This is a prayer request as well as a post.
First, my friend Sarah: On Wednesday I’m heading out to our nations capital to speak truth. I’m looking forward to learning more and taking in all the love my heart can hold.
I’m praying that hearts will be changed just like mine was. I’m scared and extremely excited at the same time. Please pray for me, our group, and our nation.
Next from March for Life:bortion tells women, “You can’t be a mother and…
Get a college degree,
Have your dream job,
Achieve your goals.”
The pro-life movement says, “Yes, you can! And we are here to help you!”
The 2020 March for Life seeks to celebrate the joys of motherhood, be a community of support for women facing unexpected pregnancies, and let our culture know that LIFE is the EMPOWERING choice!
Watch and share our NEW Pro-Life is Pro-Woman video and be a voice for LIFE!
As you have probably figured out by now, my husband leans left. Because of this I watch Bill Maher with him. As I ask on a regular basis, “Who ever thought Bill Maher would be the voice of reason?” On the January 17th show he opened with Nancy Pelosi as a guest and ended with Andrew Yang.
The take away? He told his audience and his viewers, “You can hate Trump, but you can’t hate his supporters”.
“Here’s what I have told my audience, and people disagree with this, I think this should be our mantra on the left: You can hate Trump, you can’t hate the people who like him,” Mr. Maher said. “Because that’s where we are, too — ‘I’m unfriending you’ — that way lies, literally, civil war.”
That header is lovely! We are into our third or fourth day (third, I think) that it hasn’t gotten above freezing. Today it is expected to get above freezing, but not by much (a high of 34, I think). As of yesterday morning (18 degrees, after Sunday’s high of about 14), the creek wasn’t frozen–but everything along its edge that gets splashed or sprayed by its water was frozen.
This morning, while it is still freezing temperatures, and it has had another 24 hours for more to freeze, I want to go check the local creeks and such and see what I can find in terms of frozen beauty. Yesterday it snowed lightly, and snow at that temperature isn’t packing snow (for you Californians, that means you can’t pack it into snowballs–it isn’t wet snow), but hard crystals of individual flakes, so I got out my camera and took photos. Now, the flakes were tiny, and my camera cannot get detail tiny enough to enlarge an individual small flake to fill the image–but I did get photos in which you can see a few dozen individual snowflakes and some of them in the picture are nicely in focus. Not as detailed as I would like, but better than I’ve managed before and quite pretty. And it’s just starting to snow, so I think I will get dressed and get out there!
Morning! That is a cold cold looking photo up there. We will be in the 40’s today with no sun. People get a bit edgy around here when the sun makes no appearance!! ☀️
My daughter texted me last night and said she misses me..we will be having lunch together today…haven’t seen her since Christmas Eve…she lives a half hour away and they have busy lives. 😊
Good morning. Cool here but not cold. Probably close to thirty. No exercise for me this morning. I did not get up until after five and am babysitting. Daughter took the job on weekdays. She is working for a place that offers home to people like eighteen year old daughter but not as violent. (they won’t take eighteen year old daughter). It has potential for moving up.
That picture reminds me that even though it is freezing here, it’s colder somewhere else, and for a longer period of time. At least we’re supposed to see a little sunshine and upper 30s tomorrow. Now I see why Arizona, Texas, and Florida get a lot of snowbirds this time of year. What is a snowbird? A retired person with enough money to escape the frigid North for sunny, warm climates.
Peter. It wasn’t weather that drove us out of Northern Virginia. It was family, taxes and congestion. In that order.
I made three trips back since I left.
On the second trip, I said, “I’m glad I don’t live here anymore.”
On the third and last trip I said, “I’ll probably never come here again.”
I am posting this for the humor. Not all Snowbirds are bad. I have experience dealing with some of them. They form “clubs” from their state and raise money for different charities and volunteer fire departments, etc. Usually if there is a problem with where they are staying–such as needing a light bulb or something simple, they handle it themselves rather than bothering the property manager.
The main thing to remember is that if “home” is so much better then why didn’t you stay there. Don’t bring the problems from “home” you are escaping here and create them for us.
On the other hand, I have seen them order water with extra lemon and make their own lemonade, and I have seen them do other “el cheapo” acts. Always, always, tip the server whatever the FULL amount of your meal would have been WITHOUT the coupon or discount.
Jury duty . . . Grrr
A VIP just came in to apologize that this is the longest he’s seen the assembly room go without a break. They will soon make another announcement of names. We will get lunch and must all come back. It does not usually work this way.
Jury duty aways sounds like fun away from work, a chance to read & lounge to your heart’s content. But even if that is what you get to do all day, it gets boring very fast.
Today Real Estate Guy said he’d swing by to see if he can tell what’s up with the washer leak, he will pull the washer out from the wall (and both washer and dryer sit close together in this tiny alcove with a shelf across the top at the back of the kitchen, so it’s impossible to see behind the machines when they’re in place — but they’re too heavy and bulky for me to move). I’m hoping this isn’t as big a deal as I fear. Groan.
Meanwhile, I’m working on a story today, maybe, that’s complicated because of a deal source wants to make to use his handpicked photo with it featuring a politician; I’ll talk to my editor about it but I think we’ll decide to pass on the ‘string’ attached and just wait to get the story in a normal time frame instead of before anybody else.
And tonight through Thursday night will be LA County’s annual homeless street count, our area goes out tomorrow, Wednesday, so I’ll be working late to some degree, but will have to get something in early also, then add to the story after we are able to walk a few streets with some counters. Seems literally like only yesterday I did the very same assignment. How did it roll around so fast again?
The next morning is a harbor commission meeting. Busy week.
I have had a few snowball fights, built some snowmen. But I get the different consistency of snow, what you can do depends on what kind of snow you have to work with. On those rare occasions down here in the lowlands when we get grauple, a weird, white icy substance that sometimes collects on the ground and looks like snow, the kids manage to make a snowman — sorta. 🙂 It would probably knock you out if you tried to throw it as a snowball, though.
I have a long-ago memory of rolling snow for a snowman in Iowa as a kid. I probably did the same in Idaho the one Christmas I spent there in college — a snowman was built in my aunt’s front yard, that much I remember.
Anyone watch the several-part Ruby Ridge special running on Fox in the past week or so?
Trying to get to 30 now, but not looking good. Snow/Ice again this weekend. Yay. 😦
———–
We spent the holiday yesterday shopping for dorm supplies. Sheets, pillowcases, towels and washcloths, cups, plates, bowls, containers, plastic reusable cutlery, checked out dorm size fridges on-line too. She’s not leaving until late Aug, but why wait until the last minute, right?
Real Estate guy called, he’s stopping by this afternoon — asked me to go outside to see if I could see anything dripping from roof which would have been the easy thing — but this is water that is definitely coming out at the bottom of the exterior wall as the washer drains. It is in a part of the house is newer and was built on a cement slab, though, so that’s good in one sense, he said — water wouldn’t be going under the house into a wood foundation area.
Daughter is being a brat to her worker again. Worker has put in her application at a facility as she shes the end to this relationship looming on the horizon.
I was in the last group, the ones told to come back at 1:00 p.m. for instruction as to what to do next. I overheard one man complain something along the lines of, “This is abuse of the citizens.” Another man thanked the authority for the good job done under the circumstances. It takes all types . . .
Since I have my lame cane and said I did not want to walk out for lunch, I was offered that someone could bring me back a Chick-fil-A sandwich. I said that was so kind but that I’d brought something.
I have been jotting notes in case I sometime want to write something about the experience. I did just win a 200.00 scholarship to a Kidz Lit conference.
Attorneys wind up striking deals and avoiding trials; jury duty is always unpredictable. Last time I went, the entire group of us spent the whole day in the jury room, no panels were even called, no one was needed.
We were dismissed at the end of the day, meaning we’d put our time in and didn’t have to go back.
I’ve been summoned for jury duty a couple times, but never served. It didn’t take very long to get the jurors they needed the one time I actually had to go to the courthouse (maybe 30-45 minutes wait time, and another 15 minutes or so to select the jurors from the pool of possibilities). The other summons I’d received was when I had a young, exclusively-nursing infant, and they excused me from having to come in at all for jury selection when I told them I’d need to bring my baby with me.
Question for Janice or anyone who would like to answer:
Our income tax preparer is retiring after this tax season. We’ve gone to her for decades. What do you suggest as an appropriate gift for her when we go in this one last time?
A most exciting weekend I have had (despite my cold being a miserable, ever-evolving thing):
I got FOUR new piano students in one weekend!!!! (One exclamation mark for each there.) 🙂
Three of the children are from one family who moved to this area a couple of months ago from Denver. The two oldest have studied before, and the youngest will be a brand new beginner.
The other child is from a family where the daughter will take violin lessons from a colleague, and the son will study piano with me. I don’t want to put real names on here, but the boy’s first name is the same as a 19th-century composer’s name. I love it! 🙂
I finished 2019 with five students, and now, with the addition of these four and the one who started this month, suddenly I’m up to ten!
Thankful to God for His providing me with these students.
Praising God with you, 6 Arrows! It’s exciting when it comes together.
For me, 2019 was my first year of freelance–I went freelance in 2003–that I had the year filled with editing. It felt like a long time coming, but so satisfying. And I already have three projects for this year–one the largest in several years–and a fourth in my in-box for a price quote.
Well, I figured that three sub-freezing days in a row would be enacting some magic on the local bodies of water, and I was right. The main pond I visit, not surprisingly, is frozen. (No idea how deeply, and I did see a couple of “open” patches, likely meaning the mallards visited.) But the creeks are still flowing–but everywhere they splash water onto plants or rocks, I see icicles. I drove to two different spots on one of the bigger local creeks, and was well rewarded. I have wanted photos of icicles–natural ones, not ones hanging from roofs–for many years, and today they are out in plenty.
I had a 4:00 meeting to discuss one of this year’s writing/editing projects, and it just got cancelled since the other party is sick, so I just might walk down to the other ponds later and take advantage of this last of the cold days. I can’t believe I’m saying that. 🙂 Winter can be blah and ugly, but it also offers exquisite beauty, and three cold days and running water do come together for exquisite beauty. I got some more snowflake photos too, this time with more of them in each photo (the snowfall wasn’t heavy, still just “flurries” or “a trace,” but about twice as much as yesterday, and thus with snowflakes closer together).
6 Arrows, I never saw gifts brought to our lady who retired, but maybe people brought them and did not say anything to us about them. Of course, she is 90 and does not have too many needs. Maybe offer to take her out for a nice meal? Sometimes clients bring cakes or other sweets in to our office, but if someone is dieting that can end up not being a good choice. If she likes music, maybe concert tickets? If you know of special interests, then of course get the newest thing in the area of interest with a receipt for exchange if needed. If she enjoys antiquing and flea markets, maybe a gift certificate? A few ideas. We like shopping at used book stores so Wesley at times gives us credits at that type store. I hope my ideas help.
Baby granddaughter, the older cousin of the one I have here, got to nurse for the first time today and did fine. And mommy got to give her a bath. One more step to being released.
Ok, this seems like a stretch (From ESPN, we’re also covering today):
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday urging Major League Baseball to strip recent World Series championships from the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox and award them to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DJ, was it a humorous resolution, or was there a reason behind it. (I don’t follow sports news much, so if there was a scandal I wouldn’t have heard about it.)
As one person rightly commented on our dodger story post:
~ What, and give Kershaw his stolen MVP too? No. Vacate the wins, take the rings away, shame the cheaters. But we didn’t win. … And the city council has no role to play in this ~
~ MLB officials concluded last week that the Houston Astros used a camera to illicitly steal signs from opposing catchers during the 2017 season, which ended with the Astros defeating the Dodgers in seven games in the World Series.
According to MLB, the sign-stealing system was orchestrated by then-Astros bench coach Alex Cora, who served as manager of the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 season, which ended with the Red Sox defeating the Dodgers in the World Series in five games. ~
It was a cheating scandal involving technological interpretation of signs signaling plays so the players would know what the opposing team would be doing for their winning strategies. Only a few players were involved but those in authority failed to stop if from happening when they should have. I think it evolved to sending codes by beating on garbage can kids if I understood what I heard correctly. Very sad to hear of it especially for all the fans and the innocent players who will suffer. It was really stupidity that was revealed and is being punished.
Child abuse in the MLB? Oh, my. I thought that league was free of such scandals.
On jury duty: Every year since we moved to Hannibal, I’ve gotten the letter saying I needed to report. I fill in the excused line with: “I teach Spanish at a rural high school with no one qualified to be a long term substitute.” I then get a letter saying they don’t need me. I guess after next year I won’t have that excuse.
Michelle, she has been pumping since birth, building up a supply. She has had so much that the now one year old has been able to go back to breast milk for the past couple of months. Good for him and helps with the bills.
My short talk went well. I always pray first before I prepare. I did a powerpoint and showed where I live then the school. Then I asked them to pray as today is the first day of school after the Christmas break. The kinder teacher has back problems. The grade one teacher was supposed to be the principal, but the gal returning has health problems. Also the grade one teacher’s husband just lost his mother, so he went home. Grade two teacher went back to the states for health problems with his wife. They have split up grade two among several teachers.
Then I told about an older couple. He was the third one to come to PNG. She was a foundling from New Jersey. He was from Australia. They met there, married, did a translation and raised three children. I met them as they were celebrating their 50th anniversary and still working.
Then I mentioned we have a couple who have been on the mission field for 53 years. I invited Judy to come up and sit in a chair. Then i asked as many as wanted to come up and pray for her. They have been in Brazil for 50 years and are now beginning a family ministry in Portugal.
6 Arrows – My cold, which started out v e r y s l o w l y, has developed into a pretty bad one that now wants to hang around for a while. Nightingale looked at me with a concerned look when she heard me coughing the other day, as she doesn’t want me to end up with pneumonia again. (Neither do I!) But I think it may be making a turn towards lessening. I hope your cold does the same, and quickly.
As for jury duty, I’ve only received two summons. The last one was when I was taking care of my MIL, so I was excused via mail. But the first one had me so nervous!
I received notice a few weeks in advance of the date. I would need to call the night before to verify if I had to go in, but I was assuming I would. Because of the county we lived in at the time, the courthouse I would have to go to was in a small city that I was not familiar with driving in. Hubby took me to the courthouse, to show me how to get there, but it was a very confusing route, and I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t get lost. Also, there was a lot of traffic, and more lanes than I was used to, which I would have to cross over at some point in the drive, and that increased my anxiety about it.
I was so very nervous when I made the call the night before, and so very relieved when I learned I did not have to go in after all. Just typing this, I can feel a bit of that relief.
Before he left, Real Estate Guy decided to regale me with the tale of some rental properties he owned in Atlanta and how the maintenance guy, in a panic, called to tell him he’d have to tear out a wall to fix a bad wire — but the problem turned out to be a dead lightbulb.
Cheryl, I’m glad you’ve had a great freelance year. And nice to have a good start with the new year’s jobs. 🙂
Janice, thanks for the gift ideas. It will be fun sleuthing out what she enjoys on the side. 🙂
Mumsee, good for your daughter (and great for the babies!) with her diligent pumping.
Michelle, Ludwig is a good guess, but I’m thinking of a composer who lived his entire life in the 19th Century.
Want to take another guess? Which reminds me, I could do what my sister did one time, when she was playing a guessing game with one of us siblings when we were growing up. She asked the question, “Guess what I’m thinking of?” (I don’t remember what category the answers were in.)
Kizzie, my cold came on just the opposite of yours. Slammed me hard and fast — whopping sore throat out of nowhere, plus a headache and cough. All gone within 2-3 days except for the cough, which was mild.
24 hours of feeling fantastic on Day 6, and I thought it was pretty well behind me, until that evening (Thursday), the cold seemed to settle into my right eye. Watering, stinging, and eyeball pain — annoying as all get-out. (I have little patience for illness.) Yesterday was the first day of no more eye issues, and today was fine as well.
I’m bringing up more with the cough now the last few days, so I suppose that helped clear me out some. Stomach muscles are sore, though, from all the coughing.
Meant to say, too, Kizzie, that I hope your cough goes away soon. Sounds hopeful that it might be lessening now. I’ll be praying toward that end. You’ve been dealing with this quite a while now.
Wandering Views 
Good morning everyone.
LikeLike
Good morning Still cold here on the Bay. I have something to share with all of you but will need to do it from my computer.
LikeLike
This is a prayer request as well as a post.
First, my friend Sarah: On Wednesday I’m heading out to our nations capital to speak truth. I’m looking forward to learning more and taking in all the love my heart can hold.
I’m praying that hearts will be changed just like mine was. I’m scared and extremely excited at the same time. Please pray for me, our group, and our nation.
Next from March for Life:bortion tells women, “You can’t be a mother and…
Get a college degree,
Have your dream job,
Achieve your goals.”
The pro-life movement says, “Yes, you can! And we are here to help you!”
The 2020 March for Life seeks to celebrate the joys of motherhood, be a community of support for women facing unexpected pregnancies, and let our culture know that LIFE is the EMPOWERING choice!
Watch and share our NEW Pro-Life is Pro-Woman video and be a voice for LIFE!
March for Life with us on January 24, 2020!
LikeLiked by 3 people
As you have probably figured out by now, my husband leans left. Because of this I watch Bill Maher with him. As I ask on a regular basis, “Who ever thought Bill Maher would be the voice of reason?” On the January 17th show he opened with Nancy Pelosi as a guest and ended with Andrew Yang.
The take away? He told his audience and his viewers, “You can hate Trump, but you can’t hate his supporters”.
“Here’s what I have told my audience, and people disagree with this, I think this should be our mantra on the left: You can hate Trump, you can’t hate the people who like him,” Mr. Maher said. “Because that’s where we are, too — ‘I’m unfriending you’ — that way lies, literally, civil war.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/20/bill-maher-warns-liberals-not-to-hate-trump-suppor
LikeLiked by 2 people
That header is lovely! We are into our third or fourth day (third, I think) that it hasn’t gotten above freezing. Today it is expected to get above freezing, but not by much (a high of 34, I think). As of yesterday morning (18 degrees, after Sunday’s high of about 14), the creek wasn’t frozen–but everything along its edge that gets splashed or sprayed by its water was frozen.
This morning, while it is still freezing temperatures, and it has had another 24 hours for more to freeze, I want to go check the local creeks and such and see what I can find in terms of frozen beauty. Yesterday it snowed lightly, and snow at that temperature isn’t packing snow (for you Californians, that means you can’t pack it into snowballs–it isn’t wet snow), but hard crystals of individual flakes, so I got out my camera and took photos. Now, the flakes were tiny, and my camera cannot get detail tiny enough to enlarge an individual small flake to fill the image–but I did get photos in which you can see a few dozen individual snowflakes and some of them in the picture are nicely in focus. Not as detailed as I would like, but better than I’ve managed before and quite pretty. And it’s just starting to snow, so I think I will get dressed and get out there!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Morning! That is a cold cold looking photo up there. We will be in the 40’s today with no sun. People get a bit edgy around here when the sun makes no appearance!! ☀️
My daughter texted me last night and said she misses me..we will be having lunch together today…haven’t seen her since Christmas Eve…she lives a half hour away and they have busy lives. 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good morning. Cool here but not cold. Probably close to thirty. No exercise for me this morning. I did not get up until after five and am babysitting. Daughter took the job on weekdays. She is working for a place that offers home to people like eighteen year old daughter but not as violent. (they won’t take eighteen year old daughter). It has potential for moving up.
LikeLiked by 3 people
That picture reminds me that even though it is freezing here, it’s colder somewhere else, and for a longer period of time. At least we’re supposed to see a little sunshine and upper 30s tomorrow. Now I see why Arizona, Texas, and Florida get a lot of snowbirds this time of year. What is a snowbird? A retired person with enough money to escape the frigid North for sunny, warm climates.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Peter. It wasn’t weather that drove us out of Northern Virginia. It was family, taxes and congestion. In that order.
I made three trips back since I left.
On the second trip, I said, “I’m glad I don’t live here anymore.”
On the third and last trip I said, “I’ll probably never come here again.”
LikeLike
I am posting this for the humor. Not all Snowbirds are bad. I have experience dealing with some of them. They form “clubs” from their state and raise money for different charities and volunteer fire departments, etc. Usually if there is a problem with where they are staying–such as needing a light bulb or something simple, they handle it themselves rather than bothering the property manager.
The main thing to remember is that if “home” is so much better then why didn’t you stay there. Don’t bring the problems from “home” you are escaping here and create them for us.
On the other hand, I have seen them order water with extra lemon and make their own lemonade, and I have seen them do other “el cheapo” acts. Always, always, tip the server whatever the FULL amount of your meal would have been WITHOUT the coupon or discount.
https://www.everythingresorts.com/advice/20-reasons-why-floridians-hate-northerners.html
LikeLike
Jury duty . . . Grrr
A VIP just came in to apologize that this is the longest he’s seen the assembly room go without a break. They will soon make another announcement of names. We will get lunch and must all come back. It does not usually work this way.
LikeLike
Jury duty aways sounds like fun away from work, a chance to read & lounge to your heart’s content. But even if that is what you get to do all day, it gets boring very fast.
Today Real Estate Guy said he’d swing by to see if he can tell what’s up with the washer leak, he will pull the washer out from the wall (and both washer and dryer sit close together in this tiny alcove with a shelf across the top at the back of the kitchen, so it’s impossible to see behind the machines when they’re in place — but they’re too heavy and bulky for me to move). I’m hoping this isn’t as big a deal as I fear. Groan.
Meanwhile, I’m working on a story today, maybe, that’s complicated because of a deal source wants to make to use his handpicked photo with it featuring a politician; I’ll talk to my editor about it but I think we’ll decide to pass on the ‘string’ attached and just wait to get the story in a normal time frame instead of before anybody else.
And tonight through Thursday night will be LA County’s annual homeless street count, our area goes out tomorrow, Wednesday, so I’ll be working late to some degree, but will have to get something in early also, then add to the story after we are able to walk a few streets with some counters. Seems literally like only yesterday I did the very same assignment. How did it roll around so fast again?
The next morning is a harbor commission meeting. Busy week.
I have had a few snowball fights, built some snowmen. But I get the different consistency of snow, what you can do depends on what kind of snow you have to work with. On those rare occasions down here in the lowlands when we get grauple, a weird, white icy substance that sometimes collects on the ground and looks like snow, the kids manage to make a snowman — sorta. 🙂 It would probably knock you out if you tried to throw it as a snowball, though.
LikeLike
I have a long-ago memory of rolling snow for a snowman in Iowa as a kid. I probably did the same in Idaho the one Christmas I spent there in college — a snowman was built in my aunt’s front yard, that much I remember.
Anyone watch the several-part Ruby Ridge special running on Fox in the past week or so?
LikeLike
Just one of Idaho’s claims to fame.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so appreciate Real Estate Guy.
LikeLiked by 5 people
We were low teens overnight, same again tonight.
Trying to get to 30 now, but not looking good. Snow/Ice again this weekend. Yay. 😦
———–
We spent the holiday yesterday shopping for dorm supplies. Sheets, pillowcases, towels and washcloths, cups, plates, bowls, containers, plastic reusable cutlery, checked out dorm size fridges on-line too. She’s not leaving until late Aug, but why wait until the last minute, right?
LikeLiked by 4 people
Yesterday was a holiday?
How exciting for the college girl 🙂
Real Estate guy called, he’s stopping by this afternoon — asked me to go outside to see if I could see anything dripping from roof which would have been the easy thing — but this is water that is definitely coming out at the bottom of the exterior wall as the washer drains. It is in a part of the house is newer and was built on a cement slab, though, so that’s good in one sense, he said — water wouldn’t be going under the house into a wood foundation area.
LikeLike
Daughter is being a brat to her worker again. Worker has put in her application at a facility as she shes the end to this relationship looming on the horizon.
LikeLike
I was in the last group, the ones told to come back at 1:00 p.m. for instruction as to what to do next. I overheard one man complain something along the lines of, “This is abuse of the citizens.” Another man thanked the authority for the good job done under the circumstances. It takes all types . . .
Since I have my lame cane and said I did not want to walk out for lunch, I was offered that someone could bring me back a Chick-fil-A sandwich. I said that was so kind but that I’d brought something.
I have been jotting notes in case I sometime want to write something about the experience. I did just win a 200.00 scholarship to a Kidz Lit conference.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Attorneys wind up striking deals and avoiding trials; jury duty is always unpredictable. Last time I went, the entire group of us spent the whole day in the jury room, no panels were even called, no one was needed.
We were dismissed at the end of the day, meaning we’d put our time in and didn’t have to go back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been summoned for jury duty a couple times, but never served. It didn’t take very long to get the jurors they needed the one time I actually had to go to the courthouse (maybe 30-45 minutes wait time, and another 15 minutes or so to select the jurors from the pool of possibilities). The other summons I’d received was when I had a young, exclusively-nursing infant, and they excused me from having to come in at all for jury selection when I told them I’d need to bring my baby with me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Question for Janice or anyone who would like to answer:
Our income tax preparer is retiring after this tax season. We’ve gone to her for decades. What do you suggest as an appropriate gift for her when we go in this one last time?
LikeLiked by 1 person
A most exciting weekend I have had (despite my cold being a miserable, ever-evolving thing):
I got FOUR new piano students in one weekend!!!! (One exclamation mark for each there.) 🙂
Three of the children are from one family who moved to this area a couple of months ago from Denver. The two oldest have studied before, and the youngest will be a brand new beginner.
The other child is from a family where the daughter will take violin lessons from a colleague, and the son will study piano with me. I don’t want to put real names on here, but the boy’s first name is the same as a 19th-century composer’s name. I love it! 🙂
I finished 2019 with five students, and now, with the addition of these four and the one who started this month, suddenly I’m up to ten!
Thankful to God for His providing me with these students.
LikeLiked by 7 people
Praising God with you, 6 Arrows! It’s exciting when it comes together.
For me, 2019 was my first year of freelance–I went freelance in 2003–that I had the year filled with editing. It felt like a long time coming, but so satisfying. And I already have three projects for this year–one the largest in several years–and a fourth in my in-box for a price quote.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well, I figured that three sub-freezing days in a row would be enacting some magic on the local bodies of water, and I was right. The main pond I visit, not surprisingly, is frozen. (No idea how deeply, and I did see a couple of “open” patches, likely meaning the mallards visited.) But the creeks are still flowing–but everywhere they splash water onto plants or rocks, I see icicles. I drove to two different spots on one of the bigger local creeks, and was well rewarded. I have wanted photos of icicles–natural ones, not ones hanging from roofs–for many years, and today they are out in plenty.
I had a 4:00 meeting to discuss one of this year’s writing/editing projects, and it just got cancelled since the other party is sick, so I just might walk down to the other ponds later and take advantage of this last of the cold days. I can’t believe I’m saying that. 🙂 Winter can be blah and ugly, but it also offers exquisite beauty, and three cold days and running water do come together for exquisite beauty. I got some more snowflake photos too, this time with more of them in each photo (the snowfall wasn’t heavy, still just “flurries” or “a trace,” but about twice as much as yesterday, and thus with snowflakes closer together).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whew. She flipped back and is being quite pleasant, working with her worker.
LikeLiked by 4 people
6 Arrows, I never saw gifts brought to our lady who retired, but maybe people brought them and did not say anything to us about them. Of course, she is 90 and does not have too many needs. Maybe offer to take her out for a nice meal? Sometimes clients bring cakes or other sweets in to our office, but if someone is dieting that can end up not being a good choice. If she likes music, maybe concert tickets? If you know of special interests, then of course get the newest thing in the area of interest with a receipt for exchange if needed. If she enjoys antiquing and flea markets, maybe a gift certificate? A few ideas. We like shopping at used book stores so Wesley at times gives us credits at that type store. I hope my ideas help.
LikeLike
I’m guessing Ludwig . . .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Baby granddaughter, the older cousin of the one I have here, got to nurse for the first time today and did fine. And mommy got to give her a bath. One more step to being released.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Ok, this seems like a stretch (From ESPN, we’re also covering today):
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday urging Major League Baseball to strip recent World Series championships from the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox and award them to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
LikeLike
Congratulations 6 Arrows!
Cheryl, guess you won’t be taking your skates …
LikeLike
DJ, was it a humorous resolution, or was there a reason behind it. (I don’t follow sports news much, so if there was a scandal I wouldn’t have heard about it.)
LikeLike
As one person rightly commented on our dodger story post:
~ What, and give Kershaw his stolen MVP too? No. Vacate the wins, take the rings away, shame the cheaters. But we didn’t win. … And the city council has no role to play in this ~
LikeLike
Yes, there was a scandal
~ MLB officials concluded last week that the Houston Astros used a camera to illicitly steal signs from opposing catchers during the 2017 season, which ended with the Astros defeating the Dodgers in seven games in the World Series.
According to MLB, the sign-stealing system was orchestrated by then-Astros bench coach Alex Cora, who served as manager of the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 season, which ended with the Red Sox defeating the Dodgers in the World Series in five games. ~
LikeLike
It was a cheating scandal involving technological interpretation of signs signaling plays so the players would know what the opposing team would be doing for their winning strategies. Only a few players were involved but those in authority failed to stop if from happening when they should have. I think it evolved to sending codes by beating on garbage can kids if I understood what I heard correctly. Very sad to hear of it especially for all the fans and the innocent players who will suffer. It was really stupidity that was revealed and is being punished.
LikeLike
“Garbage can lids” LOL!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sports fans or not, now you have two versions of the story. I will try to do a fact check of my source, an Astros fan who is highly disappointed.
LikeLike
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28476780/astros-jeff-luhnow-aj-hinch-fired-sign-stealing%3fplatform=amp
LikeLike
Great news on the girl twin! I’m amazed her mom can nurse her after all this time. Brava to mom!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Those poor garbage can kids, getting beaten on like that!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Child abuse in the MLB? Oh, my. I thought that league was free of such scandals.
On jury duty: Every year since we moved to Hannibal, I’ve gotten the letter saying I needed to report. I fill in the excused line with: “I teach Spanish at a rural high school with no one qualified to be a long term substitute.” I then get a letter saying they don’t need me. I guess after next year I won’t have that excuse.
LikeLike
Michelle, she has been pumping since birth, building up a supply. She has had so much that the now one year old has been able to go back to breast milk for the past couple of months. Good for him and helps with the bills.
LikeLiked by 2 people
My short talk went well. I always pray first before I prepare. I did a powerpoint and showed where I live then the school. Then I asked them to pray as today is the first day of school after the Christmas break. The kinder teacher has back problems. The grade one teacher was supposed to be the principal, but the gal returning has health problems. Also the grade one teacher’s husband just lost his mother, so he went home. Grade two teacher went back to the states for health problems with his wife. They have split up grade two among several teachers.
Then I told about an older couple. He was the third one to come to PNG. She was a foundling from New Jersey. He was from Australia. They met there, married, did a translation and raised three children. I met them as they were celebrating their 50th anniversary and still working.
Then I mentioned we have a couple who have been on the mission field for 53 years. I invited Judy to come up and sit in a chair. Then i asked as many as wanted to come up and pray for her. They have been in Brazil for 50 years and are now beginning a family ministry in Portugal.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dog pee.
That’s what we think the washer leak puddle outside was.
Don’t say it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh I’m glad I swallowed my coffee before reading that!! 😂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Stop
LikeLiked by 2 people
. . .in the name of love. . .
LikeLiked by 2 people
DJ?
LikeLike
A simple, “thank you, God”, might be in order. Laughing with Him of course.
LikeLiked by 5 people
6 Arrows – My cold, which started out v e r y s l o w l y, has developed into a pretty bad one that now wants to hang around for a while. Nightingale looked at me with a concerned look when she heard me coughing the other day, as she doesn’t want me to end up with pneumonia again. (Neither do I!) But I think it may be making a turn towards lessening. I hope your cold does the same, and quickly.
As for jury duty, I’ve only received two summons. The last one was when I was taking care of my MIL, so I was excused via mail. But the first one had me so nervous!
I received notice a few weeks in advance of the date. I would need to call the night before to verify if I had to go in, but I was assuming I would. Because of the county we lived in at the time, the courthouse I would have to go to was in a small city that I was not familiar with driving in. Hubby took me to the courthouse, to show me how to get there, but it was a very confusing route, and I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t get lost. Also, there was a lot of traffic, and more lanes than I was used to, which I would have to cross over at some point in the drive, and that increased my anxiety about it.
I was so very nervous when I made the call the night before, and so very relieved when I learned I did not have to go in after all. Just typing this, I can feel a bit of that relief.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Before he left, Real Estate Guy decided to regale me with the tale of some rental properties he owned in Atlanta and how the maintenance guy, in a panic, called to tell him he’d have to tear out a wall to fix a bad wire — but the problem turned out to be a dead lightbulb.
Me: “So what’s your point?”
LikeLiked by 3 people
Cheryl, I’m glad you’ve had a great freelance year. And nice to have a good start with the new year’s jobs. 🙂
Janice, thanks for the gift ideas. It will be fun sleuthing out what she enjoys on the side. 🙂
Mumsee, good for your daughter (and great for the babies!) with her diligent pumping.
Michelle, Ludwig is a good guess, but I’m thinking of a composer who lived his entire life in the 19th Century.
Want to take another guess? Which reminds me, I could do what my sister did one time, when she was playing a guessing game with one of us siblings when we were growing up. She asked the question, “Guess what I’m thinking of?” (I don’t remember what category the answers were in.)
First answer was wrong. And she’d said, “No.”
Next answer wrong. “No.”
Next and next and… wrong. “No.”
Next answer. Pauses. “Maybe, maybe not.” 🙂
LikeLike
Kizzie, my cold came on just the opposite of yours. Slammed me hard and fast — whopping sore throat out of nowhere, plus a headache and cough. All gone within 2-3 days except for the cough, which was mild.
24 hours of feeling fantastic on Day 6, and I thought it was pretty well behind me, until that evening (Thursday), the cold seemed to settle into my right eye. Watering, stinging, and eyeball pain — annoying as all get-out. (I have little patience for illness.) Yesterday was the first day of no more eye issues, and today was fine as well.
I’m bringing up more with the cough now the last few days, so I suppose that helped clear me out some. Stomach muscles are sore, though, from all the coughing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Meant to say, too, Kizzie, that I hope your cough goes away soon. Sounds hopeful that it might be lessening now. I’ll be praying toward that end. You’ve been dealing with this quite a while now.
(As if I need to tell you that!) 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLiked by 1 person
…before you break my heart.
LikeLike
So that song came out after 19-57, right?
LikeLike
Cheater. You had to post two times to get that. Talk to yourself much?
LikeLike
Forgot to mention laryngitis in the sore throat’s wake. Fortunately, my voice is completely back to normal now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stop in the Name of Love is from 1965…
LikeLike
…which is 3 years after…
LikeLike
1962.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So by now we should be nearly to 1967?
LikeLike
Of course,
LikeLike
I’m not the kind of person to play that sort of games. (Or, rather, my limit is three in a row.)
LikeLike
Setting it up for Cheryl…
LikeLiked by 1 person
So that I can get 67? Thank you! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person