our second car. We just figure that cars didn’t used to have engine lights, so in effect we don’t have one. We aren’t driving the car anyway; it’s the cars the girls drove, and now that they have their own, I only drive it if I go somewhere without my husband. But it has been sitting inside a snow bank since it was returned to us a few weeks ago (the snow has now melted), so I haven’t driven it either.
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Cheryl, your comment regarding loving animals, even if they are fantastic beasts reminded me of one of the most visually beautiful and imaginative guidebooks I’ve ever seen. It was published as a companion book to the Spiderwick Chronicles (the book series was OK, the film was awful). It had stunning watercolour paintings in the style of Audubon of all the mythical beasts, like the griffin, the kelpie, the brownie, the phoenix, etc: https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Spiderwicks-Field-Fantastical-Around/dp/1416960953
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The knob was $10, I guess expensive but not for just 1 of them. 🙂
Well, maybe that tiny corner ‘storage’ cabinet I will shop for and buy later, after the bathroom is basically put together and I have a better sense of the space, might be a good candidate for it in knob swap. 🙂
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Not to restart the conversation from yesterday, but I am reminded how pointed my oldest one’s head was, also, Ann. She was stuck in the birth canal and I well remember the doctor’s effort to remove her from it. There was no pain, as I had a spinal, but I was conscious and the tugging was terrific. It does make me wonder why anyone would go through such a procedure to abort a baby or why late term abortions would ever be necessary.
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I forgot the most exciting new of all. My niece is engaged!!!! I am her godmother and have always had it in the back of my mind that I would buy her wedding veil. I have even set aside a little money for this. I told her mother last night, but it is to be a destination wedding. She can use the amount as she chooses. I am very proud of her. She graduated from Auburn and has a good job.
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Speaking of yesterday’s discussion. Last night daughter told me the story niece put up on FB. She and her husband wanted to have the baby as naturally as possible and chose a birthing center with midwives for the experience. They paid their money ahead of time and filled out paper work in the event something went wrong and they headed to the hospital so they would not have to wait on paperwork. She was in labor over forty hours and not progressing. She could get no info from the shift changes of midwives. She was exhausted and developed a fever. They finally said she needed to go to the hospital where she waited out in the car for over an hour until a nurse came out and said they could find no paperwork on her. That was resolved she went in, had an epidural and eventually a baby. She was happy with the doc and hospital nurses. The midwives, not so much. None of the money they gave to the birthing center resulted in a baby and they had a huge hospital bill, with no insurance as they thought they had it covered. It was paid by friends and family, of course and they adore their baby but it is taking her some time to recover emotionally from that experience over a year ago.
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The light is on – no beeping (thankfully) all the time – in fact the dashboard sort of looks like a Christmas tree with all the warning lights on it! But that’s only the last couple of years – the tire light has been on almost from year 2. The Jeep has over 300,000km on it and is our second vehicle. When we change the oil in our newer Subaru we use that oil in the Jeep – saves a bunch of money!
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Kim we do think alike when it comes to trees…the one in the living room has white lights and is “well appointed” they way I like it…color coordinated…ornaments that go well with one another……..the one in the family room has colored lights and is decorated with anything he wants on it….rather retro in decoration 🙂
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See? And Everyone is happy NancyJill
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Mumsee, my sister went to a birthing center some distance from her home. (Nurse midwives are illegal in Alabama, so they went over the border into Tennessee since they were so unhappy with local doctors. That meant that Aunt Cheryl had to be packed and ready to run out the door when they called saying “It’s time,” since I had a two-plus hour drive and they had maybe 90 minutes.) They verified with their insurance that a birthing center was covered–and a birthing center cost maybe a third of a hospital birth, so it made sense that it would be covered, and it was.
After the baby was born, they got a bill. Making a few phone calls, they finally found out that the bill would have been covered except for one tiny little technicality.
She only stayed at the birthing center 23 hours, and the insurance treated it as “outpatient” if it was less than 23 hours, and thus not covered. Had she known of that little detail, of course she would have stayed an extra hour before the long drive home.
She fought that, and I don’t remember how it turned out, except I don’t think they had to pay the entire amount out of pocket. Apparently it had never occurred to the insurance that a woman in labor might be in and out with her baby in less than 24 hours, so they didn’t caution her about the “overnight stay” requirement. But it’s a pretty silly way to handle such a technicality. She went in to have a baby, and you said you would pay for it. It cost the patient the same amount whether she was in for 23 hours or 24, so the insurance should pay it either way.
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Kim and NancyJill – I have 3 trees that I decorate to my own taste and then the real tree has coloured lights, antique ornaments and stuff my husband likes. We’re both happy.
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The above video was done in Washington DC. My friend is friends with the mother of the guitarist in this band. They are amazed that it has gone viral.
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For 6 Arrows especially, but anyone would find this interesting (now I want to hear her music): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/30/11-year-old-british-composer-debuts-first-opera-in-vienna?CMP=fb_gu
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Before the New Year rings in, here’s remembering some of those who passed in 2016…
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It’s a rainy sleepy day here in Atlanta. Miss Bosley is trying to make up for lost cuddle time. Why does going on vacation make a person so tired? We did not find time to do our annual jigsaw puzzle. I guess that is a good thing because it means we got out and about more than usual.
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50
I think we’re nearing the end of the bathroom work for today — the drilling and pounding and other noises still have the dogs unnerved. Wait until the New Year’s Eve fireworks over the harbor tonight start going off.
Not a good weekend to be a dog in my house.
I haven’t seen the cat since the workers arrived.
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Talk about an awkward open house experience
House comes with a garage, but …
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2016/12/30/mummy-found/96005878/
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The potential homeowner “opened up the car door and observed this decomposed body inside,” Donakowski said. “We talked to the current tenants of that location and they were told that the actual homeowners had said basically don’t go in the garage, don’t put anything in the garage.”
Donakowski said there is an ongoing investigation and that the homeowner will be contacted.
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Wow. Real Estate Agents have horror stories they share amongst themselves. I was not part of it but an agent on my team walked into what should have been an empty house with her clients and opened the bedroom door only to discover a threesome—they weren’t exactly discussing the Sunday School lesson.
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My next feature story idea — horror stories from real estate agents 🙂
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You should. I have on my flannel jammies and am not leaving the house again.
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The worker is gone (left supplies for the next phase in my patio), It’s raining but the house is now quiet and I turned on the heat. So the cat has come home.
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Oh no. Thunder.
Poor dogs.
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DJ, I’d line up a therapist for the dogs for Monday morning. And maybe all the cheese they can eat tonight.
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AJ, I like the front view of that bird. It’s a juvenile, of course, but do you know if it’s a Cooper’s or a sharp-shinned? (By the way, the third accipiter is the goshawk, and it actually doesn’t look just like the other two. But all three are bird eaters that are good at chasing a bird on the wing in and out of branches.) When they show up, they rarely make a catch, since the birds disappear before they arrive. But I have seen one with prey several times. One day I was standing at my kitchen window and suddenly saw a blur as one swooped in to the bushes just underneath, and emerged and flew to the tree with a house sparrow. It then sat and plucked and ate for at least half an hour. I gladly let him have one. I’d be unhappy if he took a flicker or anything special, but he can have all the house sparrows he wants.
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Now it’s 2017 for Tychicus tool.
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Cheryl,
Not sure which, but I think it was a sharp-shinned. It was big. Most of the Coopers are smaller around here. He flew right past me as I was talking with my neighbor. It landed in a tree across the street and started eating so I ran for my camera. 🙂
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AJ, actually Cooper’s or bigger than sharp-shinned, and females are larger than males in most raptors. So a female Cooper’s would be (on average) quite a lot bigger than a male sharp-shinned, but a male Cooper’s and female sharp-shinned wouldn’t be as easy to tell apart. And unless you see it with something that allows you to judge size, it can be hard to tell which it is. I did once see a sharp-shinned and knew immediately which it was because of its size–my first thought had been “blue jay” since I’ve seen jays in that tree a lot, and any bird small enough to be mistaken for a jay isn’t a Cooper’s. And it had a very definite straight tail, not curved, and that confirmed it. Other times I see it close enough to judge its size and know it’s a Cooper’s, and then sometimes I just don’t know which it is. Curved or uncurved tail is not nearly as straightforward as they sometimes indicate, in my opinion.
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Cheryl, you may be right about the dogs.
The face! Those eyes! 🙂 Occasionally a hawk (red tail, I believe) will land in my backyard on the evergreen, they’re amazing to watch — and they look so big.
So looks like work will happen tomorrow (after church) and maybe Monday as real estate pal tries to get the plumbing & electrical ready for the dry wall-tile amigos. I will pay my friend, of course, I really appreciate that he’s gone to such lengths to help me out on this.
It’s all going to look very cute, I think. Maybe kind of girly (with the floor hexagon tile pattern I picked out), but old-fashioned, simple (and all new). Best of both worlds. 🙂
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Happy New Year’s eve, everyone!
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We’re spending the evening quietly at home. We are serving communion at church in the morning and so we won’t be staying up late tonight.
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Happy New Year!
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We went to Youngest Sibling’s for a New Year’s Eve feast and games night. Naturally, with all the small people, we left fairly early. It had just snowed and Second and Third Nephew got into a small snowball fight as they went to the car. Someone opened the front door of the house just as Second Nephew hurled a snowball, and it ended up inside. Youngest and Youngest Sibling-in-law just laughed and came out and proceeded to pelt Second and Third Nephew with snowballs (Youngest Sibling was a formidable thrower of snowballs in her day). It was a good ending to a fun evening.
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Happy New Year fellow wanderers!! Quiet evening at home watching the Monk series…my daughter gave me the entire series for Christmas….fun! Oh and in case some missed it….Clemson shut out Ohio State…. 🙂
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I worked at setting a walking record on my fitbit for New Year’s. So many were at the waterfront for the fireworks that it was quite safe, though I left before the fireworks began.
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oh, that would be before the early fireworks, they had them at 9 and 12.
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Roscuro, stuff like that puts a BIG smile on my face (your 2:21 link)! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Kim, you’re a treasure trove of information on all things kitchen. I have been pretty kitchen-challenged my whole life, though having had a big family helped me get a little more oriented in that direction. I can still use all the help I can get, though. Thank you!
I told enough birth stories yesterday, and don’t want to scare off the guys again 😉 but I’ll just add one tiny (OK, quite large, really) tidbit to the babies-with-large-heads discussion:
1st Arrow’s head circumference was over 15 inches (and at the 95th percentile), and we discovered that, though newborn onesies were indicated for babies up to 10 pounds (he was 8 lbs. 6 oz.), we couldn’t get the Gerber (pull over the head kind) onesies on him!
I thought, why don’t they make onesies people can actually use!?! 🙂
They worked just fine for our subsequent babies. 😉
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Happy New Years, everyone. :–)
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Happy New Year’s from the west coast to the east coast. 🙂
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HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Central Time Zone!! 🙂
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It’s 2017 for everybody in the world by now.
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Welcome to January 1st.
Oh, I forgot to watch the Rose Bowl parade!
Wait, it hasn’t begun yet, has it?
But it will be over before I wake up.
Donna, save some pictures for me, please.
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Happy New Year!
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While scrolling through, I saw something that reminded me of an old New Year’s tradition.
We had to have a dinner that had greens (dollars) and peas (change.) That was good luck for the new year. And ham.
Not really superstition as tradition. A side reason was to get back to sensible diet after stuffing with Christmas goodies.
It generally meant, “Back to business now”.
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So far, 2017 doesn’t look much different than 2016. But it’s a year that ends in a seven, so I think I turn 50 this year.
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Happy New Year!
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Chas my black eyed peas are cooked with part of the leftover ham bone from Christmas. I have a cabbage to cook. I am going to have to make corn bread because the butte ilk goes out of date tomorrow. I have hamburger meat that got thawed and not used so we will have the Un traditional Salisbury steak, rice, and gravy. Lest you think Mr P and I are piggies I contacted a friend who has been ill since the first of November and will be sharing with them.
Black Eyed peas are for luck and cabbage or collards are for money in the new year
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Good news for you, Jo — the parade is on Monday this year.
Whenever the 1st lands on a Sunday, they push the parade to the 2nd, on Monday. I’m guessing they no longer know why that’s done, but it’s an ingrained tradition that still stands.
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Fantastic wedding; now onto recovery . . .
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In Charleston, they had “Hoppin John”. I can’t describe it but it has lots of rice.
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You’ve all heard that Ruth Graham, after passing a construction site on the highway, saw a sign that said:
“Construction completed
Thank you for your patience”,
She said, “That’s what I want on my tombstone”. And it is.
After many times of being directed home by GPS in many travels, I think I might have:
“You have reached your destination”.
But I haven’t told anyone yet. I’m thinking about it.
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On a somewhat similar note, Chas, I have heard a comedian refer to the “End Construction” signs as protest signs. 🙂
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Hey, am I in time?
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I can get 88!
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Kim – The other day, you wrote that there were certain men you would not let be alone with BG. That reminded me of my Uncle A, my mother’s big brother. There was something about him that struck me, & SIL, as creepy. When he had lived with us for a year or so when I was 20 – 21, he sometimes did & said things that were inappropriate, & made me uncomfortable, but my parents didn’t seem to notice. (And I didn’t say anything.)
SIL worked three days a week, with my mom babysitting her daughter, but I was a stay-at-home mom. When Uncle A would be visiting Mom & Dad (usually for several days at a time, a few times each year), & was there on days SIL was working, SIL & I had an agreement that I would be over there, too, to make sure Uncle A was never alone with her daughter (or mine). (At that time, we didn’t live in the same town, but about half an hour apart. Not a bad drive, though.) We didn’t let on to Mom what was going on.
One day, when I was nine months pregnant with Chickadee, somehow Mom & SIL got into an argument about Uncle A. I don’t remember why, maybe he was there unexpectedly (to us) & Mom was supposed to babysit, but I couldn’t be there. Anyway, SIL told Mom she didn’t want Uncle A alone with Niece, but Mom thought she was being ridiculous. The argument escalated to them yelling at each other. SIL told me all this over the phone afterwards, & was sure their relationship was irretrievably broken.
Then Mom called, & asked me about Uncle A. I gently told her why I felt uncomfortable about him. It seems to my hazy memory that she hung up on me, but called me back a while later, after processing it all. That day was Uncle A’s birthday, & she said to me, “Don’t have your baby on his birthday,” as she was realizing we had a point.
Well, I didn’t have Chickadee that day, but I went into labor that night, & had her the next morning. There was something about the birth of this new baby into our family that facilitated forgiveness & healing.
Nothing more was ever said about the situation with Uncle A.
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Oh, so that means I got 89, the year Nightingale was born.
Speaking of whom. . .There’ve been several comments referring to giving birth, & midwives. Nightingale’s eventual goal is to be a nurse-midwife. But here in Connecticut, at least for now, nurse-midwives can only participate in delivering babies in a hospital. (I’m not sure if we have birthing centers. I’ll have to ask Nightingale about that.)
For home births, which are neither legal nor illegal, only lay midwives can deliver babies, due to insurance concerns (probably because of the murky legality of them). Isn’t that backwards?
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What a blessing to be in church on the first morning of a new year. 🙂 It somehow seemed so fitting to begin another year that way.
One of our teaching elders announced he’d be leaving to join the Associated Presby denomination on staff (ed director?) in Nashville in the next few months. He and his wife are expecting their 6th child in about 5 months so (while it wasn’t said) I’m thinking it might also be a way for them to afford a house of a sufficient size — and with a better cost of living overall. He has a law degree (and is on staff also at World Vision), his wife was a translator for the UN when they first met, but dedicating their lives to church and family probably will never make them “rich.” Very smart, talented and funny young guy, he’ll be missed.
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financially rich, I should clarify 🙂 But then again, who knows? God has amazing ways in which he blesses his people unexpectedly
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Yes, Cheryl, the year ends in a 7. I turn 60 and D2 (3rd child) turns 30.
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We went to my brother’s home for a late Christmas get together/meal/presents. We did have peas and home grown mustard greens as part of our meal. The drive up was quite foggy, and a slow rain fell as we returned home.
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“Unofficially” babysat Little Guy for a while this afternoon.
Nightingale & Little Guy were out last night at a friend’s New Year’s Eve party (it was a family party, not a drinking kind of party), & got home sometime around 1:00. Two hours later, a stomach bug virus hit, & she was up much the rest of the night throwing up. (Hoping & praying it doesn’t move to LG & then to me. I usually get hit harder by those things than anybody else in the family.) Being exhausted, she took an early afternoon nap, & Little Guy came downstairs. We hung out together for about 3 1/2 hours. (Hubby had to deliver to some stops due to a delivery not coming in yesterday when it was needed. The bakery he delivers for bakes a lot of their own products, but has some products that come from other vendors.)
He was pretty delightful to spend time with, until he started shooting the dog with his Nerf gun. Then it was time to see if Mommy was awake yet. 🙂
He sneaks down here pretty often even when his mommy is awake. I think because they used to live down here with us, this is just an extension of his own home to him. Then again, sometimes Nightingale behaves like she feels that way, too. It’s like we live “separately together”. Usually we are fine with that, but there are times when Hubby & I say we would like to be alone. Or now & then I’ll tell Nightingale I need some peace & quiet for the day.
The positives of it all do outweigh any negatives. (Though I’ll admit, there are some days. . .)
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eating grapes, what a delight
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I Am worn out after talking to a friend in Perth for over an hour on the phone
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so… Have I set someone up for…….
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100?
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Donna, is this familiar to you? http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/california-democrats-legalize-child-prostitution/article/2610540?custom_click=rss
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Cheryl, I believe that a couple of years ago that Georgia had a woman legislator trying to get a similar law on the books to protect the young ones from having a criminal record. As a member of the state CWA group, I called legislators to get them to not support the bill as written. It did not pass theI, and it was revised so a better bill is in place that will be helpful rather than detrimental. I don’t recall the details of the better bill, but if you are interested, you can probably find it online.
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Here’s a Times article about it from a few months ago:
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-california-lawmakers-reject-bold-step-1471556676-htmlstory.html
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Chas’s January 1, 2:27 pm comment about signs near a construction site on a highway reminded me of reading one time, I think in Reader’s Digest, about a highway that was closed near a computer business, or something similar.
The sign in the business’s parking lot said, “www.road.closed” 🙂
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