Good bye 25!

 And good riddance

    Hopefully 2025 will be a much better year for all of us.

    Less hate, more love.  Less war, more peace. Less division, more unity. Less blaming, more cooperating.

    Ah, what a wonderful world that would be.

    The dog treat mystery was solved.  Emily left them Christmas Day!  That means for a whole week I never noticed them until last night.  

    And while they are made in Delaware, you can buy them in our area.

    In years past I would get up early, watch the parade, watch some football.  But I seem to have lost interest in the parades.  And I am not much up to date on college football.

    I didn't even watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade this year.  

    I may catch a glimpse or two, but I really don't care if I watch or not.  Same with college football.

    Hope you all have a healthy, happy, safe 2026.

    And although you will hear this a lot, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

    (Pretend you hear cheap toy horns blowing)

Peace and Love 

what the......

Pardon my typing mistakes tonight 

    I have an injury.

    Somehow I got a wood sliver under the nail on my left hand ring finger.

    It hurts like crazy.

    Jackie tried to dig it out using a needle, I tried a tweezers, and neither worked.  Nor did sucking on my finger or soaking it in hot water and then squeezing it.

    So the s w and x keys are hard to hit because I put a bandage and Neosporin on the spot.  

    Many of you know how unobservant I am.  

    Tonight when I went to take my 3698 pills, I noticed a bag of dog treats in front of my pill suitcase.

    I swear, it was not there this morning.

    There are 2 delicious looking treats in the bag.  Nicely decorated, soft like Beth likes, and how they got there I don't know.

    Lisa, our morning helper, said she did not bring treats for Beth today.  I would think she would have said something if she had left a bag.

    The kicker is:  the treats come from a place in Delaware!

    How they got there puzzles me.

    Delaware is like, well, far away!

    Our nice was here yesterday and she is from Delaware OHIO!  I know she did not leave them because I would have seen them before tonight.

    And for my latest trick, during supper prep I knocked a bowl of puppy chow onto the floor.  Not puppy chow for puppies, but the puppy chow for humans.  I swept and vacuumed up the floor and Beth spent a lot of time sniffing and looking for parts I missed....but I don't think I missed any.

    That's my life.

    Unobservant, sore, and clumsy.  Sounds like a comedy group in a retired actors home.

Peace and Love

Bad dad

 Sometimes I am not a good dad

    I let Emily's dogs out yesterday.  She has crates for some of the more rambunctious ones.  For some reason, I let Kingsley out of his crate, but when I left I put Fiona in a crate.

    Kingsley created quite the mess.

    I feel bad about it, because it was my fault.  I should have paid more attention to what dog was where.

    I have dog duty this weekend and I guarantee Kingsley will be in a crate when I leave her house!

    I don't always pay attention to the details...the "fine print" in life.  That has been a problem all  my life, or at least as much as I remember.

    I did notice today that our Nest thermostat had a "low battery" message.  I did not even know it had batteries!

    So I did the modern thing, Googled it and found a video on replacing batteries.  Took me about 2 minintes and I did not yell, scream, or drop anything.  That may be a first.

    Our niece  Laurie stopped by for a few minutes before heading back to Ohio.  Her mom, our sister in law, is in a rehab facility in Rockford but may be moved soon to one in Byron.

    It was hard on her, and on her brother, to come here and then have to leave Mom and head back to their families and jobs.

    Just hope SIL Ruth makes a speedy recovery and can join them out east.

    Dang cold today!  Currently 15 but it feels like 0.  I can attest to that every time Igo to with the dog.

    Winter.  Love it or leave it.

Peace and Love

 

Bear Down

 I am looking forward to tonight's game

    Bears vs. 49ers.  Two teams with 11-4 records.  Something has to give.

    Unfortunately my favorite team is playing a team with one of my favorite players.  I love the Brock Purdy story; last guy picked in the draft, not well known when drafted, the butt pf jokes by being named Mr. Irrelevant and then thrust into a starting role and bingo!  A star is born!

    Kind of reminds me of me.  Well, except the football player part.  And being cast into a staring role.  And doing real well.

    But he has 5 letters in his first name, just like me!

    I can't believe I am saying this:  I have had my fill of cookies!  Good grief, I have eaten a lot!  I need some real food for a couple of days.

    The last pennies were recently minted.  The mint folks  put a set of 3 coins together....a penny from Denver, a penny from Philadelphia,  a gold coin, and sold 232 sets of those at auction.  Why 232 sets?  That is how long the penny has existed.

    The last set, 232, sold for $800,000!

    And folks think the rich should not be taxed more than they are.  People who can spend that much on a coin collection can certainly pony up some coin in taxes.

    Speaking of taxes, I have a taxing problem!

    I am assuming the ground squirrels are the culprits in this....not sure what else would be in the yard.  That would explain why the hawk hangs around so much.

    Oh oh.....gotta get ready for the game

    Where did I put my orange paint?

Peace and Love

These critters have dozens of holes in my yard!  And there are highways between them!!

My train tree

I hope you an read the poem

Hard to believe it is Christmas time!  Where's the snow??

White Christmas

 Jackie and I love White Christmas

    That is one of our  movies to watch  for the holidays.

    Today we went to see White Christas at the Paramount in Aurora.

    The stage version is a little different than the movie, just because you can do things on a movie set you can't do on stage.

    I think we all liked the show.  It was interesting to me to see the ways in which they differed.

    For one  thing, I was always bothered by The General's  granddaughter.  Why was she living with him?  What happened to her parents?  In the stage version, someone says that Susan is visiting from California. That explains her presence.  Next time I watch the movie that will be in the back of my mind.

    We ran into some former Rochelle folks and spent a couple of minutes with Amy, Russ, Baxter and Nikkos.  It was great seeing them.

    Anyway, we had a pretty good day.

    Problem is, I can't remember what day it is!  The Packers are on, which means it is Sunday, right?  But NOOOOOOO!  They are playing Saturday night!

    Not going well for the Pack.  There was an early snap that hit the QB in the head and I thought he was going to be knocked down!

    A  Packer loss helps the Bears.

    The weather here is pretty crappy.  Foggy. Windy. Chilly.

    Oh wait, it is December.

    And tomorrow it will rain.

    Go figure

Peace and Love

Early to bed....

I went to bed at 11 last night 

    I was really. tired.  

    I heard the cuckoo hit the half hour, then midnight, then the half hour und I finally fell asleep.

    No caffeine yesterday.  A happy day to recall.  Screen time lessened.

    What in the hell is wrong?

    I am going to try a little Bailey's before bed tonight.  Maybe that will help.

    Anyway, today was pick up day.  

    I finally got the dishes mostly done, stuff is put away, sort of; 2 loads of laundry done..... I am just a little busy bee!

    Yesterday during supper we had visitors in the back yard.  5 deer were out there, grazing around the bird feeder.  I did not see them nibbling on trees, but I will go out eventually and check.  I would have done it today, but I want to wait until the temperature is in the single digits and the wind is howling out of the north.  Makes life more interesting.

    We n ever found the 2 missing presents.  I know they will show up somewhere, but the question is where?

    To show you how my mind works, I opened Jackie's sock drawer for a pair of socks and found an empty toilet paper roll.  In with the socks.  Why did I put it there?

    If we find that answer, we will find the missing presents.

    And yes, I recycle the toilet paper rolls.  Years ago, when I volunteered at Brookfield Zoo, I would save them for craft projects in the play zoo.  It has carried over to putting them in the recycling bucket.

    Tomorrow we are going to Aurora to see White Christmas at the Paramount Theater.  I am looking forward to it.

    Usually we watch a lot of Christmas movies, but I have only seen 2 and have not yet watched "It's a Wonderful Life."  I must be slowing down in my old age.

Peace and Love

Well... that was. fast

 Christmas just flew past our family today

    Emily and Julia came over and we opened presents, then Camryn and Judy came.  That's when the chaos started.

    I was searing the roast before putting it in the oven.

    As I was doing this, Judy came in.  And my phone rang with my niece and nephew on a FaceTime call.  Ten the smoke alarms went off.  Then Jackie's brother Bob called. And the smoke alarm started saying "Fire.  Fire."

    And that perplexed me.  It sounded like, "fire" when it should have been FIRE...GET THE HELL OUT OF THE HOUSE!!

    We opened the back door, turned on the fans and after a couple of minutes the smoke alarms grew silent.

    Judy and Jackie talked to brother Bob while I continued searing the roast.  Someone told my niece I would call her back.

    Order was restored.  Thankfully.

    It was a great day. 

    Kevin, Jen, Sam, and Sandy joined us,  and our niece and nephew came after dinner but there was still enough food for them to eat. 

    I bought a variety of scratch off lottery tickets and put them in envelopes.  Everyone drew one envelope.  Jason, from Pennsylvania won $50 and Laurie, from Ohio, won $25.  Yes, 2 out of staters won Illinois lottery money!  Brother and Sister too!  Go figure.

    And of course we had cookies. And apple pie.  And pecan pie.  And pumpkin pie.  And more cookies.

    Normally after a gathering I would make sure all the dishes were done, the rugs and floor vacuumed, furniture checked for crumbs, and that everything was picked up and put away.

    I did none of that tonight, except load and run the dishwasher.

    Tomorrow is another day.

Peace and Love

PS...I accidentally hit the Google search button, so some words are highlighted in blue.  I can't seem to undo that.  I am sorry.

A Very Merry

 Merry Christmas to all

    Jackie and I made it to Christmas Eve service at St. Paul in DeaKalb.

    It was a lovely service.  I loved the music and the ;prayers......it was very nice.

    Plus we got to visit people we have not seen for a while.

    Kids have grown like weeds!

    Anyway, it was nice.

    The girls can over and we had pizza afterwards.  Again, it was nice.

    I am finishing wrapping presents.  I should have been doing this weeks ago, but that is not my nature.  I put off more than I should.  It always comes back to bite me.

    Oh well.

and to all a good night

Peace and Love

olio time

 Just a collection of odds and ends in mu mind

    Friend Pam told me how to check my stats for playing solitaire.

    On spider solitaire with 2 suits, I win 27 % of the time.  On 1 suit I win 87  % of the times I play.

    So, 1suit is not challenging enough, and 2 suits is too challenging.

    Thanks, Pam.  Now I don't have to keep track on paper.

    At some point in time I signed up for an Ancestry account.

    It was free for 6 weeks, and then I had to pay if I did not cancel.

    Well, I did not cancel.

    I tried to cancel on line, but can't seem to do it.  so I called today.

    I talked to a very nice lady who used my e mail, phone number, and part of my credit card number to traee my account and.....I don't have one.

    None of my numbers, or name, is in the system.

    But I can log in and look for information about my family.  Go figure.

    I always wanted a family history, but I have given up. 

    I am the last of my family.  Brother Carl was always able to answer questions about aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.  But he is no longer here.  I don't think Juilia or Emily are particularly interested in the family history.  And I am not curious enough to continue at a cost of $25 a month.

    We were in DeKalb today for a doctor appointment.  I pooled several errands, one of them being a stop at TAILS, an animal shelter.

    As I got out of the car a young girl was walking a small, brown,  older dog.  I am assuming the girl was a volunteer walker.  When I was leaving they were on their way back in and the little dog looked at me and I could hear her saying, "Take me home....please.  I just want love."  

    It broke my heart.  If our circumstances were different, she'd be adapting to life with Beth.

    I understand why Emily has so many older dogs.

    I read something in the Trib today that just does not seem right.

    The article said in the past 7 years we have had 1 white Christmas, and that was in 2022 when 1 inch fell.   They also said we average a white Christmas every 3 or 4 years.

    Since the early1970s the average December temperature is up 4.5 degrees.  The last time we had a snowfall of over 2 inches on Christmas was 2017.

    And two/thirds of the 2,000 nation wide monitoring stations are noticing the same trends.....less snow, warmer temps.

    Climate change?

    Hell, it's going to be near 50 Christmas Day.

    As my childhood friend Pogo would say, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

Peace and Love

4317

     Guess how any blog posts I have done?

    If you guessed 4,317 you are correct.  Well, t least you will be when this one is done.

    Honestly, if iI could write this regularly every day, I would have 4 published books!

     A former student of mine published a western on Amazon.  I should order it.  Maybe that will inspire me to do something besides sit on the 3 I have written.

    Mine are more on the novelette side.... only about 140 pages.  I think they are good, but I am biased.  I don't think anyone else but me has read any of the 3.  I don't know if it is fear of failure or if they are really, really good and I should have written. more.

    Christmas will not be snowy this year.  I guess Bing won't be singing.

    I do miss some snow, although I don't like it all at once.  I still have a pile at the end of the driveway.  

    I made stew yesterday.  There is enough for Tuesday night.

    But I did not know what to do for supper tonight.

    Fate intervened. 

    Portillo's had a buy one beef, get one free.

    Since I was heading up to visit my sister in law in the rehab center, I figured I could swing by Binny's for tome Bailys and then hit Portillo's.  

    I was strolling along the alcohol aisles when I heard a voice call my name.  A fellow Rochellian was also getting some holiday spirits.

    And I had a nice visit with my SIL and her daughter.  Memory is improving, balance is better, but she still has some work to do.

    Slow but steady progress.

Peace and Love

piles

 I am working on cleaning my desk

    I have a piles of books I am reading.

    I have a pile of magazines I want to read.

    I have a pile of things happening in 2026.

    I have a pile of paper with strange notes.

    At least I am dealing with piles now.

    Someone asked me how often I won at 2 suited spider solitaire.  I said I thought about 40 % of the time.

    So I decided to keep track.  On one piece of paper I won 8, lost 17.  Another sheet had 6 and 21.  That's 14 and 38, which is tad less than 40 %.  

    Jackie always mentions I spend a lot of time reading the paper on line.

    I told her I also go through e mails.  To prove my point, one morning I deleted 321 e mails!  Granted, that was a 2 day span because I had not deleted the previous day.

    We have 2 email accounts.  One we use for ordering stuff.  That is. the one with 321 e mails.  Most of them are unread, but they still have to be deleted.

    I have a note abut children being held in the ICE crackdown.

    If you are under 18,  there is a 20 day limit on a child being held.  After that point the child is supposed to be placed with a parent, relative or a guardian.  Over 400 children have been held longer than the 20 days and 5 have been held 168 days.  We should be ashamed.

    My niece Cindy got our Christmas card.....but it was empty inside!  She only got the envelope.  Must have been raccoons. 

    Talked to my cousin in Alaska tonight.  We spent a lot of time moaning  about the problems that come with growing old.  I used to cringe when I was younger and older folk talked about that stuff.  What goes around, comes around.

    He also said it was going to be below 0 for the next 2 weeks or so.  I told him we will be in the 40s and 50s later this week.

    In 1967 one January day it was something like 67 in Chicago. The next day 18 inches of snow fell.  Or was it 18 feet?  It was a lot.

    A couple of months ago Jackie ordered some Christmas presents. One of us put them away, my guess is it was me.

    We've been looking for 3 days.

    I even checked my shoes.  Nada.  Zilch.

    Gotta be here somewhere.

    Tonight is the longest night of the year...... the solstice is upon us.

Peace and Love

OMG!!!!!

 We just finished watching the Bears

    To be honest, I thought about doing this little missive with about 2 minutes to go in the game.  But I am so glad I stuck it out.

    What an exciting finish!!!

    Speaking of exciting, I got all the houses lit in the Dickens Village.  Yes, I got down on the floor.  And yes, more importantly, I got back up!

    The new power strip may be the clue....but at the end of the season I will test each bulb, each wire, each strip because I am not going through this again.

    And I got my train ornament tree up!!

    Two major accomplishments in one day!

    I have 3 things to do over the next few days:

        organize the pantry....again

        make shortbread

        clean the damn desktop and den

    If I get any one of those done, I will consider it all a win.....like the Bears today!!

    And as much as I like watching football, having games on Christmas Day just does not seem right.  There shouldn't be any football, basketball, racing.....it's a special day and should be spent with family.

    That's all I will say about that!

Peace and Love

dang it

 I have had some on line ordering issues 

    My first issue was with Astoria Jewelry.  Jackie ordered some things, they did not look the same as the pictures, wanted to return them, could not load the picture, return window closed.......a tale I have told before.

    Yes, I still e mail them and I still go on their FB page and comment "Buyer Beware!"

    We got our Kohl's bill and there was a charge for $14 from a store in Ohio.

    Since we have not been to Ohio for a while, we thought the charge might be a mistake.

    Jackie called.  Lucky she called, because I could not understand  a word the service rep said.

    She gave us another number to call, and we could barely understand the new person.

    Turns out I ordered an apple peeler.  The peeler was sent from a fulfillment center in Ohio, he once the charge from Ohio.  

    We had never seen that!  Evidently it is SOP for that to take place.

    I ordered a winter coat for Beth, one that does not require me to turn her into a contortionist to get her lets trough the holes.

    Unfortunately, I ordered an anxiety coat instead.

    Called Chewy and ordered a new coat.  The service rep had a. terrible phone connection, lots of static and breaking up.  But I could understand nd him.

    Long story short, we are keeping the anxiety coat and donating it to Tails in DeKalb.

    Finally, I ordered a new light strip for our Dickens Village.  It was supposed to be here today.  Nothing arrived.

    I went on the Amazon site to track the order and it said it was delivered yesterday.

    That's when I realized the package Julia got was actually our light strip!  I could have relit  the village today if I had known that.

    Now I am searching for gift ideas for a young girl and a 21 year old.  

    But I figure Christmas isn't until Thursday, so I don't have to start looking until Wednesday.

Peace and Love

almost disaster

 I thought we lost Beth this morning

    She was out in back and chased a squirrel up a tree.  She sat there and baked and barked, them started back to the house.

    Lisa, one of our morning helpers, got a short video of the mutt barking up the tree, with the squirrel perched on an upper branch.  Understand, it is not a big tree.

    Beth was halfway to the house when the squirrel took off.

    Beth took off in hot pursuit.

    They both ran on the east side of the house.  The underground fence did not seem to bother her one bit.

    I put shoes and a coat on and ran out the front door.  She was nowhere in sight.

    I called and called a d looked on the east side of the house.

    No Beth.

    I decided to get my phone, call Julia and Emily, and get on the golf cart to go look for her.

    When I went back in the house, there she was!

    Lisa had raced out the back door while I was getting shoes on.  She found Beth on the east side of the house.  I suspect the squirrel scampered up the red oak over there.  

    While I was out front looking and yelling, Lisa was coming in the back door with the dog.

    Honestly, I felt sick to my stomach when I could not find her in front.

    The lesson I learned is to check the yard for squirrels before I let the dog out!  Also, mabe I better change her battery in the collar.  

    Jackie always asks me why it takes me so long to read the paper on line in the morning.

    It's not just reading the paper.  It's deleting all the e mails that come on that account.  I had not gone through them since Sunday, and tonight I deleted 324 e mails!  Granted, some were ones I had read, like the Trib, Adam Kinzinger, Heather Cox Richardson, Lady Canarvon, but most of them were ads. And a lot were donate to my campaign ads.

    Honestly, I was shocked at how many I deleted.  I guess advertising picks up right before Christmas.

    Tomorrow there will not be that many.  I just need to clean up the inbox a couple of times a day.

    And I should clean up my wooden desk top at least once a year!

    2026 is rapidly approaching, maybe then.

Peace and Love

downtown

I made my annual pilgrimage to the Christmas market  

    Luckily the weather was mild, or at least not freezing.

    Julia, Emily, Missy, Sherri and I checked out the market and Field's.  Happily the windows at Field's were  more Field's than Macy's.  

    The displays traced the history of the iconic department store and some displays even had movement!  They were like the windows Field's took such pride in creating.

    I will let the pictures do the. talking.

    On our way home, traffic was pretty heavy.  I remember passing Mannheim Road. and maybe seeing some of the Naperville exits, but when I woke up near Rochelle it was noted that my snoring was pretty loud!!  That and a coffee means I won't sleep well tonight.

    But I am tired.

    And my step counter just told me that after all the walking I did today, I am a 4 minute walk from closing my loop.  BS!!

Peace and Love

The birds even visited baby Jesus!

Birds of a feather flock to keep warm

Cups were an odd shape for drinking

My schnitzel I son the right, back.

The tree was even decorated to honor Field's

I'm fed up

 I am in a pretty negative mood tonight

    Yes, some of it is my fault.

    For example, I had 72 cents a gallon in HyVee rewards.  The  rewards expire  today.  I filled the car last Thursday and learned about the rewards Friday.

    It was so cold, I did not go anyplace Saturday or Sunday.  Monday I went to Rockford to visit a relative in the hospital.  Today I went to DeKalb.

    I used about 1/4 of a tank.

    The HyVee rewards are good at Casey's.  So I stopped at the Casey's in Creston to fill up and save 72 cents a gallon.

    I don't know what I did wrong, but I did not get the discount.  It normally shows, but this time did not.  I should have hung up the hose and started over, but I didn't.

    I put 5 gallons in, which is about $3.50.  But the gas was 17 cents a gallon more than stations in town, so I spent another $1 or so, meaning I wasted $4.50.

    I know, big deal....not even a coffee.

    It's the damn point.  I should have been more aware.

    I'm still fuming over Astoria Jewelry.  I could not post the required picture and eventually the return period expired.  I have contacted them several times but their answer is the same:  Tough toenails!

    Those damn lightbulbs.  How can they all be bad?

    Last night I quit the computer at 9.  Planned to go to bed early.  Finally made it at 11:45!  What the hell did I do?

    The only bright spot of the day was a Cubs hat cousin Bob sent.  It's a replica 1911 hat, maybe,  but it looks great.  

    Anyway, I am in a big grouch today.  Tonight.  Whatever.

    Hoping tomorrow is better.

Peace and Love

giving in, or up?

 I am so frustrated abut those stupid lights

    Last night I ordered a new light package.  Yes, it is expensive, but maybe my problems with the Dickens Village will be brought to light.  (clever pun, eh?)

    I don't know if you ever heard of them but once upon a time Tom Swifies were popular.  Sure, it might have been in the 1890s, but they were popular.

    And yes, I said 1890s, although I have no idea when.

    Some examples:

    The light now works, Tom said brightly.

    I think  the battery needs charging, Tom weakly said.

    The Earth is not round, Tom  flatly stated.

    I think we blew a circuit, Tom darkly muttered.

    Tom always spoke with an adjective that reflected the sentence.

    And while now I am a sophisticated adult, I can admit there was a time in my young life when several of us would gather and refuse to speak unless we spoke as a Tom Swiftie.

    Ah....... I mis those days.

    Maybe I should start a movement and call them Taylor Swifts?

    Jackie and I finished watching Man on the Inside  season 2 and I gotta say, I loved it!

    The final scene was so .... don't know the right word.  Sweet?  Endearing? Happy?  Satisfying?

    It's on Netflix and stars Ted Danson.  I highly recommend it.  You might start with season 1 for background.  

    

    

Peace and Love

Sunday fun

 This was a pretty fun day!

    I watched most of the Bears' game.  But it was also cookie decorating day, so that kept me hopping!

    Camryn, Sam and Jen were the main decorators, although Julia and I helped.  Well, I did 4.

    We had a fun time and I think the cookies turned out super!

    This weekend was a blast.

    Yesterday I cooked meat to almost perfection, today I made chili, and frosting for the cookies.  I assembled the ingredients and Sam mixed them.  We made a pretty good team.

    Camryn  let Emily's dogs out so I did not have to, which was a big help for us making the frosting.

    Almost everything went into the dishwasher, which made clean up fairly easy.

    But the night has ended on a bummer.

    We had trouble getting lights to work on the Dickens' Village pieces.  I had a box of 100, and last year we used 4 of that lot, but this year none of them worked.

    So I ordered, at a hefty price, bulbs from Dept. 56.  They come in packs of 3 for $9 a pack.  I have opened 2 packs and none of them work.

    Is it bad bulbs?

    Is it bad cords?

    Am I cursed because I did not read A Christmas Carol this year?

    I am really frustrated about this. It has never been this difficult!  We have always screwed the bulbs in and they work.  Now I have 4 unlit houses and I am vexed.

    The strip's power light is on, so I assume it has power.  

    I wish I had an answer.

    Sigh......

    I guess I will try again tomorrow.

    Oh....I did not win 1 billion $.  Maybe tomorrow.

Peace and Love

My snowman is upside down!!

Batman

Just a note....the cookie sheets look horrible because these are the ones we put under items in the oven that may overflow.  We do have clean cookie sheets.

56 years

 Today was our anniversary

    A lot has changed over the 56 years!

    Back then  no internet, cable, e-mail...... it was a simpler time for technology.

    There was a war going on.   Man had landed on the moon for the first time.  The Cubs went into a swoon and the Mets got hot.  

    We were married in St. Paul Episcopal Church in DeKalb, a church we still attend when possible.  That means not often, but our attendance is pretty good for evening services!

    We had a reception in the unfinished church basement.  For our 50th anniversary we had a reception in the beautiful fellowship hall.

    We are far past the day of buying  presents for each other.  Seems we both have enough.  We did exchange cards.  The funny thing is I got her the same card brother Bob and SIL Anita sent!  I know I bought mine a while ago,  but they are in Florida!  I don't know how location affects things.

    The girls came over for supper, along with Steve, Greg and MK.  I grilled meats outside, well, inside the garage.  I think the car will have a strange odor for a while.

    We had cake that Julia made,  and corn casserole Emily made, and cheesy potatoes MK made, and talk. and laughs...... it was a nice way to celebrate.,

    The big celebration will start tomorrow because I am winning the huge lottery tonight!  I say that every time, but you have to believe, don't you?

    When I did my Dark Stories history walk a few weeks ago, I told about the first Presbyterian minister in Rochelle.  He was walking during a rainstorm and got killed by a lightning strike.  I think those same odds apply to winning the lottery.

    But I gotta dream.

    Anyway, it was a good night.

    Especially a good night to stay inside.  The temp right now is +3 but it feels like -12.

    Damn cold.

    Maybe I'll just charter a jet Monday and head to a warm  spot.

    Or maybe I'll be hit by lightning.

    We'll see.

Peace and Love

brrrrrrr

 I think it is going to be cold

    Wind chills tomorrow could very be at -15!  And snow is possible!!

    Gotta love Illinois weather.

    By midweek the temps could hit 40.

    Sigh.

    Right now it is a balmy 25, but by morning it is going to be dang cold.  That cold will stick around Saturday and Sunday, meaning people at the Bears game could experience 4 degree temps.  I can't imagine sitting outside in that weather, leet alone playing football.  The ball, and ground, will be as hard as a rock.

    Jackie heard on the news tonight that the field is actually heated.  There are heat coils under the sod, and the grass stays at about 25 degrees.  Players who get tackled may stay on the ground a little longer just to warm up!

    I do know a couple of people going and I hope they dress warmly.  Just thinking of it makes me shiver.

    We baked cookies today and I did not burn them.

    Sunday is cookie decorating day with Camryn, Jen, Sam, and Jackie gathering around the nook table and frosting and decorating the sugar cookies.

    We have sort of drifted into that tradition.  It started several years ago and I actually look forward to it.

    I think Emily works, and Julia may stop over, and maybe others will pop in....we don't really know.

    What I do know is we have about 5 dozen sugar cookies that need frosting.  

    And yes, the workers get to take some home!

    It's a fun day for everyone.

    And I just may go and buy a couple of lottery tickets, since the prize is over $1 billion!  Holy cow, would that be a blast to win!!

    I will dream about that tonight.

Peace and Love

yip, yip, yippee

I saw my first coyote. tonight 

    Julia and I were heading to the Community Action Network shopping night.  We were just at about the light on Flagg Road near the high school when the coyote crossed right in front of the car!

    Julia hit the brakes and missed it, unlike the deer a couple of weeks ago.  The animal looked perfectly capable of carrying off a dog Beth's size, all the more reason why I go out with Beth at night.

    Years ago, pre pandemic, I was a mentor for a little second grader.  As Julia and I were standing around in the church hall this young boy came up to me and stopped and stared.  He said, "I know you!"  I said "I know you too!  But I don't remember your name!"

    We had a nice conversation.  5 years ago I would not have thought that.

    He was a little hellion!  He would crawl under the chairs or table, hide in the hallways, make noise...but I enjoyed meeting with him at school.

    Today he is an eighth grader, planning what he wants to do in high school,  and can converse with an adult (well, at least with me) without sounding like an eighth grader. I was impressed.

    Julia and I took 3 kids shopping.  One of the little tykes was a bit, shall we say, active.  I felt like I ran (or walked) a marathon tying to keep up with him.  His older bother was pretty matter of fact, laid back and very calm. Their sister had such neat facial expressions when she talked....it was fun to watch her.

     It's always a good night.  A lot of families are struggling  and a night like this can help  them.  Our group had pretty much basics on their lists:  underwear, socks, pajamas.  Of course they each got a toy and some candy, with the instructions not to open anything until mom gives it an ok.

    Before going  kids had a chance to pick out shoes, a coat, hat, and gloves.  

    So if you have a chance to support CAN, do it.  Lots of kids will benefit.

Peace and Love

oh my

This could be a short night

    Not a lot to say about today.

    Miserable morning, weather wise.  Snow/rain, wind, cold; not a good day to be a bird.

    I had 2 loads of laundry to do.  When I went to dry the first load, I found the sheets still in the dryer from Monday!!

    I dried them again because they were cold.

    It''s now almost 9 and I have 2 loads to fold!  I should have done them during the day, but I napped and then watched the second episode of The American Revolution by Ken Burns.  Darn good show.  I don't know how it ends.

    So, a priest, a monk, and a rabbit go into a bar.

    Bartender looks at the priest and says, "What will you have, father?"

    Priest orders a glass of wine.

    Bartender turns t the monk an d ask, "What will you have, brother?"

    Monk thinks for a second, and asks for a mulled wine.

    Bartender turns to the rabbit and asks, "And what will you have?"

    Rabbit answers, "Nothing.   I'm only here because of spell check."

Peace and Love

dough redo

 Normally I don't pay attention to expiration dates

    Sometimes that causes extra work.

    Jackie likes to make crescent cookies for Christmas.  (And I like to eat them.)  They need crushed walnuts.  I found some walnuts in the pantry, they were good until September 2025.

    Now, that is not too bad.  It's only a couple of months. 

    They were sitting in the pantry.  Opened, but sealed. 

    So I used them.  OK, hey had a strange smell, not walnutty  at all.  (Honestly, I have no idea what a walnut smells like, but these did not smell right.)

    I put them in our chopper and chopped them up.  Then we made the cookies.  

    But the cookies had that same "off" smell.

    I tasted one, and it wasn't bad.  It just didn't seem right.,

    Yesterday I bought new walnuts. and we made the cookies again today.    

    This time they did not smell off, did not taste off, and I was much happier.

    But what to do with the old cookies?

    I put them in our dicer and chopped them up.  My thought was to put them out with the bird seed.  Is that a bad idea?  They didn't make us sick, so they probably should not make birds sick, right?

    The last thing I want is a yard full of dead birds. Or birds with the runs.

    I wonder if I scatter the crumbs on my raised gardens if I will have crescent cookies growing next year.

    Speaking of expiration dates, here is a puzzler.

    I like quart size milk.  We don't drink a lot of milk, and usually end up throwing away much of the half gallon jugs.

    I noticed on the quart bottle the expiration date is in January!  

    Why is that?

    It's the same milk, right?

    Does it last longer because it is in a smaller container, thereby getting less oxygen and not spoiling as fast?

    Inquiring minds want to know!

    I am just glad I don't come with an expiration date.

Peace and Love

whaaat????

I admit it, sometimes I don't understand 

    Like this morning.  

    I was reading a comic strip and the term CAPTCHA was used.  That was followed boy CAPTCHA window.

    I was lost.

    I had/have no idea what that means.

    So I Googled it.

    (In. the old days I would have asked Dad and he would have given me an explanation.  It might not have been true, or even close to true, but I would believe him. Moon is made of cheese.  Martians live on Mars. Politicians  are decent people.  Stuff like that.)

    So I learned that CAPTCHA was a way to differentiate humans from machines.  

    It was based on the Turing Test.

    Whaaaaat?

    So I Googled that.  

    That was developed by Alan Turing in the 1940s.  (That struck a hidden memory.  Didn't he develop a computer code for the British during WW II but was later  disgraced because he was gay?  Did I see a movie about that?  Hmmm)

    Turns out the Turing Test is a method to test a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior.

    I stopped reading at that point because I felt guilty not sending Wikipedia money.  Plus I had other things to get done.

    With that understanding, I went back to read the comic and I chuckled.  

    I'm not sure it was worth it.

Peace and Love

Enough!!!!

 It's only December 7, but we have enough snow!

    Stop it, Mother Nature.

    I did not see snow totals for our area, but we must have had 5 inches overnight.  and there is more on the way  midweek.

    I heard on one newscast that O'Hare had more snow in December than all of last winter.  And it is early, too early if you ask me.

    We have someone who does the driveway.  But he does not clear in front of the garage doors.  Usually that is not a problem, but this morning there were 2 foot mounds in front of the garages.  It took me about an hour to clear the doors, create a path for Beth to use, feed the birds, and uncover vents for either the furnace or hot water, not sure which, but they were covered.

    He used to come closer to the doors, but on his first go round this winter he hit the trim, leaving a big gouge.

    Emily brought over part of our anniversary gift from the girls.  It is a beautiful porch planting.  Really spruces the porch up.

    Jackie and I made 2 batches of cookies today and will do one more tomorrow.  Generally we make 5 different kinds of cookies for Christmas, so getting them done is big for us.  Of course, I have dishes to clean up.  I try to stick as much into the dishwasher as possible, but some just get hand washed.

    We thought the Bears put up a good fight, just came up short against the Pack.  In 2 weeks it will be time for revenge!  Go Bears!

    And that's life for me.

Peace and Love

Let me in!!! Let me in!!! I don't like snow!!!!!

much ado

 This could have been a better day

    I could have made it to Cypress House for a coffee before it closed at 3.

But I didn't.

    I could have found a new desk chair.

But I didn't.

    I could have found Christmas themed paper for my printer.

But I didn't

    I could have found the box with decorations we know are missing.

But I didn't.

    I looked.  I sat in 10 different chairs and did not like any of them.  I was like Goldilocks...too hard, too soft, too slippery, too stiff, too you name it.  I did not like any of them.  Nothing felt "just right."  And the helpful Pretty Young Thing at the big box office store said they don't carry Christmas paper anymore. 

    WTH?????

    And going through all the boxes again yielded no missing decorations.  I will look again tomorrow, but that is the last time!

    I did get to visit a relative in the hospital.  She fell on the ice yesterday and had a severe crack on the noggin.  She is resting in the hospital for a few days while she recovers.

    Still moving Christmas stuff around.

    We need less stuff or a bigger house.  

    We have/had tickets for White Christmas at the Paramount in Aurora tomorrow.  Jackie and I were both a little leery considering the forecast.....3 to 6 inches.  So Emily is rebooking.  We were looking forward to it too.

    It's not all navigating the roads, but also navigating the sidewalks with a wheelchair and snow.  It's not fun.

    Gives me some time to look in the boxes.  Again.

    Hopefully I will find the missing piece!

Peace and Love

whew!!!

I am a happy, but tired, person tonight

    Most of the Christmas decorations are upstairs.  There are still some standing items that have to be lugged up, but tomorrow will work for that.

    The problem is we are missing some decorations!

    We have some German candleholders that have not appeared, along with some pillows.  I have gone through all the boxes and have not found them.  I now wonder if I put them in the garage sale stack by mistake, so tomorrow I will do another search.

    Why am I happy?

    Well, I got a great coffee at Cypress House to start.

    Then tonight  I walked with the Rochelle Area Community Foundation folks in the Christmas Parade in town.

    Several of us passed out candy and sunglasses to folks along the way.

    I parked 3 blocks from the start of the parade.  I walked to the float, then walked to almost the end, stopping at the museum.

    At the museum I hung out with Director Jan at the fire pit in front of the museum.  And I had to walk 2 blocks back to my van.  I spent almost 3 hours on my feet, that is why I am so tired.

    Why happy?

    Jackie had a good day and was able to stay by herself for 2 and a half hours while I did my things.  

    Sometimes she is a little hesitant to let me go for long periods, but today all went well and she felt ok.  She also knows I am about to 15 minutes away and will leave as soon as she calls.

    I love being able to help out the groups I am involved with, and sometimes it is hard to get the time to do it.  Everyone is understanding, but I like being involved.

    Also, I engaged in real conversations with 3 total strangers!  I was engaged, listening, asking questions, giving information..... just like a real adult!  Usually I don't do well in those situations.

    And as a major plus I called 6 people by their right names!!!  I missed one, but the lighting was bad and I really could not see his face.  

    I picked up supper and ran into the Jolly Old Elf himself.  Seems he does not always travel by reindeer, although he did ask if they had carrots.

Hmm.....

Peace add Love

My thought exactly!

You could join me for a drink if you buy $20 in museum raffle tickets!  Gives you 24 chances to split the pot, a museum membership for a year, and a coffee or tea on me!!!