This and That from our week

I woke up way too early this morning, which happens about once a week.  I usually try to get seven hours of sleep at night, but sometimes my brain tells me that four or five are enough.  I lived most of my adult life on that amount, unfortunately, until the last ten years or so.  

So now I'll start out with this beautiful Christmas tree at GBRV.  Normally the tree would have been decorated during the "Hanging of the Greens" service, which was this past Sunday.  But because of social distancing requirements, it was already done before the service.  The beautiful nativity set under the tree was new last year.  I remember Sammy helping to put things into place.  How I miss having them here for weekends!

Sunday turned out to be a sunny day in the 50's.  Deer hunting was permitted that day, so Dick headed over to Anthony and Lori's for the afternoon.  I was feeling pretty blue, missing the fun Thanksgiving weekend houseful we normally have.  So I went out for a walk, which was good therapy.  It's good I did, because we haven't had a day like that since, and the forecast doesn't indicate that we will any time soon.  

It was interesting to see a mix of the seasons as I walked - Christmas decorations some places, and someone mowing the lawn at another place, haha!  When I got home and sat on the porch I noticed that my one remaining hanging plant still had flowers on it!

On Monday it rained a lot, and on Tuesday we had snow flurries.   

By Wednesday morning there was actually snow on the grass and cars.  But it was gone by the afternoon.   Preparing to take this picture prompted me to cut the yarn that held my autumn pillows onto the rockers all those months and replace them with these Christmas pillows.   When I left later in the day to take the food I had made for Anthony and Lori, I found one of the pillows  already lying at the bottom of the steps, haha!!  So I brought them inside.  Today I will stitch them to the rockers!  Dick has a vacation day today and the Christmas decorations will finally be put up.  

There have not been many good sunrises lately, but Thursday morning we did.

I know I have some readers that are not on Facebook, so I'll share some of the things that gave me chuckles this week.  First of all, these very current lyrics to the song "We Three Kings."  I just love the humor and the great rhyming. Hopefully this will get large enough for you to see the lyrics if you click on it. 

And then there was this, which created some interesting and hilarious discussions in the comment section of my FB post.  

When we got married in 1971 I would have LOVED to have a kitchen like this.  Or maybe Harvest Gold instead.  But we were young and poor, and as renters of a small mobile home in Manheim, we had to put up with our little kitchen and its turquoise stove, lol!!  I did spruce it up with my Harvest Gold accessories though - all wedding gifts, I'm sure.  Now I think the turquoise was pretty cool, much better than avocado green!  But back then I hated that it looked so 50's!  

The funny thing is that I knew what avocado green was before I even knew what an avocado was!!  I loved this avocado green dress I wore in my friend Elaine Nissley's wedding a few weeks after our wedding.  Boy, to be that thin again!

 

Guess what?  I have a new favorite tea!  For YEARS my favorite has been Candy Cane Lane, ever since I first found it by accident at Weavers Health Food store in Manheim, probably 15 years ago.  Don't worry, I still love it!  But when I was in Portland, Mike introduced me to Original Yogi Tea.  I wasn't sure I would like it, but was willing to try because I needed to warm up.  Before long I noticed the spiciness of ginger, and I knew I loved it.  They sent me home with three boxes of it!  In addition to ginger root, it also has cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and pepper.  On these dark evenings at home, it is the best thing to sip on!  Both teas are caffeine free.

COVID is hitting so hard!  I have several friends who are hospital nurses, both here in our area and also in Lancaster County.  The COVID units are full and are overflowing to others areas of the hospital.  My sister-in-law Carolyn's dad has been hospitalized since Thanksgiving day, and on a ventilator most of this time.  And they cannot be with him.  It makes me cry every time I think of it.  In one of our nursing homes here, 90 percent of the residents have it!  I cannot imagine working there.   

I see pictures of groups of people gathering inside without masks and cannot imagine that either.  Some call it fear, but I'd rather call it love.  The thought of Dick, with his diabetes diagnosis, getting COVID and being in the hospital without me by his side is enough to keep me careful.  

At this point GBRV will no longer be having in-person services.  So many of us are older.  So just the pastor, Dick and I, and one or two others will be there Sunday mornings to lead the service as it's available online in a variety of ways.  Calvary has been online only ever since March, so they do not have to switch gears.   Let's get this vaccine, the sooner the better!!

So on a much lighter note, here is some baby cheer!  Listen to these giggles when Destiny found his ticklish spot under his arms!

He is getting such a personality.  When she in on a video call he wants to be part of it and talks up a storm until she pays attention to him.  He likes to see the person on her phone.  We were cracking up at him yesterday.  I told her that most kids act up when their mom is on the phone, and he's just getting an early start, haha!  At the end of our conversation he was falling asleep.  I didn't think of taking a screen shot until then. 

And last of all, here is Dolly Parton's rendition of "Mary, Did You Know?" during the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday evening.  I have heard this song many, many times, but I think I was more emotionally moved this time than any time before.  The way she ad libs, practically "preaching," at the end is SO powerful.  Realizing that this message was being broadcast from such a public event moved me so much. I still weep every time I watch the finale of the song. 

 

Have a good weekend!  Gotta get ready to decorate now FINALLY!