Just Looking

Is it just me or do others do this as well. I took my car down to the dealership where I bought it for its yearly inspection. I takes 45 minutes to an hour for things to be done. Of course I had a book to read while I waited, but before I sat down to read I just had to look at the new cars. Just curious, you understand.

After all, my car is only 4 years old. It only has 48,000 miles on it. It is just about paid for. But I had to look anyway. I have done this other times when I take my car down for servicing and usually the sales staff don.t bother me because they know I am there to have my car worked on and not to but a new one.

Apparently a relatively new salesperson didn.t know this so he came over. The car I was looking at was a 2021 RAV IV. The color was lunar rock – a color I have never seen before.

This salesman opened the door for me and told me to have a seat. Not wanting to be rude of course I sat in a new car. I wasn’t really interested in its features. So what if it had heated seats. Who cares that the steering wheel was also heated. Oh, did I mention that the side view mirrors and windshield wipers were also heated?

Should I be impressed by the fact that that the rear hatch can be adjusted to stop at different heights. Kathy liked this since she has a hard time closing the hatch on the car we now have.

Is it noteworthy that the engine is designed to drop out of the car in case of an accident? This would stop it from being pushed into the car.

The car has fog lights. With the push of a button you can let the car know if you are driving on a normal road, on sand, on gravel or on snow covered roads. Huh?

With apple CarPlay you can even turn on the heating elements from your phone before you even get into your car. My head was swimming.

Of course, as I said, I am not in the market for a new car. Don’t know why this salesperson talked to us when he knew I wasn’t buying. Did he waste his time or was he planting a seed?

Retiring

Delighted to hear about your

Retirement; you definitely have earned it.

Sad you will no longer be there when we

Arrive with Molly, Ned, or Dustin.

Ready to examine and calm

An already excited and nervous cat.

Thank you for your years of service

Having been there for all of our “fur babies”

Over the past 30 plus years.

Respectful of our feelings when

Needing to deliver sad news, and crying with us when

That last shot had to be delivered.

One special person who will be missed

Not only by us but by all of your clients.

Happy Retirement, Dr. Sara Thornton!

From:

Molly:

Ned:

Dustin:

And our first “fur baby”, Priscilla.

Resolutions II

Resolutions! Me make resolutions? You’ve got to be kidding. Resolutions are for those who are not happy with themselves and want to change some aspect about themselves that they don’t like. They are not perfect.

Me, on the other hand, I am perfect and there is nothing I want to change or need to change about myself. Therefore, there is no need for me to make resolutions.

However, that is no reason why I can’t make resolutions for others. That being said, here are my resolutions, in no particular order, for the people who live with me.

I resolve that you will feed me whenever I want to be fed and not according to some predesigned schedule of feeding you think is appropriate for me. After all, who here is the expert on when I am hungry?

I resolve that you will let me sleep whenever and wherever I choose. In addition, I resolve that you will not run the vacuum while I am trying to sleep. After all, to look this good I need my 20 hours of sleep.

I resolve that you will pet me only when I want to be petted and not when you feel like petting me. After all, I know I am cute and adorable but that doesn’t mean you have the right to touch it each time you walk by.

I resolve that you will wake up when I want you to get up and not when you feel like getting up. After all, if I let you sleep why it would be at least 8:00 A.M. until I was served breakfast.

I resolve that I will run around the house like crazy whenever I want. After all, I need my exercise to stay fit and trim.

I resolve that you will have boxes and baskets of toys for me to play with in every room of the house especially making sure that the nosiest ones are out at night. After all, I am entitled to have as many toys as possible.

I resolve that you will clean my litter box daily. After all, who wants to use a dirty one. Ugh!

I resolve that any food you eat is fair game for me as well. After all, someone needs to check that the food you eat is healthy.

I resolve that I will constantly be underfoot especially when you are busiest. After all, someone needs to make sure your senses stay sharp.

I resolve that you will keep the bird feeder filled so that I can watch bird TV whenever I want. After all, I am entitled to some entertainment.

I really don’t think there are too many resolutions here or that they can’t be met. I did lie, though. I did make just one resolution for myself.

I resolve that no rug or piece of furniture will be safe from my wrath if these resolutions are not kept.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Resolutions

I don’t make Ne Year’s Resolutions. Why? Because I don’t keep them. Lose weight? I like to eat. Exercise more? I start off well then I get lazy. Eat healthier? Well, I am pretty careful about what I eat although I do admit I like my sweets.

So, why make resolutions that I know I won’t keep. This year I am trying something else. I am hoping that these are resolutions I can keep. I figure if I can keep the number down I wil have a better chance of achieving my goal.

Here are my resolutions for 2021:

1. I resolve to try to be a better person today than I was yesterday.
2. I resolve to smile more at people even if they can’t see it behind my mask and this includes at home as well where no mask is required..
3. I resolve to set some time aside for myself each day whether it be for reading or just sitting quietly..
4. I resolve to be more helpful around the house even if that means just staying out of the way.
5. I resolve to enjoy more the antics of my cats even if they sometimes drive me wild.

I feel confident that these are resolutions I can keep and will help me be a better person in 2021.

Not Another Food Post!

On any normal Christmas day we don’t cook. The day consists of getting up, getting ready for 10:00 mass, going to church, coming home and having some breakfast, reading the paper, and then going to my brother’s apartment for the afternoon. No time to make any kind of Christmas dinner.

My other brother and his family also drop in after lunch at his mother-in-law’s. Because of this we don’t have a meal during the afternoon. That doesn’t mean we don’t eat, though. I usually take a cake or some cookies, so we basically have dessert but no meal.

Til we leave and get home it is usually around 6:00. Much too late to start cooking any kind of meal. Besides, we are a bit tired from being out all afternoon. For the past several years Christmas dinner for us was leftover Chinese food that we got earlier in the week just so we would have leftover when we get home Christmas evening.

Yes, we could have cooked the day before, but we don’t. Besides, Christmas Eve for us is a day of strict fast and abstinence – no meat and no dairy products.

This year, however, was not normal. We didn’t go anywhere. We stayed home. Because of this I decided to cook for us. We had a roast in the freezer. I didn’t feel like that. We had a ham in the freezer, but I didn’t feel like that either.

However, we had some leftover Thanksgiving turkey that I had cubed before freezing. That would be dinner. I didn’t want the usual turkey meal with stuffing, yams, and all of the fixings. Instead, when I went to the store earlier in the week I bought some baby bellas, heavy cream, and a box of spaghetti.

Dinner was going to be turkey tetrazzini. I had never made it before. I didn’t know how much work it would be to get together. I didn’t know how it would taste. Well, it did take a bit to get organized because it was my first time making it. The result? Delicious! That with a salad, rolls, and a glass of wine made our Christmas dinner. Now I know that every time we make a turkey I need to make sure there is enough left over to make turkey tetrazzini.

Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

Last Wednesday Kathy and I decided to take a 40 minute ride up to Knoebels Grove to view their Joy Through the Grove Christmas light display. It was a drive through, stay in your car, enjoy the light displays venture.

You can see the line of cars in front of us and the line behind us was long as well. We expected this so it didn’t bother us. We had the car radio tuned into the Knoebels radio station and they were playing continuous Christmas songs.

As I said, this is a 40 minute ride from our house. Once we got to the entrance to the park (the above picture) it took us 2 hours, I am not exaggerating, to just get to the admissions gate. The wait was well worth it. Here are just a few of the displays we saw.

As a teaser there were these two to be seen while we were still winding our way around to the admissions.

This is the first display we saw when we finally got into the park itself.

Continuing on our was here are some o of the things we saw. Enjoy.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

At one point we had to cross a bridge. What fun going through this.

More displays.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Somehow, I think Rudolph and the reindeer are a better bet than a helicopter.

We really enjoyed our trip to Knoebels. This just might become a yearly tradition.

On a totally unrelated note, continuing the Christmas spirit I decided to bake some ricotta cheese cookies today. There should be enough here to get us through the holiday season.

Wishing you all joy and peace this holiday season.

A Nice Surprise

Saturday morning I needed to run a couple of errands. I had some mail I needed to drop off at the post office and I had two bags of recycling to take over to the recycling bins at our township building. I got the mail organized, picked up the bags of recycling, and headed out the door.

A sight I didn’t expect greeted me.

OK. I smiled to myself because I kind of knew where this was going. I stepped off of the porch and turned left just as the arrow directed me. Lo and behold, I saw more arrows.

Following that arrow led to more arrows.

Which led to more arrows. The last arrow telling me to turn right.

When I turned, this is what I saw.

We definitely have great neighbors. Thank you Zimmermans.

New Windows

A few months ago I was doing some yard work and needed to plug into an electrical outlet. The one I wanted to use was in the bathroom which faces the patio. Since I was working in the back yard this was the perfect one to use.

I went into the house, lowered the window, took out the screen, plugged in and did my work. Success. After putting the screen back in place I decided to wash the window since it was open and they are tilt out windows. No problem. However, don’t know what I did, but the bottom window came out. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t reseat it. Believe me I tried. I got fed up with it and decided it was time to replace the window. This was, but not really, a spur of the moment decision since for years that window has been leaking cold air during the winter months. We always ended up putting plastic in during the coldest months.

Now seemed like the perfect time to get a new one. I called Renewal by Andersen. A rep came out took the measurements, explained choices to us, and asked if we wanted any other windows measured while he was there. No charge for this. For some reason I asked about the dining room window since we were sitting at the table talking.

He measured it for us and asked if we would want the same as we had, center glass with a double hung on each side, or just one big sheet of glass. Although we had the double hung, we never opened them. I opted for the full glass. We still have other windows we can open for cross ventilation. I liked the price for both and decided to get them both replaced.

Yesterday was the day they came and installed the windows. I must say that the installers, there were three of them, did a fantastic job. They sealed off the work area with plastic so that dust would not be spread around the house. They worked efficiently and thoroughly cleaned up after themselves when they were finished. In all, it took about 5 hours from start to finish to complete the job. Kathy and I are both well pleased with the end product.

I know some people think we should have kept the double hungs. I like the result. It gives an updated appearance to the house and gives us a clearer view of the bird feeder, which is important to us during these stay-at-home days.

Check out the new look.

Outside before:

Outside new: (Yeah, that is me reflected in the glass)

Inside before:

Inside new:

Hope Springs

Some days seem harder to face. Turn on the news and you hear about the rising number of COVID cases or the ongoing election drama. It is easy to feel depressed. Why bother getting out of bed? Why bother doing anything? The early dark doesn’t help matters either.

It can be a chore to get up and get moving. Accomplishing a task seems monumental. A few weeks ago, when I went out to get the mail, I was greeted by something I did not expect to see. We have had our first frost quite a while ago. Things have stopped growing and are resting comfortably in the ground gathering energy needed to burst forth when Spring arrives. This includes the iris bulbs I planted in early Fall.

Yet, on this particular morning shoots were pushing their way through the soil. I know nothing will become of them because winter is just setting in. It is not their time. It is much too soon. But, here they were greeting me as if to say, “Keep the faith. There is hope. Joy is on its way.”

So, even though things may seem as gray as a dreary winter’s day, I offer you this little bit of hope. Goods things will be returning.

Joy

It’s early for me.
But I know I’m needed now.
To spread joy and hope.

Thankful

I’m…

Thankful for my faith;

                It gets me through when times are tough.

Thankful for my family;

                They’re their when times get rough.

I’m…

Thankful for my wife

                Who’s there for me through thick and thin.

Thankful for accepting friends

                Who take me as I am.

I’m…

Thankful for my good health;

                Nothing matters without that.

Thankful for our fur babies;

                Our house just needs three cats.

I’m…

Thankful for the home I have;

                It fits me to a tee.

Thankful for the job I had;

                None other would suit me.

I’m…

Thankful for so many things;

                The list goes on and on.

Narrowing the list to one

                I know just can’t be done.

So, even when I’m feeling down

                Joy is everywhere.

I need to open up my eyes;

                It will be right there.

During this season of thanks, what are you thankful for?