Good morning! We will be warm for a few days but expect storm and rain on Thanksgiving Day. Hoping it won’t involve power outages and undercooked turkeys.
I have been lifting AJ in prayer for everything to go smoothly in prep today. May God’s loving kindness surround the Jackson family in ways too numerous to count. May the presence of God be witnessed in tangible ways. May fears and anxiety dissolve, overpowered by the blood of Jesus which protects our dear AJ. In Christ I pray, Amen
I don’t really want Big Brother watching me, sorry.
(Besides, I have four big brothers and I know what they’re capable of when left in charge. For instance, once when we were eating vanilla ice cream, my next-older brother sent my sister to her room on a trumped-up charge, filled her spoon with mayonnaise, and then relented and let her return. And yes, she did put it in her mouth.)
I don’t really want Big Brother watching me, sorry.
(Besides, I have four big brothers and I know what they’re capable of when left in charge. For instance, once when we were eating vanilla ice cream, my next-older brother sent my sister to her room on a trumped-up charge, filled her spoon with mayonnaise, and then relented and let her return. And yes, she did put it in her mouth.)
I need to be outside raking, but the neighbor’s yard crew came and have the deafening leaf blowers doing their thing so I will save my hearing by not being out there. They will be gone in an hour. I can wait!
We are hoping to watch it with our daughter, Janice.
We have a winter wonderland. It was not fun to drive in, which we had to do since we had a car repair appointment. It is beautiful and I am glad we now have snow that will stick around. The ski hills are busy making snow now and lots of people are thrilled.
Thinking of DJ and Abby doing dog training school after seeing a friend’s post on Facebook. She is taking her horse to training. They are in a Student of the Horse class. I did not find out what issues prompted the need for training. Wondering if the horse might be reluctant to go up into the trailer for transport.
Abby’s OK with horses, the foster home she was in had a few. And the local dog training club uses the horse stable park for classes. Not that I’ve been able to get Abby to training. …
Prayed for AJ this morning. May this go all perfectly and be the last “knife” event for him in a very long time or even ever again.
Mumsee … ducking.
I finally tested “clear” for Covid yesterday, first time in 12 days. No scary symptoms but it really just wiped me out energy-wise. Same thing happened the first time I had it, 2 years ago, the fatigue is the worst of it for me.
I’ll have mega immunity going forward for a while, anyhow.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? then do what is good, and you will receive his (her) approval, for he (she) is God’s servant for your good.
We’ll be getting rain (they say, promises/promises) later today/Wednesday and then again Friday and maybe Saturday, I think, but missing the Thanksgiving holiday. (Again, so “they” say.)
I am considering a companion dog for Abby, a confident canine who can help her get past some of these hurdles and provide a playmate, she’s so bored which makes me sad. Plans for dog park visits, walks at the beach, all kaput as she won’t reliably get into the car. Trainer sort of suggested another dog might help and I really think that’s going to be the only reliable solution so we’re not so homebound.
Met one dog today, but too young, only 3 months, a doodle that was abandoned in a local park and now with rescuers. The right dog will appear if it’s “to be.” Not in a particular rush right at the moment, have just put feelers out in the past 2 months or so to my contacts in rescue.
Oh, that is chilly for you, Janice. We have 15 degrees here. Where do you get that little degree symbol? So much to learn no matter how old one is!
We will head south to our oldest daughter’s home for Thanksgiving. Looking forward to seeing the grands there. It is always too long between visits. I miss having all in our home for the holidays, but all of life is change.
Kathaleena, on my phone I have access to an alternative keyboard with symbols on it like the pound sign, exclamation mark, etc. When I touch on the key to bring that up, in that key’s place it show 1/2. That means one of two alternate keypads for symbols. I press that and get the keyboard with the lesser used signs and symbols. Maybe you have it and never accessed it? My degrees key is beside my bullet point key which I use frequently when answering questions/making comments on my daily online Bible study.
Oh, we must be warm here at 37 degrees. I broke out my very warm bathrobe to cozy up in.
So exciting to see that I got paid today. I changed my social security and wasn’t sure about this paycheck.
Loving my new blinds and they do keep it warmer. I am going to go in to order some for the bay window today. The blind on my six by four foot window in the kitchen is so nice. I didn’t realize how I didn’t like going in there after dark, it just felt like I was being watched.
Kathaleena, you can do a Google search to see how to get to more symbols on your specific keyboard and computer or phone.
Mumsee, I hope you are feeling much better. You need to be strong and combat ready to keep this group in control!
Dj, did you figure out where you caught Covid? I hope you are quickly gaining back any lost ground. Praying that you find just the right Alpha dog to help Abby want to enjoy outings without reluctance.
Yes, Janice, I have been keeping a close eye n things here. Especially on the few rabble rousers. I figure, by coming on strong, I was able to buy a couple of days. But it is quiet here, almost too quiet. The calm before the storm? I am ready, I take my responsibility seriously.
So exactly who are you calling “the few rabble rousers”?
Janice, not sure (about where or how I caught Covid), I’d gone to a well-attended church brunch at my elder’s home that Saturday before, then to church the next day on Sunday (and our church is fairly large); I noticed the first symptom, a sore throat on Tuesday, thought to do the home test Wednesday when cold symptoms seemed worse.
But they also say that the incubation period for Covid can be up to 2 weeks before symptoms appear, so who knows? We are seeing a high spread right now in the LA area, or at least I think I read that recently.
Yes, I really just thought it was a cold … I hope now that I didn’t unknowingly give it to others on that weekend before my symptoms appeared (one is most contagious for that and the flu often before you realize you’re even sick with anything).
We also have an unanticipated Covid variant here in the U.S. that sprang up at the last minute and wasn’t anticipated, making it all trickier, of course. A moving target, that virus still is. Vaccines still help hold down the worst of the symptoms (and thus hospitalizations), however, for those inclined to take advantage of that route.
Thank for the info, Dj. I know someone hospitalized from getting the flu shot from the GB illness, I can’t looked up the spelling or I will lose this. Vaccinations are tricky! For those they work for they seem to be good. For those they don’t, we’ll they get very sick. I have usually gotten my flu shot by now but am waiting to hear if more get GB
I don’t have on my super duper prism glasses, so sorry for the typos.
At church Sunday as Art and I entered the sanctuary from the side near the front, I saw a metal stand for the Advent candles. I pointed it out to Art. I was mistaken. It was a stand with microphones on top! Just my normal laugh of the day 🙂
Vaccines largely have been a godsend on many fronts (polio, smallpox, others of course, come to mind). But there are (and have always been) rare cases of reactions (and that’s possible with just about everything in medicine). Comes with the territory and depends on other existing medical conditions in specific/particular cases.
Advent Mics. We’ve now (literally) heard of everything.
Happy Thanksgiving. My hair stylist’s daughter (a nurse) got Guillain Barre after a flu shot. She was out of work for months and very ill. All bodies are different. Immunizations work great if there are no side effects, but there is not immunization without the possibility of side effects. What is a blessing for one, may be a curse to another.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, I’m off to join the cousins in a couple hours but did get to sleep in a bit today which I needed.
“If there is an increased risk of GBS following flu vaccination, it is small, on the order of one to two additional GBS cases per million doses of flu vaccine.” -CDC
But yes, side effects and variations in bodies can make vaccines more of a risk and we should all be aware of that. (Looks like full recovery from GBS is the norm, but again not a given for everyone.)
It’s always good to be aware of potential side effects, even from shots that we take for granted now.
I had an uncle pass away a couple of weeks ago. He was not a blood relative but married to my aunt. He was a few weeks shy of 95.
My mom’s brother passed away last night. He was 100 years old and hoping to get to 101. He was a POW in Korea way back during that conflict. He passed away in his sleep. He had not been feeling well, but was in no pain. I think that seems a good way to go. She got to see him before she passed away in her nineties. She commented about being amazed they lived to such an old age. That would have been rare for their parents.
I had Thanksgiving with the Three Amigos, Husband, Son, and Bro. We went to Cracker Barrel for Breakfast. The weather turned out pleasant so we got to hike at two different parks. I am now cooking a turkey breast in the crock pot for a late dinner. Meals have all been late today.
Brother and I had pleasant conversation remembering visiting with relatives when young. He likes to do outdoorsy things so my plan for hiking was just what we needed. Art was happy to sit in the car and read.
We will have another meal out with Bro tomorrow as our more traditional Thanksgiving meal. It has been nice to have a very laid back Thanksgiving. Art is watching the Cowboys and Giants game. Son just got home from a run. Oh, to have the energy of youth! I am tired after two walks at the parks.
I had a good Thanksgiving with the cousins and a neighborhood friend of my one cousin’s — who was in my same high school graduating class, we didn’t know each other but knew some of the same people, at least by name. She has a son in West Hollywood and she normally spends the day with him, but he had a last-minute invite to somewhere so she told him “go” and joined in with us.
When we got home we watched most of the National Dog Show which my cousin recorded from this morning (and had some pumpkin pie).
Cars are parked everywhere up and down the streets in our neighborhood, it looks like lots of gatherings going on the home front.
I haven’t been on here since last Saturday, so I wasn’t aware that AJ had his surgery and he put mumsee in charge.I guess it went ok since the blog is still here and in ne piece.
FYI- I heard yesterday that the play went well, but we were not the only ones to miss it. My son forgot and D3 didn’t know about it ahead of time. And she lives in the same house as the grandson!
Now to read this long thread and see what I’ve missed.
I woke up this morning to 22°, the coldest it’s been here yet.
(After reading all 50+ comments) So everyone behaved. Good job, mumsee. It’s a good thing AJ put you in the seat of justice since if he had put me there I wouldn’t have known, then all mayhem would have happened with no one at the helm.
Cheryl: When mumsee or Kevin say “Big Brother”, they usually are referring to me since I am a few months older than they are.
However, I agree, I wouldn’t want Big Brother of Orwell’s book to be in charge, though it’s looking more and more like that is happening. I read where Microsoft has a computer in the works that will take a screen shot every few seconds to see what the user is viewing, supposedly so they can target the ads. But we all know what the info could be used for.
Good morning, all. We have been enjoying the company. Daughter and family of six arrived Wednesday. Son and his family of five arrived yesterday. Son and his family of two arrive tonight. I knew about it all but husband did not as it was a surprise for his upcoming seventieth birthday. Only bio child who could not make it was here this past summer.
~ Matthew Arnold lived at the high tide. The English poet wrote his famous “Dover Beach” when churchgoing was at the flood. In 1851, the national census recorded an unequaled high-water mark in church attendance: half of England was in church each Sunday. But, perhaps prophetically, he could feel the tide going out. As he looked out at Dover Beach he saw it as a parable for something shifting in his day:
The Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating, to the breath Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear And naked shingles of the world.
That was his view in 1851. I wonder how he’d respond 173 years later, when church attendance is more like 5 percent than 50. …
We can frame the West’s secularization in many ways. One is to note that the percentage of “exvangelicals” in the United States is higher than the percentage of evangelicals in Britain. This has come about due to “the great dechurching,” where 40 million Americans have left the church this century. Just how far out is the tide now?
And what should we do about it? One response is to prayerfully await the tide’s turning. After all, tides don’t only go out; they also come in. Perhaps there are signs this is occurring. Justin Brierley’s book and podcast The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God expertly chart the terrain of our changing faith landscape. It also points to stories of recent adult converts like Paul Kingsnorth and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, or Christian-friendly intellectuals like Douglas Murray and Jordan Peterson.
But critics have pointed out that the “rebirth” Brierley sees may be a triumph of hope over experience. Historian Tom Holland, one of the key figures of The Surprising Rebirth, seemed less than optimistic recently when he pointed out to Brierley in an open conversation that we no longer have truly Christian public figures. In the 20th century, we had Martin Luther King Jr., C. S. Lewis, and Billy Graham. Nowadays, whom do we have?
Ultimately, the tide will turn—at some point. One day, the knowledge of God will flood the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). And we might well see revival in the West in our lifetime. For this we pray. But in the meantime, there’s something else we can do. Low tide isn’t only the portent of a return. Low tide reveals the terrain of the land that the sea has shaped. High tide covers the sea’s effects, but when the tide is low we see things that had before been obscured.
In the same way, secularization has revealed Christendom’s effects in a new way. Perhaps the influence of the Jesus Movement has never been more starkly apparent. Those with eyes to see it have a fresh opportunity to appreciate the power of Christ’s kingdom and the dangers of spurning it.
High-Tide Humanism
High tide can be a time of spiritual complacency. Think, for instance, of the humanistic Deism of Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin. As they wrote the Declaration of Independence, they were founding a nation on the powerful idea of inalienable human rights—rights they considered “self-evident” (although the first draft of the Declaration referred to those rights as “sacred and undeniable”). But the self-evident nature of human rights is the kind of belief you can only hold when it’s supported by Christian assumptions.
T. S. Eliot articulated the problem. In his 1929 essay “Second Thoughts About Humanism,” he wrote that when faith in our Creator recedes, these “self-evident” human rights also disappear: “If you remove from the word ‘human’ all that the belief in the supernatural has given to man, you can view him finally as no more than an extremely clever, adaptable, and mischievous little animal.”
This removal of “the supernatural” is exactly what low tide has revealed. …
… Exploring Christianity (for those of little or no faith) has become the obvious way forward. For many they see it as the only way forward. They can’t go back. Low tide has revealed too much.
This is a real opportunity for the church. Secularization isn’t only a challenge (though it’s certainly that). With the sea of faith so far receded, possibilities emerge. As we pray for a “rebirth of faith,” we might find it comes not despite low tide but through it.
Good late afternoon. We’ve been having the continuation of Thanksgiving meals mixed with husband and son working toward deadlines for work projects. I have been doing a bit of online shopping.
It’s cold here, not like LA Dog Park cold, but below freezing at night.
Since Nightingale had to work yesterday, we had our Thanksgiving today. We were planning on having her best friend Stephanie and her family over to join us, but because Boy and I have Covid, that plan was scrapped.
Chickadee had arrived yesterday afternoon, when I was just beginning to realize that my scratchy throat was turning into something. So now she is going to stay here for several days, to make sure she doesn’t pass it on to the McK household. (The two daughters have had bad experiences with Covid and something else.)
Looks like I’ll have to remember where I put the candles and find them first, Michelle. Is it Advent already? I’m already behind this Christmas. But that’s me!
Good morning! The household is still asleep, but I am up. (For now. I’ll try to sleep some more in a few minutes.) My sleep has been fairly erratic the last few months. Two days ago I didn’t sleep till 7:00 a.m. (I posted on the news thread Thanksgiving morning, when I hadn’t yet gone to sleep.) That day I slept from 7:00-11:00 a.m. and then, once it was confirmed our guests wouldn’t arrive till suppertime, I had a two-hour early afternoon nap. But last night I got to bed shortly after 11:00 and slept till a little after 5:00, a far more “normal” sleep schedule than I usually get these days.
Last night the grandchildren and our son-in-law went to bed. The “girls” (our daughters and granddaughter) had put up and decorated the tree last night so that we can celebrate Christmas this morning before they all go home. So after they went to bed, my husband and I and our daughters sat in the decorated living room and talked for a couple more hours. It has been a year since we were all together, and I don’t remember last time it was the four of us just sitting and talking (our granddaughter is very high-energy, the two-year-old grandson less so). Next year we’ll have another baby and his mama may not be inclined to stay up once the children are in bed. (My husband did get a late nap, though, or he probably wouldn’t have made it himself.)
After supper we got to Facetime with my mother-in-law. She definitely looked tired and older, but her speech is surprisingly clear. (We could tell it had been affected, but she was comprehensible.) It was wonderful to allow her to see all of us, and to be able to see her too. (We hadn’t talked to her since before she entered the hospital.)
Good morning! I caught up on lost sleep last night. However, I was awakened by male sounds of laughter and enthusiasm for the historic game between Georgia and Georgia Tech that was the longest ever college football game time wise. It had 8 overtime matches and the record on that is 9. Art attended Tech. My brother went to UGA. Good thing he was not here. Art stayed up to the bittersweet end when Tech lost. Son went to bed after 4 of the overtime matches.
Oh, Cheryl, that sounds like a wonderful time, so glad you worked it all out with Plan B and the help of technology.
That sounds like a dramatic game, Janice. Sorry Art’s alma mater team didn’t win in the end, though. 😦
I enjoy following the Rams but I’m a bit out of sync with the college teams. The Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day is big, however, and that usually gets (at least partially) watched by everyone out here.
Took a friend to the nearby tree lot last night where she found and bought a beautiful tree, but needed a quick ride back to her place to get some more cash.
On the way back to the Christmas tree lot, my car flipped out, began spewing coolant/water all over the engine and overheating — looked like a hose broke?
So, friend hitched a ride back to her place with the guy delivering her 8-foot tree while I waited at the lot for the AAA tow truck.
The big, red, velvet Santa chair was empty and I could have sat there, but decided not to.
Got the car towed home, now trying to figure out repair options that could get done today.
At one point, it all felt like a run-up to a Hallmark movie, where — in the end — something amazingly wonderful would befall me. So far not happening. Someone said it’s because I didn’t sit in the big (magical?) Santa chair.
Instead … now having complications getting an early Monday tow arranged to mechanic who doesn’t take voicemails – while I already have an early dr. appt I need to get to Monday …
I definitely didn’t get found by the Hallmark Movie Guy.
Or maybe the dog is just happy because that scary ride is over!
When Nightingale’s dog Janie has one of her occasional seizures, which scare her, and then recovers herself (at first, she is still off-balance and scared), she then becomes ecstatically happy.
These poor creatures in the snow. Somehow my mind never thinks of them when I think of snow. Many of y’all my have encountered this, but down here in the south . . . never.
When Nightingale first got Janie, she toyed with the idea of someday having Janie trained to be a therapy-type of dog, like the ones that go into hospitals or nursing homes or places where a hard trauma has occurred. But then Janie turned out to be a nervous and sometimes too energetic type of dog. Janie needs a therapy dog for herself!
We had a good Thanksgiving with our oldest. Our youngest and her youngest even got to come for a few hour visit. We also took in the movie, “Bonhoeffer'” which was very interesting. My college-age granddaughter found it confusing. She didn’t know any of his story. In addition, I think if you know some of the Nazi-era history and dates, it is helpful. The scenes go back and forth in history.
On Oct. 22 an electrician we wanted to come, texted me he was coming the next week. However, we have not heard a peep out of him. All our garage lights, except the one for the door opener, refused to turn on. Today as we arrived home, my husband opened the door and all but one light was lit up. Our garage was locked up tight and there were no tire tracks in the snow. I think we may live in the Twilight Zone or, perhaps, the Lord made them work again. We have no idea.
Electrical mysteries, I have a few of those in this old house, specifically in the tiny spare closet-bathroom. An electrician looked at it once and said, “Hmmm. Well. That’s interesting.”
Good morning! Art is at PT and the garbage truck is on the street so it must be Monday morning at our house.
Son said traffic was not bad yesterday when he drove back to coastal Carolina. I was glad I got up early to make those muffins so he could carry four back with him. It’s a mom thing to want to send grown children away with a treat like that.
For those with grown children, do you try to have something to give them when they leave?
It depends, Janice. I have become the elder who tries to give away things. One family used to make trail mixes in bags to bring on the road. If I have made gluten free bakery, I will send them with the family members I made it for.
Good morning, all. A beautiful frosty cold morning today. I planned to send daughter with husband and grandpa on an expedition. Kittens to vaccinations in Ferdinand but she was throwing up so thought better of it. She self isolated for the company time with sore throat and very tired. Covid? Anyway, son took her spot and they are are off.
Figured out why daughter was too sick to join the family for Thanksgiving. She had snagged the computer I had been letting her use to study for GED and was using it to binge watch Buffy the vampire slayer and music videos.
In other news, son volunteered to pay me twenty dollars per week for laundry services. It was either that or he was welcome to use the horse trough outside to do his laundry. I was checking his room for stench indicating missing laundry. Heard music, went to check on it, found a radio next to an empty container of cherry frosting and one of marshmallow cream. Apparently my talk on the health harm of monster drinks had an effect.
In addition to the hug, I do pray for their plane flights.
Stargazer and fiance appear to have made it home . . .
I now have 19 days to attend 16 appointments (cat already saw the vet this morning), buy a huge number of gifts, and write all the Christmas cards.
I also need to figure out what husband, daughter, and I are doing for Christmas. Sons are all occupied with their families–as it is their Christmas year.
Received a totally out-of-the-blue email on Thanksgiving night asking me if I’d like to interview Juji Nakada’s 96-year-old-granddaughter.
Nakada was one of OC’s closest friends, and one of the co-founders of the Oriental Missionary Society with Lettie and Charles Cowman.
He introduced Chambers to the Cowmans.
You bet I want to meet her.
We now may head south so I can do the interview and then see the way-extended family with whom I’ve not spent Christmas in 30 years.
Flyboy and Mrs Flyboy live only 3 miles away, but Mrs B almost always has something for them when they go home. Sometimes food, sometimes something she thinks they’ll find useful. Me, I always give ’em a hug.
By the way, there’s nothing special to me about 94, but I marked it to help you competitive types keep track of the race to 100.
Husband and son are off to Lewiston to get a million things done. My dad says the drive this morning was fun. The free kittens are now at fifteen hundred dollars. Still have spaying to go.
Michelle, does that mean you don’t celebrate with the sons at all this year? Or, do you have a Christmas get-together before or after Christmas?
Growing up we always had 3 Christmases – one with mom’s family, one with dad’s family and one with just our immediate family. So we would do them early or late usually our immediate family was on Christmas Day.
This year, our daughter will be with us for Christmas Eve and Day and son and his family will arrive on Boxing Day. So we’ll do the turkey dinner on the 27th and open gifts afterwards with everyone.
Son and family will celebrate the twins 4th birthday (23rd) and Christmas with DIL’s family and then travel here. Last year they were here before Christmas and went home on the 27th to DIL’s family.
We swap years for the exact day. So, this is our family’s Thanksgiving year. Next year we’ll get Christmas, and so forth. It’s worked great for 20 years.
We’ll have a gathering toward the end of the year when everyone returns to home base (sans Stargazer and K, they brought their gifts over Thanksgiving).
This year we get an additional bonus: a New Year’s Eve Sweet 16 party for our great-niece!
How exciting to see the numbers above 100. It has been quite a while. Good thing that Mumsee is in charge.
I have been buying gifts all year and now have to decide who they are for??!!! I even got some things at an estate sale on Saturday. The lady was a quilter and had won awards. Beautiful. I got a runner for the table in shades of brown, so lovely.
Then I went to Costco today to return some things and of course found some more things. But my largest expense was turmeric, so I did well.
I got a glue gun at the estate sale and now am ready to do some crafts with the littlest.
I seem to have a cold. I was worried it was strep, but then realized that my throat hurt because of sinus drainage. I don’t get many colds and was trying to remember what to do. I know I don’t have any vitamin C. Finally this evening I remembered that I have zicam and that is what I take.
Not sure if I should cancel tomorrow’s dental cleaning.
Good morning from chilly Atlanta. It’s 32° at 9 a.m.
We are at a medical building by the Catholic hospital. I told Art it is a family tradition to see the nativity scene outside the hospital all set up but without Baby Jesus in the manger (He will be placed there later in a timely manner). We are here for an annual heart check for Art.
Interesting conversation going on between an assumed adult daughter and aging father in the waiting room. Taking notes on sensitive topics of discussion, what to say and what not to say, and setting, and timing. 🙂
Good morning, all. A beautiful frosty foggy day here with plans to take a drive to see the doc for follow up of my last ER visit. No real point that I am aware of but to check the boxes.
Back to work today following a crazy Monday off — MRI first thing in the morning, car had to get towed first to mechanic. Drinking lots of water to flush out the dye they give you for this particular MRI.
Picked up the car late yesterday, all fixed, $350 which was “about” how much I figured, something about the hose to the heating core that had to be replaced, an internal oil leak that also was fixed, everything then all cleaned up, coolant replaced. All good now, he says.
Janice, I have to smile at your frequent visits to doctors between the two of you, checking in from different medical buildings most mornings. 🙂 What’s up with all the doctor appts we are now getting, anyway? Feels never ending.
Jo, I’d wait on the dental cleaning, sounds like you’re not sure what you have (could also be covid or flu, both now circulating actively) and it could unnecessarily expose others; many doctor’s offices will ask if you have certain symptoms before you come, if so, they prefer to reschedule.
Unfortunately it takes forever to get dental cleanings at my office, so if you have to reschedule it’s complicated. (But that’s mainly due to my juggling work stuff and not being able to dash over if they get a cancellation — on those times when I wasn’t able to make the set appointment, but I try to always make those).
I finally replaced my old Sonicare brush, new one is wonderful. And I’ve been back to flossing daily again for the past few months (rather than 3-4 times a week sporadically — and, of course, right before dental appointments).
I decided to warm up the car this morning while Art finished up inside. That decision meant that I forgot to change shoes. I was in my sneakers with holes in the toe area. I felt badly but hoped no one would notice.
As I am waiting at the doc’s office for Art, another lady joins us in the waiting room and sits beside chic NY daughter of aged father. Chic daughter has on lovely black very high heeled boots. The new lady has on flat black boots so they begin a discussion about heels and flats. I’m thinking, why a discussion about shoes?
I learned that Rieker German walking boots are good according to the one lady. The younger lady has decided after years of saying she will be in her casket wearing high heels that she is finally changing her mind.
Your tennis shoes were more sensible, no doubt, Janice. I hate, though, when I forget and wear something that is not in the best shape for being in public. If that young woman saw some of the damage done to feet after decades of wearing high heels, she would realize she is being smart to decide not to wear them until she dies.
“I’m thinking, why a discussion about shoes?” I think we females are said to have a bit of a love affair going on with footwear and shoes. I’m mostly in sneakers now myself ( 😦 ) but miss some of the boots I had. (Though I was NEVER a high-heels fan.)
Thankful for Art’s food report Janice. And to have an appt right after Thanksgiving…we all feel like we now need to lose weight! Pumpkin pie abounds! 😊 hoping he finds a fun way to stay in shape. We were looking at treadmill pads today since our roads are still icy and that elliptical gets tedious. We gave our treadmill away a few years ago and now would like a smaller more convenient size.
I ran into town getting some things done. Ulta , Sprouts and King Soopers. I ran my errands in my Birkenstock loafers … no socks, I doubt if anyone noticed 😊
Tomorrow an early more appointment to get new tires on my car… 🛞
Speaking of forgetting to change our footwear before heading out. . . Once when I arrived at an appointment with my audiologist, as I was about to get out of the car, I suddenly realized that I still had my slippers on!
They were the classic LLBean kind of slippers, very comfy. Good thing they weren’t pink bunny slippers or some such thing!
I almost wore sheep slippers to work, spotted them still on my feet right as I was heading down the front steps!
They would have been very noticeable!
Another time I was covering something at an outdoor setting and looked down to realize I had the same style of shoes on — but one was black, the other navy blue (I had pairs in both colors).
My husband and I took dancing lessons. Our friends joined us. I so enjoyed it. I knew the couple who taught. They taught for years, even on a cruise ship years ago. He was a teacher and principal. I have never been a good dancer, so the lessons helped me.
As Dj noted, we are quite frequently at medical buildings. At 7:30 a.m. we were at a lab in our closest little hospital, ten minutes from home, getting labs for the cardiologist Art saw yesterday. I told Art that this morning we were at our ‘secret lab.’ It is no longer advertised as a site to get labs, but we went before so I said we will go and see.
It was like walking into a Christmas store with all the decorations filling the waiting area. I heard the familiar smooth jazz playing. No one was there except for us as I had remembered from the two visits in the past. The lady was impressed that Art had on his Christmas story t-shirt, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” So appropriate for the theme in the lab. We had a cheerful conversation. Art gave his blood donation, and she was quick considering his rolling veins.
This hospital is around the corner from our church. It is a specialty hospital related to the spine. Just another of the many hospitals that Emory has taken over to almost monopolize in Atlanta.
And enjoyed the morning lab decoration descriptions along with Art’s Christmas T-shirt mention 🙂 Glad the bloodwork went well, I have completed veins as well so I tend to dread that part of going to the doctor.
Chilly morning here but our days are warm, not feeling much like December. And no real rain to speak of yet …. 😦
When we got back home the weather guy said it was 28° with the windchill factor, and 33° otherwise. So very cold here. It feels like January. Not looking forward to our heating bills.
It’s not feeling like December here on the coast, temps around 60 today and Thursday, but going up (briefly) to 70 degrees Friday and Saturday then back down. And, sigh, still no rain …
Tires are on the car but now I need to return tomorrow to have it aligned. Hmmm…husband who conveniently found himself caretaking the cabin on the mountain today said it must have been a pothole that knocked it out….I didn’t hit a pothole! So he must have known! Bugger…Why must it be a love/hate relationship with cars? If he had just bought that 54 Chevy truck for me it would be an all love relationship!!
Today is our first day to get above freezing in about a week (and our last until Saturday) . . . it’s supposed to reach about 44, but it’s windy enough that it might as well be quite a bit cooler. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be back into the 50s, but with rain both days. Must be December!
This morning I got up a bit early and went to the lake, hoping to see loons. I did see one distant one, nothing exciting. But I drove to a different spot at the lake where I have seen them in the past, and I didn’t see loons (though I think I heard one–I’ve never heard them before, since I’ve never lived where they hang out in breeding season, and in fact my first-ever sighting a couple of years ago). But driving down toward the dock I had a really cool sighting (no good photos).
Two adult bald eagles flew across quickly, quite close together, and just when I was amazed at that sighting, I realized they were chasing two juvenile bald eagles. It was a fairly close sighting of all four birds (the length of the boat ramp away). It took me a couple of seconds to remember I did have a camera, and by that time it was too late to use it (and photography of moving animals from car windows is tricky anyway). I parked and got out of the car and saw a perched juvenile, but not in a spot for a good shot. I drove to the dam and saw one in flight, but way high in the air. So I saw at least four bald eagles, possibly as many as six. (One of the ones in flight was probably a first-year juvenile, and I didn’t see the plumage on the other; the one in the tree wasn’t a first year.) I don’t even see eagles every year, though it’s possible I’ve managed at least one sighting every year that we have lived here, not sure.
Today is our first day to get above freezing in about a week (and our last until Saturday) . . . it’s supposed to reach about 44, but it’s windy enough that it might as well be quite a bit cooler. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be back into the 50s, but with rain both days. Must be December!
This morning I got up a bit early and went to the lake, hoping to see loons. I did see one distant one, nothing exciting. But I drove to a different spot at the lake where I have seen them in the past, and I didn’t see loons (though I think I heard one–I’ve never heard them before, since I’ve never lived where they hang out in breeding season, and in fact my first-ever sighting a couple of years ago). But driving down toward the dock I had a really cool sighting (no good photos).
Two adult bald eagles flew across quickly, quite close together, and just when I was amazed at that sighting, I realized they were chasing two juvenile bald eagles. It was a fairly close sighting of all four birds (the length of the boat ramp away). It took me a couple of seconds to remember I did have a camera, and by that time it was too late to use it (and photography of moving animals from car windows is tricky anyway). I parked and got out of the car and saw a perched juvenile, but not in a spot for a good shot. I drove to the dam and saw one in flight, but way high in the air. So I saw at least four bald eagles, possibly as many as six. (One of the ones in flight was probably a first-year juvenile, and I didn’t see the plumage on the other; the one in the tree wasn’t a first year.) I don’t even see eagles every year, though it’s possible I’ve managed at least one sighting every year that we have lived here, not sure.
The series pilot shows the opening shipwreck scene that was filmed on Moloa’a Beach in Kauai, Hawai’i (latitude: 22.1945, longitude: -159.3338). So Moloa’a Beach is the true Gilligan’s Island. …
_____________
The TV series Gilligan’s Island was filmed in several locations, including:
Moloa’a Beach, Kauai, Hawaii: The pilot and first episode were filmed at this secluded beach, which features a stream, reef, and lagoon.
Ala Wai Boat Harbor, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii: Filming took place at this location.
Coconut Island, Kāneʻohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii: This location was used as a backdrop for filming.
Kahanamoku Lagoon, Honolulu, Hawaii: The opening credits for season one were filmed here, showing the SS Minnow leaving port.
Newport Beach, California: Exterior shots were filmed here for the opening credits.
CBS Studio Center, Studio City, Los Angeles, California: The lagoon for the show was constructed on the back lot of this studio.
We see bald eagles quite often. Some people like loons and others claim they are quite vicious. They do have a nice call.
The roads were terrible today and the wind nasty. The only person who came to listen at the jam today was a 95 yr. old former Marine. When he heard the group was still coming, he decided to come and listen even though the weather was bad. He doesn’t live a long distance away, though.
We are having good weather and clear skies. It only got down to 44 last night.
Okay, I need to do some more catching up on the blog. but I’m confused, did Aj only have the surgery to remove the tube or did he have the one he was dreading.
Jo- the surgery before Thanksgiving was to reverse the colostomy, but on Sunday he had emergency surgery because it failed. He now has a newly placed, permanent colostomy that is much better than the previous, which had numerous issues. The tube that was removed Wednesday was to keep his digestive system clear as he healed because he was backed up and vomiting. It’s hard to keep up with it all, because there seem to be endless complications. He started Wednesday very happy to have that tube removed, but while I was there he was vomiting again, but since his digestion is moving, they did not put the tube back, just said they’d keep an eye on things. It does delay solid food, which in turn delays his release. I will be so happy when he is home and we can do the work of getting him recuperated and settled into his new(ish) and improved “normal”. Sorry for the lack of clarity. Life currently is a lot of complications/“events” that make cohesive thought and communication a real struggle for me. I am hoping for some downtime in 2025 to recover from the past year(s) myself. Please feel free to any questions and I am happy to try to respond; it helps me in processing it all.
I don’t know if this helps or not, but my blind grandfather lived with a permanent colostomy for many years and managed to care for himself the entire time. I know things are much improved since his death 32 years ago.
All that being said, there’s grief involved in knowing you’ve had to make a permanent and “non-normal” change in your physical life.
We pray for a completion of all of this, peace in your household, rest, and open hearts and minds to how and what God will do with you next.
You are loved by God, an everlasting love, that knows no boundaries and doesn’t dwell on our infirmities.
The Lord is not done with you yet–any of the Reals–and we bless you with His many promises.
Good morning! It was another early morning excursion, but not to the medical buildings. Today it was the county tag office and Sam’s Club.
Last night we had a meal out at the Magnplia Room Cafeteria. It replaced another place we went to for years. It is where we tried to go the day after Thanksgiving. The food was good but they did not have a big salad station like before
I had hoped for carrot raisin salad but found none. I did have sweet potato pie, my first ever. It was good but I had wanted pumpkin. Maybe next time!
I have a granddaughter taking up the harp. Her other grandpa plays with the Boise Philharmonic so he has connections to good instructors. Second son always wanted to play the harp but not in our price range. Instead, he took up the drums and began getting phone calls with requests for him to play gigs when he was ten. But they were past his bedtime so we declined.
Thanks for the fresh “overview,” Cheryl – this has been quite a ride and I can’t imagine how you both are keeping up with it all as it sometimes seems to be all happening so fast.
Praying for rest as AJ recuperates and for a return home as soon as possible. And yes, now for some much-needed breathing time in 2025; what a year you all have endured.
God has his purposes in good times and hard times both (and it’s often in those difficult patches that we spiritually grow the most, though surely no one would wish those times for themselves or for those we care about).
My mom told me once that when she and Dad got married, she wanted 5 children and Dad wanted 2 children, and they forgot to tell God that they were the same children (you know, a maximum of 5, not 5 + 2).
Likewise, AJ told us he should be returning to us in 3-5 days, but I think he entered the math wrong on the calculator, and did 3 x 5 (but still might have cut it a little short). Seriously, a longer hospitalization, with more treatment than expected, does mean a longer recovery time, and we need to pray that they can get through that well.
When I saw “7.0” I gasped — then breathed easier when I realized it was offshore. That’s a good-sized earthquake that would have caused some serious devastation in a populated area.
I think I saw where the tsunami warning was lifted several hours ago.
The coffee did the trick. It seemed to loosen the blockage and reduce the nausea even little sips of water were giving me.
The drs just left, going to introduce a little toast this afternoon, if things go well, some real food tomorrow. Then maybe out of here Sunday or Monday!
Praying it’s so.
And thank you ladies for lifting up my Cheryl. I see the effects this has on her, and it wounds my heart, for I feel powerless to stop it. But there you all are again, lifting, aiding, ministering, and I again thank God for the blessings of the Wanderers.
We will update you when we know more.
Love you all,
Allen
PS,
How are our folks in Cali after yesterday’s earthquake business?
Morning all! Coffee for Aj!!! I call it sustenance!☕️
Cheryl is so dear to keep us updated even when her day seems to be in a fog. Such a blessing it is to cover you both in prayer and see the Hand of our Lord guiding you through. You are loved!❣️
Good morning, all, from a beautiful frosty foggy day. More grandchildren arrived last night, their dad arrives tonight. Their mom had a storage place to clean out down in Buhl so asked if she could drop them off early.
Just got back from a drive. Friend needed a lift to pick up her car. Okay, I said. So drove 55minutes to Oroville where she works and picked her up. Then to Yuba City, maybe another 40 minutes, where her car had been repaired. Then home again, another 50 minutes. However we did stop at Chipotle for dinner.
It is my day for frosting/decorating cookies, both sugar and gingerbread people. It will be warm outside (upper 30’s) so we should be going to one of the many events taking place. However, I need to get these finished before our family Christmas. I am not as enthusiastic to do these as I was years ago. I feel blessed I can still do it, however. It is a blessing to bring joy to others in many different ways.
Good brunch time! I have been talking on the phone with different people this morning to change my email address and phone number on records associated with our timeshare.
It dawned on me that I had not received a confirmation or maintenance fee, or anything because it is all going to my old email. Thankful to have it straightened out, but it took all morning.
The best words to use when you are dealing with talking computers on a phone call: ” Speak to a representative.” It was not a given option, but somehow it worked to get me to real people.
We have been outside laying out plans for our latest Arbor Day shipment of trees. Now my two lovely assistants are off to move wood pellets for friends and help him get his new snow blade on his rig.
It’s 75 degrees here today, weird. I was going to buy a Christmas tree but will wait until this weather passes (which is supposed to be tomorrow when it will be back in the low 60s at least).
Maybe a stuffed cat toy in her stocking if Santa makes it down our chimney 🙂
San Francisco:
~ Traffic chaos caused by 30K pounds of melted chocolate on Bay Area highway ~
Big rig caught fire: Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of chocolate were in the trailer, and nearly all of it appeared to melt, he said. A photo posted on CHP’s X account shows loads of chocolate oozing out of the truck and onto the road.
Is anyone going to use What’s App or Signal instead of regular texting since the FBI revealed that since the summer the Chinese government has been able to hack into messages between IPhone and Android phones?
so glad to hear or read Ajs news. Now we can all celebrate
a week ago I offered to take my friends to the San Francisco airport on the 10th, this Tuesday. They just accepted my offer
that changes my plans. Please pray as I will stay with my Pacifica friend. I just spoke to her and she can no longer think clearly. It will be good to see her, possibly our last visit
It is so sad to see how cheaply some quilts go for. I once heard someone bought a handsewn hexagon quilt top for a quarter! People generally underestimate the cost of materials and time put into them. That is a fun new hobby, Jo.
Yes, estate, garage and rummage sales can be dangerous for over collecting. I had a grandmother who lived near two thrift shops. My mom had to ‘clean out’ her over-shopping more than once. OTOH, they can be great for those just starting out in life or for the discerning.
I have a very difficult time resisting books myself.
Wandering Views 
Alright, people, settle down. I have the sceptor (facsimile) and I know how to use it. No more of your shenanigans, there is a new sheriff in town.
mumsee
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I have my hands up ready for arrest!
Good morning! We will be warm for a few days but expect storm and rain on Thanksgiving Day. Hoping it won’t involve power outages and undercooked turkeys.
I have been lifting AJ in prayer for everything to go smoothly in prep today. May God’s loving kindness surround the Jackson family in ways too numerous to count. May the presence of God be witnessed in tangible ways. May fears and anxiety dissolve, overpowered by the blood of Jesus which protects our dear AJ. In Christ I pray, Amen
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mumsee knows how to bring out the rebel in some of us. 🙂
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I really think big brother would be a better choice to leave in charge than big sister. But we will survive somehow.
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I suppose it is a consolation for not electing a woman for president that we have a fine lady as top authority here! Sorry Big Bro! Next time 🙂
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I don’t really want Big Brother watching me, sorry.
(Besides, I have four big brothers and I know what they’re capable of when left in charge. For instance, once when we were eating vanilla ice cream, my next-older brother sent my sister to her room on a trumped-up charge, filled her spoon with mayonnaise, and then relented and let her return. And yes, she did put it in her mouth.)
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I don’t really want Big Brother watching me, sorry.
(Besides, I have four big brothers and I know what they’re capable of when left in charge. For instance, once when we were eating vanilla ice cream, my next-older brother sent my sister to her room on a trumped-up charge, filled her spoon with mayonnaise, and then relented and let her return. And yes, she did put it in her mouth.)
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Um, I don’t know why it has decided to start double-posting some of my comments. I’m not doing anything differently!
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I see it has already started. I really have no idea how the real even puts up with you.
mumsee
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We are all just double trouble!
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I need to be outside raking, but the neighbor’s yard crew came and have the deafening leaf blowers doing their thing so I will save my hearing by not being out there. They will be gone in an hour. I can wait!
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https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1860715588122722572
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leaves were a little damp but I managed to leaf blow my driveway. Well, except for the part that is too steep
so grateful for the twelve inches of rain. Now I don’t have to worry about being ready to evacuate due to a fire
getting ready to prep my first batch of croissants. They refrigerate and then I will roll them out on Thanksgiving
lost another pound so hopefully that will motivate me to be careful with my holiday eating
Jo
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Is anyone planning to see Bonhoeffer over the holiday weekend?
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We are hoping to watch it with our daughter, Janice.
We have a winter wonderland. It was not fun to drive in, which we had to do since we had a car repair appointment. It is beautiful and I am glad we now have snow that will stick around. The ski hills are busy making snow now and lots of people are thrilled.
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TUES. 6:55 It’s time for AJ’s surgery. Lifting him in prayer.
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Praying first thing while trusting His hand over Aj❣️
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Good morning, all, this beautiful rainy, foggy Irish dell in Idaho morning.
mumsee
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l met someone at church whose daughter and family just moved to Boise. Quite a contrast from Atlanta, but a good move, IMO
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Thinking of DJ and Abby doing dog training school after seeing a friend’s post on Facebook. She is taking her horse to training. They are in a Student of the Horse class. I did not find out what issues prompted the need for training. Wondering if the horse might be reluctant to go up into the trailer for transport.
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Daughter and her husband and four children are coming up for Thanksgiving through the weekend. Should be fun! They are the place markers.
mumsee
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Abby’s OK with horses, the foster home she was in had a few. And the local dog training club uses the horse stable park for classes. Not that I’ve been able to get Abby to training. …
Prayed for AJ this morning. May this go all perfectly and be the last “knife” event for him in a very long time or even ever again.
Mumsee … ducking.
I finally tested “clear” for Covid yesterday, first time in 12 days. No scary symptoms but it really just wiped me out energy-wise. Same thing happened the first time I had it, 2 years ago, the fatigue is the worst of it for me.
I’ll have mega immunity going forward for a while, anyhow.
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Romans tells us:
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? then do what is good, and you will receive his (her) approval, for he (she) is God’s servant for your good.
to which I ask, why are you ducking, DJ?
mumsee
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mumsee, 2 words: civil disobedience … you know how we are sometimes.
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So sorry to hear you had Covid, Dj. Glad you are feeling better now. I imagine Abby was sad to see you down.
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We’ll be getting rain (they say, promises/promises) later today/Wednesday and then again Friday and maybe Saturday, I think, but missing the Thanksgiving holiday. (Again, so “they” say.)
I am considering a companion dog for Abby, a confident canine who can help her get past some of these hurdles and provide a playmate, she’s so bored which makes me sad. Plans for dog park visits, walks at the beach, all kaput as she won’t reliably get into the car. Trainer sort of suggested another dog might help and I really think that’s going to be the only reliable solution so we’re not so homebound.
Met one dog today, but too young, only 3 months, a doodle that was abandoned in a local park and now with rescuers. The right dog will appear if it’s “to be.” Not in a particular rush right at the moment, have just put feelers out in the past 2 months or so to my contacts in rescue.
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It’s a chilly morning at 39°. Praying for AJ.
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Oh, that is chilly for you, Janice. We have 15 degrees here. Where do you get that little degree symbol? So much to learn no matter how old one is!
We will head south to our oldest daughter’s home for Thanksgiving. Looking forward to seeing the grands there. It is always too long between visits. I miss having all in our home for the holidays, but all of life is change.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
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Kathaleena, on my phone I have access to an alternative keyboard with symbols on it like the pound sign, exclamation mark, etc. When I touch on the key to bring that up, in that key’s place it show 1/2. That means one of two alternate keypads for symbols. I press that and get the keyboard with the lesser used signs and symbols. Maybe you have it and never accessed it? My degrees key is beside my bullet point key which I use frequently when answering questions/making comments on my daily online Bible study.
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Good morning from beautiful Idaho at thirty two degrees.
mumsee
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Oh, we must be warm here at 37 degrees. I broke out my very warm bathrobe to cozy up in.
So exciting to see that I got paid today. I changed my social security and wasn’t sure about this paycheck.
Loving my new blinds and they do keep it warmer. I am going to go in to order some for the bay window today. The blind on my six by four foot window in the kitchen is so nice. I didn’t realize how I didn’t like going in there after dark, it just felt like I was being watched.
Off to BSF soon.
Jo
Prayers for Aj’s healing.
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Kathaleena, you can do a Google search to see how to get to more symbols on your specific keyboard and computer or phone.
Mumsee, I hope you are feeling much better. You need to be strong and combat ready to keep this group in control!
Dj, did you figure out where you caught Covid? I hope you are quickly gaining back any lost ground. Praying that you find just the right Alpha dog to help Abby want to enjoy outings without reluctance.
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Our pines once again look like that header photo. 27 degrees and 3 inches of wet heavy snow. It is beautiful! ❄️⛄️
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Yes, Janice, I have been keeping a close eye n things here. Especially on the few rabble rousers. I figure, by coming on strong, I was able to buy a couple of days. But it is quiet here, almost too quiet. The calm before the storm? I am ready, I take my responsibility seriously.
mumsee
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So exactly who are you calling “the few rabble rousers”?
Janice, not sure (about where or how I caught Covid), I’d gone to a well-attended church brunch at my elder’s home that Saturday before, then to church the next day on Sunday (and our church is fairly large); I noticed the first symptom, a sore throat on Tuesday, thought to do the home test Wednesday when cold symptoms seemed worse.
But they also say that the incubation period for Covid can be up to 2 weeks before symptoms appear, so who knows? We are seeing a high spread right now in the LA area, or at least I think I read that recently.
‘Tis the season.
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Glad the worst is behind you, Dj. Before the holiday rush! Thanks for telling the symptoms so we know what to be on watch for during ‘the season.’
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Yes, I really just thought it was a cold … I hope now that I didn’t unknowingly give it to others on that weekend before my symptoms appeared (one is most contagious for that and the flu often before you realize you’re even sick with anything).
We also have an unanticipated Covid variant here in the U.S. that sprang up at the last minute and wasn’t anticipated, making it all trickier, of course. A moving target, that virus still is. Vaccines still help hold down the worst of the symptoms (and thus hospitalizations), however, for those inclined to take advantage of that route.
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They know who they are.
mumsee
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Thank for the info, Dj. I know someone hospitalized from getting the flu shot from the GB illness, I can’t looked up the spelling or I will lose this. Vaccinations are tricky! For those they work for they seem to be good. For those they don’t, we’ll they get very sick. I have usually gotten my flu shot by now but am waiting to hear if more get GB
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https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/guillain-barre-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20362793
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I don’t have on my super duper prism glasses, so sorry for the typos.
At church Sunday as Art and I entered the sanctuary from the side near the front, I saw a metal stand for the Advent candles. I pointed it out to Art. I was mistaken. It was a stand with microphones on top! Just my normal laugh of the day 🙂
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Ok, what is GB?
Vaccines largely have been a godsend on many fronts (polio, smallpox, others of course, come to mind). But there are (and have always been) rare cases of reactions (and that’s possible with just about everything in medicine). Comes with the territory and depends on other existing medical conditions in specific/particular cases.
Advent Mics. We’ve now (literally) heard of everything.
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Oh, sorry (re GB) I didn’t see the link.
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Interview with the daughter of Jane Roe (in other words, the one her mother sued to kill): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2jw_ooGwWo
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Interesting interview. Thanks, Cheryl.
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my Wandering Views Family. Blessed be the ties that bind.
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Happy Thanksgiving. My hair stylist’s daughter (a nurse) got Guillain Barre after a flu shot. She was out of work for months and very ill. All bodies are different. Immunizations work great if there are no side effects, but there is not immunization without the possibility of side effects. What is a blessing for one, may be a curse to another.
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Happy Thanksgiving to all, I’m off to join the cousins in a couple hours but did get to sleep in a bit today which I needed.
“If there is an increased risk of GBS following flu vaccination, it is small, on the order of one to two additional GBS cases per million doses of flu vaccine.” -CDC
But yes, side effects and variations in bodies can make vaccines more of a risk and we should all be aware of that. (Looks like full recovery from GBS is the norm, but again not a given for everyone.)
It’s always good to be aware of potential side effects, even from shots that we take for granted now.
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I had an uncle pass away a couple of weeks ago. He was not a blood relative but married to my aunt. He was a few weeks shy of 95.
My mom’s brother passed away last night. He was 100 years old and hoping to get to 101. He was a POW in Korea way back during that conflict. He passed away in his sleep. He had not been feeling well, but was in no pain. I think that seems a good way to go. She got to see him before she passed away in her nineties. She commented about being amazed they lived to such an old age. That would have been rare for their parents.
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I had Thanksgiving with the Three Amigos, Husband, Son, and Bro. We went to Cracker Barrel for Breakfast. The weather turned out pleasant so we got to hike at two different parks. I am now cooking a turkey breast in the crock pot for a late dinner. Meals have all been late today.
Brother and I had pleasant conversation remembering visiting with relatives when young. He likes to do outdoorsy things so my plan for hiking was just what we needed. Art was happy to sit in the car and read.
We will have another meal out with Bro tomorrow as our more traditional Thanksgiving meal. It has been nice to have a very laid back Thanksgiving. Art is watching the Cowboys and Giants game. Son just got home from a run. Oh, to have the energy of youth! I am tired after two walks at the parks.
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One of the parks we hiked at:
https://exploregeorgia.org/cumming/outdoors-nature/trails-tours/sawnee-mountain-preserve
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Janice, sounds like a good and well-rounded day.
I had a good Thanksgiving with the cousins and a neighborhood friend of my one cousin’s — who was in my same high school graduating class, we didn’t know each other but knew some of the same people, at least by name. She has a son in West Hollywood and she normally spends the day with him, but he had a last-minute invite to somewhere so she told him “go” and joined in with us.
When we got home we watched most of the National Dog Show which my cousin recorded from this morning (and had some pumpkin pie).
Cars are parked everywhere up and down the streets in our neighborhood, it looks like lots of gatherings going on the home front.
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I haven’t been on here since last Saturday, so I wasn’t aware that AJ had his surgery and he put mumsee in charge.I guess it went ok since the blog is still here and in ne piece.
So, here are the weekly comics.
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FYI- I heard yesterday that the play went well, but we were not the only ones to miss it. My son forgot and D3 didn’t know about it ahead of time. And she lives in the same house as the grandson!
Now to read this long thread and see what I’ve missed.
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I woke up this morning to 22°, the coldest it’s been here yet.
(After reading all 50+ comments) So everyone behaved. Good job, mumsee. It’s a good thing AJ put you in the seat of justice since if he had put me there I wouldn’t have known, then all mayhem would have happened with no one at the helm.
Cheryl: When mumsee or Kevin say “Big Brother”, they usually are referring to me since I am a few months older than they are.
However, I agree, I wouldn’t want Big Brother of Orwell’s book to be in charge, though it’s looking more and more like that is happening. I read where Microsoft has a computer in the works that will take a screen shot every few seconds to see what the user is viewing, supposedly so they can target the ads. But we all know what the info could be used for.
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Good morning, all. We have been enjoying the company. Daughter and family of six arrived Wednesday. Son and his family of five arrived yesterday. Son and his family of two arrive tonight. I knew about it all but husband did not as it was a surprise for his upcoming seventieth birthday. Only bio child who could not make it was here this past summer.
mumsee
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mumsee, that is wonderful
had a good time with my family. Very special
today I have the two youngest and will need my energy
jo
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Low-tide evangelism … :
~ Matthew Arnold lived at the high tide. The English poet wrote his famous “Dover Beach” when churchgoing was at the flood. In 1851, the national census recorded an unequaled high-water mark in church attendance: half of England was in church each Sunday. But, perhaps prophetically, he could feel the tide going out. As he looked out at Dover Beach he saw it as a parable for something shifting in his day:
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
That was his view in 1851. I wonder how he’d respond 173 years later, when church attendance is more like 5 percent than 50. …
We can frame the West’s secularization in many ways. One is to note that the percentage of “exvangelicals” in the United States is higher than the percentage of evangelicals in Britain. This has come about due to “the great dechurching,” where 40 million Americans have left the church this century. Just how far out is the tide now?
And what should we do about it? One response is to prayerfully await the tide’s turning. After all, tides don’t only go out; they also come in. Perhaps there are signs this is occurring. Justin Brierley’s book and podcast The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God expertly chart the terrain of our changing faith landscape. It also points to stories of recent adult converts like Paul Kingsnorth and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, or Christian-friendly intellectuals like Douglas Murray and Jordan Peterson.
But critics have pointed out that the “rebirth” Brierley sees may be a triumph of hope over experience. Historian Tom Holland, one of the key figures of The Surprising Rebirth, seemed less than optimistic recently when he pointed out to Brierley in an open conversation that we no longer have truly Christian public figures. In the 20th century, we had Martin Luther King Jr., C. S. Lewis, and Billy Graham. Nowadays, whom do we have?
Ultimately, the tide will turn—at some point. One day, the knowledge of God will flood the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). And we might well see revival in the West in our lifetime. For this we pray. But in the meantime, there’s something else we can do. Low tide isn’t only the portent of a return. Low tide reveals the terrain of the land that the sea has shaped. High tide covers the sea’s effects, but when the tide is low we see things that had before been obscured.
In the same way, secularization has revealed Christendom’s effects in a new way. Perhaps the influence of the Jesus Movement has never been more starkly apparent. Those with eyes to see it have a fresh opportunity to appreciate the power of Christ’s kingdom and the dangers of spurning it.
High-Tide Humanism
High tide can be a time of spiritual complacency. Think, for instance, of the humanistic Deism of Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin. As they wrote the Declaration of Independence, they were founding a nation on the powerful idea of inalienable human rights—rights they considered “self-evident” (although the first draft of the Declaration referred to those rights as “sacred and undeniable”). But the self-evident nature of human rights is the kind of belief you can only hold when it’s supported by Christian assumptions.
T. S. Eliot articulated the problem. In his 1929 essay “Second Thoughts About Humanism,” he wrote that when faith in our Creator recedes, these “self-evident” human rights also disappear: “If you remove from the word ‘human’ all that the belief in the supernatural has given to man, you can view him finally as no more than an extremely clever, adaptable, and mischievous little animal.”
This removal of “the supernatural” is exactly what low tide has revealed. …
… Exploring Christianity (for those of little or no faith) has become the obvious way forward. For many they see it as the only way forward. They can’t go back. Low tide has revealed too much.
This is a real opportunity for the church. Secularization isn’t only a challenge (though it’s certainly that). With the sea of faith so far receded, possibilities emerge. As we pray for a “rebirth of faith,” we might find it comes not despite low tide but through it.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/low-tide-evangelism/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-84WDacN9xxgw9IYeb292QMYKXF0aPgZB4efgwnf2LDLjwvk1H_W3O96Xo6Yt7blbQV_hXAoEQBZNZYOgttXbto_wydtQ&_hsmi=336142519&utm_content=336142519&utm_source=hs_email
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Lurking, praying, but not commenting lest I fall under the wrath of Big Sister.
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Good late afternoon. We’ve been having the continuation of Thanksgiving meals mixed with husband and son working toward deadlines for work projects. I have been doing a bit of online shopping.
It’s cold here, not like LA Dog Park cold, but below freezing at night.
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Do you have your candles ready for Advent? I do. For once. 🙂
https://www.michelleule.com/2019/11/26/advent-season/
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Since Nightingale had to work yesterday, we had our Thanksgiving today. We were planning on having her best friend Stephanie and her family over to join us, but because Boy and I have Covid, that plan was scrapped.
Chickadee had arrived yesterday afternoon, when I was just beginning to realize that my scratchy throat was turning into something. So now she is going to stay here for several days, to make sure she doesn’t pass it on to the McK household. (The two daughters have had bad experiences with Covid and something else.)
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Looks like I’ll have to remember where I put the candles and find them first, Michelle. Is it Advent already? I’m already behind this Christmas. But that’s me!
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The ‘perennially disorganized’ are my people.
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Good morning! The household is still asleep, but I am up. (For now. I’ll try to sleep some more in a few minutes.) My sleep has been fairly erratic the last few months. Two days ago I didn’t sleep till 7:00 a.m. (I posted on the news thread Thanksgiving morning, when I hadn’t yet gone to sleep.) That day I slept from 7:00-11:00 a.m. and then, once it was confirmed our guests wouldn’t arrive till suppertime, I had a two-hour early afternoon nap. But last night I got to bed shortly after 11:00 and slept till a little after 5:00, a far more “normal” sleep schedule than I usually get these days.
Last night the grandchildren and our son-in-law went to bed. The “girls” (our daughters and granddaughter) had put up and decorated the tree last night so that we can celebrate Christmas this morning before they all go home. So after they went to bed, my husband and I and our daughters sat in the decorated living room and talked for a couple more hours. It has been a year since we were all together, and I don’t remember last time it was the four of us just sitting and talking (our granddaughter is very high-energy, the two-year-old grandson less so). Next year we’ll have another baby and his mama may not be inclined to stay up once the children are in bed. (My husband did get a late nap, though, or he probably wouldn’t have made it himself.)
After supper we got to Facetime with my mother-in-law. She definitely looked tired and older, but her speech is surprisingly clear. (We could tell it had been affected, but she was comprehensible.) It was wonderful to allow her to see all of us, and to be able to see her too. (We hadn’t talked to her since before she entered the hospital.)
We wouldn’t trade these days for anything.
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Precious days, indeed.
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Good morning! I caught up on lost sleep last night. However, I was awakened by male sounds of laughter and enthusiasm for the historic game between Georgia and Georgia Tech that was the longest ever college football game time wise. It had 8 overtime matches and the record on that is 9. Art attended Tech. My brother went to UGA. Good thing he was not here. Art stayed up to the bittersweet end when Tech lost. Son went to bed after 4 of the overtime matches.
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Oh, Cheryl, that sounds like a wonderful time, so glad you worked it all out with Plan B and the help of technology.
That sounds like a dramatic game, Janice. Sorry Art’s alma mater team didn’t win in the end, though. 😦
I enjoy following the Rams but I’m a bit out of sync with the college teams. The Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day is big, however, and that usually gets (at least partially) watched by everyone out here.
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Happy 1st Day of December! Joyous 1st Sunday of Advent!
Praying for our blog family members who are under the weather, and under the covers. May healing and wellness be in the very near future.
I smaell lemon blueberry muffins baking. I wish I could share some with you, if not today, someday.
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Just posted an update on the prayer thread.
Allen
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Good morning, all, from beautiful but busy Idaho. Son and family headed out last night to catch a four AM flight out of Spokane.
Daughter and family leave for Boise today. Oldest son and wife head out for Colorado and then back to Spain for work.
Husband was suitably surprised and we all had a delightful time.
mumsee
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Took a friend to the nearby tree lot last night where she found and bought a beautiful tree, but needed a quick ride back to her place to get some more cash.
On the way back to the Christmas tree lot, my car flipped out, began spewing coolant/water all over the engine and overheating — looked like a hose broke?
So, friend hitched a ride back to her place with the guy delivering her 8-foot tree while I waited at the lot for the AAA tow truck.
The big, red, velvet Santa chair was empty and I could have sat there, but decided not to.
Got the car towed home, now trying to figure out repair options that could get done today.
At one point, it all felt like a run-up to a Hallmark movie, where — in the end — something amazingly wonderful would befall me. So far not happening. Someone said it’s because I didn’t sit in the big (magical?) Santa chair.
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But there were worse places to be stranded …
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I’m the one who told DJ that she should have sat in the Big Red Velvet Santa Chair. 🙂
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That’s how Hallmark Movie Guy would find her.
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Instead … now having complications getting an early Monday tow arranged to mechanic who doesn’t take voicemails – while I already have an early dr. appt I need to get to Monday …
I definitely didn’t get found by the Hallmark Movie Guy.
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Good dog. Happy dog.
https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1863212945783582911
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Or maybe the dog is just happy because that scary ride is over!
When Nightingale’s dog Janie has one of her occasional seizures, which scare her, and then recovers herself (at first, she is still off-balance and scared), she then becomes ecstatically happy.
“It’s over! It’s over! It’s over!”
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These poor creatures in the snow. Somehow my mind never thinks of them when I think of snow. Many of y’all my have encountered this, but down here in the south . . . never.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/156RWJfgBb/
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I’m thinking certified therapy dogs are so intensely trained that they’ve been exposed to most everything (by intention) and aren’t rattled by much.
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Needless to say, Abby would not be one of those daring dogs.
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When Nightingale first got Janie, she toyed with the idea of someday having Janie trained to be a therapy-type of dog, like the ones that go into hospitals or nursing homes or places where a hard trauma has occurred. But then Janie turned out to be a nervous and sometimes too energetic type of dog. Janie needs a therapy dog for herself!
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We had a good Thanksgiving with our oldest. Our youngest and her youngest even got to come for a few hour visit. We also took in the movie, “Bonhoeffer'” which was very interesting. My college-age granddaughter found it confusing. She didn’t know any of his story. In addition, I think if you know some of the Nazi-era history and dates, it is helpful. The scenes go back and forth in history.
On Oct. 22 an electrician we wanted to come, texted me he was coming the next week. However, we have not heard a peep out of him. All our garage lights, except the one for the door opener, refused to turn on. Today as we arrived home, my husband opened the door and all but one light was lit up. Our garage was locked up tight and there were no tire tracks in the snow. I think we may live in the Twilight Zone or, perhaps, the Lord made them work again. We have no idea.
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Electrical mysteries, I have a few of those in this old house, specifically in the tiny spare closet-bathroom. An electrician looked at it once and said, “Hmmm. Well. That’s interesting.”
Good thing Janie has therapy people!
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Good morning! Art is at PT and the garbage truck is on the street so it must be Monday morning at our house.
Son said traffic was not bad yesterday when he drove back to coastal Carolina. I was glad I got up early to make those muffins so he could carry four back with him. It’s a mom thing to want to send grown children away with a treat like that.
For those with grown children, do you try to have something to give them when they leave?
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Ours don’t have far to to travel (~90 miles), so we give them a hug when they leave.
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It depends, Janice. I have become the elder who tries to give away things. One family used to make trail mixes in bags to bring on the road. If I have made gluten free bakery, I will send them with the family members I made it for.
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If anything more than a hug, it would probably be a book.
mumsee
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Good morning, all. A beautiful frosty cold morning today. I planned to send daughter with husband and grandpa on an expedition. Kittens to vaccinations in Ferdinand but she was throwing up so thought better of it. She self isolated for the company time with sore throat and very tired. Covid? Anyway, son took her spot and they are are off.
mumsee
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Now wondering if I can talk to myself through one hundred on here.
mumsee
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Figured out why daughter was too sick to join the family for Thanksgiving. She had snagged the computer I had been letting her use to study for GED and was using it to binge watch Buffy the vampire slayer and music videos.
mumsee
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In other news, son volunteered to pay me twenty dollars per week for laundry services. It was either that or he was welcome to use the horse trough outside to do his laundry. I was checking his room for stench indicating missing laundry. Heard music, went to check on it, found a radio next to an empty container of cherry frosting and one of marshmallow cream. Apparently my talk on the health harm of monster drinks had an effect.
mumsee
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In addition to the hug, I do pray for their plane flights.
Stargazer and fiance appear to have made it home . . .
I now have 19 days to attend 16 appointments (cat already saw the vet this morning), buy a huge number of gifts, and write all the Christmas cards.
I also need to figure out what husband, daughter, and I are doing for Christmas. Sons are all occupied with their families–as it is their Christmas year.
Received a totally out-of-the-blue email on Thanksgiving night asking me if I’d like to interview Juji Nakada’s 96-year-old-granddaughter.
Nakada was one of OC’s closest friends, and one of the co-founders of the Oriental Missionary Society with Lettie and Charles Cowman.
He introduced Chambers to the Cowmans.
You bet I want to meet her.
We now may head south so I can do the interview and then see the way-extended family with whom I’ve not spent Christmas in 30 years.
We’ll see.
M
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94!
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Flyboy and Mrs Flyboy live only 3 miles away, but Mrs B almost always has something for them when they go home. Sometimes food, sometimes something she thinks they’ll find useful. Me, I always give ’em a hug.
By the way, there’s nothing special to me about 94, but I marked it to help you competitive types keep track of the race to 100.
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Husband and son are off to Lewiston to get a million things done. My dad says the drive this morning was fun. The free kittens are now at fifteen hundred dollars. Still have spaying to go.
mumsee
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I am glad I am not competitive.
mumsee
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At all.
mumsee
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Not even a little bit.
mumsee
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ouch
mumsee
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This is why I said Big Brother should have been left in charge.
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What.
mumsee
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Michelle, does that mean you don’t celebrate with the sons at all this year? Or, do you have a Christmas get-together before or after Christmas?
Growing up we always had 3 Christmases – one with mom’s family, one with dad’s family and one with just our immediate family. So we would do them early or late usually our immediate family was on Christmas Day.
This year, our daughter will be with us for Christmas Eve and Day and son and his family will arrive on Boxing Day. So we’ll do the turkey dinner on the 27th and open gifts afterwards with everyone.
Son and family will celebrate the twins 4th birthday (23rd) and Christmas with DIL’s family and then travel here. Last year they were here before Christmas and went home on the 27th to DIL’s family.
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We swap years for the exact day. So, this is our family’s Thanksgiving year. Next year we’ll get Christmas, and so forth. It’s worked great for 20 years.
We’ll have a gathering toward the end of the year when everyone returns to home base (sans Stargazer and K, they brought their gifts over Thanksgiving).
This year we get an additional bonus: a New Year’s Eve Sweet 16 party for our great-niece!
I’ve now purchased 3 gifts.
All for easy people.
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How exciting to see the numbers above 100. It has been quite a while. Good thing that Mumsee is in charge.
I have been buying gifts all year and now have to decide who they are for??!!! I even got some things at an estate sale on Saturday. The lady was a quilter and had won awards. Beautiful. I got a runner for the table in shades of brown, so lovely.
Then I went to Costco today to return some things and of course found some more things. But my largest expense was turmeric, so I did well.
I got a glue gun at the estate sale and now am ready to do some crafts with the littlest.
Jo
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I seem to have a cold. I was worried it was strep, but then realized that my throat hurt because of sinus drainage. I don’t get many colds and was trying to remember what to do. I know I don’t have any vitamin C. Finally this evening I remembered that I have zicam and that is what I take.
Not sure if I should cancel tomorrow’s dental cleaning.
Jo
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Good morning from chilly Atlanta. It’s 32° at 9 a.m.
We are at a medical building by the Catholic hospital. I told Art it is a family tradition to see the nativity scene outside the hospital all set up but without Baby Jesus in the manger (He will be placed there later in a timely manner). We are here for an annual heart check for Art.
Interesting conversation going on between an assumed adult daughter and aging father in the waiting room. Taking notes on sensitive topics of discussion, what to say and what not to say, and setting, and timing. 🙂
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Good morning, all. A beautiful frosty foggy day here with plans to take a drive to see the doc for follow up of my last ER visit. No real point that I am aware of but to check the boxes.
mumsee
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Back to work today following a crazy Monday off — MRI first thing in the morning, car had to get towed first to mechanic. Drinking lots of water to flush out the dye they give you for this particular MRI.
Picked up the car late yesterday, all fixed, $350 which was “about” how much I figured, something about the hose to the heating core that had to be replaced, an internal oil leak that also was fixed, everything then all cleaned up, coolant replaced. All good now, he says.
Janice, I have to smile at your frequent visits to doctors between the two of you, checking in from different medical buildings most mornings. 🙂 What’s up with all the doctor appts we are now getting, anyway? Feels never ending.
Jo, I’d wait on the dental cleaning, sounds like you’re not sure what you have (could also be covid or flu, both now circulating actively) and it could unnecessarily expose others; many doctor’s offices will ask if you have certain symptoms before you come, if so, they prefer to reschedule.
Unfortunately it takes forever to get dental cleanings at my office, so if you have to reschedule it’s complicated. (But that’s mainly due to my juggling work stuff and not being able to dash over if they get a cancellation — on those times when I wasn’t able to make the set appointment, but I try to always make those).
I finally replaced my old Sonicare brush, new one is wonderful. And I’ve been back to flossing daily again for the past few months (rather than 3-4 times a week sporadically — and, of course, right before dental appointments).
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thanks Dj, I’ll call the office
very difficult to sleep last night
heading to the airport to pick up a friend this evening
jo
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I decided to warm up the car this morning while Art finished up inside. That decision meant that I forgot to change shoes. I was in my sneakers with holes in the toe area. I felt badly but hoped no one would notice.
As I am waiting at the doc’s office for Art, another lady joins us in the waiting room and sits beside chic NY daughter of aged father. Chic daughter has on lovely black very high heeled boots. The new lady has on flat black boots so they begin a discussion about heels and flats. I’m thinking, why a discussion about shoes?
I learned that Rieker German walking boots are good according to the one lady. The younger lady has decided after years of saying she will be in her casket wearing high heels that she is finally changing her mind.
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Art got a good heart report, but needs to lose weight. Water aerobics was suggested.
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2 x 57 =
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114!
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Your tennis shoes were more sensible, no doubt, Janice. I hate, though, when I forget and wear something that is not in the best shape for being in public. If that young woman saw some of the damage done to feet after decades of wearing high heels, she would realize she is being smart to decide not to wear them until she dies.
I hope Art can find some activity he enjoys.
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Once again, the picture of health but doc agrees they must have missed something last er visit. But all is good now.
mumsee
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Good news (mumsee @3:52) and for Art as well.
“I’m thinking, why a discussion about shoes?” I think we females are said to have a bit of a love affair going on with footwear and shoes. I’m mostly in sneakers now myself ( 😦 ) but miss some of the boots I had. (Though I was NEVER a high-heels fan.)
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Thankful for Art’s food report Janice. And to have an appt right after Thanksgiving…we all feel like we now need to lose weight! Pumpkin pie abounds! 😊 hoping he finds a fun way to stay in shape. We were looking at treadmill pads today since our roads are still icy and that elliptical gets tedious. We gave our treadmill away a few years ago and now would like a smaller more convenient size.
I ran into town getting some things done. Ulta , Sprouts and King Soopers. I ran my errands in my Birkenstock loafers … no socks, I doubt if anyone noticed 😊
Tomorrow an early more appointment to get new tires on my car… 🛞
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I just reread my post. That would be Art’s good report not food report!!😂
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NJ – Weren’t your ankles cold with no socks on?
Speaking of forgetting to change our footwear before heading out. . . Once when I arrived at an appointment with my audiologist, as I was about to get out of the car, I suddenly realized that I still had my slippers on!
They were the classic LLBean kind of slippers, very comfy. Good thing they weren’t pink bunny slippers or some such thing!
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Bunny slippers would have made that audiologist’s day!
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I almost wore sheep slippers to work, spotted them still on my feet right as I was heading down the front steps!
They would have been very noticeable!
Another time I was covering something at an outdoor setting and looked down to realize I had the same style of shoes on — but one was black, the other navy blue (I had pairs in both colors).
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Hey Janice, why don’t you take dancing lessons with Art? It could be like a date!
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My husband and I took dancing lessons. Our friends joined us. I so enjoyed it. I knew the couple who taught. They taught for years, even on a cruise ship years ago. He was a teacher and principal. I have never been a good dancer, so the lessons helped me.
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Dancing lessons with a cane in the mix could be interesting or dangerous!
My friend laughed at the thought of Art doing water ballet.
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As Dj noted, we are quite frequently at medical buildings. At 7:30 a.m. we were at a lab in our closest little hospital, ten minutes from home, getting labs for the cardiologist Art saw yesterday. I told Art that this morning we were at our ‘secret lab.’ It is no longer advertised as a site to get labs, but we went before so I said we will go and see.
It was like walking into a Christmas store with all the decorations filling the waiting area. I heard the familiar smooth jazz playing. No one was there except for us as I had remembered from the two visits in the past. The lady was impressed that Art had on his Christmas story t-shirt, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” So appropriate for the theme in the lab. We had a cheerful conversation. Art gave his blood donation, and she was quick considering his rolling veins.
This hospital is around the corner from our church. It is a specialty hospital related to the spine. Just another of the many hospitals that Emory has taken over to almost monopolize in Atlanta.
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Good morning. Today is husband’s birthday. He turns seventy.
A beautiful foggy frosty day here.
mumsee
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Happy Birthday to Idaho Mike!
And enjoyed the morning lab decoration descriptions along with Art’s Christmas T-shirt mention 🙂 Glad the bloodwork went well, I have completed veins as well so I tend to dread that part of going to the doctor.
Chilly morning here but our days are warm, not feeling much like December. And no real rain to speak of yet …. 😦
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I seem to have once again been mislead and this is in fact, not one of those 3 hour tours Gilliagan and Skipper promised.
Took out the GI tube, things are moving, waiting on some broth and jello soon.
Allen
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When we got back home the weather guy said it was 28° with the windchill factor, and 33° otherwise. So very cold here. It feels like January. Not looking forward to our heating bills.
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Broth and jello is a start. Praying it will be solid food soon.
We will be below zero with wind chills. It will be nasty out. It is winter. Thank God for the Christmas season!
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Hey AJ, good to hear from you.
It’s not feeling like December here on the coast, temps around 60 today and Thursday, but going up (briefly) to 70 degrees Friday and Saturday then back down. And, sigh, still no rain …
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hurry up, the real, this sceptor deal is getting heavy.
mumsee
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Yay Aj!
Tires are on the car but now I need to return tomorrow to have it aligned. Hmmm…husband who conveniently found himself caretaking the cabin on the mountain today said it must have been a pothole that knocked it out….I didn’t hit a pothole! So he must have known! Bugger…Why must it be a love/hate relationship with cars? If he had just bought that 54 Chevy truck for me it would be an all love relationship!!
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Was it a red truck, NJ? Thinking of all those neat photos of red trucks hauling cut Christmas trees!
So glad that AJ is checking on us again. Mumsee is good in a pinch, but AJ is The Real thing!
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Today is our first day to get above freezing in about a week (and our last until Saturday) . . . it’s supposed to reach about 44, but it’s windy enough that it might as well be quite a bit cooler. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be back into the 50s, but with rain both days. Must be December!
This morning I got up a bit early and went to the lake, hoping to see loons. I did see one distant one, nothing exciting. But I drove to a different spot at the lake where I have seen them in the past, and I didn’t see loons (though I think I heard one–I’ve never heard them before, since I’ve never lived where they hang out in breeding season, and in fact my first-ever sighting a couple of years ago). But driving down toward the dock I had a really cool sighting (no good photos).
Two adult bald eagles flew across quickly, quite close together, and just when I was amazed at that sighting, I realized they were chasing two juvenile bald eagles. It was a fairly close sighting of all four birds (the length of the boat ramp away). It took me a couple of seconds to remember I did have a camera, and by that time it was too late to use it (and photography of moving animals from car windows is tricky anyway). I parked and got out of the car and saw a perched juvenile, but not in a spot for a good shot. I drove to the dam and saw one in flight, but way high in the air. So I saw at least four bald eagles, possibly as many as six. (One of the ones in flight was probably a first-year juvenile, and I didn’t see the plumage on the other; the one in the tree wasn’t a first year.) I don’t even see eagles every year, though it’s possible I’ve managed at least one sighting every year that we have lived here, not sure.
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Today is our first day to get above freezing in about a week (and our last until Saturday) . . . it’s supposed to reach about 44, but it’s windy enough that it might as well be quite a bit cooler. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be back into the 50s, but with rain both days. Must be December!
This morning I got up a bit early and went to the lake, hoping to see loons. I did see one distant one, nothing exciting. But I drove to a different spot at the lake where I have seen them in the past, and I didn’t see loons (though I think I heard one–I’ve never heard them before, since I’ve never lived where they hang out in breeding season, and in fact my first-ever sighting a couple of years ago). But driving down toward the dock I had a really cool sighting (no good photos).
Two adult bald eagles flew across quickly, quite close together, and just when I was amazed at that sighting, I realized they were chasing two juvenile bald eagles. It was a fairly close sighting of all four birds (the length of the boat ramp away). It took me a couple of seconds to remember I did have a camera, and by that time it was too late to use it (and photography of moving animals from car windows is tricky anyway). I parked and got out of the car and saw a perched juvenile, but not in a spot for a good shot. I drove to the dam and saw one in flight, but way high in the air. So I saw at least four bald eagles, possibly as many as six. (One of the ones in flight was probably a first-year juvenile, and I didn’t see the plumage on the other; the one in the tree wasn’t a first year.) I don’t even see eagles every year, though it’s possible I’ve managed at least one sighting every year that we have lived here, not sure.
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If you watch the beginning of Gilligan’s Island–as they set out on that three-hour tour–you’ll see my sister-in-law sailing a lido sailboat.
That was VERY long ago–she celebrates her 50th wedding anniversary next year and she was a teenager in that snippet of film. 🙂
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So where was that filmed?
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Hi to self, I’ll answer that:
_____________
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What is a lido boat? Cool memory for her.
We see bald eagles quite often. Some people like loons and others claim they are quite vicious. They do have a nice call.
The roads were terrible today and the wind nasty. The only person who came to listen at the jam today was a 95 yr. old former Marine. When he heard the group was still coming, he decided to come and listen even though the weather was bad. He doesn’t live a long distance away, though.
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Actually, Mumsee pinches a bit too hard for my taste.
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You too, Cheryl? Yes, ouch.
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A lido is a small sailboat that fits two people. My father-in-law actually built the one she sails, himself.
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We are having good weather and clear skies. It only got down to 44 last night.
Okay, I need to do some more catching up on the blog. but I’m confused, did Aj only have the surgery to remove the tube or did he have the one he was dreading.
Jo
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Jo- the surgery before Thanksgiving was to reverse the colostomy, but on Sunday he had emergency surgery because it failed. He now has a newly placed, permanent colostomy that is much better than the previous, which had numerous issues. The tube that was removed Wednesday was to keep his digestive system clear as he healed because he was backed up and vomiting. It’s hard to keep up with it all, because there seem to be endless complications. He started Wednesday very happy to have that tube removed, but while I was there he was vomiting again, but since his digestion is moving, they did not put the tube back, just said they’d keep an eye on things. It does delay solid food, which in turn delays his release. I will be so happy when he is home and we can do the work of getting him recuperated and settled into his new(ish) and improved “normal”. Sorry for the lack of clarity. Life currently is a lot of complications/“events” that make cohesive thought and communication a real struggle for me. I am hoping for some downtime in 2025 to recover from the past year(s) myself. Please feel free to any questions and I am happy to try to respond; it helps me in processing it all.
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*Ask any questions…
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Thank you, Mrs The Real!
And to help bring peace, calm, and relaxation, here is a link to some guitar harp instrument Christmas music.
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Thanks for the update on AJ. Keeping you both in prayer.
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Beautiful music, Janice. I would love to have one of my grands learn to play that beautiful instrument!
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I don’t know if this helps or not, but my blind grandfather lived with a permanent colostomy for many years and managed to care for himself the entire time. I know things are much improved since his death 32 years ago.
All that being said, there’s grief involved in knowing you’ve had to make a permanent and “non-normal” change in your physical life.
We pray for a completion of all of this, peace in your household, rest, and open hearts and minds to how and what God will do with you next.
You are loved by God, an everlasting love, that knows no boundaries and doesn’t dwell on our infirmities.
The Lord is not done with you yet–any of the Reals–and we bless you with His many promises.
I wish you JOY overflowing.
Amen.
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Good morning! It was another early morning excursion, but not to the medical buildings. Today it was the county tag office and Sam’s Club.
Last night we had a meal out at the Magnplia Room Cafeteria. It replaced another place we went to for years. It is where we tried to go the day after Thanksgiving. The food was good but they did not have a big salad station like before
I had hoped for carrot raisin salad but found none. I did have sweet potato pie, my first ever. It was good but I had wanted pumpkin. Maybe next time!
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thanks so much Mrs Aj, Cheryl, for clearing up my confusion
praying that you will be together at home soon
that music is lovely, Janice
another sunny day here
jo
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I have a granddaughter taking up the harp. Her other grandpa plays with the Boise Philharmonic so he has connections to good instructors. Second son always wanted to play the harp but not in our price range. Instead, he took up the drums and began getting phone calls with requests for him to play gigs when he was ten. But they were past his bedtime so we declined.
mumsee
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Thanks for the fresh “overview,” Cheryl – this has been quite a ride and I can’t imagine how you both are keeping up with it all as it sometimes seems to be all happening so fast.
Praying for rest as AJ recuperates and for a return home as soon as possible. And yes, now for some much-needed breathing time in 2025; what a year you all have endured.
God has his purposes in good times and hard times both (and it’s often in those difficult patches that we spiritually grow the most, though surely no one would wish those times for themselves or for those we care about).
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“hurry up, the real, this sceptor deal is getting heavy. mumsee”
Too much sitting around watching TV and eating too many bonbons.
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One hundred 57!
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Did Jo or Michelle or Bob Buckles drop something?
mumsee
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I do not have time to address the disrespectful tone of big brother, too much discipline to mete out. When the real’s away, the mice will play.
mumsee
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My mom told me once that when she and Dad got married, she wanted 5 children and Dad wanted 2 children, and they forgot to tell God that they were the same children (you know, a maximum of 5, not 5 + 2).
Likewise, AJ told us he should be returning to us in 3-5 days, but I think he entered the math wrong on the calculator, and did 3 x 5 (but still might have cut it a little short). Seriously, a longer hospitalization, with more treatment than expected, does mean a longer recovery time, and we need to pray that they can get through that well.
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That would be Bob. He lives in the area of the big earthquake + tsunami warning.
We didn’t even have swinging chandeleurs down here.
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When I saw “7.0” I gasped — then breathed easier when I realized it was offshore. That’s a good-sized earthquake that would have caused some serious devastation in a populated area.
I think I saw where the tsunami warning was lifted several hours ago.
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It is 23° right now. So cold. But the wind is not blowing. Thankful!
Good morning from Cozy Warm Home. Praising God from Whom all blessings flow.
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The coffee did the trick. It seemed to loosen the blockage and reduce the nausea even little sips of water were giving me.
The drs just left, going to introduce a little toast this afternoon, if things go well, some real food tomorrow. Then maybe out of here Sunday or Monday!
Praying it’s so.
And thank you ladies for lifting up my Cheryl. I see the effects this has on her, and it wounds my heart, for I feel powerless to stop it. But there you all are again, lifting, aiding, ministering, and I again thank God for the blessings of the Wanderers.
We will update you when we know more.
Love you all,
Allen
PS,
How are our folks in Cali after yesterday’s earthquake business?
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Good to hear, AJ. I hope enjoying the Friday funnies is “good medicine”.
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Morning all! Coffee for Aj!!! I call it sustenance!☕️
Cheryl is so dear to keep us updated even when her day seems to be in a fog. Such a blessing it is to cover you both in prayer and see the Hand of our Lord guiding you through. You are loved!❣️
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We’re all fine. People in the northwestern corner were tossed around quite a bit, but no tsunami.
Just another “normal” earthquake here.
I did move the stools out from under the countertop when the “alert” came through on my phone, just in case I needed to get under something.
Doorways, actually, are not the best spots.
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The.Coffee.Fix.
God knew!
Here is a nice refection on God, scripture set to music by an Australian band:
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Good to hear from you AJ, praying you continue to heal from this latest trauma and are even now on the other side of it.
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Cats love Christmas.
https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1865064192350335447
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Good morning, all, from a beautiful frosty foggy day. More grandchildren arrived last night, their dad arrives tonight. Their mom had a storage place to clean out down in Buhl so asked if she could drop them off early.
mumsee
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Never boring around Mumsee’s house.
Just got back from a drive. Friend needed a lift to pick up her car. Okay, I said. So drove 55minutes to Oroville where she works and picked her up. Then to Yuba City, maybe another 40 minutes, where her car had been repaired. Then home again, another 50 minutes. However we did stop at Chipotle for dinner.
Earlier I got a haircut and ran some errands.
Very busy day for quiet me.
Tomorrow morning is the Christmas tea at church.
Jo
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Good morning, all. Jo is much busier than I ever hope to be.
mumsee
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What a blessing you must be for your friend, Jo.
It is my day for frosting/decorating cookies, both sugar and gingerbread people. It will be warm outside (upper 30’s) so we should be going to one of the many events taking place. However, I need to get these finished before our family Christmas. I am not as enthusiastic to do these as I was years ago. I feel blessed I can still do it, however. It is a blessing to bring joy to others in many different ways.
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Good brunch time! I have been talking on the phone with different people this morning to change my email address and phone number on records associated with our timeshare.
It dawned on me that I had not received a confirmation or maintenance fee, or anything because it is all going to my old email. Thankful to have it straightened out, but it took all morning.
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The best words to use when you are dealing with talking computers on a phone call: ” Speak to a representative.” It was not a given option, but somehow it worked to get me to real people.
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We have been outside laying out plans for our latest Arbor Day shipment of trees. Now my two lovely assistants are off to move wood pellets for friends and help him get his new snow blade on his rig.
mumsee
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It’s 75 degrees here today, weird. I was going to buy a Christmas tree but will wait until this weather passes (which is supposed to be tomorrow when it will be back in the low 60s at least).
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60s are much better for buying Christmas trees, lol
Will there be a cat under it for Abby, Dj?
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Maybe a stuffed cat toy in her stocking if Santa makes it down our chimney 🙂
San Francisco:
~ Traffic chaos caused by 30K pounds of melted chocolate on Bay Area highway ~
Big rig caught fire: Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of chocolate were in the trailer, and nearly all of it appeared to melt, he said. A photo posted on CHP’s X account shows loads of chocolate oozing out of the truck and onto the road.
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Good news!
Looks like they’re springing me today. Should be discharged around lunch time.
Allen
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Good morning with good news!
My dad is dressed and ready for church this morning. Snow expected mid morning so planning for that. Another beautiful day here.
mumsee
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Best news of the day, AJ!
Stellar patient!☆
Sunday joy!!!
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Someone is going to be partying in the street, Dj with all that chocolate. A new tradition is born!
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Good news AJ!
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Is anyone going to use What’s App or Signal instead of regular texting since the FBI revealed that since the summer the Chinese government has been able to hack into messages between IPhone and Android phones?
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Getting to the party late I see!! Hoping and praying you were sprung from that place and are now snug at home Aj!!
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https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1865823513019285844
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so glad to hear or read Ajs news. Now we can all celebrate
a week ago I offered to take my friends to the San Francisco airport on the 10th, this Tuesday. They just accepted my offer
that changes my plans. Please pray as I will stay with my Pacifica friend. I just spoke to her and she can no longer think clearly. It will be good to see her, possibly our last visit
jo
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went to another estate sale today and got another lovely quilt for 15 dollars. Several other things too
my new hobby
jo
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It is so sad to see how cheaply some quilts go for. I once heard someone bought a handsewn hexagon quilt top for a quarter! People generally underestimate the cost of materials and time put into them. That is a fun new hobby, Jo.
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Husband used to enjoy estate sales. He found lots of interesting things but our house got very full.
mumsee
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Yes, estate, garage and rummage sales can be dangerous for over collecting. I had a grandmother who lived near two thrift shops. My mom had to ‘clean out’ her over-shopping more than once. OTOH, they can be great for those just starting out in life or for the discerning.
I have a very difficult time resisting books myself.
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dj – That cat in the video must have been drugged to put up with that wrapping paper for more than 1 second.
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And the race is on for 200. Mumsee must be away from the computer or she would have talked to herself by now.
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Where is Mumsee in the race to 200? She is usually the Speed Queen tapping furiously on her keypad. I hope she didn’t trip!
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wait, did someone say we were having a race!,,
jo
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We haven’t seen these numbers in a very long time
Jo
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Mumsee must be lurking somewhere
Oh where can she be??
Jo
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Hmmm must be using her scepter as my comments are disappearing
How can that happen?
Oh me, oh my
Jo
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