A beautiful new Christmas song by Tom Walker and Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge. It’s lovely. It definitely touched a place in my heart.
‘For Those Who Can’t Be Here’
Enjoy!
My darlings in 2005. Fritz and a youthful Greta!
Merry Christmas ~ Frohe Weihnachten!
The Friday Five ~ Christmas Eve
Well, here we are, Christmas Eve. The Year is nearly gone and soon Santa will arrive at people’s houses and children will squeal with joy! Christmas will be here!
- I have been planning Fondue for Jack and me for our Christmas Eve dinner. I bought all that I needed on Wednesday and Thursday, and so Friday I will do some laundry and a little cooking. But mostly I will just be hanging out. Perhaps watch a Christmas movie or two. I will not be going to the store or Post Office or anything.
- Today (Thursday) the new puppy gate arrived. I opened the box and everything fell out piece by piece! I sat in the middle of the kitchen floor laughing because “some assembly required” was indeed an understatement!
I sat there trying to make heads or tails of the instructions. Not one piece of the gate was labeled, but eventually, I did figure it out. I got it all installed and presented it to Jack.
He was not impressed and asked me to remove it until Heidi comes home.Really? Really?
So, I took it down and it’s all ready to go NEXT WEEK when I bring my girl home! - It’s cold and icy, and my driveway plow guy was here spreading sand. I am fortunate to have a Highlander that just pulls me right up the hill! Still, I would like it warmer than 12 degrees F!
- Next week I have to drive Jack in for a blood test, and also I want to vacuum, and dust, and finish preparing for my trip!
5. Here is ABBA’s new Christmas song. It’s lovely and I find it joyous and soothing.
Happy Christmas Eve!
My Favorite Christmas Music!
In this day and age, my modern favorite Christmas Carol is Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmas Time”. It just fills me with joy and I always stop and sing along.
After that, I go for some beautiful classic tunes, such as “Carol of the Bells”. This one makes me think of my dear friend Candy, who I lost nearly three years ago now. But this song fills me with peace and joy.
Silent Night is a classic and one I learned to sing very early on. It is still one of my favorites.
And probably the one I like the very most is this, “The Holly and the Ivy”. Candy and I once sang this with our choir.
What Carols make you feel all Christmassy this time of the year?
Being Thankful
Recently, I read a story a man had written where he fussed and fumed about his father never buying him any good Christmas gift. Well, I shook my head in disbelief.
You see, my Dad was a really busy man. He taught school 5 days a week, he taught piano after school to so many of the kids I went to school with. He also played the organ at the local Congregational Church, was the director of the Senior and Junior Choirs, and also directed the Handbell Choir. Each year Dad directed a Christmas Carol sing on our town’s Village Green. Not to mention playing the organ for many weddings and funerals.
So each year Dad would go down to the local Pharmacy or 7/11 Grocery Store, whichever was open on Christmas morning and did his Christmas shopping for us.
Here I am, at the age of 12, on Christmas Morning with the gifts that Dad got for me. Notecards, a horoscope book, hat and gloves, a little kitty, and two dolls.
I wish I could sit down with that man who complained and tell him how lucky I feel that my Dad went out before I woke on Christmas to get these things for me. He did it every year. Sometimes I got life-saver candies, sometimes some Christmas candy. Sometimes chapsticks. Sometimes a teen magazine. But he shopped on his own and bought these things for me all by himself.
My Dad did the very best he could, all on his own, and I feel like I was pretty lucky!
Mom did the big shopping. And it was pretty good too. Mom also cooked the best Christmas breakfasts and Christmas dinners. She was a traditional Mum.
But all in all, looking back now, I think I was pretty blessed all around. I didn’t have to have my Dad buy me the world to show me that he loved me. His Christmas Day shopping sprees mean more to me now than he will ever know.
Happy Birthday Amanda!
Today is my daughter’s birthday. A special day for her, but in the beginning, it was a very special day for her father and me.
Amanda was the first child born to us. She was healthy and happy and amazingly beautiful! We both immediately fell in love with our girl.
She was a bright and alert baby, who seemed to grow up very quickly. Always sweet and loving, yet determined to set the world on fire.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she accomplishes, but perhaps her greatest accomplishment is the fact that she is a wonderful mother to her two kids and their 2 dogs and a cat!
I am so proud of the woman she has become. She is a self-made woman who continues to tackle challenges that many would run from.
So on this, her special birthday, I wish her, good health, much happiness, and a fulfillment of all her dreams.
I love you so much, Amanda!
The Weekend Wrap ~ December 20th
The weekend seemed to rush by. I was busy with a few things, as I prepare for my trip in 10 days to get Heidi. I am actually a little under the weather myself with a kidney problem.
I started packing up my suitcase for the trip, and I also have a lightweight duffle bag with Heidi’s soft carrier inside and a few other things in it. It’s pretty much packed and ready to roll.
I cannot believe that it is almost time to go and get her. Right from day one, I knew that Heidi would fit in perfectly with us. People have asked how I knew? Well, I’m not sure. But it is the same way I knew that Anneliese and Arnie were meant to be with us.
The only dog I ever wondered about was Lili. She was quite ill when we got her, with Celiac disease. It took us nearly 4 months to get that diagnosed. Now she is sweet and kind and happy, and feels good! It’s amazing what the right food will do.
And for those who may have missed this, Lili also saved me during a daytime break-in back in January of 2019. If not for her growling, barking, and throwing herself against the door, I am sure the thief would have come in. But a German Shepherd, with a full set of teeth and a growl unlike I had ever heard, was enough to scare him off!
Lili also fiercely guarded my three dackels, Greta, Anneliese, and Arnie. Now she will have a new baby, Heidi!
On Saturday night and into Sunday we had 8 inches of snow fall on us! This found me going outside early in the morning to climb the ladder, to brush the snow off the satellite dish! It’s actually not hard to do. The ladder is a solid one and I have a great snow brush that reaches and clears the dish.
I hope you all had a great weekend and no matter what the weather was, I hope you could enjoy this last weekend before Christmas!
The Friday Five ~ December 17th
Another week has come and gone. I’ve been busy driving to and fro and thankfully, our weather has been good. Here is this week’s Friday Five.
- I had planned this for a while. I went and had my hair done, colored and shaped, and I had my fingers done with pretty sparkling pink polish. Everything came out and in two weeks I leave to go and get my Heidi.
- After seeing the devastation in Kentucky, I started to evaluate my whirl-wind trip to get my wee friend. Doing it all in two days was not something I felt good about, so today I called my hotel in Nashville, and Delta and changed my plans. I will leave a day early and instead of doing it all in two short days I am taking my time and doing it in three. I feel so much better about that.
- All my Christmas plans are done. The one thing I have left to do is find a marvelous gift for Mandy’s birthday. I have a few ideas, but I will leave it up to her which thing she would like.
- A good friend of mine lost her 14-year-old dackel today. I’d known Veela since she arrived as a puppy from Germany. She also sired a litter of puppies with Greta’s mate, Bernie. Veela was a good girl and I will miss her as will her owners.
- Jack had all his blood work today and goes for his physical next week. I took the hour he was inside the VA to begin making my travel plan changes. Very wise on my part!
Have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe and stay healthy!
I love Linemen!
I was so grateful to hear that my friend and breeder of the fabulous Heidi now has power and water! This is truly amazing!
I’m not sure how often any of us think about our electricity. I mean, well we think about it when we lose power, but do we truly appreciate when the men and women who go out after hurricanes and tornados and get the poles back up and the wires strung, bringing light into the homes of so many?
I’ve watched and learned and I have seen these people bringing light back to a community filled with darkness.
You Electric Linemen, are my heroes!
This & That ~ December 15th
I feel quite remiss at not writing before now. I’ve been rather worried and upset the last few days since the Tornados tore through Kentucky and the heartland of America.
You see, little Heidi, with her birth family and the breeder, who has become a friend are in Kentucky and they were very close to the epicenter of the storms, Mayfield, KY.
Luckily, the breeder, Gail, and all her pups and all of her family came through okay. But so many homes in her town were severely damaged, and there is no power or water. I fear that will be some time to come back.
So, since my middle name is “Worry-Wart” I have just felt really unsettled. I realized it was getting to me last night at about 12:30 AM when I woke and could not get back to sleep. I sat up for a while, watched a little TV, and eventually fell back asleep at around 3:30. But today I feel a bit tired and I know I have to give this to God. Me not sleeping is not going to help anything.
My grandchildren are visiting Disney. How wonderful! I’m getting pictures several times a day and they are having a great time. But I was suddenly amazed because my granddaughter looks very much like a pre-teen. Gone is my little girl! Wow!
But here is the other thing about Savannah. She has always been beautiful, but as she grows into a young woman she is strikingly beautiful.
Okay, I know. I am her grandmother and I look at her face and see the beauty of her face and soul!
I am thrilled to see that Quinn at least still looks like a little boy. I’m not ready for him to grow up and become a teen!
So that wraps up the last few days. I hope you are all well.