A deep thought for the Christmas season

The kids were watching "White Christmas" tonight. One of the songs in the movie talks about falling to sleep counting my blessings. Suzanna said, "wow, I wouldn't know where to start". Do we feel that way?? Or are we never satisfied enough to recognize all that God has blessed us with? Something to spend some time considering in the midst of this busy holiday season.

Can you say cold

Wow have we hit a cold spot. Sort of blows global warming out of the water when it is -4 degrees doesn't it. That was the lowest we saw the thermometer go last night. Then add to it a 20 mile an hour wind and you are COLD! Chores, which at our place aren't a lot, involved a very chilly walk to the barn. In this kind of weather, it seems like everything you do takes so much longer to get done. Might have something to do with all the layers of clothing you put on to ward off the wind.

Do to the blowing and drifting snow, we didn't have church services yesterday. When your church is on the corner of two dirt roads in the middle of no where, that is a definite problem. We hope to perform our programs next week. It does extend Christmas just a little bit longer.

Staying home gave me time to inventory where I was on Christmas presents. I finally finished setting out my Christmas village. The whole house is done now. I also spent some time in my cookbooks, picking out recipes for the week of celebrating.

This morning is still cold and there is a bit of snow in the air. It seems we have more weather coming, including snow, sleet and freezing rain in the next two days. Could be an interesting Christmas Eve.

Decadence and disaster.....

ran arm in arm yesterday.

Mom, the girls and I had a candy making day yesterday. Lots of yummy, sweet stuff was on the agenda. But it seemed everything we tried had its share of troubles.

Mom was in charge of marachino cherries, mounds bars and buckeyes. I was in charge of cookie dough truffles and pecan turtles. All were things we had done before. The first problem hit when mom realized that she couldn't find her recipes for the mounds bars or buckeyes. I looked up a buckeye recipe on the Internet and she found a new recipe for mounds bars.

Well, the buckeyes were a little on the dry side, but rolled with work. The mounds bars were a total disaster. They hardened to the point you couldn't do anything with them. And as they cooled on the marble "grave marker" mom used for a cooling rack, they became cemented to the marble. Yes, I said grave marker. Mom's parents went to auctions for years and collected some rather unusual stuff. Among them, a marble topped table that upon closer inspection several years ago, we discovered that the top had been made from a grave marker! Nobody let anything go to waste in the old days I guess.

Back to candy. I managed to scrape the stuff up, but there was nothing that could be done to make it usable, so in the trash it went. In the meantime, I discovered that the pecan turtles that I had made had permanently attached themselves to the waxed paper I had put them on to cool. No where in the directions did it say you needed to spray the paper with cooking spray. Minor detail!! They stuck so bad that the only way to get the paper off was to wet it with water. Well, of course chocolate and water don't mix, so the wet candies didn't dip well at all. Another disaster!

The most successful project of the day was the peppermint bark that Suzanna made. It was wonderful and compared to the really expensive stuff from Williams-Sonoma.

Don't feel to bad for us. Between the buckeyes, truffles, dipped cherries and pretzels we still managed to have a huge box of candies that had to weigh about 5 pounds when we were done. I am sure we will enjoy it all. Decadence wins in the end!!!!

Christmas Programs.....

I have visited several of my favorite blogs this morning which mentioned their annual Christmas programs. I have a fond memory of Suzanna's very first Christmas program. She was just a little over two years old and the part was simple. The play was based on Stars at Christmas time and played out the Nativity scene in typical fashion, complete with shepherds in bathrobes and bath towels and angels in revamped sheets with garland in their hair. The little kids, like Suzanna, were responsible for providing the starlight. That entailed holding flashlights, and shining them toward the ceiling. Easier said than done for a two year old. She flashed her light in the eyes of the cast, toward the audience, into the eyes of the director and the lady playing piano. And as far as shining the ceiling. It was mostly in a strobe light fashion, fast and furious. Not much like a simple star. It was hysterical. We laughed and laughed. I should mention that she was not alone in her endeavor. There were about 5 other kids about the same age doing exactly the same thing. A true example of what looks good on paper doesn't exactly work like you hope when put into practice.

And on the home front, unlike the past couple years, where I have happily volunteered to make the costumes for the program at our church, I have nothing to stitch this year. You would think that means I have a chance to relax and enjoy the last few days leading up to the program, right????? Not so fast. This year instead of sewing I am memorizing.....and singing. Yes, that would be correct. Hubby and I are a part of the program this year. In another weak moment, I agreed not only for myself but also on behalf of my hubby to be "older" people in the play. Seemed like a great idea 6 weeks ago. But now, with the days winding down quickly, and too few practices remaining, D-Day is fast approaching. If only everybody who has a part could be healthy, all at the same time, things would go so much better.

Three practices remain and the jury is out on how this will all end up on Sunday. If it is anything like years past, it all turns out fine in the end. Oh, and don't even ask about the Choir program. Lets just say we trimmed a few songs out of that and it should be a success. Anything beats last year when the director decided to have a heart attack the day before we were to perform.

A week in the life.....

It is never dull here at the zoo and this week is a prime example of that. We have been extremely busy, as we are hurrying toward the Christmas holiday. Monday was the County Agriculture (fair) Society Annual meeting. Tuesday was our Anniversary, so we went out for dinner that night. Wednesday was church and one of the last practices for the kids Christmas Program. Thursday I headed for East Lansing and the Holstein Harvest Sale. I am a part of the Holstein show committee and we were auctioning a holiday picture as a fund raiser. Friday brought the AI man out to breed Sami. Last night we got our Christmas tree and had our company Christmas party. Whew!!!!! Are you exhausted yet????? Oh, but we aren't done yet.

Today I put together a pot of soup for a church function tonight, Suzanna made a cake for the event as well, and Kathryn made Rolo Turtles for a treat too. Mike has been refilling the hay in the barn, since we were running low. He also got the Christmas tree in the house so I can start getting the lights on it. In the midst of the afternoon, we headed to Jackson for Suzanna's violin recital. On our way out the door, I looked behind me in time to see the tree go crashing to the ground. Of course, my efficient hubby had the kids get water to it as soon as it got in the house. So all that water ended up on my living room floor. We quickly propped it up with a step ladder and walked away.

Suzanna did a great job with her song. After that we were off and running again, headed back home to do chores, deal with the tree and get to church for a special program. Our our way home, we noticed that it was raining and 32 degrees out. Well, you know what that means...freezing rain. It was starting to stick, so despite the fact that it seems okay toward church (about 20 minutes from home), we decided to stay put for the evening rather than risk bad roads later tonight.

As we came in the door, I observed that at least half Suzanna's cake had been eaten. Emma was no where to be found, so we knew who the guilty party was. Just as well we aren't going tonight, since our dessert was tainted with dog spit!! The soup will be good.....and maybe the tree will get decorated too.

Flashback picture on a Tuesday......

Let's head back just 19 short years to the evening of December 9, 1989. That would be when these two kids tied the knot. It was a beautiful, chilly winter night. Everything was Christmasy (is that a word?) and we had such a special night!

All these years later, we are still best friends. We have grown closer to the Lord and closer to each other. We have the same goals and ideas for our kids and our own lives. I feel blessed to call him my husband.

The flu has been flying

Monday started like any other day at the zoo. The kids headed off to school, roads weren't great, but we got there in one piece. I headed off to Hillsdale to put my hour of cardio in at Anytime Fitness. I don't take my cell phone in with me. Don't figure I want to huff and puff in the ear of whoever calls me while I am on the elliptical or the treadmill. As I checked my phone when I got back to the car, I discovered that there was a message from the school. It seemed Thomas had a bout of stomach flu and needed to come home. Since the roads were still yucky and more snow was falling, I asked that all three kids be ready to head for home when I got to the school.

I picked them up and chatted with Thomas and Kathryn's teacher for a couple minutes after sending the kids to the car. When I got in the car, Suzanna was having a fit with Thomas. It seemed he was in the car, eating his ham sandwich. I suggested he put it away for later. He insisted that he was starving. He ate his applesauce and then polished off a granola bar. Suzanna started complaining that he wasn't acting very sick and she didn't see why she had to miss the school day! She has such a way with words!!!

Yesterday morning, Thomas still wasn't himself, and Kathryn was a lovely shade of green. I kept them both home and they seemed to feel better by later in the day. Off to school they all went this morning. My plan was to head to Anytime Fitness for a workout. Not to be, as my cell phone rang as I pulled into our driveway. Thomas was again complaining about his stomach. Back to the school I headed to collect him and I took Kathryn home as well.

They both seem back to normal tonight...so I may be back on a regular schedule. Time will tell.

International Talkers

Anyone who knows me, knows that talking is never an issue with me. But I must say, talking internationally is very different from my chats at home.

I purchased a new computer program and settled in Tuesday morning to load it and get to work. Imagine my impatience when the error message came up!! And came up and came up. I couldn't get it to load. So I broke down and called their support line. The voice at the other end was deeply accented and I had to strain to follow exactly what she was saying. She gave me a suggestion and I was back on my own. Only to get very discouraged and had to break down and call support a second time.

Of course a different, but equally impossible to understand person said hello on the other end of the line. She insisted that I needed to pay for support in order to continue and becoming more desperate by the moment, I agreed to pay and let her take over the controls of my computer. Occasionally, I would make a comment about what she was doing, which typically fell on deaf ears. I don't think she got my humor. Finally, she told me she would let the program do its thing for the next half hour and call me back to continue my support session.

No shock to me, the half hour came and went with no return phone call. I called the 800 number and yet again was greeted by a person who had a very thick accent. "His name was RICO"....anybody remember Copacabana by Barry Manilow???? I couldn't help singing that old 80s tune to myself as I once again described my problem and allowed yet another technician to take over my computer. After another HOUR on the phone, he hadn't solved anything and it was time to get the kids from school.

Once back from getting the kids, I steeled myself to call that 800 number and for a FOURTH time was greeted by a strange voice at the other end of the line. This accent was so hard to understand, I am not sure what I agreed to. They maybe coming to take possession of two horses and a few guinea hens for all I know. I did understand enough to agree to once more let her take control of the computer. I, in the meantime, cruised around the house with my hands free headphones, fixing supper, folding laundry, occasionally checking the computer screen to see what the unknown hands at the other end were doing and even eating my supper later on. Yes, I was on the phone for another THREE hours.......and you guessed it, the program still wasn't running.

At this point, I had a permanent sore ear, and had lost all hope that this program could ever be run. The voice at the other end suggested I call back in the morning and let them work on it some more, but she didn't even sound convinced that anything could be done. I said "no way", when she asked if I would mind taking a short survey on the service she had provided that day. I didn't think she would appreciate the less than glowing grades she would have received.

Gratefully, my brilliant father determined he could set up a spread sheet to do the same thing I was trying to do with this wonderful new program. I took him up on his offer. He speaks English, and in complete, coherent sentences, which was a welcome change from what I had gone through for over 5 hours that day.

Oh, and they did something bad to my computer, and I could no longer get on-line. So guess what I got to do today????? Spend another hour and a half with Dell customer service to fix that problem. He was from India......and didn't get my joke about how much snow he was looking at out his window. Me? about 4 inches.