But there’s no way you would sneak a classic car with such sentimental value like that outta Dad’s garage without him noticing it’s gone, or work on it there without him noticing. No way. 🙂
I have not seen that one. It sounds really sweet♡
As I hiked the short trail with Wesley and he identified trees by the leaves on the ground, I remembered when he studied Forestry in 4-H. He was so good at all that, buy the part about determining how much lumber you could get out of a tree was quite trcky in being able to pace a straight line and do mathematical calculations to arrive at answers. He went to a competition and represented this urban county and got second or.c third place. I was so happy that his hard work paid off.
4-H helped Wesley a lot. It was a great way for him to get practice in public speaking by doing those demonstrations. My brother was in it when young and raised Beagles which were entered into shows. I was always too shy to want to participate in 4-H.
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately.. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It’s rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in ever…y sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat.. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day ?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention. Re-read these tips; start over, but hurry. January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”
Morning! I haven’t seen that commercial but how I love that sentiment behind it! And Aj is right…no man would ever not know what’s going on in his garage!! Before my Dad passed away he told Mom not to let anyone in his garage!!
Day of baking and fudge making…then cleaning and maybe a little stitching fun to be had. Warm and dry around here..no white Christmas for us on the front range but the mountains will be seeing feet of the longed for snow!
That made me laugh because at our recent Christmas family gathering I brought vegies and dip. Everyone eats vegies with dip. One of my daughters commented that she put those out at Thanksgiving for the other side of their family and they were hardly eaten. I always brought them to my extended family gatherings and they were always put out when the children started whining about being hungry. They were welcome to eat all they wanted and they did eat them. Later when some took only rolls and dessert (or whatever) there were not a lot of complaints, since they were full of vegies.
My husband is totally not into his garage and (except for evidence in the snow) I think it could be done. It looks like he only looked in when he hung a new wreath, so it could have been done when there was no snow. This did not look like a garage in use, but an outbuilding just used for the car. But who knows? Keeping it a secret with all those in on it, is another thing.
So Kim what was the thing you did this Christmas that made you feel the happiest? This isn’t and is about me. It’s not a brag. It’s a feeling.
I have told you before about A that I work with. She has been promoted to the Market Center Administrator. The past few years have been hard for her. Her husband is in his late 60’s and has always worked in corporate restaurant management. Unfortunately those jobs have dried up and any available won’t hire a man his age. They have an adult daughter with a chronic gastrointestinal issue. There are 4 of them living in an apartment now. She is “good people” and has become one of my favorite people.
She had been admiring a Kate Spade Tote. It was $400 and had become hard to find. She kept looking at it. She would never spend that much on it of course, but it was just one of those dream items to look at. So AJ (the Agent that comes with the Broker position) and I bought it for her. AJ searched and searched until he found it. We gave it to her last week. She couldn’t catch her breath for a moment, then she jumped up and down, then she cried.
She had it on display in her office all day. She laughed and said she was going to have to sit at the front of the church that Sunday, so she could stroll down the aisle with her new bag (This was all in humor).
It made me so happy to make someone else that happy. I’ve never made someone jump for joy and cry happy tears before.
Kathaleena, yes, sweet commercial. And even a cute (red Aussie?) dog in the back seat 🙂
Kim, LOL. I was actually eating some carrot sticks yesterday.
So I got something from the Dept of Transportation late yesterday about funding for one of our port infrastructure rail projects being announced today — contact who reached out said it was embargoed (couldn’t be posted/published) until noon today but my editor caught that “noon” was ET, it would be 9 a.m. for us.
Fortunately I’d done some background work on it late yesterday and into the evening, so writing it should be quick work this morning.
I keep reminding myself I can sleep in tomorrow …
(i still have another story to write after that + need to somehow get to the vet’s to pick up dog meds before 5.)
So far our much ballyhooed rain today has been underwhelming. But it’s gotten everything wet, so that’s something.
I am making raspberry bars. I don’t think Wesley has ever had them. They look Christmassy. I have been staying away from sweets so have not made any for a long stretch. Glad Art likes them, too.
Over among my FB pals, was an interesting discussion from a pastor about whether or not anyone ever preaches on the Slaughter of the Innocents ordered by King Herod. (You know, the really cheerful true Christmas story!).
I caught this comment from another pastor which was interesting:
In Biblical culture, there’s no such thing as Engagement. As soon as the contract was done, the couple were espoused (legally married), even though (normally) they didn’t live together yet until the husband had built some extra rooms onto his house and made everything ready and then they had a public ceremony and feast. That was Mary and Joseph’s status. Plenty of Scripture shows that clearly.
If a couple, at any time after the contract, decided to just start living together without doing the marriage feast, that was not following Emily Post but it wasn’t a scandal.
The only scandal would be if Mary was pregnant by someone else. And only Joseph knew that he himself was not the father. Therefore, he intended to put her away (divorce her) privately, as opposed to accusing her to the Sanhedrin and having her executed.
But after the Angel came and explained that this was a special case, he didn’t do either one. Instead, he took her to himself (started living with her). But (known only to themselves) they didn’t consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born.
I’m always learning something or catching a familiar story from a different point of view and marveling at the wonder of our God.
Back to work. If I don’t return, many blessings to you all this Christmas.
The thing about carrot sticks, along with broccoli, leftovers? They can be steamed and served for dinner the next night, or dumped into the stew of stir fry. Why waste all those vitamins? 🙂
Christmas shopping today? Greenies pill pockets at Pet Smart. They will be a perfect fit so no need for a return. 45 pill pockets when I only need one unless the first is not the charm.
I got invited to a party after the Christmas eve service tonight. They kinda said to bring something. And I thought, I haven’t been baking and don’t want to. What should I bring, a can of nuts. Then I remembered the large bag of tortilla chips that I got. And several ripe avocadoes. So chips and guacamole it will be. And I love them so much I may just plant myself next to the bowl.
Dj, it looks like the rain has arrived where you are. Such a lovely Christmas for the west coast to get a week of rain and snow.
All of our water comes from the snowpack.
Scrambling, I finally filed my 3rd story and the editor set me free — so I still had time to pick up the dog meds (a good thing as they’re closed on Monday and I wasn’t sure they’d be open tomorrow).
Lots of rain — and I had to make a few stops on the way home — Home Depot, Walgreens and Sprouts.
Heard a Dylan song on the radio I hadn’t heard before, a Christian song. “Grains of Sand”? A bit melancholy and heartfelt.
It feels like Friday. We’ll have rain again tomorrow, I think it’ll be a stay-at-home day for me.
Wesley has conjunctivitis for Christmas. He suggested the title for a new Hallmark movie, Conjunctivitis Christmas.
We went to Walgreens late for his med and then to the library to return a pile of books. I told Wesley that from the giant pile I found the recipe for the chickpea patties he loved. He asked if there were more of them. I said I can make more tomorrow. They are from an America’s Test Kitchen book. I had to do some substitutions on the herbs/spices. I don’t do cilantro, but he loves it so if he chooses to make them he can put that in them.
Poor Wesley. I don’t think I’ve ever had that but it sounds really uncomfortable.
The backyard is puddling up, Tess just came in and was soaked and cold.
Snow levels could get down as low as 3,000 feet.
Meanwhile I’m yawning and having trouble keeping my eyes open — it’s not even 9 p.m. yet. Ready to hibernate.
Looks like the malls are packed from the scenes shown on the local news tonight. And there’s a sea of bumper-to-bumper tail lights at LAX. Lots of folks getting out of town after being cooped up for nearly 2 years.
Wandering Views 
Good morning!
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Does anyone else like the Chevy commercial which shows the daughter and others restoring her mom’s old car for her dad?
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Yes.
But there’s no way you would sneak a classic car with such sentimental value like that outta Dad’s garage without him noticing it’s gone, or work on it there without him noticing. No way. 🙂
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I have not seen that one. It sounds really sweet♡
As I hiked the short trail with Wesley and he identified trees by the leaves on the ground, I remembered when he studied Forestry in 4-H. He was so good at all that, buy the part about determining how much lumber you could get out of a tree was quite trcky in being able to pace a straight line and do mathematical calculations to arrive at answers. He went to a competition and represented this urban county and got second or.c third place. I was so happy that his hard work paid off.
4-H helped Wesley a lot. It was a great way for him to get practice in public speaking by doing those demonstrations. My brother was in it when young and raised Beagles which were entered into shows. I was always too shy to want to participate in 4-H.
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I shared this article on Facebook today:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/december-web-only/christmas-restoration-ruth-malhotra-rzim-lori-anne-thompson.html
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HOLIDAY EATING TIPS
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately.. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It’s rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in ever…y sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat.. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day ?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention. Re-read these tips; start over, but hurry. January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
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Morning! I haven’t seen that commercial but how I love that sentiment behind it! And Aj is right…no man would ever not know what’s going on in his garage!! Before my Dad passed away he told Mom not to let anyone in his garage!!
Day of baking and fudge making…then cleaning and maybe a little stitching fun to be had. Warm and dry around here..no white Christmas for us on the front range but the mountains will be seeing feet of the longed for snow!
LikeLiked by 3 people
That made me laugh because at our recent Christmas family gathering I brought vegies and dip. Everyone eats vegies with dip. One of my daughters commented that she put those out at Thanksgiving for the other side of their family and they were hardly eaten. I always brought them to my extended family gatherings and they were always put out when the children started whining about being hungry. They were welcome to eat all they wanted and they did eat them. Later when some took only rolls and dessert (or whatever) there were not a lot of complaints, since they were full of vegies.
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My husband is totally not into his garage and (except for evidence in the snow) I think it could be done. It looks like he only looked in when he hung a new wreath, so it could have been done when there was no snow. This did not look like a garage in use, but an outbuilding just used for the car. But who knows? Keeping it a secret with all those in on it, is another thing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So Kim what was the thing you did this Christmas that made you feel the happiest? This isn’t and is about me. It’s not a brag. It’s a feeling.
I have told you before about A that I work with. She has been promoted to the Market Center Administrator. The past few years have been hard for her. Her husband is in his late 60’s and has always worked in corporate restaurant management. Unfortunately those jobs have dried up and any available won’t hire a man his age. They have an adult daughter with a chronic gastrointestinal issue. There are 4 of them living in an apartment now. She is “good people” and has become one of my favorite people.
She had been admiring a Kate Spade Tote. It was $400 and had become hard to find. She kept looking at it. She would never spend that much on it of course, but it was just one of those dream items to look at. So AJ (the Agent that comes with the Broker position) and I bought it for her. AJ searched and searched until he found it. We gave it to her last week. She couldn’t catch her breath for a moment, then she jumped up and down, then she cried.
She had it on display in her office all day. She laughed and said she was going to have to sit at the front of the church that Sunday, so she could stroll down the aisle with her new bag (This was all in humor).
It made me so happy to make someone else that happy. I’ve never made someone jump for joy and cry happy tears before.
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Kathaleena, yes, sweet commercial. And even a cute (red Aussie?) dog in the back seat 🙂
Kim, LOL. I was actually eating some carrot sticks yesterday.
So I got something from the Dept of Transportation late yesterday about funding for one of our port infrastructure rail projects being announced today — contact who reached out said it was embargoed (couldn’t be posted/published) until noon today but my editor caught that “noon” was ET, it would be 9 a.m. for us.
Fortunately I’d done some background work on it late yesterday and into the evening, so writing it should be quick work this morning.
I keep reminding myself I can sleep in tomorrow …
(i still have another story to write after that + need to somehow get to the vet’s to pick up dog meds before 5.)
So far our much ballyhooed rain today has been underwhelming. But it’s gotten everything wet, so that’s something.
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Aww . . . Kim, that is so sweet!
I am making raspberry bars. I don’t think Wesley has ever had them. They look Christmassy. I have been staying away from sweets so have not made any for a long stretch. Glad Art likes them, too.
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Sweet handbag gift.
Gotta love a fine leather handbag. Never spent $400 on one, but I have some good bags from past years that I keep and still reuse from time to time.
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I’m a (quality) bag lady.
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Kim, fun! Well done, sister.
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Already weary and trying to be rejoicing . . .
Over among my FB pals, was an interesting discussion from a pastor about whether or not anyone ever preaches on the Slaughter of the Innocents ordered by King Herod. (You know, the really cheerful true Christmas story!).
I caught this comment from another pastor which was interesting:
In Biblical culture, there’s no such thing as Engagement. As soon as the contract was done, the couple were espoused (legally married), even though (normally) they didn’t live together yet until the husband had built some extra rooms onto his house and made everything ready and then they had a public ceremony and feast. That was Mary and Joseph’s status. Plenty of Scripture shows that clearly.
If a couple, at any time after the contract, decided to just start living together without doing the marriage feast, that was not following Emily Post but it wasn’t a scandal.
The only scandal would be if Mary was pregnant by someone else. And only Joseph knew that he himself was not the father. Therefore, he intended to put her away (divorce her) privately, as opposed to accusing her to the Sanhedrin and having her executed.
But after the Angel came and explained that this was a special case, he didn’t do either one. Instead, he took her to himself (started living with her). But (known only to themselves) they didn’t consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born.
I’m always learning something or catching a familiar story from a different point of view and marveling at the wonder of our God.
Back to work. If I don’t return, many blessings to you all this Christmas.
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The thing about carrot sticks, along with broccoli, leftovers? They can be steamed and served for dinner the next night, or dumped into the stew of stir fry. Why waste all those vitamins? 🙂
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Frantic deadlines almost make holidays and getting of a little early not worth all the stress.
I was hoping to get dog meds today but probably won’t have time, I now have 2 more stories to write after turning in the big one this morning.
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Christmas shopping today? Greenies pill pockets at Pet Smart. They will be a perfect fit so no need for a return. 45 pill pockets when I only need one unless the first is not the charm.
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I love carrot sticks and hummus!
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I got invited to a party after the Christmas eve service tonight. They kinda said to bring something. And I thought, I haven’t been baking and don’t want to. What should I bring, a can of nuts. Then I remembered the large bag of tortilla chips that I got. And several ripe avocadoes. So chips and guacamole it will be. And I love them so much I may just plant myself next to the bowl.
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Kim’s tips are almost perfect. You know, calories don’t count at Christmas and birthdays.
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Dj, it looks like the rain has arrived where you are. Such a lovely Christmas for the west coast to get a week of rain and snow.
All of our water comes from the snowpack.
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Scrambling, I finally filed my 3rd story and the editor set me free — so I still had time to pick up the dog meds (a good thing as they’re closed on Monday and I wasn’t sure they’d be open tomorrow).
Lots of rain — and I had to make a few stops on the way home — Home Depot, Walgreens and Sprouts.
Heard a Dylan song on the radio I hadn’t heard before, a Christian song. “Grains of Sand”? A bit melancholy and heartfelt.
It feels like Friday. We’ll have rain again tomorrow, I think it’ll be a stay-at-home day for me.
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Wesley has conjunctivitis for Christmas. He suggested the title for a new Hallmark movie, Conjunctivitis Christmas.
We went to Walgreens late for his med and then to the library to return a pile of books. I told Wesley that from the giant pile I found the recipe for the chickpea patties he loved. He asked if there were more of them. I said I can make more tomorrow. They are from an America’s Test Kitchen book. I had to do some substitutions on the herbs/spices. I don’t do cilantro, but he loves it so if he chooses to make them he can put that in them.
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Poor Wesley. I don’t think I’ve ever had that but it sounds really uncomfortable.
The backyard is puddling up, Tess just came in and was soaked and cold.
Snow levels could get down as low as 3,000 feet.
Meanwhile I’m yawning and having trouble keeping my eyes open — it’s not even 9 p.m. yet. Ready to hibernate.
Looks like the malls are packed from the scenes shown on the local news tonight. And there’s a sea of bumper-to-bumper tail lights at LAX. Lots of folks getting out of town after being cooped up for nearly 2 years.
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Jo, yes, it is rather nice to have cold weather and some rain at Christmas.
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