I did it - loaded an image. Turns out that was really easy. And, I have a delightfully thoughtful cousin who told me about Fotosizer so I can re-size images and not wait a day for something to go out over dial up.
And, to celebrate, I have added a photo of Mamie, our foster puppy who was adopted out on Saturday. Isn't she a beauty? Don't write and tell me she's big. We know. She's Lab/Rott and at 5 1/2 months old, well, you see she fills a chair. But, she is gentle and happy and now in her forever home. As a reward, Animal Protective League sent me home with two female black Lab pups, 3 months old. Thelma and Louise!
Our Christmas holiday was loaded with puppy love and NY's promises to be too. There's nothing like it!
Oh, this is way too newsy. I shall be returning to more rants and raves!
It's only been a week since I took our little foster puppy, Mamie, a Lab/Rott mix, out to Animal Protective League for her girl "surgery". Dropping her off with time to spare before racquetball I decided to stop at a CITGO station. (If you are in Springfield, IL it is at North Grand and MacArthur). The usual procedures were followed: pull up, turn off car, select payment plan and gas type, so on and so forth. I went in and paid. Paid, that is, for the first time. It was less than a mile from the station that the car flattered. OY!
My first call was to my buds at Isringhausen Imports where my car is care for as needed. My one sentence description of symptoms was all it took for me to be told "Sounds like water in the gas tank." I'm dead in the water at a busy intersection.
Oh, great, I've ruined my car. Well, probably not as it turns out. But I was told that a tow truck would be ordered and I should watch for others behind me who went to the same place and filled up.
Almost as if according to plan a red van appears behind me, being pushed by 4 or 5 guys. Up they go into the parking lot. I evicted myself from my former form of transportation and asked if they'd just been you-know-where. Yup. They helped me push my car into the parking lot.
Well, two tow trucks showed up for my car so these guys took the second one. I paid again the next day to get my now running, filled with real gas car out of hock.
Some of the details have been left out but the bottom line is that I'm out several hundred dollars at this point. The owner of the station has been visited by us several times and assures us he cannot afford to pay until his insurance company pays. This, unfortunately brings out the skeptic in me. As I said, I'm out several hundred dollars.
But I did meet 4 really nice sub-contractors who do dry walling, drink their beer early in the day, and had a terrific message on the voice mail for the phone # they gave me so I could keep them posted on my progress with my claim.
And, the pup came through her surgery just fine.
You have to look for the good in everything.
It is SO tempting to get a puppy or a kitten for the holidays, isn't it? Cute, fuzzy, cuddly, NEEDY. You're in the mood to do something good. You know you'll be rewarded with kisses and hugs and lots of attention. Then what?
Please, before you make a life decision on a whim, think it over. Use the Ben Franklin method of making a list with "plus" and "minus" items in separate columns. Do you come out ahead on one side or the other? If you do the decision is clear. If not, then you either haven't answered truthfully (?) or you are not ready for a pet, yet. You need to be prepared, not just by having the toys, food, bowl, blankie and so forth. You need to know what you will give up in order to "get". You need to understand the pet will grow, not only physically but emotionally - YES - and be attached to you. If you cannot afford to be attached to your pet emotionally and physically then wait. Do the better thing - volunteer at an animal shelter and this year give the money you'd have spent acquiring a pet to that shelter to help the critters there. They'll all love you for it.
The pastor knows what I'm thinking. He has to since I didn't tell him I have a blog. It happens to you too. I know. You sit there and wonder "How does that person know? He/She is talking about/to me."
I take back my specific comments about Christmas and the commercialization. In a nutshell, I was reminded that no one and nothing can take Christ out of Christmas; the Bible says nothing specific about how we celebrate. So have at it, world: gift each other greatly! Sometimes being a dunce really pays off and this was a lesson that did so I'm leaving both postings up in hopes that someone else will "get it".
...in advertisements or published photos featuring women that the women have their mouths open often? Not just a teensy bit but wide open, gaping. Check Oprah (bless her little heart): the covers of her magazine, habitually featuring her image, proudly display the inner workings of her mouth. Perhaps the casinos are the worst. That's because they do so many billboards.
Regardless, I have theorized that these are not flattering. Duh. Furthermore, perhaps the images are to make the woman's face look, what, thinner? If the intent is to express surprise, joy, excitement or some other uplifting emotion which then leads to reaching for the wallet or checkbook - ahhh, FAILED. We don't walk around with those expressions. They are not natural.
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OK, that's number 1. Next is a funny, as we used to say in "the day". Seems I chose to do a lot of baking, cooking, and candy making this year for the holidays. Two nights ago, rather than blogging, I made fudge; 4 chip fudge as it was listed. A full fridge meant the fudge chilled outside, covered with a slide on lid (this is important), stored under a chair. Shortly after my #1 guy "turned in" I heard racket on the front porch. A quick holler to the back of the house brought a response - man with guy - and I reported that someone was trying to enter the house.
Now, this is the holiday season and I had very appropriately covered the viewing hole in the door with a decoration thus preventing me from checking it out indirectly. I went for the direct look by opening the door. I saw a tail.
That meant opening the door further. A opossum was trying to knock the pan (remember it is covered) around so the lid would come off. Alas, no such luck. The fudge now is known as opossum fudge, the gun put away, and we had a good laugh about the variety of outcomes that this could have had.
If you just read this, while eating a piece of the fudge I made, be assured the lid was securely in place when the opossum left the porch.
Well, it's kinda funny.
Lastly, I'm considering suggesting to a couple of close friends that this be the last year we exchange gifts. We don't need them, as we've said each year. We went to consumables but this year that changed back to keepables. So before we have to give each other little magnets that state "Go now or forever hold your pee." or some other clever reminder of tending to our ages maybe we should cease. Or maybe there's a market for those messages and others and we could make a killing.
Get up! Don't give up! We're all entering the final rush of Christmas. I've noticed even "Toys for Tots" promotions are driving home the all-important message of Christmas - buy, buy, buy. They and others plead for donations, gifts, stuff. As if that is going to make or bring lasting happiness. As if that is what the season is all about. For Christ's sake, and it is for that,this is Christmas!!!!!! It's all about Him not about Macy's or WalMart or anyplace else.The word should be The Word. We have lost track of what started all this. This year is worse than ever and started earlier than in years past.It is very disturbing.
The organizations messaging us should be giving credit where it is due and should be stressing that the real gift has already been given. In my humble opinion they are increasing the stress of those who cannot provide other gifts as well as the stress of those who feel obligated to do something, often without checking out the organization.
I'm not a Scrooge, not by a long shot.My contributions are made already.And, here at home, we do a small exchange.We're fortunate to be able to give.
Maybe what should be done is to split out Christmas from a generic "gift holiday". Then the faithful from all faiths can relax and spread good cheer and they and those who are focused strictly on the commercial aspects can enjoy the competition of gift-giving and stress-building activities, just separately. Does that mean another day off school and off work though? For some that would be the first gift!
So don't give up if you are a Christmas traditionalist. Take up the challenge and return to the true meaning and value of the day. Propose the same to others.Let's get up the gumption to turn people's attention to a day of love, forgiveness, joy. None of those things can be touched. None of them need batteries. None of them can be exchanged. None of them can be equaled.
Our first snow touched down during the late evening December 6th so the puppy, who happens to be 90%+ white, experienced it first-paw this a.m. It was fun to watch and certainly the cold, white fluffy stuff didn't slow her down. She barreled through it and dove into it while the others tip-toed gingerly. Ah, the joy of pure innocence. When was the last time you (or I) did something we'd never done before, experienced something that was brand new to us? Don't think too long - go do it!
I did it - loaded an image. Turns out that was really easy. And, I have a delightfully thoughtful cousin who told me about Fotosizer so I can re-size images and not wait a day for something to go out over dial up.