Super Snowman & All

Once there was an Elder Snowman, oh so tall! In the sun, slush and rain he taught one and all. Through hard work & more he melted the wall. His great example was bigger than small.

I caught sight of this cute missionary snowman last week. How fun to welcome one and all, with his arms open wide. He was out front for several days. I left for work early to have time to stop and snap a photo of him. This little guy made my day. Here is another version: Once there was an Elder Snow. Man he was tall! In the sun he melted our hearts one and all. Didn't take long till he received his call. To teach a family, by the name of Small.

Chili Challenge

For nine years running our work has sponsored a Chili cook-off challenge. Bring your best from home and put it to the test of sixty-five employees as the taste testers.

We’re ready for the annual chili contest. To see whose beans pull ahead of the rest. Which savory flavor is voted the best? I chose Paul’s shrimp jambalaya, but #5 won the crest.

Using a muffin tin to put samples of the soup in helps cut down on bowls and taking too much. Cheese, peppers, onions, more cheese and limes, help, too. Of course, we all came away stuffed.

Super Snow Blowing Bestie

Here’s how to keep your walks & driveway dry. Shovel after it snows before the dark night sky Or anyone walks on it. Then your back won’t cry. Hopefully your snow blowing neighbor comes by. Sees you need help & blows it all away. Bye bye!

To the owners of snow blowers, A Big Thanks! Who help their neighbors get rid of the tanks, Of snow on sidewalks, driveways and save francs. Sending these loads onto ever rising banks.

Most city ordinances state that sidewalks must be cleared of snow within 24 or 48 hours of the storm. Our neighbor makes sure our street abides by that rule. He does the whole neighborhood of sixteen homes before 6:30 am. I was excited to snap a photo of him doing the goodly deed. My husband has a Bobcat loader with a blade. This winter he has scraped the street because the snow plow trucks are too big to turn about at the end of the cul-de-sac. It takes awhile for the smaller trucks to make it to our spot. By the time they make it the snow is several days old. We know how hard it is to move or get rid of it by then.

2015 Is Going, Going & Almost Gone

So long, farewell, ‘Old’ years must say, “Good Night!” 2015 will go to bed and forever sleep tight. No one knows if the ‘New’ year will please or fright. But it’s coming with a polar express might.

2015 IS DRAWING TO A QUICK CLOSE. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF WE CHEER OR OPPOSE. WILL YOU CELEBRATE AT MIDNIGHT OR DOZE, GLAD THAT WE ARRIVED AT 2016, I SUPPOSE?

The minutes are ticking away, with little more than a day and a half left to play or finish all those goals we set for 2015. How did your year play out? We had: 1 - Heart attack & one new grand baby, Cooper. 2 - Boys turn 8 and got baptized. 3 - Years taking piano lessons, New tables for the house. 4 - Quadruple bypasses completed, 4 Theme Parks: 2 Universal Studios, LEGOLAND & Sea World. 5 - Weeks vacation and used up most of it. 6 - Trips - Washington, New Jersey, Florida, Uintas in UT & Idaho x2. 7 - Students in Primary class taught. 8 - States visited: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida and Wyoming. 9 - Pounds gained - Yuk!! 10 - Days solid driving to the hospital and back. 11 - Years celebrated with Sarah Vawdrey. 12 - Weeks of Cardiac Re-hab. It was a wonderful year. May you enjoy Sweet 2016.

What's Your Favorite Christmas Event

What favorite Christmas event do you go to? Is it concerts, shows, plays or something new? Where loved ones perform, waiting for their cue, To celebrate the Savior’s birth with crèche scenes to view?

Are you a Grinch as Christmas gets close, And think the falderah is very verbose? Is the pressure or lack of sleep, that makes us gross? Will magic, love or kindness be our ‘happy’ dose.

Do your best to get into the mood, by thinking of the Savior and the true meaning of Christmas.

Take it slow and easing into the holiday. Some days we may feel ornery and others buoyed up. Just hang in there, taking it a day at a time. Eventually, we all make whether we are ready or not.

What's Your Favorite Christmas Treat?

What’s your favorite Christmas treat, That makes the mouth water and can’t be beat? Special for this season and famous on the street. Is it chocolatey, gooey, salty or sweet?

I love the cereal candy, my mother used to make. None of us can copy it, the secret she did take. Cheerios, rice cereal, coconut and corn flake, Mix it all together just so. No need to bake.

Fudge is another favorite of mine, but I can't make it rich and creamy. My economical self won't let me use 1 cup butter, 2 chocolate bars, marshmallow cream and a whole bag of expensive real chocolate chips. I try to substitute yogurt for part of the butter and cut it back. You can tell every time. It doesn't stay soft & creamy. No one eats it, so I end up consuming the whole yucky batch. The cheapskate in me, again. I am first in line to select the biggest piece when it is set out at a party. If it has nuts, I hear it calling my name from across the room.

What’s your favorite Christmas song?

What’s your favorite Christmas song? Or do they play them way too often and long? Bouncing around in our heads like a ping-pong. To start before Thanksgiving is just wrong!

My favorite song is ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ It is poem written in 1872 by Christina Rosetti, Was put to music in 1906 by Gustav Holst and Voted best Christmas carole in 2008 by Choral experts. It begins with: “In the bleak midwinter, Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow… And ends with…”What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.