Month: December 2013 (Page 1 of 2)

We had a gorgeous weekend in Waukesha – things were melting and it was warm! Like in the 30’s. It was a bit windy when we got home last night, but still not terribly cold. When I got up this a.m. and went for my walk, it was down to 6 degrees and by the time I left for church it was 2 degrees. When I got home it was down to 1. According to the computer it is now down to 1 below. And it is sunny and mid afternoon. I guess it is going to be seriously cold overnight. Wonderful…

But on a bright note, we got a lot done at my mom’s and had a nice visit with Uncle Doak and his two boys. I hadn’t seen them in many years, I’m ashamed to say. We also had a nice visit with Uncle Dean. He was alone in town, so joined us taking Mom out to Applebee’s Friday evening.

First the puzzle we finished on Christmas Eve (between church services). Then pictures of the snow as of December 25.

Nativity puzzle

Measuring the snow on the seat (see below).

The whole seat – see how the snow on the seat is now beyond the bottom of the table part?

The grill – but remember that isn’t all snow, the grill is also under there.

The bottom step is lower than the level of the snow.

The trees in the side of the front yard.

The bench in the back yard. If you look closely, you can see how high the snow is piled on it. It is a very faint vertical line going up from the left side of the bench, then curving. That is a whole lot of snow!

The snow in the front yard is as high as the shrubs – the mounds on them are level with the yard.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

The angel is getting glued. I didn’t have any super glue, so I had to prop her trumpet up while it dried. It won’t be perfect, but hopefully it will hold.

These were packed away in a different place than the rest of the Christmas decorations, so I just found them!

I’m home now from work and don’t have to be back until Thursday!! Yea! I do have to be at church tomorrow for the Christmas Eve services at 5:00 and 10:00 and the choir sings for those. But it will be fun! And Dad has to come to both with me, because I twisted his arm to get him to sing in the choir, because we only had 2 guys. Now we have 3 and about the same number of altos and sopranos. Not a big group, but they sound pretty good.

Nothing else exciting planned. I’d put on my to do list to finish sorting all my boxes (that were in the back of the youth center) by Dec. 31. I hauled the last load of them over yesterday and am going to get them done by tomorrow evening. Most of the stuff can probably go, since it has been in storage for over a year and I haven’t missed it. Except for my one box of Christmas stuff that had the good nativity set in it – I was wondering where that was! And I suppose I’ll be shoveling snow. It sounds like there is more on the way. Where is is coming from!!!

Everybody keep safe and enjoy your time with your little families. I love you all!

I know I haven’t posted pictures in a long time, so here are some I just took.

Here is the puzzle I just finished. I decided to save it, so it is being glued together today.

Here is a decoration you might recognize:

Here is the snow on the spruce tree by the deck, with just one light showing.

Here is a picture of the roof-lines from the deck.

And this gives a pretty good indication of how much snow has fallen already this winter.

We are now in the time of year when people ask, “So are you all ready for Christmas, yet?” I never know what to say, because I am finally at the point where I don’t have to “be ready” for anything any more this season. All the concerts I had to be ready for are done, and nothing is happening on Christmas that I need to be ready for. So my response ranges from “yes” (if I don’t really know the person) to “Well, we aren’t really doing anything” (if I know the person really well). I’ll admit that even at my advanced age of 59, I do miss having something to look forward to on Christmas day. Christmas Eve I always look forward to, because of the church services that are so cool. But Christmas day itself is a different story.

I’m finding myself thinking to myself, “Christmas is only 6 days away, and then I’ll be able to get back on my diet.” Pretty sad, huh?

But on the bright side, I’m looking forward a lot to being done with my job!

I have nothing going on today except normal work and lessons. Nothing at all. Boring, right?

Never has boring been so welcome!

It is currently 31 degrees and it is only noon. Heat wave – dig out the shorts and flip-flops!

The Methodist Church Christmas cantata was this morning at 10:00. Once again my pastor managed to get our 8:30 church service (with communion, no less) done in less than an hour, so I was back to Chetek in plenty of time to warm up with the choir and go through a few pieces.  Everything went off without a hitch and we enjoyed cookies with the church members afterwards.

With that last stressful event over with, I was able to buckle down and get some much-needed housecleaning done this afternoon. Everything is sparkling now and I even took some time to work on a puzzle.

Tomorrow is the final concert – the Chetek HS. I’m not nervous about that one. I’ve been to plenty of rehearsals, the music isn’t all that hard, and the audience is always very appreciative. And, once again, my whole December musical adventure ends with the singing of the Hallelujah chorus.

Then my whole focus will be on finishing up at work. Lots of loose ends to tie up neatly for the new gal.

If you haven’t seen this movie, you really should watch it – it is on Netflix.  Great look at the “freedom from religion” issue as it relates to our celebration of Christmas.