March 3, 2010 by Debbie.

I lost it again. John went to hunt it down for me and I said don’t bother. I’ll pour another cup and I’ll come across the lost one later. John was concerned about the lost cup of coffee going to waste but as I drink coffee in any stage, even left over on the bedside table overnight, it wouldn’t go to waste.

I may use the same cups over a couple of days but I end up having two or three different cups as I carry one around with me, set it down and forget where I left it. Yes, I have put a cup of coffee on top of the truck and driven off before. Thank goodness, it wasn’t a glass cup.

This seems to be typical of many things in my life, not just coffee cups. I’ve picked up hobbies and then laid them down somewhere and forgotten about them to only later  come across the supplies and wonder why I started but did not finish that hobby project. I start diets and set them aside and only when stepping on the scales do I miss them and wonder where and why I left them. Not too big of a pondering on that one. I like my own homemade fudge and vanilla Oreos more than I like dieting.

The thing that bothers me the most are the serious things in life that I set aside.  I may be able to wait out finding that lost cup of coffee but what happens if I set aside my compassion for hurting people and THEY’RE the ones left waiting? What if I set aside the urgency of living the life God intended for me - one of loving Him foremost and of service to others - and that urgency is lost?

Wanting another cup of coffee, I found my lost cup this morning, ice cold on the dresser.

What will prompt my soul to go hunting for the serious, important things I set aside?

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February 20, 2010 by Debbie.

when a friend called on the spur of the moment last week and asked me to come over for coffee and pick out some pecans she’d had cracked. My first response was a “Martha” response - so much on the ‘to-do’ list made me initially say no, thanks. As we talked for a few more minutes, I realized the housework could wait and I jumped in the truck leaving the mess behind.  I hadn’t realized how much I needed time for just visiting.  I came home refreshed - what a gift she had given me. And I don’t mean just the large bag of pecans she sent home either.

Wednesday of this week I taught a yeast bread class. The participant asked if I could be flexible on the starting time as he might have to go in to work early that morning. I struggled with whether to risk late morning energy level but finally decided to go for it. After the participant arrived (yes, he was detained) and we started talking I realized how much I would have missed if I had said no.

Both of these people enriched my life so much. Both in different ways, but I’d hate to think of how dull my time would have been if I’d said no, thanks to either of these adventures.

The story of Mary and Martha has always aggravated me. Preachers always make Mary into such a goody-two-shoes but I notice they sure like to eat when dinner time comes around. Who would have fixed the meal except for Martha???

This past Friday at Kindergarten class two of the little girls wanted to sit beside me while watching the recess time video (too cold to go outside that morning.) I seldom actually sit during that time or if I do, I read. Yet I resisted the urge to disrupt the little girls to go find my book. Instead, I just sat with them. I was there when they’d look up at me at a funny part of the video. We didn’t have any deep discussions and they weren’t there for disciplinary reasons. They just wanted to be close.

A little boy in that class came to me at the end of the day with the sad declaration of, “I don’t want to go home.” His mom and dad were recently divorced and his dad had remarried. He lived with his ‘real dad,’ as he called him, and he wouldn’t be able to see his ‘real mom.’ His sad words as he walked away were, “I miss my mom.”

When I read or think of the scripture that says, “Hear oh Israel, the Lord, thy God is one,” I can’t help but think God is saying He’s lonely.  Maybe He’d like someone just to sit beside Him, to be there when something funny happens in this world. Maybe He wants us to be flexible enough with our time that if life gets in the way in the early morning, we still make time to visit later on. Maybe He wants to know where He fits on the to-do lists of our lives.  Maybe He’s waiting to hear the “I miss you and don’t want to be where you aren’t.”

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February 12, 2010 by Debbie.

Dallas got 12 1/2 inches and broke the all time record for snow. We got 7 1/2 inches - more than I can ever remember getting here before, but as I don’t qualify as a weather expert I can’t verify we broke any records. Still it’s a beautiful sight. You can see from the picture below it was a fluffy, wet snow that is great for packing …..

so,of course, John made a snowman last night after work. It’s been years since he’s made one this big - probably since our kids were YOUNG.

The best benefit of this much snow, other than beauty, is the insulation over the rooftop. Our house hasn’t ever been this warm at 34 degrees.  Kind of hate to have it melt…………….. kind of.

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February 10, 2010 by Debbie.

Psalm 91

¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

²I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

I’ve been reading Psalm 91 every morning this past two weeks. I try to read it at least once more during the day if not several times as I’m trying to learn EXACTLY what trust means.

I read the Dollar Stretcher e-newsletter every week and this week it said to listen closely to our ‘money tapes,’ the thoughts and ideas about money that are ingrained in our mind. The e-newsletter urged the readers to make sure whatever our money tapes were telling us was really true. Or in another word, trustworthy.

Dr. Leman, the author of Sheet Music, encourages us to make sure our most intimate belief system is a true one. That what we believe about husband-wife relationships is truth and not a belief that is passed down from one generation to the next.

Our laws have changed so that credit card companies can’t hide behind the small print and have to plainly state the truth about their business. (I’ve personally found the truth is to RUN from any credit card offer!)

I hope this mindset I’m reading and seeing is a ‘let’s get back to the basics; let’s get back to truth.’ Whether it is or not, I’m trying to get back to the basics; to get back to truth. So I have to go back to the ONE thing I know is truth, God’s word. So as I’m reading through the Bible again, I’m asking myself do I really BELIEVE what I’m reading? To really believe what I’m reading I have to really trust the Author. So I come back to Psalm 91, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in him will I trust.”

I had to find out exactly who it was I would choose to put my trust in, so I looked up the definition of the word “God” and found-

1 capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe

Sounds pretty trustworthy.

If I read Psalm 91 personally and believe He is MY God then He is MY supreme or ultimate reality.  So before I can answer the question of  “Do I trust God?” I first have to decide IF He is my supreme or ULTIMATE reality.

I don’t have a conclusion for today’s post. Just dragging you along my treasure hunt. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.

This week turned cold again, highs in the 40’s and lows in the 20’s. I’m tired of it but not as tired as my sister, up in Ohio who sent me some pictures of their 10″ snow fall. Ugh. I remember those days, weeks, months. To me, our cold day today felt like it knew it would have to give over to spring soon. It’s cold, but the hint and hope of spring is in the air.

I saw a bright red male Cardinal in the yard, pecking at the grass, (yes, it’s green here right now), and not more than 3 feet away was a red headed woodpecker pecking at a crack in the tree trunk. They both were so startling bright against the cold, gray day, they were like rare jewels flung out in the trash.

The baby goats are separated. Two little bucklings are now in with Chase, their daddy, in the Big Bucks area. They look so tiny out there. The four doelings are glad to be reunited with their mommas in the Big Doe stall and pasture but they’re not amused their mommas are definite about the weaning. I’m relieved as I wondered if the mommas would let the babies steal some milk. Nope. I’ve kept records so I know how much they were giving before and after being reunited.

The Topsy Turvy Tomato plant died. Either over watered or under watered, I don’t know which, but definitely dead. I’m not sure about the potato bags - won’t until this weather warms up some. The seed potatoes may have frozen and may be rotting away. The lettuce bags aren’t any great shakes yet, either. Not enough sun for them to grow much after sprouting. Right now they’re in the utility room, trying to share some of the florescent light with the other seedlings that are awaiting transplant still - and will as long as we’re getting these heavy freezes.

Next week we’ll be entering another adventure here at Beulah Land. I’ll explain about that later. That was just to peak your interest to come back after today’s wondering, unsettled thoughts. Kind of like the rabbit tracks in Shirley’s Ohio snow picture below.

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January 26, 2010 by Debbie.

This sunset was so beautiful I had to run out and snap a picture of it.  And as always, the picture doesn’t do it credit. Spring lettuce, arugula and a stray garlic are growing well in this cold frame. When the temps get too low I add the old sheet seen at the bottom edges.

I held up the big cold frame while John crawled in and planted the onion sets between the cole crop rows. No picture of that adventure.

Rudy-Tuddy, Too and his harem are enjoying the above average warm weather we had last week.

The lettuce bags are sprouting! I’m not sure how the soil cracking is going to work out but at least the sprouted seeds are not falling down in the crevices …. yet!

Since the lettuce bags seem to be working out, I planted the two potato grow bags as well. The grow bags are called Smart Pots. I made a bed of chicken made compost then some potting soil, adding small seed potatoes in the soft soil bed. I covered the seed potatoes with more potting soil, only filling the grow bags up about 1/2 of the way. As the potatoes grow I’ll add more soil, hilling up the potato plants.

Here’s the pictures of the Topsy Turvey tomato plant. After setting the tomato seedling in the bottom of the planter, John filled the planter 1/3 of the way full with an extra light potting soil.

Next a foam disc is added and soil added to the top of the planter.

Last, the planter is hung on the hook John set in a stud the night before.

Ta-da, a Topsy Turvey Tomato that pees all over the floor when I water it!

This weekend, or next at the latest, I need to put in the English peas, Swiss Chard, Spinache, more Kale (I have about 6 seedlings the guinea didn’t eat), more onions and another bed of lettuce.  I’m finally getting excited about gardening again!

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January 18, 2010 by Debbie.

One of my favorite things about Texas is the unexpected warm spells that break up the cold spells. Actually, the cold spells are the most uncommon but this year it feels like we’ve had more cool/cold and rainy weather than usual. I could go back to my years of gardening calendars where I’ve written the daily weather down but it’s not worth that effort. I noticed the rainy days this fall and thought to myself how like Ohio weather it was. (OK, I LIKE overcast rainy days sometimes! It’s not always a negative.) I’ve come to conclusion that’s why things have not grown the way they normally have in the past. The same cold frame, sitting in the same place (with enriched soil) and planted with the same variety and brand of seed did not produce any where near the same amount of lettuce and greens as prior years. The seedlings I set out at the same time as last year (again, same situation and seeds) are growing so slowly I’ve wondered if  they’re growing at all. I find this comforting as we sure didn’t go all out planting this year - at least we didn’t waste the effort and time.

Today is suppose to almost hit 70 but it will have to turn up the toaster to make it today. The cloud cover and winds blowing over wet, cold ground have kept my laundry wet for hours on the line. It’s 3:30 and the sun is just now peeking out. Still, it’s not hard to pretend spring is just around the corner! A huge flock of  robins visited our side yard last week and John and I thought the same thing, “Wow, that’s early” before we realized we were thinking Ohioan again. Robins equal spring time up there! I guess they were just passing through down here and enjoyed the corn the guinea missed.

All the animal and fowl have spring on their minds, too.  I see guinea pairs running through the yard, the male chasing the female who is running as fast as she can, either teasing or seriously running away, I’m not sure.  I had to move Chase (herd sire) from the does’ fence as he WILL push it down to ‘visit’ with them. Even the two baby bucklings are feeling their oats and driving the 4 doelings crazy. As I milk I hear the doelings holler and jump up on the play toys to get away from the bucklings nibbles. They can be together for another month and then it’s separation time - just in case. I remembered to get a picture of Mercy’s udder before I milked her today. She gave 1# 14 1/4 oz. this morning. I forgot the picture with SugaBaby but she gave 2# 1/8 oz.

The babies are weaned now that they’re 2 months old - it gets crowded gathering around the feed bowl .

As I mentioned in my last post, it was only the mercy of God that our cold frame veggies survived. You would laugh if you could see how we covered it - that’s why I cropped the pictures! Recognize the chicken tractor here???

Inside more seedlings await outside planting. The two tomatoes are a Siberian variety as I planned on putting them in the covered grow house …. improvision is the art of homesteading. One of the tomatoes will go in the Tops Turvey planter FaithFull Friend gave me.

I told my FaithFul Friend I’m starting to do some ‘wild’ things. I bought some grow bags from Gardener’s Supply - that’s wild for me.  Today I planted them with arugula, Black seeded Simpson Lettuce and a lettuce mix. I put them on an old retired dolly that I’d converted to a plant mover. I’m going to pull it in and out of the garage/house as needed during cold spells so I don’t have to mess with opening or closing an other cold frame. Behind the grow bags you can see the seedling tray where I started some spring/summer Brandywine tomatoes and cabbages. I also bought two potato grow bags but I’m waiting on seed potatoes to plant those.

Here’s the finished ‘cat protected’ grow bags.

Another glimpse of my wild side - I’m going to plant that Siberian tomato in the Topsy Turvey planter and hang it in the living room. John’s going to set the hook for it tonight. Maybe I’ll get pictures as we plant the seedling and post those later.

You may ask why are these such ‘wild’ things for me? Cause they’re very out of the ordinary - out of my normal living box - for me. I don’t usually buy things to plant in when I could plant in the ground here. I mean, 55 acres and using a grow bag instead of planting in the ground??? I also bought the soil to go in the planters - ouch! That was wild for me. I did use our own chicken made compost for the bottom of the grow bags but the Topsy Turvey planter needed super light soil so I splurged and bought it. It wasn’t even on sale. But I did get free shipping for it.

I guess you could say the warm spell just went to my head.

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January 14, 2010 by Debbie.

This was typed out Monday 1/11 - It was a balmy 49 degrees here today. Tonight should be close to freezing but not down to 7.3 that we had yesterday morning.

Today was what I’d call a ‘pick up day.’ No, no one came to the door and tried to … oh, well, never mind on that. It was a day to pick up everything that was disrupted by the cold snap. I was so glad to push the couch, chair and table back into place. We had pulled them up close to the wood stove over the weekend. Our living room is quite large so being up close to the wood stove kept us much warmer. I’m wondering why most Americans keep ‘moving up’ to bigger and bigger homes so they can work more to pay more utility bills. I’m embarrassed to  post this picture as you see all our ‘living’ clutter - quilts, books and sewing things laying out within easy reach.  We even brought the dogs’ food bowls out for them to eat while laying on their Christmas beds. I did hold my sanity with the blind and curtain darkened room, but barely.

The north windows don’t have blinds as I usually only use blinds to keep the sun out in the summer time. Strong, constant North winds convinced me it was worthwhile to cover these windows, even temporarily with quilts and an insulated batting.

The sunlight coming through the windows made the quilts look like stain glassed windows in the afternoon! I’m so glad for this special effect encouraging me to keep the window coverings in place. I liked it so much I’m investigating making either fitted window quilts or Roman shades. Instructions for making Roman shades can be found at joann.com. The insulated batting (on the door above) really worked well. It’s actually batting to use in ironing board covers. 

All the quilts had to come off the windows and then folded up and put away.  All the extra waters - both in pitchers on the counter for drinking/cooking and buckets for flushing and dogs’ waters - had to be used up and containers stored away til next time.

Same in the barn, plastic walls had to be pulled aside to let the babies out to romp in the sunlight. The two bucklings continued to knock the lights loose so everyone lost the lights now that the weather is warmer.  The cold frame covers came off for the day as soon as the sun was strong enough. We only lost one bed, which I was lazy about covering. There’s a couple of questionable seedlings in the big cold frame - not sure if they will come back or not but a good chance of it.  Laundry had to be done but the drain hose had to be thawed out first - I spent the first washer load hanging over the washer back watching the water to make sure it freely flowed out. After several false starts and quick stops I got the hose thawed out. It goes out to a gray water hose that sits on top the ground, not buried  like the ones going to the septic tank so laundry in the winter time truly depends on the weather.

It took all day to get life back to normal and I’m glad it’s done.

BTW, I finally put up my design wall in the sewing room.  Here’s the Monterrey Star Medallion quilt I’m working on. The benefit of the design wall is evident in this quilt - the blue points on the  center star are too dark for the rest of the quilt so I’ll have to tear those out and replace the points with a better matching blue. Fortunately, most of the blocks are not sewn together up here on the wall - just sticking on the flannel background.

Now that life is calm again, maybe I can get a little more quilting done …. but while baking John’s lunch cookies I noticed how dirty the kitchen cabinets are so maybe not. Spring cleaning is just around the corner.

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January 8, 2010 by Debbie.

My house is all closed up to keep the cold and winds out and the heat in. I have quilts on the north windows, hanging over the curtain rods, and when the sunlight shines through them they look like stained glass windows. From that I decided I’m going to make window quilts for those windows to use in the wintertime. I have all the blinds in all the other rooms down and shut and the curtains drawn over them. It’s warm in here with just the wood stove, but it feels like a cave. Thank goodness the sun is shining or it would look like a cave and I’d really be going nuts. I’ll post pictures of the window quilts later.

I don’t do well being cooped up; I even feel uncomfortable in an elevator. But the 72 hours of predicted below freezing weather makes me resort to drastic measures like these. And to staple plastic over all the openings in the barn and completely envelop the goat babies’ stall so they won’t freeze. There’s still good ventilation for all the animals, just no straight line winds from the North like outside the barn walls.  It makes for an adventure getting into and out of the babies’ stall. I have to tunnel in between two sheets of plastic til I reach the gate, then scoot in before the babies escape. I do that every couple of of hours so I can make sure they’re warm enough and break the ice on their water bucket if necessary, and to check on the lights because the two bucklings have decided it’s neat to lick the lights. Twice I’ve found the group of babies huddled together under the play slide trying to hold in body heat because the boys had knocked the lights out again.  So I trek in and out of the house to the barn. I do feel like a pioneer.  Tired.

Today was busy making cheese so I could use the warm whey to give the chickens a warm meal. I wanted to save some whey to homemake some bread to go with the pot of chili in the crock pot but I didn’t want to add another draw on the electric. We only use the furnace as a back up. Since it’s set on 61, it only comes on when the wood stove dies down overnight. I’m very grateful for my husband’s wisdom in insisting buying more wood this past weekend when all I wanted to do was go home and take a nap. Last night we slept in the living room with the couch and recliner pulled up close to the wood stove so we’d be warmer and so we could more easily feed the fire. During this cold spell I’m not as much worried about our electric cost as everyone using so much electric the company may burp it’s output and we’d all be hurting then. So I skip the homemade bread but my taste buds still crave it - served warm and slathered in butter and dipped in the hot chili, it would be a real treat.

A friend brightened my day today and brought by Christmas/New Year’s  gifts so I’m gratefully munching on homegrown, native pecans as I type and feeling so blessed. The friend’s little 1+ year old boy came with her and he is so delightful - light red hair and pure country. First thing he does is sit on the floor and pulls off his cowboy boots and socks!! See, he can’t stand to be cooped up either. Before he left I snuck a hug - a warm gift on such a cold day.

My friend apologized for getting the Christmas/New Year’s gifts to me late but to be honest, I’d forgotten Christmas had just passed. Time has such a light effect on my life (’til I look in the mirror) that I forget what ’season’ it is based in normal society. My mind knows the seasons I live with - winter gardening, spring planting, fall rest, etc. and my year is almost switched mentally to the school year so that New Year’s isn’t really the beginning of a new year. After 10+ years of not wearing a watch exact time isn’t really a big part of my life unless I’m going away from  the homestead for subbing or an appointment or church - where our pastor can tell the time based on us - 10 minutes late. I just recently started wearing a watch to school and John laughs at me because the watch doesn’t keep time. I have to keep adjusting it throughout the day. He asked me why I don’t just buy a new watch but it’s hard to explain that I don’t want to be that tied to time. I can and do verify the time by the classroom clock so I  have a backup plan but I used to live my life by such time restrictions that I even slept with a watch on. All my watches had to have glow in the dark hands and faces so I could see the time at any given moment I woke up. When watches with timers came along I thought they were fantastic - I could not only keep track of every minute, but time life as well.

No, I don’t want a new watch. I like my life the way it is now.  I usually wake up between 4:30 and 5:30 even without an alarm . About 10:30-11:00 my stomach tells me it’s lunch time. About 11:30-12:00 my mind tells me it’s reading and nap time. About 2-3:00 my mind and body wakes back up and it’s time to fix supper. John comes home about 6:00 and we eat. When we’re tired we go to bed.

Maybe the reason I don’t like being cooped up is it’s hard to connect with nature - sun rise, sun set, the daily ’seasons’.  Like the chickens, I like seeing the sun set and darkness easily fall to know it’s time to roost and rest my body for another day. These window quilts aren’t going to be up long!

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December 30, 2009 by Debbie.

For over 20 years I’ve either read or said aloud Psalm 103 almost every day. I always thought of it as a song of praise from me to God. Today I realize it is not just a song of praise from me to God, but a song FROM God to me.

I’m reading Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, Sheet Music - highly recommend it. In one of the first chapters, Dr. Leman says that we all have an internal ‘rule book.’ Basically, it’s made up of the impressions we learned before third grade.  Some of the things in my ‘rule book’ are not to waste, don’t clutter, don’t leave a mess, DO something and get it DONE, start things early and finish before it’s needed. These rules are part of me and will stay part of me unless I conscientiously decide they are harmful and need to be replaced with one that isn’t harmful. My humanity leaves room for less than ideal  rules as I wasn’t raised by perfect parents, nor had a perfect life up to 3rd grade, therefore my rule book wasn’t formed from perfect impressions. Problems come when my rule book clashes with John’s internal rule book. Dr. Leman says that’s the time to stop, talk about the whys behind the problem and find out what rules are clashing, examine those rules and see if one or both need to be revised.

So God sings to me from his rule book in Psalm 103 - rules he will ALWAYS live by - he will  forgive me, he will  heal me, he will redeem my life from destruction, he will be tender towards me, he will satisfy me with good things, he will renew my youth, he will not hold my sins against me nor reward me by my sins - past, present or future sins - he will show me his ways, he will show me his acts, he will always have mercy towards me, he will remember my children, he will direct the angels for me, he will rule the kingdoms I live in. And the best thing is that God’s rule book is perfect.

So when my rule book clashes with God’s rule book, we sit down and talk about why and look over both rules and see which one is true and good, which one to keep and which one to readjust.  Isaiah 1:18 says it this way, “Come let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they should be red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

You may wonder why this makes more of an impression on me than saying Psalm 103 lists God’s promises to me. Because I learned early and have a ‘rule’ that promises are made to be broken and 95% of the time are. I like rules and automatically distrust promises. When I hear someone make a promise my first thought is what’s the loop hole? But a rule is set in my mind - such as the rule of gravity; I throw the cat up in the air and down she comes (OK, I don’t go around throwing cats up in the air, but a little levity here helps.)  I can understand the (internal) rule book because I live it without even thinking about it. A promise has to be thought about and ‘kept,’  - something you do, not something you ARE. Is my ‘rule’ correct? No, but now that it’s mentally out in the open I can deal with it. I can ‘reason together’ with God. We can talk about how to overlay his true rule (God doesn’t lie, what he has spoken he will accomplish) over my incorrect rule.

Do you have some rules in your internal rule book that might conflict with God’s true rules? I didn’t think I did but obviously I do. Maybe this New Year’s is a good time to sit down with God and say to him, “Come let us reason together, show me how my rule book matches up to yours.” Maybe it’s time for a fresh start, regardless of how big or small.

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December 23, 2009 by Debbie.

Since we had an early Thanksgiving, an early Christmas feels just right. Actually, John and I haven’t opened our gifts but we have splurged a little. John has been patiently waiting for us to reach several financal goals and, thanks to God, we have reached the goals we set four or five years ago. Long term goals are not always fun but such a relief to accomplish.

John was able to shop for a treadmill. He decided on a NordiTrack, based on price, construction and warranty.  I’m proud of how he’s kept up his workouts at the gym but having the treadmill at home will allow him to work out 5 days a week instead of just the 3 at the gym. 

I’ve used the treadmill two or three times and plan to use it routinely …… soon. Right after we got the HUGE thing set up in the bedroom, Heide walked over and climbed on the running track like “So what’s the big deal about this???” The treadmill size cramps the dogs’ style as it takes up one of their nighttime sleeping spots.

But our dogs are adaptable - Bud likes his breakfast in bed by the fireplace as long the fireplace is roaring and the hot air blower is on.

This is the other part of the ‘early Christmas’ - the dogs got new beds this year. Poor Pudge, who died a month ago, used to chew up all the beds and quilts I made for them so we quit buying replacement beds. I wonder if Pudge is chewing a gold lined bed up in heaven???

We had our family Christmas last Sat. at John, Jr. and Tiffany’s (dil) home. They do such a fantastic job hosting the meal - house is always decorated and the table is overflowing. I was proud to watch John, Jr. fix a plate for a elderly single neighbor lady and to hear daughter Debbie plan a shopping trip with all 3 teenage girls (her two and John, Jr’s daughter) to spend their Christmas gift cards. Both familes give from their hearts - best early Christmas present.

Today is suppose to be beautiful, close to 70 with rain coming in later. Then a cold front is due in to bring us down to the 40’s tomorrow. Texas roller coaster weather. We’ve got fire wood stacked in the living room firebox, a turkey ready to roast, a cheesecake in the fridge, a stack of new books from the library and Scrooge video from the library. What’s that Christmas song, “The weather outside is frightful, but …. something, something, something, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” Just not here. But the cold frame is shut up tight so maybe a tad of snow would be alright.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

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