Here we go – a brand new week. I did have a mini-bagel this morning for breakfast. I left early for church so I could finish the bulletin board. Got a txt message from the 2nd grade teacher. Max (her son) was sick so she asked us to take her class. We had two students, both from her class. We talked about the 10 lepers who were healed but only one said thank you. And we talked about the pandemic keeping us away from people and things we loved, just like leprosy did. I even played them part of Luke Combs’ song SIX FEET AWAY.

The sermon this morning was about forgiveness and how difficult it is to do that. We covet Jesus’ forgiveness for our sins and errors but somehow can’t forget lessor faults in others. 1) Make the CHOICE to forgive. 2) INITIATE forgiveness. 3) Show KINDNESS to the offender. 4) Focus on the FUTURE. Learn from the past but don’t live in the past.

Since Kelly and the boys are coming up tomorrow – not to mention having my friend for supper on Tuesday – after lunch I picked up a few groceries. I should be set now. We can always run over to the store if we need something else.

While I was putting the groceries away, I cleaned out both freezers. Now I have a good inventory of what I have, and hopefully it’s compact enough to fit in our beef when BEEF DAY rolls around next month!

My project this afternoon is to put travel decals on my vintage suitcase. It was Mom’s. I will decoupage them – I hope!

Fun things to do in Maryland:

Quote from AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT:
“If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the Roosevelt Room, giving Lewis oxygen.” Robin McCall …

Peanuts Post:

Top song in January of 1957 – Elvis Presley – ALL SHOOK UP

TOMORROW January 16th is:

International Hot & Spicy Food Day; National Nothing Day (?); National Religious Freedom Day; National Without a Scalpel Day; Martin Luther King Jr. Day; National Fig Newton Day.

Nothing day? How can that even be a thing? And I’m ALWAYS without a scalpel. Let’s just celebrate! God bless…

Normal Saturday routine – change sheets, laundry, breakfast… But then I went to Rosendahls and bought the fridge. I asked a lot of questions and probably made them crazy but it’s done. It will be delivered the 30th. I could have had it the week of the 23rd but there is so much other stuff going on that week and I WILL have to clean out the fridge and clear a path from the door to the kitchen so I just bumped it a week.

I stopped at Miller’s Crossing but didn’t really see anything that made me look twice. Just a few cute things and that’s all.

I got home just as Nate pulled in. He taped up for the trim, and got all that done. He helped put a few things back together but then I sent him on his way. It took me over 4 hours to go through everything that was in the kitchen and put it back. I moved some things around but if I don’t like it there I’ll move it again.

It struck me as I was trying to get organized that I could use a magnetic curtain rod on the fridge to hold a tea towel. I’ve never had a place to put it so I just draped it over the sink. I think this will work, even with the new fridge!

And since that was my whole day, I’ll post this and then have supper. I had a quick yogurt for lunch (and some M&Ms!). Then I scrubbed the kitchen floor on my hands and knees.

We had a little coating of snow, and the lights made the deck look blue…

Fun thing to do in Alaska:

Quote from GONE WITH THE WIND:

Scripture: (about land)

Peanuts Post:

Top song in 1956: Que Sera Sera by Doris Day

TOMORROW January 15th is:

National Bagel Day; National Strawberry Ice Cream Day; National Booch Day; National Hat Day.

I seldom wear hats unless it’s very cold and I’m outside for a while. I’m not a fan of Strawberry ice cream but I do like bagels. Guess that’s breakfast in the morning. Have a wonderful Sunday and God Bless…

Friday the 13th! Other than my secondary email not working, it’s been a calm day. I made Nate Tuna casserole for lunch and we both enjoyed that. I sent the left overs home with him!

The second coat of paint is on; all the tape is pulled off and everything looks fresh and clean. Tomorrow will be trim day – the white on the baseboards and some doorway trim. Then I can put everything away. The China Cupboard will be like a Rubik’s Cube — it has to go in exactly right or it won’t fit!!

I did laundry and Nate cleaned up. So we’re all done for the day.

Now I am working on this post and having a hot tea with cookies.

When Nate left, I returned unused supplies to Lowe’s ($25.00 worth so it was worth the effort!) then went to pick up my printer. Ken had worked on it for several days and it’s now hooked up and completely operational. I’m surprised I could actually connect it myself. Then I finally printed out the papers that I will need for the bulletin board at church on Sunday.

Scripture for today – and Sunday!

I think I found a refrigerator! I have to go down to my favorite appliance store tomorrow morning and double check the specs, and also try to negotiate a better price. It went up $400 since I ordered it initially. Here’s hoping! It’s not black (color of choice) but it’s the right size and model that I want. Hoping this works out. I’ve only been looking since the fall of 2020…

Fun thing to do in Alaska:

Quote from GONE WITH THE WIND:

Peanuts Post:

Top song in January of 1955:

TOMORROW January 14th is:

National Dress Up your Pet Day; Ratification Day; National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day; World Logic Day; National Vision Board Day.

Never tried to dress Tazz up – he didn’t even like bandanas. I love logic. But Ratification day – – here’s some interesting information! Ratification Day on January 14th annually recognizes the act that officially ended the American Revolution. The day commemorates the ratification of the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland, by the Confederation Congress. Tomorrow is hopefully ‘buy a fridge’ day and ‘finish painting’ day & who knows what else. Have a happy Saturday! God bless…

Just taking a minute to say Happy Birthday to my sweet Skunk Hollow cousin Beth! We’ve had so much fun together – from the time she was tiny with her curly red hair until the last hug at the Christmas party last month. And so much more to come! Hope your day was wonderful, Beth – and that we’ll get together very soon. Love you! Here are some OLD photos!!

It’s also Beth’s daughter Sabrina’s birthday, so Happy Birthday to Sabrina, too. This photo is from a photo taken when she spent the weekend with us when she was still in high school. Sabrina is the mother of three, and Julian just turned 17! THAT was a while back, too!

This morning I noticed that while the ‘deer’ was nibbling, it had a shadow. Sort of like the ground-hog!!! 🙂

It POURED down rain most of the day; in fact we had several thunder storms. I was in Lowe’s getting outlet covers and the thunder echoed – I actually stopped to listen for the trumpet. I thought it might be the rapture!!

Nate was at the house before I left for work, and he got all the taping done, the holes patched, and started to get the first coat of paint on. I brought us Wendy’s home for lunch. Then he kept going on the painting.

I removed all the heating duct covers, used the sweeper hose to clean out the vents, washed the covers, and cleaned the plastic deflectors to keep the heat going in the right direction. We both accomplished a lot! Then I sat down and ate the last peanut blossom doggie paw!

Fun thing to do in Alaska:

Quote from Gone with the Wind:

Peanuts Post:

#1 song in January 1954: Oh, my Papa by Eddie Fisher

TOMORROW January 13th is:

National Peach Melba Day; Korean American Day; National Blame Someone Else Day; National Sticker Day; Stephen Foster Memorial Day; National Rubber Duckie Day.

I’d be glad to blame everyone for everything! But it wouldn’t work. I used to be the ‘sticker lady’ when I worked at Smail’s. All the kids knew to come see me for a page of fun stickers. And I have my own literary Rubber Duckie! Have a great day. God bless. OH! Tomorrow is also Friday the 13th, so beware!!!

I am going to try and finish this before Bible study. It’s the last session on THE CASE FOR HEAVEN.

After breakfast I went through and cleaned the house, as is typical for Wednesday. BUT — then I packed up everything I could in the kitchen into tubs and boxes, etc, and moved it all into the bedrooms and living room. So when Nate comes in the morning to prep it will mostly be out of his way. I didn’t move any furniture except the chairs…

So the newly cleaned living and bedroom is now a dusty clutter! Looks like by the weekend I’ll have to re-clean!

And that took up the whole day – other than finishing up the book I was reading. It was an unknown author (to ME) and it was pretty good. Some interesting twists! I’ll look for a few other books of hers to read. CHRISTMAS AT SNOWDROP COTTAGE was very cute. Set in England, in the Cotswold’s near Cheltenham. Kelly was in Cheltenham; fun!

Fun thing to do in Alaska:

Quote from GONE WITH THE WIND:

Peanuts Post:

# 1 song in January 1953

TOMORROW January 12th is:

Kiss a Ginger Day; National Curried Chicken Day; National Marzipan Day; National Pharmacist Day.

Tomorrow will be paint the kitchen day at my house. It’s a good thing I don’t have to do any painting. If that happened I just might as well take a hose and spray paint the whole room! Thanks to Nate that won’t have to happen. Have a happy day — God bless…

The sunrise this morning was beautiful. My friend Tom posted one, too. I’ll share them both. Reminds me of Mom’s favorite scripture.

I worked both stores then stopped at Mike’s. Then Gabes. They still don’t have St. Patrick’s Day blankets! Bummer.

But speaking of blankets, just before I sat down here I took all of my blankets from every season and occasion and sorted them on the floor. Then I organized them and put them away systematically. Now I know that everything is put in the right place. I also have the sheets and blankets that the kids use when they stay over all tucked in their own bin. I just can’t buy any more. Yea, right…

Nate is going to come and paint the kitchen on Thursday and Friday, so I buzzed out this afternoon and got paint and supplies. It will be the same color. Just needs touched up. There are so many scratches and chips. It will be a lot of work – especially taping off and the prep; and clearing it out! – but it’s the last room that needs done!

I was cleaning out a closet shelf and found the extra treadmill key. If my buyer txts me I’ll send it to her. It’s very light!

My friend Lee Tobin McClain’s new book was released today – if you get a chance check it out. I can’t wait to read it! She’s a terrific writer with faith-based content.

In the meantime, I’m hungry, so I’m going to finish this and get something to eat! Probably potato soup! I had a slider for lunch.

Fun thing to do in Alaska:

Quote from Gone with the Wind:

Peanuts Post:

Best song in 1952: Happy Trails to You by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

TOMORROW January 11th is:

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day; National Arkansas Day; Heritage Treasures Day; National Milk Day; National Step in a puddle and Splash your Friends Day.

EVERYONE should be aware of human trafficking and do everything possible to put an end to those atrocities. I have nothing for or against Arkansas but I LOVE heritage treasures! And Kelly will certainly celebrate National Milk Day. Not sure if I will be doing any splashing. But lots to do tomorrow to prep for Thursday’s paint project. Excited! God bless…

I slept better last night – and I got a txt from Jami saying that she loves the treadmill. It’s a real upgrade from the one she had that broke! So glad she’s happy and it all happened safely.

Work was light but something to do in both stores. I stopped for a few items on the way home as I am having a friend for supper on Thursday. She likes stuffed pepper soup so that will be on the menu. At least it’s a change from Cream of Potato! I also got a pack of 3×5 cards. I like variety so I sorted them out so instead of all the colors being together they were all shuffled so no two of the same colors were together. It’s the little things…

I saw online that baking soda is good oven cleaning tool, along with vinegar. So after lunch I cleaned the oven. It was easy and turned out better than I though – and it’s shiny clean.

Even with all the Christmas decorations put away the kitchen looks cozy. I have little lights that I keep out all year. It’s always good to keep light alive.

And I’m still listening to Christmas music. I do that all year long. I’m taking Ebenezer Scrooge at his word: I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. But I’m not buying anymore gifts so don’t hold your breath… (Two CD’s out of about 40, plus vinyl…)

Scripture of the day – about light:

Fun thing to do in Alaska:

Quote from Gone with the Wind:

Peanuts post:

Number #1 song – January 9 1951 Cold, Cold Heart – Hank Williams

TOMORROW January 10th is:

National Shop for Travel Day; National Bittersweet Chocolate Day; National Oysters Rockefeller Day; Save the Eagles Day; National Houseplant Appreciation Day; National Cut your Energy Costs Day.

It’s too early to shop for our April trip, and I don’t have any houseplants. I’ll go for the Chocolate. Have a happy Tuesday and God bless…

I could NOT sleep last night! The girl was coming today to pick up the treadmill and I was concerned that we would hit another snag. That, and the fact that I had put the fleece sheets on my bed. Felt like I was sleeping on a cactus.

Todd’s message was about worry today and I needed it. Some of his key points: Worry kills joy. Today’s decisions effect tomorrow. Worry weighs you down and that’s not healthy. FEELINGS are unreliable. Worry is sin when we take God out of the equation. SO I had to own up to the fact that my concerns were senseless and that I needed to let go and let God!

In Sunday School, Mary and I changed the bulletin board from Christmas to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. I will post a picture next week when the board is totally done. We are studying ‘kindness’.

I was trying to print out my Bible verse and the kids’ names but the printer quit. I knew it needed attention. Ken said he’d look at it for me, so I disconnected it and hopefully he will have an answer for me – repair or replace!!

The family did come to get the treadmill, and I came inside to get fruit snacks for the kids that came. When I went back out it was loaded in the van and all was well! Amazing. God is good. I hope it serves her well for many years.

And to celebrate I went for a walk this afternoon. I needed fresh air to stay awake and it was bright and sunny – though it was nippy.

In the meantime, I came back inside and the heater had the room toasty and comfy!

Fun thing to do in Alaska:

Quote from Gone with the Wind:

Peanuts Post:

Number one song on January 8, 1950, was ‘Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer’ by Gene Autrey.

TOMORROW January 9th is:

National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day; National Apricot Day; National Static Electricity Day; National Clean off your Desk Day; National Choreographers Day; National Balloon Ascension Day.

Mom and Kelly went up in a hot air balloon once. It was tethered but they loved it. Nate and I kept our feet on the ground. My desk is already clean and I don’t like Apricots. Watch WHITE CHRISTMAS and you will appreciate Choreographers. And we really should all appreciate Law Enforcement personnel every day! Have a wonderful week. God bless…

I took my time with my morning routine but still got everything done and had breakfast in good time. I organized a few financial chores that can’t be done until Monday. I need receipts from both of my dentists to submit reimbursement forms to Aetna. I also need to call Colonial Williamsburg to check on my donor card designation. Those offices are not open on the weekend.

I can, however, balance my checkbook later. I printed out the statement and the reconciliation form. I also decided to treat myself to a walk through L&L Fleatique – – after I put gas in the car and picked up potatoes and milk at the store.

There were several interesting items at L&L – but I only spent fifty cents on two small wooden spoons. There were a few things of interest. I did make note of the fact that one booth was selling rice bags for $10 each. I missed my calling…

When I got home I made my third batch of cream of potato soup, this one for me. I had a bowl for lunch and will probably have one later for supper.

Still hoping Nate will make it over to analyze the treadmill situation. Today is the first anniversary of their closing on their new house! I’m still as proud and excited for them as I was a year ago!

The Peanuts post and the scripture are combined today!

Fun thing to do in Pennsylvania: Gettysburg

Anne of Green Gables quote:

TOMORROW January 8th is:

National Sunday Supper Day; World Typing Day; Earth’s Rotation Day; National Winter Skin Relief Day; National Argyle Day; National Joygerm Day; National Bubble Bath Day; National English Toffee Day.

No questions. HANDS DOWN I will celebrate World Typing Day. I love to type! It’s one of my best strengths. I’ve been typing since grade school, and writing stories and poems before that. Have a wonderful day, and type something! God bless…

Friday’s are my day off – so I’m lovin’ Fridays! I always have something on my schedule, and always have a list. I still had a casserole in the freezer left from my surgery meals, so I took it out for defrosting. Not sure it’ll be thawed by supper time but there’s always tomorrow.

I worked on my Sunday School lesson and visual aids – the theme for the next 4 weeks is kindness, and tomorrow’s lesson is the Woman at the Well. The emphasis is that we can have different choices and opinions but still be kind to each other – to others in general. What a great lesson for today’s world!

I did laundry and tired to install my soap pump in the kitchen — but my arms are too short to hold the top piece and reach under to attach the bottom. So I need another arm. Maybe one will drop by later. Nate & Dave are supposed to stop and help me move the treadmill so maybe they can help with the dispenser too.

Before lunch I zipped down to Irwin to the Dollar Tree – looking for something specific that – of course – they didn’t have. The young couple with a baby (and she was pregnant!) at the front of the line didn’t have enough money to pay for their order. I was just digging in my purse when the cashier covered them. She said she had been there. It’s so sad to think how many people struggle with just the basic purchases and choices. Some else to pray for. But I did get a little set of 3 trays to organize my dresser drawer.

After lunch I made a new cover for my cherry pit heating bag. The old one was made of light flannel material and it just wasn’t holding up. So I made the new one of out cotton material – Christmas mittens and snowflakes! That should wear much better.

So now I have some ironing to do, and some emails and writing. And maybe Nate will get done with work in time to stop in – if not then maybe tomorrow or Sunday. Crazy big treadmill!

Fun thing to do in Pennsylvania: We spent COUNTLESS hours at both Presque Isle and Raccoon Park! And Mom always went along!

Quote from Anne of Green Gables:

Peanuts Post:

TOMORROW January 7th is:

National Play Outside Day; National Bobblehead Day; National Tempura Day.

I have no idea what is going on tomorrow. SO I’ll just make something fun to do. Hoping it involves being outside. God bless…