Sunday and the Shortest Day of the Year

Ten hours of daylight. Just ten hours today. And it is cold! Our first day of winter is very wintery. Wintry? Twenty-one degrees this morning, and windy. Blew the clouds away...there was this blanket of clouds last night on our drive to North Dallas (Frisco) to see Bob's siblings and their families. I was assigned the salad, which was easy thanks to that lettuce in a bag cut the thing open and pour it in a bowl. I brought salad dressings, but I don't think any got used. We piled the lettuce on the burritos. I made one of the Tastefully Simple Gingerbread mixes, but I put way too much molasses in it, and they were VERY chewy and the corners were VERY overdone and dry---like hockey pucks. I need to be careful cooking brown food to not over do it. The icing was very easy. And it made the house smell so nice and Christmas-sy.

I must confess I was not looking forward to going. I just wanted to stay home and hybernate. Know what I mean? I had put off going to the grocery store for a couple of days. And was just too lazy for words. No excuse, but the weather here on Friday was PERFECT. We sat in the front yard and ate a picnic lunch and watched our pretty green rye grass grow. Bob wanted to mow it SO bad. But, I suggested he just mow the back yard. Which he did--and he bag mowed it, and that sucked up all the pretty dandelions and dandelion seeds, and henbit purple flowers, and leaves. Now our compost pile is taller than the neighbor's shed. Then Bob opened the gate and said he would just mow by the fence and tree to show me how mowing the rye grass made it stand up even prettier, but I said, no, it would leave tire tracks. But, I wasted my breath. He mowed it anyway. Now we will have rye grass growing on our compost heap soon. (visible from space--or google earth)

Bob got part of the east side of the terraced walls weeded, and the frozen Lantana cut back for winter, filling two whole humongous trash bags for pick up yesterday. We are so funny to have a pretty yard in the winter. Can't get anything to grow under the oak trees in summer, but in winter, the rye grass likes it just fine.

Since our church (Arlington Community Church) was just putting on a music program for church this morning, Bob did NOT have to teach Sunday School, so we attended with James' and his Lady Love, and saw some cute kids do their play, and heard a good sermon from Mark 15: 42-47. Then James and LL went out to lunch with us, and we ate some good Mexican food, and they even had a couple singing requests. "How Great Thou Art" in Spanish and ten renditions of Feliz Navidad. Too funny. I wonder if they get tired singing it?!

Bob helped me go to Walmart---which was jam packed with shoppers but we purchased a frozen turkey for Thursday, and enough victuals to last the next cold snap. We made it to Braum's last night just before they closed to stock up on milk and eggs. We are keeping Walmart and Braum's in business!!! Everything we need, we find there. If you can't find it at Walmart or Braum's, well...you must not need it. Most days I look down and everything I am wearing is from Walmart. I bet you did not know they stocked pants this big.

I don't think I had ever seen the base of the towers on Cedar Hill. Whenever you approach the metroplex, you can see them afar off. And we have driven around them on I-20, but today we took the scenic route home from James' LL's church. Right after the towers, it IS (like Bob warned me) a steep drop off to the west down to Joe Poole lake. We were amazed at all the new development. I had not been down there in years and years. Bob said he had not been down there since scouting for microwave towers and that was before Ben was born.

Aunt Mona relieved me of all the dishrags and hot pads I had knitted up. Her mom loves them, and she was headed toward two other nieces to share colors she did not want.

http://www.servecast.com/opw/211208/archive150.html (Newgrange)

Has a neat story about the solstice in Ireland. They think these tombs are older than the pyramids, and older than Stone Henge. For twenty minutes, two or three mornings a year on the solstice, the sun lights this special, line-up floor and wall carvings.

I did feel a bit like a fish out of water last night talking about things we read online, and funny blogs. But, I will save that for another post. When folks ask, "what have you been doing?" I take them literally. Bob says its just a conversation starter. I am so tempted to snark, "improving my mind" or "blogging" but how do you compress laundry, meals, Scrabble, and reading stuff on the computer into an interesting way to justify my existence? Living?! Living high on the hog!! I am very blessed, and very spoiled. Bob will never know (until he reads this) how much I appreciate him helping me shop, and haul it all home, and put stuff away. We live like kings and queens. The house is paid off. The boys are all grown, and flown the nest. And it is time to beat Bob at Scrabble!!!

Sunday and Autumnal Colors

I changed our clocks yesterday afternoon. So, we got to wake up in the light. With the time change, sunrise was at 6:47am. It is 5pm now, and the sun is no longer shining in the south window. Sunset comes at 5:36pm. James said that every watch and clock he owns sets itself. wow.

We noticed the trees are all turning pretty yellows and oranges and reds. The oak tree behind the little house has a little of each color. It was a pretty drive to eat lunch with Ben and Jenny. When I asked how they met, the reply included the convoluted but cute: Jenny is Ben's roommate's older brother's first girlfriend. I think it got that right. When will we know Ben is serious about a girl? When he pulls her chair out for her? Jenny seemed very nice. I am getting used to Ben's friends having hair in vivid colors and piercings. In fact, if Ben ever introduces us to one without, we will probably tell her, "you know, you are the first one without orange hair and piercings." I remember seeing ear lobe holes that big in National Geographic magazine when I was a kid. Amazing how styles come back around, eh? It is hard not to speculate what those holes will look like in twenty years. But, by then, plastic surgery will probably help.

Home after lunch for a little nap, and laundry advice giving. Hey, James, did you get all your clothes into and then out of the dryers?? They make powdered bleach safe for colored clothes. Better start with that. The liquid bleach is kinda dangerous, especially around all your camo. I put one small splash into my white load, but you have to be VERY careful not to splash any on your clothes you are wearing, or the washer surfaces, or the floor, or anything within ten feet radius. And never directly on the clothes. Into running water.

Why does silly Sallycat have to jump up on the bed and walk on top of me to get to far corner of the bed spot?? Is it a declaration to let you know she is there, so don't turn over and kick her? And if you walk by in the dark in the middle of the night, she will reach up and ever-so-gently, pat you with her paws.

What am I doing now? Reading blogs and knitting.

Rappelling

I just love this picture. I have not added pictures to my blog much lately, and this one makes me smile. That is my son. Learning to do stuff without us now...like laundry, and cooking, and shooting a gun. Thanks for calling today, James. Love, mom

Bob 407, me 209

Scrabble score.

We went to church. We ate lunch with Ben-Ben. fish. We caulked and painted. Rather, Bob caulked and painted. I was his assistant. I fetched stuff, and held the paper towels. And I was very useful in remembering where a certain tool was hidden. We hide stuff in the garage so that they do not walk off. Some tools come in these handy suitcases, and have been known to grow legs and walk away. I swear I am going to write what they are in big letters with a permanent marker. 'Cause Bob will ask, "where is the band saw?" And I have to hold up a few suitcased tools, and possibilities before I get the right one. Or, I will unearth the suitcased tool, and ask, "is this it?" Bob's old boss once made fun of us when he noticed our washer and dryer labeled in big letters when our boys were little. But, he has not been in our garage in years, so I think its safe to label stuff for my brain. Why don't tool come labeled?? "Stanley" did not help me locate the awl.

Now the house looks better. There are a few places left to sand and paint, but Bob will wait for a cooler day. It got hot out there this afternoon. I got so sweaty-sticky, that I took a bath before Scrabble.

I gave the lady at church sixteen dishrags. Hope she likes them. Hope she finds a color she likes. And she said she wanted to give some at Christmas.

The sermon this morning was on Amos 6. Danger of complacency. Arrogance. And abusing poor people.

Lots of sirens tonight. Wonder what is going on.