THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by Clement Clarke Moore
or Henry Livingston

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."


Take a little time to cozy down with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate and read this story to your children or grand children. Sleep tight.

CHRISTMAS TREATS

TRAIL MIX

PRESS COOKIES

APRICOT CRESCENTS

CHOCOLATE DIPPED PEANUT BUTTER PRETZELS

SNACKS

ORIENTAL TABLE

END TABLE

We finished up this semester of school on Friday, with a reception for about six or seven hundred people. It seemed that everyone turned out for food and refreshments. We had worked for the last two days of school getting ready for this. The reception started at 5:00 and was over around 7:00. We got everything broke down and cleaned up and was out of there by 8:30.

Saturday we kind of laid around the house and watched a couple of movies. For the life of me I can't tell you what we watched. It was just nice to have a little free time to do nothing.

Sunday we went to church and decided to take a short ride afterward. We ended up in Athen's and stopped at a little flea market. I found this really neat Japanese table. It has a peacock and floral design on top and the legs are only about a foot in height. That would eliminate me from eating at this table. I can't imagine trying to gracefully get up after a meal. We also found an end table. I think it was crafted by someone in their home shop. It was different and we both liked it, so that is all that matters. If it doesn't sale I guess one of the kids will get it:)

Today John Pearson and Emily stayed with us since school is out for them too. John Pearson had to go to practice and John and Emily stayed at home while I went into town. Sissy and I worked out at the wellness center at UNA. I know if I miss too many workouts through the holidays it will be hard to get back in the groove when I go back to work.

When I got home I decided I would make some Christmas treats. Right after Christmas the rest of the family will start arriving for the New Year's get together, so I thought I would make some stuff to snack on. I made some press cookies, you know the kind that you squeeze out of the cookie press. Then I made some apricot crescents ( they kind of taste like a little fried pies). I bought some peanut butter filled pretzels and dipped them in chocolate. They kind of taste like a crunchy Reese's cup. I bought bags of nuts, dried fruit and yogurt covered raisins and made a trail mix. Johnny loves the trail mix. John loves the apricot crescents. John Pearson and Emily seemed to like everything. Hopefully there will be some left when everyone else gets here.

Here is just a little note about what not to do when you make cookies:

After beating the dough with you hand mixer, always unplug it. I was trying to get the rest of the dough out of the mixer blades and accidentally hit the on button. I got my thumb caught in the beaters and when I jerked my hand out

I pulled back so quick and hard that my shoulder that has been frozen for the past year moved to fast and too far. I really thought I was going to pass out. I have felt a little woozy the rest of the day. Thank God I didn't do something that dumb at work. I would have been written up big time.

REMEMBERING CHRISTMAS

Christmas is in the air and you can feel, hear and smell it everywhere you go. When we drive into town there are Christmas lights every where you look. You turn you radio on and you get a steady stream of Christmas music, the TV abounds with Christmas specials and in every store, office building or friends house you go to has the smell of cinnamon and fresh cut pine trees. There is just a feel at Christmas that you don't get any other time of the year. Even the jingle of the Salvation Army bell out in front of almost every store, sends a little tingle up your spine. Walking past the Santa's at the mall and seeing the little kids beaming with pure excitement puts a smile on your face and brings backs memories of when you yourself was a child that age.



I can remember sitting on Santa's knee at the old Sears store in town. We would stand in line for what seemed like forever waiting our turn. The closer I would get, the bigger the lump in my throat got. I would keep repeating my list in my head the whole time I stood in line so I wouldn't forget what I wanted. When it came my turn and Santa swept me up into his lap, my mind would go completely blank. I swear all I could remember seeing was the hair in Santa's nostrils and the smell of onions on his breath. I can remember putting my small hand on his beard and patting it ever so lightly, but for some unknown reason I had the urge to yank it just to see if it was real. Poor Santa. I'm sure that happens a lot.

Every year we would get a Sears and Penny's catalog. I would literally spend hours leafing through the pages trying to decide what I wanted Santa to bring. It was almost as exciting looking at the catalogs as it was to wake up on Christmas morning and seeing what you got. Then, like today, a lot of what you got was determined by what your parents could afford. One thing was always for sure. A stocking filled with oranges, stick candy and chocolate drops and for me a doll.



I always got a doll for Christmas. When I was growing up it was popular for girls to get a doll all the way up until they were thirteen and the last one would be a bride doll. I kept all my dolls until I was in my mid teens. One day my younger brother got mad at me about something and when I went into my bedroom there were doll heads and doll stuffing all over my room. So much for the doll collection that I had worked on for thirteen years.



The toys that we played with were much different than the toys now. I remember that when I was about five, I got an iron and little metal ironing board. The difference between now and then was that you actually plugged the iron into an electrical outlet and it actually got hot. I burnt the bejibbies out of my fingers more times than I can count. I felt like I was really ironing when Mother handed me a pile of handkerchiefs to iron and what the heck the burns always healed after a couple of days.



My brother got a BB gun when he was around seven. You know I don't remember anyone telling us "your going to shoot your eye out". I don't remember anyone telling him not to point the gun at you sister. I can remember him telling me if I didn't step over the electric fence he was going to shoot me in the foot. I didn't and he did.



He also got a bow and arrow set one Christmas. This was no mansy pansy toy set. It was the real thing with metal tips and all. We would take it out in the yard and shoot it straight up in the air. It is a thousand wonders we didn't kill each other. John said he and his brother did the same thing. Maybe that is why OSHA had to step in.



My younger brother got a BB gun when he was about six or seven. By this time I was about thirteen. Mother and Daddy had to run into town and left the three of us kids by ourselves. Wayne got out his BB gun and was shooting it out in the front yard. He was always the meanest kid in the world and would do about anything you dared him to do. I told him to put a cigarette in his mouth and I would shoot it out. He put it into his mouth and turned sideways. I promise I had no intentions of actually shooting at him, but when I lifted the gun like I was aiming at him the darn thing went off and I shot him right above his left eye. I thought Daddy was going to ground me for the rest of my life.



When I think back on Christmas when I was a kid, it seems I see it through a sort of a pinkish yellowish glow. Like from the light of a oil lantern. That's probably a little odd sounding but when we would go to my grand parent's house they only had lantern light for a long time. We would have Christmas dinner at their house. The men would eat first and sit around and talk until they were finished with their meal. After the men ate, the women would fix the kids plates and only after we were fed did the women sit down and have their meal. Later if we made it through the meal and afternoon without some of the brothers getting into a huge argument, we would all sit around the living room and the kids would fall asleep on the floor while the adults talked and my Dad and his brothers played music and sang.



Yes Christmas is in the air and it makes me reminisce about Christmases of long ago and most of the time I laugh.

KIDS DO SAY THE DARNEDEST THINGS

We had a nice trip to Memphis this weekend. We haven't seen the kids living in that area for quiet a while. We left Friday evening around 6:00P.M. and drove up. It is a three hour trip, so we made it in around 9:00. The kids are always glad to see us and are usually waiting at the door with a handful of games, books and toys, ready to play with Maw Maw and Grandaddy for a day or two. Since it was as late, Monica made them go to bed shortly after we arrived.

Saturday we got up early and met Mark and Paige at his apartment and drove over to meet Paige's parents. They were very nice and we also met her grand mother Polly who is 90 years old. Paige had to be at work at 2:00 that afternoon so we stopped and had lunch at Back Yard Burger. "Yummy".

We headed back to Monica's house to pick up the boys. We took them shopping for their Christmas presents. I decided it would be better to let them get their gifts and play with it now, then they wouldn't be distracted when Santa comes at Christmas. Andrew got a limited addition Monopoly game, Matthew got a Nerf shotgun and a pair of binoculars and Aaron got a Nut Cracker at the Thrift Store and and set of Hot Wheels and a bag of Christmas cookies at Target. ( Aaron tickles me with his shopping. At five there is no rhyme or reason to his plan. He just picks anything up and puts it in the cart). After we got home he decided he didn't want it because he was afraid he wouldn't get what he had ask Santa for. I kept telling him that the stuff was for him from Maw Maw and Grandaddy that it had nothing to do with Santa, but when we left he had still not played with his presents. Oh well I'm sure Matthew will make use of Aaron's stuff.

Monica and Tim went to a Christmas party Saturday night and we stayed with the kids. Matthew and I decorated a ginger bread house. John played Monopoly with Andrew and Aaron. It was a pretty quiet evening. We got the boys in bed just after 9:30. We got up early this morning and got ready for church. After church we stopped at Perkins to get a bite before we headed back home. They make a double "Yummy" cheeseburger. Man I will have to walk double time on that treadmill to work off this weekend. We got home at 5 minutes til 3 and I headed to the bed for a three hour nap. I was exhausted, but in a nice way.

Just wanted to add a couple of funny things the kids have said the the last couple of weeks. David told Sondra the other day that he wanted to send his cousins a "female". Sondra told him that he must mean an "email" because females were girls. He said, "OK I want to send a "boy female".

When Luke and Charlotte were here for Thanksgiving, we were shopping for their Christmas gifts. I picked up a coloring book with Cinderella and Prince Charming on the cover. I said "look Charlotte who is this"? She replied " That's Cindawella". Luke turned to us and said "That's not Cindawella, its Cindalella." Seems we have a problem with "R's".

This morning in church Andrew was trying to lift my arm to put it around his neck. I whispered to him " That is my frozen shoulder. It want go up that high". He said "Like John McCain"? and I said "Yeah like John McCain".

Kids do say the darnedest things

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is here, so close that you can almost smell the turkey and dressing, and pumpkin and pecan pies cooking in the oven. It seems that this time of year really flies by and once Halloween comes it is just wham bam until Thanksgiving and Christmas have past and we are looking at a whole new year. It is really true what is said about time flying faster as you get older. It seems that I was just cooking Thanksgiving dinner and here it is time to do it again.

I think we all start thinking about the things that we are thankful for around this time of year. I am thankful for my family, friends and the fact that I have lived long enough to have raised my children and am now enjoying watching my grand kids grow. I am thankful that I am still able to work and have a job I enjoy and fellow workmates that make my job more interesting to go to each day. I am thankful that my children have picked wonderful mates that are dependable and hard working and devoted to their families. Most of all I am thankful for the fact that grew up in the time that I did.

I grew up in a time when we not only could but were expected to pray each day before class started and we were expected to say the pledge of allegiance with our hand over our heart and taught how to honor our faith and our flag. I grew up in a time when everyone assumed that God was a man and when we said "Our Father who art in Heaven", we new that we were talking to our heavenly Father. I grew up in a time when we celebrated Christmas and never heard anyone of any faith protesting the fact that a Nativity scene was set up on any one's lawn, or in front of a church or public building. I grew up in a time when we actually Christmas caroled in our neighborhood and was never confronted by any negative comments and when we put up our Christmas tree, it was not a Holiday tree, it went up a few days before Christmas and I still remember how excited we were when we finally screwed enough bulbs to make the whole string of lights come on at once. We should all have that excitement like we had when we were little.

I think we have all become so politically correct that we have forgotten how to just bask in the simple pleasure of the moment. We should trust each other enough to believe we are capable of tolerating our individual differences.

I am thankful for the memories of the past, which seem a little naive, even to myself now. It was nice thinking that our President and other politicians had our best interest in mind. It was nice thinking that a family consisted of a Dad, Mother and children. It was nice thinking that all children were loved and cared for. I am thankful that I grew up in a small town and was able to experience all the things I have written about above. I think if I was a child growing up now I would be a total misfit.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Getting into the Holiday spirit

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We elfed ourselves, then I lost us in a change I tried to make, but I think I have elfed us again. Lord I work so hard trying to figure out some of this stuff. Here I am missing most of Dancing With the Stars, but I think I got it. My George I think I finally got it.

VETERAN'S DAY

Thank you to all our troops serving at home and in foreign countries. Thanks to all the service men and women that have fought in years past. These people have insured the freedom's that we have today.

I am proud to say that I have two son-in-laws that are serving their country now. Both have served in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and many other places. My son served in the navy. My Dad and brother served in the Army and Army reserve. John's brother served in the navy and served in Vietnam. John's Grandfather fought in the trenches during WWI. My uncle was a prisoner of war in WWII and my friend's son is serving in Iraq at this time. They are and were doing a job that most of us could or would not do.

Thanks Again -

AUCTION ON SATURDAY

Wind mill that we will have to assemble

Lawn furniture we will need to repaint

A huge bird house

A globe

A cute little corner cabinet.

This has been the most beautiful weekend we have had in forever. The sun was bright, the sky was perfectly clear and the breeze kept it from being too cool or too hot. My only complaint was that I didn't take a hat or sun screen when we went to the auction on Saturday. So today I have a bright red neck ( that has nothing to do with the fact that I live in Alabama) and a red nose that makes me look sort of like a wino. We spent most of the day sitting out in this little pasture where the auction was being held. We were oblivious to the rays.

When we first got there I didn't think we would find anything worth hanging around for. But if you have ever been to an auction, it doesn't matter how much junk is there, you manage to find a treasure and suddenly your hand is shooting up in air waving wildly to the auctioneer. About an hour into the sale I started looking around for a Porto potty. There was none to be had and the house that was being sold had been unoccupied for a few years. So there was no facility and no relief in sight. After about another 15 minutes I broke down and found the lady that lived in the house next door, and yes, choked on my pride and ask it I could use her bathroom. She was very gracious and I thanked her to the point that I knew I was over doing it a bit. The rest of the day went much better.

We bought a corner cabinet that was probably made back in the 40's. We decided this because of the thickness and the width of the wood. I have it shoved in the corner in the kitchen, but will carry it to Keepers as soon as we get an empty spot. We got the wind mill that will need to be put back together. The blades still turn smoothly and I thought it was cute so up shot the hand.

Next was the bird cage that must be designed for a parrot or some other large bird. I certainly don't have room for it, so it will go to Keepers also, along with the globe. John did bid on something for us. It was a set of lawn furniture, a table with a thick glass top and four chairs . It is heavy as a lead pipe and we like never force all this stuff into the back of the van. We finally got it unloaded this afternoon. I know the neighbors must look out the window and say, "What the heck are they dragging home now".

Our kids just have to be patient with us. We don't smoke, we don't drink, we don't have any other hobbies. We just like to collect junk. We have the satisfaction of knowing that when we die, the kids will have to have an auction to get rid of all this stuff. It's pay back time children:)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

This last week has been a very busy one for me and John. We have traveled thirteen hundred miles in a short span of time between last Thursday and this past Tuesday. We drove from here to Ft Bragg N.C then down to Myrtle Beach S.C, then back home. We are still driving the Dodge van which has close to if not 200 thousand miles on it. We debated on renting a vehicle, but decided to tempt fate one more time and take the van. Even though we have broken down on every trip, in every major city, on the busiest interstate highways in America we still chose to drive our own. I must say it is probably a good thing, because I don't know if we will ever be able to vacuum all the cookies and Cheeze-its out of the back seat. I don't think the car rental place would have taken kindly to the mess the kids made.

Sarah and Cody came in with the kids on Sunday evening around midnight and left out for Ft Bragg on Monday evening about the same time. They Luke and Charlotte with us for a couple of days while they went ahead and got the furniture settled in. We entertained the kids and they entertained us for the next couple of days. We left around 12:30 on Thursday morning so we could get into the trip while the kids slept. When we got on the other side of Augusta Ga. Charlotte needed a diaper change and I realized she was running a fever. After that stop it was drive a few miles, stop and do a diaper change, drive a few miles.....

We got into Ft Bragg around 2:30 that afternoon. The kids were glad to see mom and dad and their new house and check out their new rooms. We helped hang some curtains and pictures and piddled around putting things away. That night Luke wanted Maw maw to sleep with him. Sometime during the night he rolls over and said "Maw maw my tummy hurts". You guessed it he was running a fever and had an upset stomach. I am convinced if I make it through this episode without getting sick, I must be a pretty tough old bird:)

We had a nice visit and it is always good to have an idea where you children are living. We decided since we were so close we should drive down to Myrtle Beach and check on John's mom.

We got there about 5:00 went out to the K&W and had dinner. The next morning John and Rose went to church then we went to Friendly's and had breakfast. John and I went and had the tires rotated on the van and hit a few thrift stores. That night we went to a little Calabash restaurant and had seafood. ( Man I am still stuffed from all the eating we did.) We left Tuesday morning heading back to Alabama and arrived here at 6:30 Tuesday night. I had to be up at 4:45 this morning and to work by 6:00. I am kind of dragging my tail tonight.

I will back track just a bit now. John's mom is 86 years old and has been living on her own since John's dad died a number of years ago. I know it is hard to give up your independence and everyone wants to keep that sense of being in charge of your life. I do think there comes a time when you have to let your children take some of the responsibility for you. Let them worry about where you left your purse, or what you did with the house key. Let them drive you to church so you don't have to get their an hour early just to find a spot up close to the door. Take this time to enjoy your kids, grand kid and great grand kids some of whom you haven't seen in years or ever. Interacting with them will help keep your mind active and help unclutter the things that are there just to irritate. This may be the time to make those choices.

RAMBLING AGAIN

Red skies at night. Sailors delight

Sun rise, sun set, swiftly goes the days. I thought these were beautiful fall pictures

Do you ever get the feeling that you are fishing in a dry hole. Well that is how I have felt for the last week or so about posting something on my blog. I have come in here and sat down at the computer several times in the last few days but for the life of me no words would come out. That is a little unusual, because most of the time I can start off typing and suddenly I am rambling on about all kinds of nonsense. So I thought I would try one more time.

Mark had his 32 ND birthday on the 16Th of this month. Talking about time flying, it seems like just yesterday that he was riding up and down the hall on the vacuum cleaner, wearing Sondra's little floral house coat. He also use to dress up in tights, a cape and cowboy boots and pretend to be a super hero. He was always running through the house jumping off chairs, the couch and beds rescuing us from great danger. Thank goodness the Dukes of Hazard came along and rescued us from the super hero. He went through a stage where he was Bo and continued to be Bo until he was in probably the second or third grade. Luckily he figured out which one was Bo, because one day when we were at the drug store, Mark was about two or three, the cashier said to him, " Well you sure are a cute little boy. What is your name". He looked at her and said just as serious as could be, "Ennis". We had to point out the characters to him the next time he watched the show. Dear Lord, I didn't want anyone to think we had really named him "Ennis". We must have all known the theme song to that show as well as Waylon Jennings did.

Sarah and Cody and the kids will be moving east soon. We are waiting to get the final word on when they will leave for Ft. Bragg. I declare they are like a band of gypsies. We were trying to figure out how many times they have moved in the six years they have been married. First to Omaha, back to Alabama, back to Lincoln, back to Alabama, to Huntsville, to Killen, to North Platte and now to Ft Bragg. I think there were actually a couple of more moves but I just can't get my mind wrapped around it. I hope they can be settled for at least three years. If I had to even think about moving all our junk I would probably be over come by exhaustion just from contemplating it. Good thing they are young and adventuresome.

John Pearson's football games are over for the season. He has done really well and I am thankful he made it through without getting hurt. Hopefully he will take a growing spurt before they start practicing for next season. Emily has one more softball game. Most of the games have been rained out. Her game is supposed to be this Thursday and guess what? It is supposed to start raining again Thursday. Oh well.

I am still trying to avoid the flu. We have had lots of people out sick but so far I haven't taken it. Knock on wood. John is still hacking and coughing but has no fever anymore. Emily has been here at the house with John for the last two days. She has been running a low grade fever. Our manager has been off work for over a week, but came in today and had to leave because she was to sick to stay. ugh!! Hope she is not contagious. Oh well again!!!

The leaves are starting to turn slightly and by the time the week is over and a couple of light frost things will really start to burst out in a kaleidoscope of color. I hope this happens before Halloween. I still have happy memories of going out on Halloween night with friends, trick or treating, walking through the leaves that had fallen and the sound of the soft crunch the leaves would make under your feet. Sadly Halloween is almost a thing of the past here. I guess most people don't feel comfortable letting their kids get out and ramble around half the night. Most things have changed, for me too much. I wonder if the kids just got to wild or the parents became to cautious. We all need simpler times.

A MAWMAW'S WORK IS NEVER DONE

This has been another crazy week. I don't know if it is just me or if I have more hectic weeks now than in the past. I guess it just seems that way sometimes.



Work was a little more nuts last week because Denise's father-in-law died and she had to go to Georgia for most of the week. When she is not there, it means that usually Doris and I have to pick up any loose ends. Between doing our jobs and trying to handle Denise's job, we start feeling like we are chasing our tails.



Wednesday morning I got up and got ready for work as usual. I left the house at 5:15 and was riding down the road listening to the radio and singing along with Kenny Chesney to "I'm Alive" ( I guess that is the name of the song). I thought to myself, "man I really feel good today, this is going to be a great day". Well I drove on down the road about a mile and just like that, it hit me and I said to myself, "man I don't feel so good". I started breaking out in a cold sweat and my hands started to shake and I didn't know if I could drive much farther, but was afraid to pull over on the side of the road, because it was still dark and I was afraid I was going to faint. I managed to call John to tell him I was sick. He said he would come and pick me up, but I decided to try to make it on to work. I finally got to the UNA parking lot and got out of the car. One of my co-workers was getting out of the car when I got there. I ask her to help make sure I made it down the stairs OK. When I got to the office I sat down and checked my blood sugar. It had dropped to 48. I was given some orange juice and about 30 minutes later it started to level off. I finished up the work I needed to do then went home for the rest of the day. It is really scary when your sugar bottoms out like that.

I had a doctors appointment on Friday and she gave me a pill to take along with my insulin. I need to take more carbs out of my diet and exercise more. I guess I will add another mile to my walk each day. Oops! I forgot to walk today.

We went to David and Jackie Berrens' 50Th wedding anniversary celebration Saturday night. They renewed their wedding vows at 5:30 Mass and there was a dinner party following Mass. The gym was transformed into the most beautiful setting. Sheer white tulle with hundreds of tiny lights was draped from the ceiling and down the walls to form a huge tent. The dinner was delicious. The meal was beef roast, pork roast, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash casserole, salad and wedding cake. There was about 300 people attending so it was quite a production. There was a DJ there and we danced for a while after dinner. Lots of fun.

Johnny, Tracy and the kids came over for dinner. I cut Johnny, JP, Emily and John's hair after dinner. Tracy brought pants to be hemmed for the kids. Tomorrow is Columbus Day, so the kids will be here with John tomorrow and they both have ball games tomorrow night. Looks like the makings of another busy week.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT AT THE FAIR

We couldn't figure out how you get into the truck.

Emily riding the pony.

Big wheel keep on turning.

Having a good time.

Lawrenceburg fair

Livestock judging

Emily is a winner.

Heading out for the evening.

Yesterday was a beautiful Fall day. The temperature had dropped just enough that is made getting outside and spending the day just tulling around a pleasant treat. John has been sick this week so we have stayed pretty close to home, but yesterday he wanted to get out and get some fresh air. We drove up to HWY. 101 and stopped at a few yard sales. It was a route that went from Moulton to TN. and there must have been a yard sale every 100 feet. This was the first year that they had started this one, so looks like we will have to remember it next year.

Tracy, Emily and I headed up to Lawrenceburg TN. for the county fair. First off we had to make a stop at the Goodwill store. It was having a half off everything in the store sale, so we found us a few treasures and then stopped at the Dairy Queen for a chili dog combo (yummy). We decided to eat before we got to the fair. You know how tempted you are when you smell all that fair food. I don't know why you want to try everything the corn dogs, the funnel cake, candy apples, cotton candy. After we got their we opted for a popcorn for me and Tracy and a snow cone for Emily.

The fair never changes. There is always the sound of the hawkers wanting you to play the games and the sound of the merry-go-round and other rides. Before you get to the gate you hear the roar of the monster trucks or the motorcycles putting on the show in the grandstand. There is the sound of girls ( and sometimes the guys) squealing while riding the roller coaster and the Ring of Fire. You see people of all ages from elderly people to the tiny babies that look like they could only be few weeks old. There were literally hundreds of people there. A couple of times I looked back and the people were just elbow to elbow. I know one thing for sure, these fairs take in a boat load of money. At five dollars a person to get in, two to five dollars to play a game, three dollars or more for a ride not to mention all the food that is sold, somebody has to be making money. This may be something John and I need to look into to supplement our social security check:)

We enjoyed looking through the exhibits at all the homemade food and handcrafted items. We signed up for all the giveaways and will probably get a hundred telephone calls from everyone from Avon dealers to Home Depot home improvement specialist.

The only thing that I didn't see and don't know if they still have it or not is the hoochie coochie dancers. I remember when I was real little and we would go to the fair in Florence, that daddy would always make a bee line to the dancers tent. We would stand out front and watch the girls gyrate around while the announcer would talk about the exotic show that would be performed inside. Then when they actually started selling tickets, we would go play some games or ride some rides. I don't think I ever remember daddy actually going to one of the shows. Maybe he was afraid mother would beat the crap out of him if he spent money on a girlie show.

I guess that the fair is one thing you can count on stay the same.

TIME AND SPARE PARTS

Where has the summer gone. It is already the first week of the Fall season and I feel like I have been caught up in a whirlwind. The time has literally flown this year. Do you ever get the feeling that individual days sometimes drag to the point that you feel like you are in slow motion and then before you know what hit you, it is the end of the week and you say to yourself now how in the world did that happen?



Time has a way of playing tricks on us. When we are doing something, like work, it kicks us, punches us and just outright annoys us. It puts us through the ringer and spits us out the other side. Time can dawdle around like Prissy in Gone with the Wind.



When we are doing things that we enjoy and want to make the most of the short time available to us, time rushes past us. It leaves us standing there looking dumb struck, as it looks back at us and laughs. Then shoots us a bird as it speeds off into the past. So one way or the other we are trying to hurry time up or slow it down. One thing is for sure "Time waits for no man", it moves at its on pace and we are not in control.



So much for my yammering about time. I really am just thankful for the time I have now, have had in the past and hope to have in the future.



As I grow older, it never ceases to amaze me at the things that can go wrong with this container that we call our body. The other night John and I were sitting in the living room watching TV. I was in one recliner with myself hooked up to a portable electrode device that was sending electric waves into my shoulder and back. John was in the other recliner cleaning his hearing aids. ( Yes John finally had something fall apart). I thought he just had selective hearing , but apparently he has moderate hearing loss. So if you ask us what we have on our night stand, it will be all our spare parts. Glasses, contact lens, hearing aids, electrode device, glucose tester and a glass of water in case one of us has to take an anti acid during the night. Oh the joys of aging.



I can remember when I was a very young child of going to my Grandparent's house. My Grand daddy had lost an eye when he was a young man. When he didn't have his eye in, he would have it sitting in a glass of water by his night stand. My Grand Mother kept her teeth in another glass on the night stand. I would go into the bedroom and kneel down next to the night stand with my chin propped on the edge of the stand and stare at the eye. Now I was not to impressed with the teeth because I knew people lost teeth when they were little and they grew back. I just figured that is how old people's teeth came back. But the eye was a different story. I had never seen anyone keep their eye in a glass. As I would stare at the eye I would wonder if it could see me and in that case could Grand Daddy see me through that eye even though he was sitting the living room. ( You have to remember I was just a little kid. Not stupid.) I guess these were some of the things they kept on their night stand.



I call all these things our spare parts. I just hope things level off soon or we may have to get a bigger night stand.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY WEEK.

Emily getting all grown up.

Andrew, Matthew and Aaron.

Motley crew

Sondra and Daniel.

Johnny and Daniel

Look how big I am

Sondra and best friend Tracy

Long time friends of the family.

4:30 A.M. Sondra and the kids heading for the airport.

Family picture after church on Sunday.

This has been a very busy week. A lot of company coming in and out to visit Sondra and the kids. Sondra, David and Daniel got in about 12:00 P.M Wednesday night. By the time we got home it was about 1:30 and I had to be up at 4:45 to get ready for work. I was a little draggy the next day to say the least.

Since the weather has been so nasty, we stayed pretty close to the house on Thursday and Friday, but on Saturday, Sondra and Tracy spent the afternoon getting manicured and pedicured for the big twenty year reunion at the Marriott later that evening. Charlie and Jen came by to see Daniel and David. Everyone was all excited to be seeing old friends.

Monica, Tim and the boys came in from Memphis and Mark came in from South Haven. We had a lot of activity going on but I guess that is always the case with a large family. After church on Sunday Donnie Rohling offered to take a family picture for us. I wish we could have all been here. It is so hard to get the whole family together. We are shooting for New Year's Eve. Hopefully everyone can make it in then.

We all went out to eat Chinese food after church. Then everyone headed out in different directions. Mark back to South Haven. Johnny and Tracy had to take JP to ball practice and Emily to a skating party. Monica and Tim left a little bit later in the afternoon after squeezing in the tiniest bit of a nap.

Before we knew it the visit was over and Sondra and the kids were ready to head home. It is hard when families are so spread out over the country. It is almost impossible to see everyone at once but we are grateful for the times we do have with our kids and grand kids.

And by the way it is still raining almost every day. We did get an insurance adjuster out to look at the water damage. He said we had a lot of wind damage on the roof. I guess most of it happened when we were out in Colorado and then a wind storm shortly after we got back. I guess if it had not have come these torrential rains in the past week, we would not have realized anything was wrong until next spring. Thank God for insurance. I wonder if that is something they are going to make universal. Well that is another story, can't get into that right now.

RAIN,RAIN AND MORE RAIN.

Leak in the ceiling and yes that is a dust bunnie clinging to the corner.

In the bed room.

Our back yard.

Front side yard.

Back yard.

Between our house and the neighbors.

Between us and the neighbors.

This has been the rainiest week we have had in I don't know when. Although the whole summer has been rather wet, Mother Nature has really out done herself this week. I think we have had about six inches of rain and the weather people are predicting another six inches in the next three days.

We have lived here in our house for forty years come Janurary. We have never had a ceiling leak in all this time, but Thursday afternoon when I came in from work, there was this big water circle in our bedroom ceiling. There was a smaller spot in the corner and another in the bathroom. This really makes you feel sick. So the insurance people are coming out the first of the week to estimate the damage. Hope we can get some kind of ajustment from them. I'm sure we are looking at a new roof and I hope not to much damage to the ceiling. We will just have to wait and see.

John made pictures of the water around our yard. This was the most we had ever seen. Our house is sitting on a little rise in the subdivision and we were starting to look like an island. We have always wanted a piece of water front property and for a short while we had it.

Stuff like this always happens when you are having company. Sondra, David and Daniel got in on Thursday night. Mark is coming in this morning and Monica, Tim and the boys are coming in this evening. I hope the tarp that John put on top of the house holds or we may have a ceiling cave in on us.

Every since I looked and saw the damage to the ceiling , I have been thinking of this song that I use to listen to when I was a kid. I think Rosemary Clooney sung it in the fifties.

THIS OLD HOUSE

This ole house once knew his children

This ole house once knew his wife

This ole house was home and comfort

As they fought the storms of life

This old house once rang with laughter

This old house heard many shouts

Now he trembles in the darkness

When the lightnin' walks about

CHORUS:Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer

Ain't a-gonna need this house no more

Ain't got time to fix the shingles

Ain't got time to fix the floor

Ain't got time to oil the hinges

Nor to mend the windowpane

Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer

He's a-gettin' ready to meet the saints

This ole house is a-gettin' shaky

This ole house is a-gettin' old

This ole house lets in the rain

This ole house lets in the cold

On his knees I'm gettin' chilly

But he feel no fear nor pain'

Cause he see an angel peekin

'Through a broken windowpane

CHORUS

This ole house is afraid of thunder

This ole house is afraid of storms

This ole house just groans and trembles

When the night wind flings its arms

This ole house is gettin' feeble

This old house is needin' paint

Just like him it's tuckered out

But he's a-gettin' ready to meet the saints

CHORUS

This ole house dog lies a-sleepin

'He don't know I'm gonna leave

Else he'd wake up by the fireplace

And he'd sit there and howl and grieve

But my huntin' days are over

Ain't gonna hunt the coon no more

Gabriel done brought in my chariot

When the wind blew down the door

CHORUS