TODAY is my niece Hannah’s birthday (the one who lives in Knoxville). Happy birthday Hannah! Hope you had a delightful day! Love you!

I forgot to mention yesterday that Deb brought me a jar of homemade soup and a beautiful kitchen towel. I have never seen one like this. I hung it up right away. Thanks, Deb!

Today was a quiet day. Work was light – the biggest thing that happened there was that they finally switched out my car. I’ve had the Nissan for a long time. I am driving a dark blue Jeep Renegade. It’s a little smaller than the Rouge and fits well in the garage. Still trying to make friends with the Jeep – have to figure out all the buttons and settings. I’m always excited when I can pair the phone and figure out how to turn the headlights on!

I did laundry after lunch, then managed to climb behind the downstairs shower — and shimmy up the bookcase in the closet – to turn off both outside spigots. I put the hose away and drained the lines. So, all good until spring. Is it spring yet?

My credit card wasn’t working properly so I stopped at the bank and ordered a new one. They believe the chip is loose. I came home and wrote out some cards; the problem was I sat the confetti container on the couch. My pen rolled onto the floor and I knocked over the container trying to pick it up. Sigh. I won’t tell you how long it took me to pick all these stars up!

Then I actually went over to Dollar Tree to pick up napkins and plates for Sunday. It’s the last Sunday school class for the year. On the way over I turned a corner and there were two deer standing right in the middle of the road by the Zion Lutheran Church. While I waited for them to mosey off the road, two more followed. They weren’t in any hurry!

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TOMORROW December 12th is:

International Universal Health Coverage day; International Day of Neutrality; National Ding a Ling Day; National Ambrosia Day; National Poinsettia Day; Gingerbread House Day.

Ding a Ling day is a day to reach out to people you used to be in touch with all the time and have fallen away. That’s a great idea! So reach out to a friend, co-worker, family, classmate – Give them a call or drop a note! God bless…

It was raining all day and dreary but we all had happy spirits. Sawyer and Grace were putting puzzles together, and Cody and Jackson set up the manger. Max came in later but was entertaining none the less!

The welcome center had a really inviting background on the announcement rotation. Peaceful.

Look who was parked beside me when I pulled into a parking space at Walmart?

Todd’s message was the second in his Home for Christmas series: THE TRUTH OF CHRISTMAS, which is to say that Christmas is not really focused on the truth. Are you preparing (during the holiday) for events or for people? Be kind. Our LIVES are a sermon – people would rather SEE than HEAR Jesus from you. All we need for Christmas is Jesus.

After church I took Priscilla’s gift to her – no one was home so I hung it on her door. They live in a nice neighborhood so I felt comfortable leaving it there. I think eventually I’ll hear that she got it. I sent her an email to alert her it was from me. Her porch looked so quaint!

On the way home I saw a Radio Flyer red wagon in the neighbor’s yard and the sign said ‘Free’. Of course I stopped to get it. It’s in very good shape; it will just need scrubbed in the spring. I struggled getting it in the car. It was very awkward to maneuver!

And these are the toys that Kelly got at their church’s rummage sale – everything left after Sunday morning was free! I scrubbed them up this afternoon and tucked them away until Cameron is big enough.

One of the items in the auction bid was a pine cone garland. I wound it around the deck post.

Our HCC Christmas dinner was this evening. Everything looked lovely — all the monitors carried the yule log and the fireplace. The main stage had trees and lights set up.

The food was great – and there was a huge variety. Ham, chicken, meatballs, veggies, parsley potatoes, mac/cheese, about five different types of drink, and an entire island of desserts. Yum. And it started with a salad and rolls. Our crew did a great job.

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TOMORROW December 11th is:

National Stretching Day; UNICEF Birthday; National App Day; National Noodle Ring Day; International Mountain Day.

Tomorrow is my niece Hanna’s birthday, and also my cousin Mark’s birthday. It would have been my Aunt Gail’s, as well – my dad’s sister. I already have a list of chores for tomorrow. Sigh. God bless!

I am always at Hanna’s Town events to volunteer, to help out, to be part of the staff or background. Well, today I went as a paid guest! Hanna’s Town was presenting their Three Centuries of Christmas and it’s one of my very favorite events that they put on. I made reservations, paid the fee, and showed up today with my note pad and pen to absorb everything I could about Christmas celebrations from the 1700’s (and before) through 2023.

Currently, the most popular holiday in the US is Thanksgiving; the second most popular is tied between Christmas and Memorial Day! There is also a self-guided walk-through with signs describing the most popular celebrations and traditions.

We started the tour with Kelton and his daughter leading us over to Hanna’s Tavern. There was a fire in the grate and the room was decorated somewhat like it would have been — although Christmas was not officially celebrated as we know it in those early centuries. I could not even begin to post everything that I learned, but I loved learning it! Dan was guarding the tavern and escorted us in.

Let’s see – a few facts from early centuries. Belsnickel was a prototype of Santa, but he (unlike Santa) did not stay hidden. He knocked on doors, asking the children if they were good. If not, they were ‘whipped’; if they were, they were given a treat. Belsnickel also went house to house and took donations from the rich and gave to the poor. Houses were decorated with items from nature: Fruit and candles and holly. There was a Paradise tree and the children acted out Bible stories, especially the creation and fall of man. Christmas was banned several times during those early centuries, perceived to be too pagan and not focusing on the birth of Christ. I liked these decorations best.

The Nineteenth Century: Trees were decorated with dough ornaments, walnuts, candles, and cranberry or popcorn garlands with a wooden angel on top. Gifts for the children were left in stockings hung on the mantle, or even on the tree. Clement C Moore’s NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS was a very important part of Christmas celebrations, as well as A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens. Silent Night was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818.

In 1870 President Grant declared Christmas a national holiday. During the 1900’s Queen Victoria had a lot of influence on US celebrations; German glass manufacturing did, as well.

Cathy shared experiences and celebrations held during the Civil War. One item she shared was that after Sherman took Atlanta, he dressed his horses up as reindeer and delivered food to the families that needed help. This was probably my favorite part, information wise.

While during the 1800’s trees were small and placed on table tops, they moved to bigger sizes and were sat on the floor in the 1900’s. Decorations were manufactured. Santa was based on Clement Moore’s poem and eventually the image presented by Coca Cola – jolly man in a red suit! I liked the memories in this segment.

In 1939 Montgomery Ward introduced Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as a storybook and stuffed toy; we still embrace Rudolph in our celebrations, along with Gene Autry’s recording of Rudolph’s story in 1949. Electric lights were offered in 1903, and in 1923 President Coolidge erected the first National Christmas Tree on the White House lawn. In 1915 John C Hall (Hallmark) mass-produced the first affordable Christmas cards — see what they started? It was said that it took one month to get ready for Christmas and two weeks to get over it!

Radio, TV and movies became prevalent and increased in popularity, even having a broadcast from space from Apollo 8 in 1968. It appears that people were searching for a way to renew their connections with their past. I know that’s a strong motivation to me during the holidays!

So that will be my post for the day. If anything exciting happens during the rest of the day I will post it tomorrow!

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TOMORROW December 10th is:

National Lager Day; Nobel Prize Day; Human Rights Day; Dewey Decimal System Day.

Tomorrow is HCC’s Christmas dinner and program. I’ll stick with that. God bless…

This morning I changed the sheets on the Crooks room bed, as Kelly won’t be back until after Christmas to sleep in it. This way she’ll have fresh, clean sheets to crawl into when she does come!

Brown’s PHAC came about 10:15am and replaced the defective part. It took him a little over an hour. When that was done, I picked up Autmn and Cameron and we went shopping. He was pretty good, considering we drug him around for almost two hours! Autmn was able to get most of her shopping done.

After we ate, Autmn got a shower while Cameron was nesting. Noah got off early so they left here at about 5pm. I always enjoy my baby time!

Before they left, Autmn and Noah wrapped the gifts she bought today. I think she has one or two more but we’ll do that next week.

I’m sitting here in the semi-dark, with the tree lights on and the little light about my desk. Snoopy is keeping me company…

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TOMORROW December 9th is:

Lutefisk Day; Christmas Card Day; National Pastry Day; Weary Willie Day; International Anti-corruption Day.

Some of these days I’m not even sure about. But I DID mail my Christmas cards today, and had a small pastry for breakfast. So — that’s it. God bless…

Today was a very ordinary day as far as my schedule and activities go. Kelly and Chase left at 9am, and I left about 10 minutes later for work. Spent about a half an hour chatting with Rege before heading to Greensburg store. Joe had two titles for me.

I stopped at the post office and got two books of stamps, then Sir Rege called me to help him with some paperwork — so I went back to Jeannette.

While I was en route, Hanna’s Town called to confirm my reservation for Three Centuries of Christmas on Saturday. I went once before a few years ago, and it was delightful, so I’m excited. I barely hung up from that call and Brown’s Heating called. The part is in for my furnace repair so they will be out in the morning!

Jen txt me a bunch of Christina’s Senior Pictures; these are just a few. They turned out beautiful! I’m so excited for her. So many wonderful things happening in Chrissy’s life and I’m proud of her.

And TODAY is the anniversary of my best friend Gen’s birth! Sending a huge birthday greeting to her and letting her know how special she is and how important her friendship is to me. It would have been a sad thing to navigate life without her in it! Love you, Gen — Happy, happy birthday and many more, my friend!

There are many more events and times together – this is just a tiny representation. So blessed to have her in my life!

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TOMORROW December 8th is:

National Crossword Solvers Day; National Salesperson Day; National Brownie Day; Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day.

I have known TONS of salespersons in my life. Just… TONS! Some have been dear friends. I love brownies – and on Saturday I WILL pretend to be a time traveler, going back three centuries to celebrate Christmas! Fun! God bless…

Kelly and I started the day by having scones for breakfast. Chase wanted cereal, so he had Apple Jacks. Then we started a load of laundry before working on the Chocolate Chip Cookies. We made a big batch and they did turn out yummy! Chase’s buddy ‘Donald’ was overseeing the cookie operations and was the official taste-tester.

We had frozen pizza for lunch (well, we cooked it first), then worked on the chocolate covered pretzels for Christmas. The pretzels were the Utz Holiday ones, shaped like snow flakes, bells and trees. I have a big container now with holiday sprinkles. And we still have a few fall ones left, too.

Once we got the kitchen cleaned up (which had non-peril sprinkles everywhere!) I sorted out some gifts I needed to wrap. I got the Sunday School kids’ done. Still have a few more to do tomorrow.

Donald took a bit of a nap while Chase was playing his Switch, then he wanted to help me post the Word Garden. So far he hasn’t been too much help…

We had Quilla-Dillas for supper (quesadillas). Kelly is working on crocheting Tossle hats. I think we are basically done with projects for the day.

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TOMORROW December 7th is:

National Slime Day; National Illinois Day; Chanukah; International Civil Aviation Day; National Cotton Candy Day; National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Tomorrow is also Gen’s birthday! I’ll post pictures tomorrow. Have a lovely day; avoid slime if possible. God bless…

A short post today. Started the day with step two of my Christmas card list. Went to the Koffee with Kelton at Hanna’s Town – Kelton is the new education director. He has a master’s degree and a PhD. Sounds like he has some exciting and effective ideas to move Hanna’s Town forward. The only thing I held against him was that he grew up 40 miles from Colonial Williamsburg and has never been there in his adult life! Be still my pounding heart! I cannot imagine…

But we went around the room and talked about our involvement with the site and our draw to history. I learned a lot of new things about the people I have worked and volunteered with for 20 years!

It was snowing when I left for home. The plumber came about 12:15pm. There were roots clogging about five feet of the drain out from the house. Let me tell you, it was an expensive operation! But all clear again. Everything is working correctly.

Diane sent me a picture of her Snoopy window. Her granddaughter gave her some window clings and I also gave her some. So she has her whole front window decked out.

Kelly and Chase got here about 1:30pm just as Warhold was leaving. They unloaded the van, then Kelly and I ran errands and went shopping. I found a few small items I needed and so did Kelly. So tomorrow is free to be making our cookies.

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TOMORROW December 6th is:

Mitten Tree Day; National Gazpacho Day; St. Nicholas Day; National Miner’s Day; National Pawnbrokers Day.

Don’t forget to leave your shoes out for St. Nicholas to put candy in! God bless…

After the few crazy weeks and days we’ve had, I was very content with having an ordinary day! I had several deals in Jeannette, then stopped to help Mike P with some issues, and ended up in Greensburg where I processed three titles.

From there I stopped at Aldi. My original intent was to get milk and Goldfish (Kelly and Chase are coming tomorrow). But I was hungry for Cream of Potato soup so I got milk and potatoes as well, and grabbed a package of bacon because I know Chase normally likes that (although you can never be sure with Chase!).

Autmn needed a ride to Nate and Jen’s. Her dryer quit and the laundry was piling up. So I went down and picked up her, Cameron, and lots of dirty clothes! Thankfully Jen was willing to share her washers and dryers (they have 2 of each). At least I got to hold Cameron for a few minutes while Autmn organized everything. He smiled at me and was even ‘talking’ to me. He is just a sweetie!

On the way home I noticed that the Christmas Moose in Youngwood was back! It’s very big!

So I got laundry et al delivered then came home and made my soup. Had a bowl while it was fresh and hot!

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TOMORROW December 5th is:

World Soil Day; national Repeal Day; World Trick Shot Day; National Sacher Torte Day; International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development; International Ninja Day; Bathtub Party Day.

I’ve never had a party in a bathtub but I’ve spent a lot of time playing in the dirt! God bless…

Cloudy, rainy day – but the sun peeked out a few times. There was a partial rainbow this afternoon after the play, but I didn’t even get a picture of it! We had Cody and Jackson in class this morning as Max was away. I left after Sunday School as I was meeting Diane to go to a play in Butler.

I had a few minutes extra until I had to meet Diane, so I popped into Goodwill. I found a little warm sleeper for Cameron. So now we should have enough to get through the next few weeks at least!

We stopped at Valley Dairy on the way up. I had a burger and sweet potato fries. This was the 3rd time in 5 days I ate out. THAT is amazing to me!

The play was The Last Mass at St. Casimir’s. The actors were very talented and did a great job, but it wasn’t my type of humor. I will say, however, that the ending was very good. To quote the program – play is a ‘look at family…their quirks…disagreements…tribulations…love for each other.’

Took a picture on the way home of a farm’s Christmas decorations. They were created from stacked hay bales!

Shannon had a Williamsburg guide book and a map for me. And when I got home Ginny had left another piece of pottery on my porch from Williamsburg. Such sweet friends I have!

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TOMORROW December 4th is:

Santa’s List Day; Cabernet Franc Day; International Cheetah Day; Wildlife Conservation Day; National Sock Day; National Dice Day; National Cookie Day.

I already made my list for Santa – and do you know what was on it? Socks! Ha! As for cookies, Kelly is coming up on Tuesday/Wednesday and we are planning on a cookie day. I’ll celebrate then. God bless…

So what I didn’t have time to post last night was the end of my visit with Autmn and Cameron, and ‘Aunt Summer’. She loves her little nephew! She was changing his diaper, and being a boy, he peed — on his own face, even in his ear! So we put a beach towel in the laundry tub for comfort and gave him a quick bath.

The girls dressed alike and didn’t even realize. They look so cute!

I left them home and went to the civic center to usher for the play. They were sold out again, so we were busy. Took time after the show started to get a picture of Bear and me. He even bought me a Coke. I think we’re engaged now. JUST KIDDING. I’m not accepting proposals, and he has a very long-time significant other. We’ve just known each other since the mid-80’s! I only get to see him when I usher.

My day today started with a phone call from Gen in New York. She had some things she wanted to share with me, and needed a supportive ear. We chatted for half an hour and it was a good visit. I miss her coming down as often!

Shower, breakfast, a little ironing, and then Kathy and Paul picked me up for our camp adventure. Nadine (the camp cook) made a wonderful lunch of pork roast, chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted veggies, fresh rolls, and dessert. The decorations were lovely, too.

Got to catch up with some long-time friends.

The entertainment was a very talented auto-harp player and singer. She had a great voice and chose very unique songs. Near the end we joined her in singing carols. It was a very fun day!

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TOMORROW December 3rd is:

National Roof Over Your Head Day; International Day of Persons With Disabilities.

I LOVE the roof over my head and am thankful for it every single day! God bless…