Totally timed perfectly!

A Nativity Scene was erected in a church yard.

During the night the folks came across this scene.

An abandoned dog was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep.

He chose baby Jesus as his comfort.

No one had the heart to send him away so he was there all night.

We should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus' lap from time to time.

This is too sweet not to share.

No one mentioned that the dog's breed is a "Shepherd!"

Thanks to Elsie for sending this to me!

30 days hath September

April, June and NOVEMBER! Yikes, it's the last day of November! Now is the count down to the busiest and most hectic time of the year.

26 days until Christmas. Each year I know it is coming, I get lulled into an uncanny sense of timelessness as the New Year unfolds and proceeds through Spring, Summer and Fall.

The seasonal tasks that are connected with each month of the New Year fall into step and get done. Sometimes I don't know how they get done, but they get done all the same.

Please let it be so for this next 26 days.

No more complacent housewife for me....time to get into gear!

Christmas in the Colonies

has been changed to Christmas around the World.
But what it really is ... is a craft show. Nice crafts to be
sure, but still a craft show.

No colonial craftsmen hawking their wares, and certainly
no craftsmen demonstrating their skills.

Anyway, it was a nice little jaunt for a Sunday afternoon.

Linda, Daniel and I attended and we stayed about an hour.
The most fun was watching Daniel get his face painted by
a "colonial" garbed lady artist.

As you can see, the design he chose was of a
"Toy Soldier".

The face paint lasted a couple of hours before it started to
transfer to hands, pillows, shirt etc.

He had a great time and the passer's by smiled and pointed.

Cost: $8.00 for the face painting, $4.00 for the Santa Photo,
$2.00 for the Christmas craft (painting a small toy soldier)
Admission for Daniel: Free

Yup, it was a pretty nice couple of hours!

The best part of the Thanksgiving bird...

....is the sandwich! After the family and friends have gone home, I make myself a turkey sandwich. Just bread, turkey (white or dark) and mayo. A fresh plate, a few celery stalks and some green olives.

That is what I dream of when I prep for the Thanksgiving
cooking marathon.

Just the sandwich.

I imagine everyone else longs for a sandwich too....so that is why I cook two turkeys the day before Thanksgiving and have them all carved and cooled waiting for the "packing up of leftovers".

My guests appreciate the parcels they can take home as an extension of the holiday meal.

At least I hope they relish the sandwich after the feast as much as I do!

The glasses were placed on the table with care....

.....in hopes that the turkey soon would be there.

Sixteen family and friends gathered around this table soon to
be covered with bounty.

Sixteen people could not eat all that was on their plates.

The women cleared, packaged, washed and dried.

Most took packages of turkey and trimmings home for another
meal or sandwich and pie.

I am tired. But in a good way.
We are so blessed!

Two days and counting down..

Today is day four of prepping for the "Feast".

I love this particular holiday. I show "Love" with food and so this is my kind of gathering.

So far the prepping has included:

l. cutting and roasting three hubbard squash (baking with butter and brown sugar to come)

2. cutting, peeling and cooking five rutabaga to prepare braised with onion, bacon, sage and stock

3. cleaning and cooking four bags of cranberries and making into sauce

4. peeling, dicing and sauteing three lbs of onions and two bunches of celery in one pound of butter for stuffing

5. thawing three turkeys, (20 lbs, 24.9 lbs, 20.4 lbs)

6. polishing various and assorted silver tableware and silverware

7. shopping for cream to whip, pies to make (eight) green beans to casserole, sweet potatoes to roast and mash, corn to heat and butter, potatoes to mash, gravy to make, suttfing bread to dice,

8. vacuum and dust

9. table to set

10. Be Thankful and pray!

Thanksgiving Card I just received

Dr. Mark and I did a deal together this year. He worked really hard for his buyer.

It says :With all due respect to the visually impaired, herewith the traditional Ernberg Thanksgiving Card. The happiest Turkey Day to you and your family!



And the same to you!

The Mitten Tree

Yesterday I picked Daniel up from Daycare. In the foyer there is a small Christmas Tree, decorated with perhaps two dozen green and red paper cutouts of mittens. (Most images that I can picture of a mitten tree contain hats, gloves and mittens that are "brought" to the location and hung on the tree) Each mitten bears the name of a child, the child's age, gender, and ID number and a "Christmas Wish".

A couple of weeks ago I took a mitten off of the tree and tucked it into my pocket. When I was at Von Maur, I purchased a sweater, women's size small for a 12 year old girl. It was fun picking something out and I was fortunate to find a nice one on a sale rack. Yesterday before I picked Daniel up, I wrapped the gift with wrapping paper and ribbon, placed a tag with the proper identification written on it and returned it to the school. As I entered the lobby I glanced at the tree. There seemed to be the same number of mittens hanging on it as there were two weeks ago. Hmmmm.

When Daniel and I were ready to leave the school we stopped and looked at the tree together.

"Hey Daniel let's take another mitten off of the tree"

"Maybe we can find someone else to buy a gift for another child"

"Okay" said he.

On the short ride home he said "I know, maybe Linda can buy a present".

So, when we got out of the car at home, we walked across the driveway, across Linda's backyard and into her house. Her husband was in his recliner watching the news, her two grandchildren were completing a craft project on her kitchen table and Linda was in the office at the other end of the house gathering construction paper (I thought she looked a little harried as she was the hostess for Bridge in just a couple of hours, when eight ladies would arrive for cards, snacks, desserts and gabbing.) Daniel walked up to Linda and said "Would you buy a doll for this little girl for Christmas from the mitten tree?" A startled Linda paused what she was doing for a moment....and said "Sure".

Daniel left and walked back home, even though he wanted to stay and participate with Claire and Ethan in their "Teepee" making craft.

This was a warm moment for me .... and I'm sure for Linda too.

There are lots of mittens and angel cutouts bearing children's names hanging on trees in our communities today. Grocery stores, retail stores , schools and churches

Please stop and pick up a mitten or an angel or maybe two.

Warmth is what we all need at this time of year.

"Tradition".....not just something your Grandma did..

This is an excerp from my daughter-in-law Traci Purdum Von Duyke's blog, written for her landscape contractor client....

Guest blogger Traci Purdum

I love traditions. Traditions make you feel like a part of something bigger – something that will live on long after you’ve gone. For my family, my mother-in-law is the keeper of traditions, and this time of year she is busy ensuring the traditions don’t fall by the wayside. I’m certain she feels like no one really cares about the effort she puts forth – but I’m also certain that if she took the year off she’d soon realize she is the glue that holds the family together.

I first entered the family at Christmastime. That first Christmas introduced me to one of my favorite traditions – Trekking out to the horse barn on Christmas Eve to hear the horses talk. Legend has it that animals all over the world are given a voice for a very short time to chat it up before Santa arrives. In the 15 years with the family have I ever heard a horse speak? No – but that’s not the point. The point is that every Christmas Eve I spend on this Earth will remind me of that tradition – and of my mother-in-law.

The following is the legend...a tradition that I love to keep....

The Night The Animals Talked
In the frosty mountains and on the snowy fields of Norway, there is a legend that draws children to all kinds to stables and stalls throughout the country on each Christmas Eve night. They are hoping to hear a miracle. They are waiting to hear the animals talk.

Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. This was no abandoned place, but was a working stable, filled with animals of all kinds. Into these humble surroundings, encircled by the innocent creatures of God, the Savior of man came into the world. Now according to legend, at least, Christ's birth occurred at exactly midnight. Inside the stable, the animals watched in wonder as the new-born babe was lovingly wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger. Suddenly, God gave voice to the animals and immediately they began to praise God for the miracle they had just seen. This went on for several minutes and, just before the entrance of the shepherds -- who had hurried to the stable because angels had told them the Christ had been born there -- the animals again fell silent. The only humans who had heard them were Mary, Joseph and, of course, the Christ child.

The legend of the talking animals persists to this day in Scandinavia. And every Christmas Eve, wide-eyed children creep into stables just before midnight to hear the animals praise God for the wondrous birth of His Son. Of course, adults scoff at this. "Old wives tales," they grump. "Those children should be home in bed, not out in the cold waiting for the family cow to preach a sermon."

But the children know -- or at least believe -- that animals really do praise God at midnight every Christmas Eve.

And who of us -- those who believe in an all-powerful God -- can say that it really doesn't happen?

That being said......

Rainbows can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind at a low altitude angle. The most spectacular rainbow displays happen when half the sky is still dark with raining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky in the direction of the sun. The result is a luminous rainbow that contrasts with the darkened background.

My friend Ruthie is here from her home in Texas (well actually, "here" is her real home, she just lives in Texas). She and I had a great day yesterday. We drove to Polaris/Gemini north of Columbus and shopped at Von Maur for two hours. Then drove over to the Polaris Grill and had a late lunch. On the trip down we talked non-stop.

In the store we fell into our old routine of shopping a lot in a short period of time. Ruthie asking for my opinion on such things as "would the purple be better or the gray", I bought pajamas for Daniel to wear on Christmas Eve, some stocking stuffers, a pair of sweat pants and a sweater (for the girl whose name I picked off the Angel Tree at Daniel's pre-school) and marveled at Ruthie's purchases. Two pairs of shoes that were knock-out, (one animal print heels, and the other bright red patent flats) an elegant rain coat, two tops, some great Christmas wine glasses and a set of three ceramic Santa's (Ruthie collects Santa's) who depicted (tongue in cheek mind you) "See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil". (Hmmmm, what a great concept for the holidays) A couple of other things were thrown in but that about covers it.

Von Maur is our favorite department store. Genteel and refined. A live pianist sits at a baby grand and plays lovely music, the clerks are all from the school of "Miss Manners". For example..when you make a purchase and are standing at the counter. The clerk politely asks if you want your receipt in your hand or in the bag., The bag being a lovely red and white, good quality shopping bag with handles. She not only asks if you want a box (complete with Von Maur printed tissue) but she walks around the counter and hands the bag to you. Sigh, the rest of retail could take notice. Perhaps Nordstrom's does that little perk, but I can't remember.

We talked for the whole trip down, talked through lunch, and talked all the way home. It has only been four months since the death of Ruthie's youngest child, Clifford William, and she still grieves like it was yesterday. North of Mansfield, we were discussing the cemetary and headstone among other aspects of Cliff's life and death when we both exclaimed at the same time "Look at the Rainbow". I turned to Ruthie and said "It's a sign...a sign that Cliff is alright and looking down on you". "Yes it is" said Ruthie. We just looked at each other.

I don't pretend to know what she is going through, and I told her that. I hope that I never know what she is going through. I just know that if she ever needs me, I'll be ready.

We had an absolutely great day.

As we parted she said to me "This is the first day I haven't cried since he died".

Cliff knows.

My friend Ruthie Lowery and husband "G" are in town from Denton, Texas. She and G arrived last Monday to attend Ruthie's daughter Sonnie's second child's birth. Mason Cliffie arrived on Thursday, all 10 lbs., 2 ozs. of him.

The birth of a child is always a special and blessed event, but in the case of Mason, even more emotion was involved in his arrival.

Ruthie's youngest son Cliffie, 31 died in July of this year. Causes unknown. He had experienced demons in his young life, and the young man's life ended abruptly.

The pain and sorrow that Ruthie is experiencing has been almost unbearable for her. She has made a memorial in her garden in Texas to constantly remind her of his life and death.

I cannot imagine, nor do I wish to be able to do so, the pain and suffering she endures at the loss of her child.

In a very small way, this baby will have a soul watched over by his uncle Cliffie.

Ruthie and I are travelling to Columbus today to lunch and shop at Von Maur. A favorite passtime from our years of travelling together to participate in Women's Council of Realtor's functions. We miss these time spent together, sharing the innermost thoughts, joys and fears.

Today we will capture the time since we've been apart.

And Cliffie will watch.

Girlfriends!

Had a great day yesterday with my friend Jo Ann. We don't see each other often, but we communicate by "blog" and "email". Sometimes, you just need to rest your head on someone else's shoulder to get something off yours so you can go on.

Yesterday got the job done.

As always, Jo Ann listens and I feel better. Thanks Jo Ann!

Yea for Applebees!

I heard on the news the other day that the Applebees Restaurant chain is offering a free meal today, Vetern's Day to any active military or Vet.

I thank them for putting their money where their mouth is!

You can trust a nurse!

A motorcycle patrolman was rushed to the hospital with an inflamed appendix.
The doctors operated and advised him that all was well; however, the patrolman kept feeling something pulling at the hairs in his crotch.

Worried that it might be a second surgery and the doctors hadn't told him about it, he finally got enough energy to pull his hospital gown up enough so he could look at what was making him so uncomfortable.

Taped firmly across his pubic hair and private parts were three wide strips of adhesive tape, the kind that doesn't come off easily --- if at all.
Written on the tape in large black letters was the sentence,

'Get well soon . from the nurse in the Jeep you pulled over last week.'

Kinda brings tears to your eyes doesn't it?

Go ahead and nod your head in agreement!

YOU KNOW.... SHE'S RIGHT!

I haven't left my house in days.
I watch the news channels incessantly.
All the news stories are about the election;
All the commercials are for Viagra and Cialis.
Election, erection, election, erection --
either way we're getting screwed!'
-- Bette Midler.

Infinity and beyond!

Halloween 2010 at Uncle Nathan and Aunt

Traci's House. Preparing to blast off!

"Uncle Nathan, will you go with me?"

"You want me to go with you Daniel?"

"Sure"

And go they did. Nathan, Sarah and Daniel blasted off from the driveway pad into the North Ridgeville outer space.

One hour and 45 minutes later, returning to earth.

Mission accomplished!

The Flower Show

To my friends.......this could happen to us!

Two little old ladies were sitting on a park bench outside the local town hall where a flower show was in progress.The thin one leaned over and said, 'Life is so boring. We never have any fun any more. For $10 I'd take my clothes off and streak through that stupid flower show!' 'You're on!' said the other old lady, holding up a $10 bill.




The first little old lady slowly fumbled her way out of her clothes and, completely naked, streaked (as fast as
an old lady can) through the front door of the flower show.

Waiting outside, her friend soon heard a huge commotion inside the hall, followed by loud applause and shrill whistling. Finally, the smiling and naked old lady came through the exit door surrounded by a cheering crowd.

'What happened?' asked her waiting friend.
'I won 1st prize as 'Best Dried Arrangement'.