44 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 12-27-22”

  3. Morning all! Such a sweet vignette Dj! The smile on the angel’s face just causes one to smile along…

    40 degrees here this morning and temps should reach 55 before the snow moves in tomorrow. Always a roller coaster of weather in the winter around here.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Good morning! It was 30° earlier, and I was surprised to see snow all over the street to add to the excitement of today. We are suppose to keep faucets dripping for another night while the ground thaws.

    It will be an adventure getting to my appointment so I will be distracted.😀

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Good morning, all. And my dad got up about two hours after the last post, up for the day. And so it goes. When daughter gets up in a few minutes, I will get my shower and get dressed for the day. The CNA arrives in a couple of hours.

    But it is a beautiful day, the wind is blowing and the clouds are full. Rain expected. The wind and warm temps seem to have done the job on getting rid of the snow.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. The little red-headed angel was from my friend K, she was attached to a gift tie ribbon, she liked it because of the red hair for me. I think I liked the angel more than the gift inside so I hung her on one of the mini-table “shrub” trees standing in burlap sacks I picked up on sale at Kohl’s this year. She’ll be a sweet ornament in the years to come, I’m guessing.

    So Abby spent her first full night here in her crate. I had just gone to bed and was reading when I heard “crack-crunch” … She’d swiped one of those little remotes used to control the battery candles in the house, she’s tall enough to reach most anything.

    So into the crate she went (she was used to sleeping in a closed crate at the fosters’) and she did good all night long, didn’t hear a peep out of her all night until around 6 a.m. today when I heard her (very) softly barking periodically.

    woof. …

    woof. …

    woof. …

    She was a live-wire once that crate door was opened, jumping, running, face-licking.

    Liked by 5 people

  9. It’s back to work for me today, but those weekend holidays with the extra days off (before and after if it falls on the calendar just right) are so great when they roll around. And having a week’s vacation leading up to this one made it especially relaxing.

    It’s so hard to have Christmas fall on a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday. Orphan holidays, surrounded by work days before and after (in our case, anyway).

    Liked by 3 people

  10. And, it’s that time of year once again for all the choices in Bible-reading plans hitting our emails.

    https://www.ligonier.org/posts/bible-reading-plans?mkt_tok=MTg5LUpMQS0yMTYAAAGI8xfMcNmLnaoLX5NbJ3r0L158hLS3tB4mrwD7Xw3wQU4993YNbkjqB5ct4EZfE74EaWYh4xvcMtyjrdKEj13Zz8tiLMk5-pMOHl4Ft00AjfHk

    ~ As you make plans for 2023, we invite you to explore Bible reading plans designed to help you prioritize abiding in God’s Word. Each plan differs slightly, and we encourage you to find one that fits your unique learning style and study goals for the year. Whether you’d like to read straight through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation or focus your attention on one book, we hope these plans will serve you as you grow as a disciple of Christ and share the truths you are learning with those in your life. ~

    Liked by 2 people

  11. My refrigerator is unplugged and emptied as I wait on delivery on my new appliances. I hope that they can getup the driveway. What a wind. It was hard to sleep listening to the wind.

    Liked by 3 people

  12. New appliances! So fun! Then you get to learn all the ways they work.

    DJ, I see the copper pitcher like mine! And I love the frosted trees.

    Since the “mean” dog left, Duke and Kootenay have felt relief from the stress of the last few days. We’ve even made progress in Kootenay refraining from always nipping at Duke – he is amazingly patient with Koot.

    We’re taking a quick trip to see the grand sons tomorrow – we’ll return again on Thursday, but it will be good to see them again.

    Janice – praying.

    Yay, Abby – in the crate all night. That may be the rule for a while. 😀

    Liked by 3 people

  13. Kare, yes, that’s a smooth copper pitcher that I think my mom may have already had as I recall it being around as I was growing up (stamped Made in Mexico). I have another one, purchased on one of our trips to Mexico much later, that’s hammered copper but almost the same, bigger and heavier, though.

    And another one — to the back at the right looking at the picture, behind the glass light fixture — is one of my favorites, it’s super heavy and has brass bands or braces that wrap around it horizontally.

    These were all boxed and put in storage until I unearthed them from my garage a few years ago. Interesting to find I liked the rustic copper so much (didn’t particularly care for them before).

    I agree, nightly crating is now going to become the norm. She’s usually quiet at night and doesn’t seem to get into trouble, but she can as I learned with the chewed candle remote.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Re: Bible reading plans – Years ago, I did read through the Bible in a year for a few years. But then I realized that on some (many?) days, I was reading it too fast, to get through the day’s reading. It occurred to me that it would be better, at least for me, to take two or three years to read through the Bible.

    Since then, I have used some different one-year plans (like the M’Cheyne one mentioned in DJ’s link), but purposely taking longer to get through them.

    I really enjoy chronological plans. The one I am on now is semi-chronological, as it includes New Testament readings on each “day”, and then has Job at the end.

    DJ’s link offers a chronological plan that I think I will use when I am finished with my current reading. In order to not go so long without reading the NT, maybe I will read NT readings on the weekends, or something like that.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. We gave up on the yearly Bible reading. It was just too much, and I felt like we just rushed to get through the days reading. We read the New Testament from back to front (but each book in the proper order) starting with Revelations 1 and reading through each book. Now we’re doing a chronological Old Testament, but only one chapter per day (we’re onto our third year I think – it’s taking a long time) We’ve reached Habakkuk. I think we should manage to finish this coming year some time 😀 Going slowly through the OT is a slog sometimes, but there are new things discovered all the time.

    Kizzie, I like the idea of reading the NT on weekends.

    Liked by 2 people

  17. Our Christmas was a nearly two-day affair, with Nightingale getting home with Chickadee around noon on Christmas Eve. We did a lot of eating and talking and laughing, with Christmas music playing in the background.

    After a mid-day Christmas dinner, Nightingale helped me start the clean-up by putting away the leftovers. Then she took Chickadee home and I took care of the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. By 5:00, I was ready to relax in my living room for the rest of the evening.

    It was a lovely couple of days, and I am grateful. Of course, I missed Hubby, but that was not my overarching feeling. It was more of a stab here and there, but also an acceptance that this is the way it is now, and much gratitude to God for my little family.

    There were two “gifts” that I received that warmed my heart the most that were not intended as actual gifts. The first was the note that Nightingale included in her Christmas card to me – “Thank you for all you do. I love you. Love, [Nightingale] XOXO”

    Nightingale is not very demonstrative with me, and doesn’t say “I love you” too often. Along with that, I often wonder if she does appreciate me or if I am doing enough to help her. So her simple note meant so much to me. I kept re-reading it.

    The other “gift” was from Chickadee, when she was telling us about how heartbroken she was when one of the McK’s cats had to be put to sleep due to late-stage kidney failure (or something like that). Their kitty was a littermate of our late beloved Peanut, who was extra-special to Chickadee. So losing this kitty that she loved anyway had that added reminder of missing her beloved Peanut.

    So how is this a “gift”? Well, that part of the story wasn’t it. This next part is – Chickadee said that she found herself crying, and wishing that I could be there to hug her.

    I know that she loves the McK parents, and calls them Mom and Dad. As you know, I feel as if their family has supplanted ours in her heart. So for her to be with them during that heartbreaking time, but be missing me and want a hug from ME was such an encouragement and a reminder that she does in fact still love me as her mother. Mrs. McK, as sweet as she is, has not replaced me.

    Of course, that story also made me sad, because I wished that she could more easily come to visit and get those hugs from me. Not to mention how sad it is to lose a beloved pet. (She has lived with them long enough – eight and a half years now – that their pets are her pets, too.)

    Liked by 3 people

  18. This may be of interest to Michelle.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. We’re doing stories today on the Southwest mess at LAX, Hollywood-Burbank and LB airports.

    And the rain. This is a big, big “weather” story for us, of course. Photographers are poised to capture the first drops …

    A popular hometown Mexican restaurant that’s closing down early next year (for yet another mid-rise development near the waterfront) was one of M’s family haunts, her parents photo is among those that still hangs on the wall. People probably will need to retrieve those at some point. … 😦

    Liked by 2 people

  21. I think I may also put myself out of my misery by not trying to make it through the M’Cheyne plan this year. I always fall short. It doesn’t seem too difficult in the beginning, but …

    So I’ll be looking to either do that in an extended format or another plan.

    Liked by 2 people

  23. —

    “Southwest cancels 5,400 flights in less than 48 hours in a ‘full-blown meltdown'”

    https://www.ctpublic.org/2022-12-26/southwest-cancels-5-400-flights-in-less-than-48-hours-in-a-full-blown-meltdown

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Appliances delivered in the midst of a torrential rain storm

    I can’t believe how quiet the refrigerator is, so nice. Probably time to start my first load of wash.

    Liked by 2 people

  29. I have been playing catch-up today.
    Papa and Little Miss have watched Elmo, played with Calico Critters, Theo the monkey, and she has told him all about everything, they sat in the chair and I could hear her giggling. Now she has put him down for a nap, she should pass out soon too.

    Liked by 3 people

  32. First I must say that I am not one of those who believe in certain “meanings” in various bird sightings or the like. Having said that, I thought it was quite interesting that I had at least three pictures of cardinals in my kitchen this past month – two on Christmas cards, and one on my calendar. (Yes, I know that pictures of cardinals are common at Christmastime, but these all came close together, and we only received a few cards.)

    I decided to look up the meaning that cardinals supposedly have. Depending on which site you read, they can have a variety of meanings. What I liked the most, though, was what was referred to in two articles as the Biblical meaning – life, hope, and restoration (or comfort).

    Liked by 2 people

  34. I love cardinals and bluebirds. We have them at our bird feeder often. The birds remind me of God’s constant daily provision. I’m glad he has sent them to us for theirs.

    Liked by 2 people

  35. Did my first load of wash and now it is in the dryer.
    So I also started up the dishwasher which is very old and noisy. That is an unnecessary appliance so I will make to

    Liked by 2 people

  39. Just talked to son—who left an hour before us and will be home in 90 minutes.

    Monty’s JV basketball center will make the tournament tomorrow.

    We’ll stop in a few hours, still short of the CA border. Sigh.

    Daughter-in-law and the other 3 kids are weighing options. Thursday’s flight has maybe rescheduled to next Tuesday.

    She may rent a car to drive home tomorrow.

    Interesting times.

    Liked by 1 person

  40. So happy not to be flying! Praying for those of yours having to make a decision M….

    We and all our neighbors are a bit unsettled after learning a neighbor found a dead man on her property yesterday morning. The road next to me was blocked off and my sweet friend with dementia and her husband could not get home on that road. They texted me and asked me if I knew what was happening…which I did not! The road was blocked the entire day and there were many deputies walking about.

    We learned my neighbor at the end of the road had come out in the morning to discover a dead man whom she did not know by the way. The sheriff is only saying they are investigating a “suspicious” death but they are telling us we are in no danger. Not very comforting to most property owners around here. We are keeping our doors locked, alarms on and are watchful. Strange times…

    Liked by 1 person

  41. M, I saw somewhere on social media that staff is allowing folks to reclaim them.

    I have one of our crime reporters hunting down a number for the owner since I couldn’t find it anywhere online — and the restaurant, when I called, said “Oh, it’s just a rumor” (that they’re closing.

    “I don’t think it is,” I responded. He suggested calling the manager at 4 p.m. today but I think trying to reach the owner makes more sense.

    This isn’t “new” news, we’ve even reported it before that a new development would displace the restaurant. It’s just that it’s getting closer, demolition is supposed to be in the 3rd quarter of ’23 so that’s coming up fairly quickly.

    Saw on the TV news tonight that rental cars are the big Plan B, go-to option for many trapped at airports.

    Liked by 1 person

  42. Nancyjill, that’s disturbing. And sad.

    I had to give Abby a time out today, she turned into a wild child at one point and was racing through the house, leaping on and off furniture.

    Furniture is now barricaded (that was a shock to her) and she spent about 2 hours locked in her crate, which she accepted well, I thought.

    Now she’s in it again, but with the door open. Her new dog bed should arrive Thursday from Chewy.com so then she’ll have a decent alternative.

    Liked by 3 people

  43. Trey and Miguel went to visit his family, so VolK9 (Trey corrected my previous spelling) was beside himself when I came home from work. I gave his lots of pets, then he was satisfied to go back outside.

    Co-workers talking about families stranded by the SouthWest cancellations. Most are renting cars and driving. They say rental rate have skyrocketed.

    Like

  44. Good early morning. I made it through my first treatment. Today they start very early, and I have two to make up for the holiday on Monday😳. I am busy applying creams several times dailu/nightly between the markings, like coloring within the lines, and with my vision, well, it’s far from perfect! I slept like a baby last night. I also have exercises to do.
    Wes and I played Upwards last night and I won so I know my brain is still intact . . . just not sure for how long.

    Liked by 1 person

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