Good Sunday morning, Everyfriend.  There's beignets to go with your coffee or tea.  I wish ALL a blessed day.





The Church Parrot

An elderly woman was looking for a pet to be a good companion and not much trouble. The pet store owner suggested a parrot, showed it to her and guaranteed her it would be a wonderful companion.

The woman asked if it would behave if she took it to church with her on Sundays. The owner said it shouldn't be a problem and that she could put him on her shoulder and he would stay there. She bought the parrot and for the next week spent time getting to know him.

Assured that he spoke properly and was well behaved, she put him on her shoulder and went off to church. Just as everyone quieted down and the sermon began, the parrot looked around, squawked and said, "It's so cold in here!"

Everyone turned to look at her and she ran out of the church in total embarrassment! All the next week, she talked to the parrot explaining the necessity to remain quiet during church. The parrot understood so she put him on her shoulder and went to church the following Sunday.

Once again, just as everything got quiet and the sermon began, the parrot squawked, looked around and loudly proclaimed, "It's so cold in here!!"

And again the woman ran from the church. The next day she returned to the pet store and explained the embarrassing situation to the owner. Since she didn't want to get rid of the parrot, the owner offered the following solution:

If the parrot does that again, grab him by the legs and swing him around 5 or 6 times and return him to your shoulder."

"That'll work?" asked the woman.

"Guaranteed!" exclaimed the owner.

So, the next Sunday she took the parrot to church and, sure enough, just as the sermon started, the parrot squawked, "It's so cold in here!!" Without any hesitation, the woman grabbed his legs, swung him around 5 or 6 times and placed him back on her shoulder.

The parrot shook his head, ruffled his feathers and said, "Pretty windy, too!"



Cat Royalty
(By Michael Newnham)

My cats are very different from each other, though they came from the same place.

The street.

Miss Kitty walks in her adoption...she thinks she's a princess who has the entitlements of royalty.

She asks (tells) me when she's hungry and expects to be fed.

She expects to be fed something she likes...she also makes it clear what she likes and does not like.

She expects me to note those choices.

She is not shy about asking...she will stand directly on my head as I sleep to let me know it's time for breakfast.

If it is raining outside she will walk in the house, stop at my chair and get my attention, then walk into the bathroom to be toweled off.

She expects me to follow her promptly and complete the task at hand.

She usually informs me about 9:00 PM that it's bedtime...she prefers the lights and the computer off then, thank you.

At times, she also wants displays of affection...she tells me when, how, and for how long she should be petted.

She is bold and unafraid to make her requests known to me and she has every expectation that they will be answered.

Because I love her, they usually are.

Chester has different expectations.

He cries a lot.

He does not yet believe he's been truly adopted.

He cries because even though he eats enough for ten cats, he's not sure I will keep feeding him.

Affection makes him nervous...he loves it until his fear kicks in...the fear that if he lets his guard down something bad will happen.

He's trusted others before...it didn't work out well.

He very much wants to act like Miss Kitty and have what she has, but fear rules him.

He just knows that if he was as bold as her he would end up in the street again...so he settles for whatever he gets.

Most of us act like Chester with God.

He wants us to act like Miss Kitty.

Be bold and expect goodness.

You're royalty.

You're loved.

I have to go...she wants the chair...

Make your own application...


"By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet."

- Thomas Merton

Greetings from Israel

Good Morning everyone.
Hope you all have a great day just as you Like.
52º here this AM and foggy.
I have that dull Nagging head ache again this AM.
so am headed for the couch again.
Have a great day.

Lloyd

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I'm just marking my place for later.  My mornings begin earlier because of going to church at 8 a.m.

I have a full day coming up.  First, church and coffee hour and today we are all having a group picture to present to our Interim Rector who will be leaving us at the end of this month to accept his own calling.  Then I have to stop at WM for a couple of things and then home to make Chocolate covered PB saltines for my Son-in-Law's birthday.  Later this afternoon, there is a cookout at their house to celebrate. 

I don't know when I'll be able to be back to see what all of you are up to today so I'll just wish you a GREAT DAY filled with whatever you wish for.  God be with you!

Good morning, radioman.

Lloyd--Good morning.  I am sorry you have that headache again.

Good morning, Janie.   You sure do have a full day.  Enjoy.

 Good morning
Be back in a bit ;

Hi everyone. After a dreary and damp day yesterday we have clear skies and expect to get to 75 degrees this afternoon.  We will go to Sunday School and Church this morning and then out to eat and spend the rest of the day quietly.  I did go to COSTCO yesterday afternoon (and I think so did everyone else in the area as they were very busy).  I came home and watched some of the PGA golf match from California.  They are a day behind and will try to play two rounds today. 

Hal, hope you escape those storms today.   I hate having a needle put into my hand.  I looked but I don't have your house keys.

JaneS, our housekeeper cleans our entire home in less than three hours and while we pay her well she does a good job and is very dedicated to her work.  I hope you can find someone that will do a good job for you and be reasonable.  When we went to Missouri years ago to stay with my folks my mother had hired a lady to come for only one hour to do the floors.  After she went to live in the nursing home Pat extended the cleaners hours to do the entire house.  My folks could well afford to have that done.  We always have found the housekeepers from recommendations from friends or in a couple of instances we knew the ladies.

Patricia, we pay our housekeeper $18 an hour but it is a fixed rate so if she runs over that is included in the set price. 

June, have you ever considered a Keurig one cup coffee maker?  It makes a quick cup of coffee and is very easy to use. 

Jenny, hope you get to spend time with your grandchildren today and get that 4 generation picture. 

Good Morning,

'Tis a dreary day in central Oklahoma.  Only cheery spots are two bright yellow daffodils blooming in the pot garden.

I'm still a bit sniffly so will "attend" church via tv this morning.   The Lunch Bunch will have to settle problems without my input.   

Good morning on this February morning.  I woke up to sunshine, no wind, and over 40^oF !  Not "normal" for February in northern New York.  And it looks as though this will continue for the rest of the week.  Mind you, I'm NOT complaining!    

Good morning everyone, yesterday and today have warm temperatures. Already in the low 40's.

HAL  I wish you the best with those shots. I had a form from the pain doctor for how my back felt each day for that first week and  for each week after till I see him again the end of this month. My back feels a little better but not to where I can walk without my rollator. Hope by now you found your keys.

JUNE  wish I could eat like you do. I have my oatmeal for breakfast and could go the rest of the day eating nothing but know I have to but I eat little. A beautiful view means nothing to storms when those mudslides hit. Like an avalanche of snow, they distroy everything in their paths. I nave not been reading much either. I know spending hours at the computer are not good but that is what I have done.

MARY ANN  from the weather forecast last night we should be in the 40's and even into the 50's this coming week.

PATRICIA  hope you continue to feel better.

AMY  great that man with the tractor cleared that snow. I know how heavy the snow left by plows can be.

CAROL  only once when I visited my daughter in San Diego did we go over the border. Walking into Mexico was easy but even then coming back into the US we had to open the bags with our purchases. No dogs back then, must have been about 30 years ago.

JANE  welcome to the old timers group or needing help. No fun.I am thankful I have help 3 times a week because I cannot even do laundry anymore. Now if she had time to do some cooking I might start eating again.

JENNY  hope you got that picture of 4 generations. 

PHYLLIS  great graphic of 2 great presidents. Thank you.

JOAN  OK  I have a towel in front of me to catch all that sugar from the beignet so bring it on. Mmmm so good. Like the parrots last remark. Cat Royalty is a keeper. Will share with a couple of Cat people I know. Thank you for all today's goodies.

DON  hello

LLOYD  take it easy today with that headache.

JEANNE LEE  like you we are expecting a warmer than usual week for February. I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall and get a big snow storm.

Gloria, I know what you mean about the other shoe dropping.  This is not "normal" and we can still expect to have at least five or six weeks of winter weather before we can start really looking for spring. 

I'm back from church and a quick stop at WM for some "odds and ends".  I didn't even wear a coat to church this morning...just a short fleece jacket and and I was plenty warm enough.

Now I have to get started on my SIL's birthday candy. 

Larry, I know some people around here who have cleaning people and they are paying $20. an hour.  I'm going to make some calls on Monday.  My daughter who works for the Agency on Aging, gave me the number of a lady who is related to someone there.  And I have the names of three agencies in this area.  We shall see.

Good mo,rning evveryone.

June, no I haven't found my keys.  It is so frustrating. We are going over to my daughters today and I am going to check his truck again. Larry they can't seem to settle on a forecast.  All they will say now is possible heavy rain and some severe.

Gloria, my back felt pretty good this morning.  At least good enough to fix breakfast without any discomfort.

My granddaughter came in from del rio late last night headed back to the big apple and left early this morning for an early flight.  I slept through her visit.  I stayed up late hoping to see her but she was later than my eyes would allow.

We pay our cleaning lady a set fee for whole house cleaning.  Never really figured how much hourly, but it works out about twenty bucks an hour.  And she does an outstanding job, she cleans stove, f,ridge and under everything.  And changes sheets on bed.

Everyone have a great day.

Joe left for Orlando and his conference about 15 minutes ago. He'll be back late Wednesday, stay overnight and leave for home midday on Thursday.  Now I need to catch up on a few things.

Okay, I found my keys.  They were in my wifes purse, she had picked them up and put them in one her inside side pockets.  Third time I had gone through the thing.  After just about giving up I was feeling the sides and said that I felt something and start probing and sure enough they were there.     Yeeeeaaaahhhhhhoooooo.

You know, Hal, that is about the same way I found my keys.  I kept looking in the "legitimate" parts of my purse and no keys, but I felt at the bottom of the purse and realized something was there - yes, there were - my keys.  I'm glad you found them because I know how frustratng it is to not be able to find something that you use often.

Mary Ann

Good afternoon, on another beautiful day, it is now 61 degrees and this is still Feb. Again yesterday, I wrote a long post, got to the end, and guess I hit the wrong button.

Joan, thanks again for good reading and foos.

June, I have a 4 cup coffee pot, and also a Keurig, which I use most of the time for making hot chocolate.

Jenny, that is great that you will make 50 years, it takes a lot of love and effort, I know as I have mentioned we med 62.

Carol, when Dennis was stationed in Big Springs,Tx. we drove to Del Rio and went into Mexico, coming back, I thought they were going to take the car apart, they even looked underneath.

Larry, my neighbor from Vt. had a snow rake, when she moved in, she used it to clean the snow off of the car port.  I was standing in my doorway, one bad winter, and I saw the carport across the street just cave in on their car. It did a $1000. damage, took out the back window, the side mirrors etc.

Gloria, I would not be surprised if we do not have a big storm in March. My mother would say, watch our for "The eyes Of March" we had the blizzard of 1888, and her mother had got lost in that one.

Hal, I had those 4 shots for my back a few years ago, last about 3 months.  for a few years I went in for the 1 shot every 3 months. which last a little over a month.  My doctor had form that he gave out each time with questions, and also a picture of a body, and I had to mark where the pain was. By the way, found my keys once in the washing machine.

Jane, I had a great housekeeper, she came every two weeks, and charged $15. and hour, and she would finish in about two and half. She was in a bad accident, and cannot use her left arm for any lifting. After I got out of the hospital the first time I was in, my neighbor came over and said she would clean. She said she did not want any pay, I said no way! She agreed to $10 per. I ask only that she make my bed. and vacuum and mop the kitchen. She does that and more, but very slow, but what can I say. Being a friend she stops and talk a lot.

Sorry Joan, that was suppose to say foods. I will wear a bib as I am wearing purple top to day. Other wise the sugar will turn it white

I wish I lived near you Jane, I used to house clean and did it for one family from '92 to 2012. She passed in 96 and I kept on working, jobs were inside and doing yard work.I would also drive them to the city for Dr appointments. In 2012 he fell and broke his hip so he came to live with us....said he would go face down in the river before he went to the manor!!! He had cancer since 92 but being an old war vet he was very tenacious...but a joy to be around. They both treated me very well.
I did manage to get the bread done and I made some monkey bread too. Took a loaf and some of the monkey bread over to the neighbour and put some in the hidey hole too!!
The tractor left some chunks of snow in the way so I took the shovel to that and cleaned them up......nice now that you can see down the road when you drive out and not have to inch and peek

Joan, thank you for breakfast

Enjoy your day everyone

I am sorry that I wasn't around much today.  After Joe left I had some things to complete before he comes back on Wednesday.

AMY, I wish you lived nearby too, not just for the cleaning, I'm pretty sure I'd like being friends and neighbors with you! 

Good afternoon dear hearts, sorry I lost track of time. Some folks lose their keys..I lose my mind. Had a bad night. Woke with leg pain. Tolerated it for a couple of hours, then called downstairs at three a.m. and requested a percocet. The nurse was here in minutes with the pill. I slept solidly till 6 a.m. when the day time nurse arrived with my thyroid pill. Stayed awake, went down to get the leg cared for. The sore is healing so nicely, I may need care for a day or two more then I will be free to sit under the shower till the water grows cold..Yipee. Got my lazy hide off to Church, came here, started to read your messages, found it was time for lunch, so got that done, came home and fell sound asleep for the rest of the afternoon.

Hal, glad you located the keys. They HAD to be in the house since you used them to get in. My door automatically locks when I leave the apt. so several times I have asked a worker to let me back in the house, because I left my keys on the counter. DUH !!!

Bis, in my house, family comes first, as it should be. We so seldom see them we don't want to lose a minute of their time. It was SO good having Dori here yesterday. I'm happy you will have him again on Wed.

Larry and Gloria de, I have heard of the Keurig coffee pots, but I have already ordered a four cup Mr. Coffee. That is the amount I usually have each day. If I need more I keep instant coffee on the shelf, but it isn't as tasty as from the regular.

I am still yawning with sleepiness. Tomorrow I want to get some laundry done early, so hope i sleep all night..no more napping today.

Very quiet around my favorite spots tonight. I had some canned Chili for supper tonight and it was a treat. For some reason I have neglected Chili for a long time, and I have always enjoyed it.

It is another cool night, I will only open my windows a crack. I don't like to leave the furnace on while I sleep, I prefer it to be cool so I can snuggle under the comforter, but sitting here with the window part way open is Not cozy.

I pray you all have a very peaceful night, and that LLOYD wakes up without a head ache tomorrow. I am concerned about that.

I wish you all peace, prayers and hugs. June

Good evening, EVERYFRIEND!

I am smiling big tonight as I reminisce the gathering of my family today.  Although it was over much too quickly, it sure was nice to see the grands all together.  The kids were so happy to see their great-granddad. We did take a lot of pictures, but I am still going through them to see which ones are the best.  Too many people to expect everyone to smile and keep their eyes open.

Thank you, JACKIE, LARRY, GLORIA, and GLORIA de, for your nice wishes for getting the family picture taken and the comments about our up coming 50th wedding anniversary.  Sadly JACKIE, we will not be near our friends that will also be celebrating their 50th, but we all will sure be thinking about the other couples that are. We all commented on how blessed we felt to have been married to our best friends for that many years. 

GLORIAde, I hope and prayer we can have at least 62 years, if not more together.  None of us know how much time we have.

HAL, sorry you missed seeing your granddaughter.  Happy to read you found your missing keys. 

JOAN, how nice that you were able to enjoy the time with Joe before he had to leave, but will get to see him on his return.  Thank you for our goodies today. 

We leave early tomorrow morning for our return drive home to Colorado.  The weather will be a bit of a concern early in the day, but should get much better as we head east.  As always, I dread saying good-bye to my Dad.  It is always so good to be together and I just want the opportunity to continue. 

Son Dave and Family will also be leaving tomorrow, but they plan to leave by 4 AM as they have to get home for work and school on Tuesday.  We will more than likely spend the night somewhere as it is not a good idea for us to push ourselves to drive the whole way there in one day. 

Dr. Dave was in AZ for a meeting for his company.  His wound care center won every award that was given out.  His clinic was #1for individual clinic, #1 for regional and #1 for national.  He was very proud and pleased.  He works very hard and long hours and it has paid off for him. 

I must get to bed and I still need to throw a few things into the suitcase.

Pleasant dreams to all.

Jenny

JENNY...

...happy to read your trip was so successful....Wishing both you and Bob a safe journey home...

Oh well-done, Dr Dave...you made one mamma very proud..

Good Morning Vanilla-Jackie and Denver Have a great day. I am up for a water change and going back to bed for 3 or so mores. Have a day just as you like and god bless.

Lloyd

Good Monday morning, Everyfriend, on this President's Day.  There's elephant ears to accompany your coffee or tea . I wish everyone a nice day!!





IRS

We've just been informed that the Internal Revenue Service has simplified its 1040 forms for this year in the spirit of becoming a "kinder, gentler" IRS. It goes like this:

(A) HOW MUCH DID YOU MAKE LAST YEAR?____________

(B) HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE LEFT?_________________

(C) SEND IN AMOUNT ON LINE B.



What a Ride!
(by Peder Eide)


I like to listen to bible teachings and speakers on CD when I am out on the road. It works well for me and as I listened to a CD of a local pastor's teaching in my truck while traveling to a concert, my heart was awakened by a question he posed at the beginning his talk. To paraphrase it, he told of news he had received that 2 single women from his church who were serving as missionaries in Cameroon had died. Failed brake on a mountain road, over the cliff, both dead. One was a nurse; one was doctor, both from the Twin Cities. Both women were both 80 plus years old!!! Then the pastor spoke of an article in Readers Digest where it talked about a couple who made key investments and now get to spend there early retirement years in Florida collecting sea shells, shuffle board, and spending afternoons on their new boat. Then came the question...which one of these is a tragedy? I almost needed to pull the truck over to the side of the road. What a truth. It's not that it's wrong to retire or make wise investments but to honestly ask myself what is my life for and when will I be done serving the Lord Jesus Christ? The answer was pretty clear...my life is for what ever God wants it to be and I will never be done trying to serve, please, glorify, and take delight in Him. I was not made to take a seat and do nothing one day. What that picture looks like, I don't know but I do know that I was created for good works and what God has started in me God will take to its completion.

Even as I write this, I have been met with some big challenges that can feel personal or defeating, yet part of the call that God gives is to do what ever, go wherever, and give it everything, every time. Mike Yaconelli says this life with Jesus is to sit down, buckle up, hang on and at the end to look back at where the Savior has taken you and say "What a Ride!" That's what I want.

"Only one life twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last!"

My dear friends, let us make this life count, not just last.

Peace and love,
Peder



"Nobody on his deathbed ever said: 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office.”

- Peter Lynch

Good morning everyone.

I hope the lovely weather continues today. I need to tidy up some as we have company coming later on this afternoon.
I might even get some sewing in today! I thought I would sew yesterday after making bread but that wasn't to be. I had over filled my monkey bread in the pan and one of the balls fell off and onto the bottom of the oven where it made itself known...so I had an oven to clean

Jane, I am sure we would have fun I would dearly love to go to your Amish market and play with your dogs,after the word is done though!!

Hal, I bet your so happy to have your keys, I know only too well the feeling when you can't find them!

June, like you, I like my window up just a tad to let the fresh air in.

Gloria, I hope your back is feeling better.

Larry, tell your wife that Connecting Threads has some new backing....3 of them found their way here

Joan, thank you for breakfast!

Enjoy your day everyone.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  And a special "GOOD MORNING" to you Joanie and to you Amy!  And also to the ones who were here after I went to bed last night...that would be Jackie, Jenny and Lloyd!

To the rest of you....SHAKE A LEG!