It has been a quite day.  I am deep into a book and about 3/4 way through it.  I have not cooked much today.  I have not eaten too much today.  I am five pounds more that I was a month ago.  Because of the weather I have not been very active, but need to be.  Pushing a vacuum cleaner around will not burn off many calories.  So...I am cutting back.  Don't worry; I am a long way from starving..boy, am I!

We have January, February and March to get through before I can get out into the yard and garden.  Then, maybe I can melt off a little bit of extra poundage.  I just wish I could get my Troy tiller fixed.  Or a new one would be nice.

This year I think I will try to make my own seed pot out of newspaper.  It is pretty easy and saves money.

I have had a lot of problems trying to post tonight, so it will be short.  All the letters and the cursor become scrambled and give me I fits.  Also, I have lost the followers widget and so far have not been able to get them back.  I keep trying, but I am about to give up on getting the followers back.

It got a little colder, did it not?  I turned the oil filled heaters on, again.

*



THE NATIONS ARE SUNK

IN THE PIT THEY HAVE MADE;

IN THE SNARE THEY SET

THEIR FOOT IS CAUGHT;

*

Psalm 9A, vs. 16

*

Normally, I don't comment on the verses, Psalms or the Gosples of the Bible.  I let readers take it for what they wish.  With this short verse though, I feel that our nation has sunk in quicksand and may not find solid ground.  You may wish to read more of Psalm 9A.

END

The closing of 2010

I'm cleaning a chicken.  Well, not literally. It 's just that I am tired of eating chicken.  This afternoon I sliced off the largest of the breast pieces and put them in the freezer.  The smaller pieces were made into chicken salad on toast.  The carcass and fat are on the stove simmering in vegetable broth left over from the other afternoon. 

The final broth or stock will find a home in the freezer, as well.  The skin and bones may go over the fence to the dog next door.  Maybe dog and I can become friends that way.  As you can tell, nothing will go to waste. I  can not afford to to NOT use everything wisely.  Hey!  Maybe one of these days I will try "bone soup!"

This year goes out poorer than last year.   I have spent a lot of money on dental repairs and medicine that my "agent" did not think to add to my coverage.  This year I did it myself and now I have insurance for the pharmacy.  I don't know what he was thinking.  I am watching my nickles and dimes, esp. now that gas is over $3.05 per gal.  It isn't because there is a gas shortage; it is because the dollar is so weak.

 

A friend is one to whom one

may pour out all the contents

of one's heart, chaff and grain

together, knowing that the

gentlest of hands

will take and sift it,

keep what is worth keeping,

and with the breath

of kindness,

blow the rest away.

*

Arabian Proverb

*
DISCARD NOT AN OLD FRIEND,
FOR THE NEW ONE
CAN NOT EQUAL HIM.
A NEW FRIEND IS LIKE NEW WINE
WHICH YOU DRINK
WITH PLEASURE
ONLY WHEN IT HAS AGED.
*
Sirach 9 vs. 10
*
2010 leaves on the wings of a thunderstorm.

END

Trembler

I am still making changes.  Every bit of the snow is gone.

The Earth  is never still.  Something is always going on, above, on the crust or down below. It's an illusion to think that the ground beneath your feet is solid and unmovable.  Here we sit, on thee New Madrid fault line, thinking that what is here today will be here tomorrow.  From the New Madrid fault, smaller, known and undiscovered faults branch out in many directions...like the roots of a great spreading tree. New earth fractures occur and are found fairly frequently.  And here we, oblivious to what moves us.

We had a small awakening...except it didn't wake me.  Yes, I too, was oblivious, snug and warm in my bed early in the morning.  I think the Ohio River often acts as a buffer against the "small" one.  When when we get the "big one" the buffer may not 'buffer."

We had a little trembler.  In my post about having a survival kit I forgot to mention that it would be good to have an adjustable wrench available for turning off the gas line and knowing just where the shut off valve is.  Yes, I do have one(wrench).  I know where the shut off valve is.  I know how and I have done it. If you don't know how, have someone show you.  It isn't hard and it is important.  It could be the difference between a fire or an explosion.

I went to the Goodwill store this afternoon.  I didn't get much.  There was a man there buying up all the woven baskets he could carry out. It isn't really fair that dealers  come in and clean out all the good stuff.  That is free enterprise at work, I suppose.  I still am not thrilled about it, but so it goes.

*

Fellow Travelers

-

Today I take your hand,

Tomorrow you may need mine;

We share in one great love,

The love of thee Devine.

-

Today I sooth your brow,

 Tomorrow you'll comfort me,

We have a common bond,

It's called humanity.

-

Dorothy Niederburger

_*

The New  Virtue

_

There is a virtue that may be new to the hearing of many.

It was discovered and named by Aristotle.

He called it Eutrapelia.

Eutrapelia may be defined as

"playfulness in good taste."

****

If you see oppression of the poor,

and violations of rights

and justice in the realm,

do not be shocked

by the fact,

for the high official

has another higher than he

watching him

and above these

are others higher still-.

*

Ecclesiastes 5,vs. 7

*

END



  

Changes

SOME OF THE BASICS TO KEEP IN YOUR CAR.

I have a kit in the van and another, larger "Go Bag" in the house."

I am trying to make a few changes in the blog page; hope you like them .

And I am not done yet!

This cracked me up!

I, like the rest of the country, have been trying to keep up with the 2010 blizzard that has brought a lot of the East Coast to a crawl and NY city to it's knees. It makes me wonder what would happen if there really were a terrorist attack of great magnitude. How would NY cope , let alone evacuate or care the millions of the city?

Everyone should have a least a blanket, a flash light, some food and water.

an extra pair of shoes and socks(or boots) a big plastic bag and or an extra

coat. The large plastic bag can have a hole cut in the top and worn over clothing to repel wind, rain or snow. Most of this will make sense...to most people, but who abides with good sense. These are basic items that don't take up all that much room. A friend of mine tells me I could live in my van, umm, but I wouldn't really want to. If I had to survive in it, I could or at least until rescue might be available.

Don't count on a blizzard bailout. The people who drive the plows, salt and sand trucks and, ambulances, fire trucks and police may be more "stuck" than you are. Depend on yourself and self preservation. Even better, when a blizzard is predicted well in advance...STAY THE HECK HOME unless you are an essential worker.

I am already trying to diet a little bit. I got some home made bean soup out of the freezer yesterday and finished it today. I got another container out this evening to thaw out overnight. Beans and or bean soup is a bowlful of protein and fiber. It will also rapidly rid your body of toxins and chemicals found in the intestines! So, with one bowl of bean soup late lunch, a chicken sandwich for supper and some oatmeal around 10-10:30 P.M., I hope I have a start on my lazy diet. I won't stick to this menu all the time, but it is a beginning. Wish me "weight free," not luck.

*

TRUTH SHALL SPRING

OUT OF THE EARTH,

AND JUSTICE

SHALL LOOK DOWN

FROM HEAVEN.

THE LORD HIMSELF

WILL GIVE HIS

BENEFITS.

*

Psalm 84, vs. 11-13

*

END

I have a whole slew of old socks, mostly white, that have holes in most of the toes or the elastics have gone bad and they won't stay up. There is nothing like going to work and having your socks wrinkled up around your ankles! Looks kind of tacky, but not as tacky as the nurse who came to work in a wet uniform because she "didn't have time to put her uniform through the dryer." This is a true incident..I kid you not! Anyway, I am thinking of ways to re-purpose all my old socks-other than the obvious-dusters and such. I am open to ideas and suggestions.

I think my New Year's resolutions will to be to lose some weight. I'm thinking about it, but hardly thinking.

A Notation for Alice: My hair is just about snow white now, so there will be no pictures! How did that happen, anyway??

*

FOR BEHOLD

I CREATE A NEW HEAVEN

AND A NEW EARTH;

AND THE FORMER THINGS

SHALL NOT BE

IN REMEMBRANCE,

AND THEY SHALL

NOT COME UPON

THE HEART.

*

Isaiah 65, vs. 17

END

Plan now Hoe later

The snow is almost gone..good..goodby to snow.

As the holy(i)days ebb and the season slowly changes, so will I, in accordance with Mother Nature. The garden catalogues are starting to find a home in my mailbox and they my set my earthly instincts growing. I know that I will do things a little differently this spring. I will use a method that I used way back when, and gave me the best garden I ever had. Straw bales broken up and strewn between the rows and plants. The straw held the moisture and retarded the growth of weed. In my old age I don't like bending over and pulling weeds down a long row of plants and having to water every day. Nope, don't want to work that hard anymore, but I like to eat 'though! So...I am planning.

I am not buying much in the way of groceries for the time being. I have lots to use up and don't need much, other than an occasional loaf of bread and some milk. In truth, I have both in the freezer and a box of powdered milk...just in case. I don't need to go out in the cold or brave the roads in bad weather. That makes me happy because I don't like cruddy weather.

I went to the library the other day, as I mentioned. The books I brought home just don't grab my attention. I may take them back and look for something else.

I am trying to think of a good New Year's resolution.

*

OF KINDNESS AND JUDGEMENT

I WILL SING;

TO YOU O LORD

I WILL SING PRAISE.

I WILL PERSEVERE

IN THE WAY OF INTEGRITY;

WHEN WILL YOU COME TO ME?

*

Psalm 100, vs. 1-2

*

He who tills his own land

has food in plenty;

but he who follows

idle pursuits is a fool.

*

Proverbs 12, vs. 11

*

Sometimes I will repeat something from the Bible as it may be appropriate for my thoughts or strikes my sensibilities. Proverbs is in a way, a long, long list of do's and don'ts. You don't hear much about Proverbs as no one wants to hear a list of "don'ts.

*

END

Garden-itis

I hope everyone had a joyful, holy Christmas.

I snitched this picture from another web site; http://backwoodhome.blogspot.com/JackieClay/

Well, I was going to take a picturesque picture of the snow, but the batteries are dead in the camera. The batteries are in the charger now....waiting, waiting...for a slow charging. By the time plant the batteries are up there will not be much snow left to look at. It is melting and we only got about 2-1/2 inches of it anyway. However, I am sure it will snow again before winter is done and gone.

I am looking at my seed catalogues trying to decide what I want to plant and how to go about it, or the easiest way for my arm to handle a garden. Also, I got to thinking that last year I had a tractor come in and till the garden. As I consider this, I consider that the it was tilled too deeply, turning up the heavy clay soil of the Ohio Valley. That may be the reason that my garden did so poorly in the season of drought. We have had droughts before and will again. This time the root systems of the plants had nowhere to go. Things just don't grow well in heavy clay.

I have been watching the weather reports for the east coast most of the day. It looks like they are gonna get it. I hope they all have bread, milk, flashlights and lots of toilet paper. I am sure lots of people have leftovers from Christmas dinner.

*

BEHOLD I SEND MY ANGEL,

AND HE SHALL PREPARE

THE WAY BEFORE MY FACE.

AND PRESENTLY

THE LORD WHOM YOU SEEK,

AND THE ANGEL

OF THE TESTAMENT,

WHOM YOU DESIRE,

SHALL COME TO HIS TEMPLE.

*

Malachi 3, vs. 1

*

END