46 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 11-23-17”

  2. I posted this first for Thanksgiving 2014-11-27, I have updated it for today.
    Things I am thankful for.

    1. For spiritual gifts. The Lord has chosen to save even me, who doesn’t disserve any of the blessings I am about to enumerate.
    2. That my entire family, so far, has chosen to follow the Lord.
    3. For good health for TSWITW and me We have normal physical degeneration, but can still get around when we remember to do so. She is slowly degenerating, but is still with me.
    4. For Aj and the rest of you. I do not say that offhandedly. You are important to me. This is more true than the first time I said it. I used to have lots of activity in H’ville to keep me busy. But I haven’t established a system here. SS friends ask me to join their men’s choir, but I can’t stay away long. That is a major constraint.
    5. That I was born in the USA. My family could be among those who were beheaded because we aren’t Muslim
    6. Not only that I was born in the USA, but I was in the epoch when America was a great nation, and though I see a lot of darkness, we are still a light to the rest of the world. It still is in many ways. As Reagan said, “If not us, Who?”
    7. The Lord gave me the perfect mate for me. She isn’t perfect by any means, but there is not one who is better fitted to be my mate. It wasn’t happenstance that placed us together on the stairs of FBC Columbia that October day. The only time, ever, that I was in the balcony of FBC.
    8. That the Lord brought us through difficult financial times during the early years. The first seven years were very hard. Without a thrifty wife, we couldn’t have made it.
    9. For multiple mundane, everything things like a warm house this morning.

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  3. Elvera’s husband is an abject failure in the kitchen.
    He has the Cheerios and coffee down oaky.
    But since it’s a holiday he thought he would cook some grits and eggs and sausage.
    He can’t even do that little bit right. We finally got everything on the table and said the blessing and I remembered to pour the juice for us to take our morning pills.
    And then, he remembered the coffee.

    Some men like to cook. Elvera’s bro-in-law, Mel is great at fixing things. I just can’t get it right. One thing is that I don’t much like it. It’s a chore for me.

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  4. I have written some memoirs with pictures so Chuck and the kids will know something about old granddad. In it, I have a section called “People who helped me along the way.” It contains names of some from long ago, like Willanel Whitmore, who directed me to my part time job with Parker Labs in the summer of 1953. Be grateful for those who gave a hand in some way. The Parker Lab job led to more than I would have guessed at the time. A little hand can mean a lot.
    Willanel just happened to mention Parker Labt.
    Bobby just said, “Let’s join the Air Force”
    Al just said, “Charlie, are you a Christian?”
    Vernon just hollered “CHARLIE!”

    Lots of times an insignificant comment can change a life.

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  6. I don’t remember who talked me into taking the FSEE (Federal Service Entrance Exam). I was going to be a preacher, not a government worker. But II went to the Court House and took it. I had 5 points veteran’s preference, so I aced it.
    I got two job offers and took the one in Washington.
    I was a cartographer before I knew what a cartographer was.

    I don’t know if I said, or did something to help someone. I hope so.
    It isn’t big things, it’s trivial events along the way that make a life.

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  8. My Mr is not good in the kitchen…nor with anything related to household chores…but he is good in so many other areas…I suspect you are as well Chas…like loving and taking care of your bride….my Mr is good at that 😊

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  9. I smiled the entire time I was read Chas’ comments. They are things we all need to remember. You never realize at the time that someone is helping you and you may never know who you helped. Life is funny that way.
    I sometimes get busy and forget to be thankful for all the blessings I have had. Even the horrid things we experience can be turned to good if we are open to it.
    Last night I thought about Jordan Fisher, the young man who won Dancing with the stars. He was born multi-racial in Birmingham, AL to a drug addict. His maternal grandparents adopted him. He grew up to be what appears to be a multi-talented young man. Just think, he could have been aborted, he could be a drug addict himself, or a whole multitude of things, but because his grandparents stepped in and raised him as their own….
    In the “package” they showed, it made me happy to be from a state that takes a lot of criticism and is accused of racism, back wooded-ness and other things to see two little white girls with their little girl voices tell him “good luck and we love you Uncle Jordan”. That probably wouldn’t have happened 50 years ago.

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  12. I’m giving you points for unloading the dishwasher, Ricky. 🙂

    Every time my husband makes me something to eat I tell him how delicious it is. He got suspicious after a while. “It’s just an English muffin.”

    “Anything someone makes me to eat takes wonderful by definition.”

    Thanksgiving should be swell,

    We have much to be thankful for this year.

    First we go to church where we sing, then we cook, then we feast!

    A blessed holiday to all of you!

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  13. Ricky! 🙂

    Chas, wonderful posts, thank you. Those moments — the “chance” meeting, the “off-handed” remark or the casual question that forever changed your course — somehow freeze in your mind’s eye and ear forever, so precious. Good day to think on those events God has brought us through; and, yes, even the many toils and snares, all the experiences, good and bad, that he ordained and used to mold us along the way. And on it goes, until we take our final breath.

    I came across some old black-and-white photos in the spare bedroom the other day, taken of me with my grandparents in Iowa during what would have been my “debut” years, 1-2. One photo showed my mom holding my hand as we stood smiling in the shallow surf foaming around our feet. On the back she wrote “Sprout’s first day at the beach.”

    So, I would have loved to have slept in today, but I need to hit the freeway in about 2 hours, so I’m up, showered and trying now to actually wake up. Carol asked if we could go to the Barnes and Noble book store after we ate but I checked online last night and (thankfully!) they’re closed. I’m still hoping I can be home before dark today, but it will largely depend on the traffic. Sometimes traffic on the actual holiday is pretty light, it’s the days leading up to the holidays that are the worst.

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  16. Time to laugh AT and with Kim. I have created a monster. I sort of suggested that we use my new white dishes today, you know, because they can go in the dishwasher.
    SOMEONE, and I am not saying who, but there are only two humans in this house, said “NO. We are not using them today. This is why we have good china. Pick one!”
    So I had that moment where I thought I really have married a man just like my father. 😉

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  22. Happy Thanksgiving to all! The weather is perfect here. Art and I got to the Cracker Barrel really early to secure a table. We had a little breakfast and kept the table for my brother’s arrival, a little after 11 a.m. The place was packed and service was great. Before the meal I wanted to send a text and photo to our son. Somehow I managed to send a video of the empty table top and a photo of my coffee mug. Ha! That was my Happy Thanksgiving from Cracker Barrel to our son. I am text challenged as much as Chas is meal challenged.

    My brother was kept at the store until 3 a.m. this morning and got to bed at 4 a.m. They refused to let the employees leave. He seriously was going to call 911 and report that he was being held against his will if they did not let him leave when he did. He looked so tired. That makes me feel sad. This weekend will be brutal on him, especially Black Friday.

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  23. Chas, here is the easy way to make grits and eggs.

    1. Boil a batch of eggs, 6 or 7, cool and peel. Chop up the eggs in a bowl.

    2. Put a cup of water in a large bowl. Put 1/4 cup of grits in with the water and stir. Add a sprinkle of salt if allowed. Put in microwave for 3-4 minutes until the water is absorbed to your favorite consistency. Stir once or twice as it cooks. With a deep bowl, there is no need to cover it. They will thicken a bit when they sit. Add a pat or two of butter, and then stir in some of the chopped eggs. Save some eggs for another day with grits or egg salad/tuna salad sandwiches.

    I discovered this works well in our small household because Art does not like grits. I hope it makes it easier for you.

    Art can boil eggs. He can prepare Brussel sprouts. He has made a crustless pumpkin pie once. He can not break open an egg. So he is not a routine helper in the kitchen. He does the Brussel sprouts once or twice a year for holiday meals.

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  27. Along our way, Art and I drove down the street where I grew up. I showed him how they are tearing down the very small homes and building large houses on the little properties. There were a number of vehicles around my old home. I told Art maybe we should crash their dinner. I could enter and legitimately proclaim, “I’m home!”

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  28. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
    We finished eating, the guys went and took naps, and I washed up because I didn’t want to have it waiting for me to do later. I’m not good at napping in the middle of the day anyway, unless I am really tired. Which I’m not right now, not like I was yesterday evening after doing some of the prep work for today.

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  31. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

    As expected/planned, I have cried, wept, & sobbed a lot today. It started before I even got out of bed, but I kept it at bay while the girls, The Boy, & I spent the morning together & enjoyed our delicious brunch. (Nightingale is an excellent cook, like her dad.) Well, I did cry some as I was saying grace, thanking God for the time we had with Hubby, & for his legacy of love, faith, responsibility, & working hard. After saying “Amen,” & opening my eyes, I saw that Nightingale & Chickadee were teary-eyed, too.

    For The Boy, the original plan was for him to be picked up by Other Grandmother (OG) at 11am (which he was), & then Mr X was supposed to bring him home around 7:30 this evening. When X picks up or drops off The Boy, I have to walk up the lane & meet his car up there, because of the protective order for Nightingale, as he is not allowed at the house.

    Then X called & told me that OG would bring him back at 6:00. I texted Nightingale, & she said she texted OG, suggesting they meet somewhere, & she would take The Boy back to her friend’s house with her. Sounded good to me, so I went ahead & got into my nightie & comfy pants.

    Not so fast, Mimi. I then received a text from Nightingale that the 7:30 drop off by X was back on. Okie dokie, back into real clothes, & out of my slippers & into shoes.

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  34. My sleep this week has been somewhat irregular, but last night I went to bed after 1:00 a.m. without actually meaning to. I wanted to wash my hair this morning if possible (it takes at least two hours to dry, sometimes three or more), and I needed to make the veggie tray. I was supposed to be there a bit before noon (which I did manage to do), meaning I needed to leave about 11:30 or a little after. (My husband was sick and not going with me.) I almost left my husband a note saying to make sure I was up by 10:00, but of course I’d be up by 10:00, right?

    I got up about 10:45. I needed the sleep, but yikes!

    But all the food was good, everybody was nice to everybody, and they understood that with a sick husband at home I wasn’t going to hang around all afternoon. (I stayed about two hours.) I even cheated and brought home a plate of leftovers. Hubby’s sister told me to make up a plate of food for him, and he’d already told me he didn’t want one, so I made a plate for myself and didn’t tell anyone that’s what I was doing. 🙂 So I have leftover turkey for tomorrow.

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  35. Kim: So I had that moment where I thought I really have married a man just like my father.

    That’s a good thing, right?

    And, yes, you got that right — turkeys, no; coyotes, yes!

    Who knew I had a nickname of ‘sprout’? I don’t remember ever hearing that before. Sweet pic, and yes, I got a little teary eyed finding it.

    I had a very good day but it was HOT. Yikes. Like 90 degrees, I can’t remember a Thanksgiving like this before (it’s been ‘warm’ some years, but I can’t recall an out-and-out HOT summer-like day, though we probably had one at some point).

    Traffic wasn’t bad. I picked Carol up and we were very early so I drove her past a few sites she wanted to see and we took a cruise along the beach — dogs, guys toting their surfboards, sailboats on the sparkling water.

    Despite the heat, it was a very clear day — the ocean, Catalina, sail boats on the sparkling water, the Hollywood sign, downtown high-rises with mountains in the background — it was all crystal clear.

    Dinner was good, I believe many of those there were there when Norma died. The daughter of one of the ladies is a Hospice social worker and she was such a blessing to us that day as we wandered in and out of the room to be with Norma in her final hours.

    I’ve thrown open all the windows in the house (because I finally CAN now that they’re all lubricated and working so smoothly) so I’m hoping the evening breeze will cool things off. It is cooling down at night still, which helps. But this daytime heat is just out of place.

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  36. Who knew that our Cheryl could be so sneaky?
    ____________

    Nightingale’s friend sent her home with a plate of Thanksgiving dinner for me. That was sweet of her. (She had also invited me to join them if I wanted, but Nightingale declined for me, saying I needed the time alone the afternoon.)

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  38. As I was leaving the house for dinner, I told my husband that I thought I was an excellent wife.

    Thanksgiving Day . . . and I’d left my husband a can of chicken noodle soup on the stove for him to heat up himself!

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  41. So I’m not the only one not feeling well today? I got up @6:30 with a cold still. I’ve had it all week but thought it was going away. We left @8 for Iowa. Came home around 7. The cold seems worse. Why do cold medicines only last 4 hours? No cold lasts less than 7 days, but I suppose a capsule could not be made that lasts that long.

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  42. “HI mom, I just wanted to call and let you know I rearended somebody in Boise. The truck is fine but their car is totaled. I need to talk to the officer.”
    “Hi mom, I was dumb. I saw the light ahead, glanced down at the gear shift, my phone buzzed and I glanced at it, and looked up and slammed on the brakes.”
    “Well, son, better dumb than dead. Glad nobody was hurt. I hope you learned something.”
    “Yeah, I will pick up some parts at the junk yard in Pocatello. A new bumper and hood.”
    “Ok, bye, I love you.”
    “Love you too, bye”
    And so it goes.

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  45. Morning! Sis in law and her husband just left for their return drive to FL…we shall miss them…such a sweet visit and Thanksgiving celebration!
    Daughter just arrived home from her 5-5 shift at Kohls..she is tired and shall sleep the day away.
    We get to eat leftovers today..and tomorrow…and the next day…and perhaps even the next! 😊

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  46. Happy Black Friday! Are you shopping today? Do you have something in mind to buy or do you look at the deals and choose something from those that would make a good gift at a really good price?

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