The Night of Thanksgiving

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING,
BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.
I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS,
I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.

THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED -
THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE,
BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION
WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.

TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION,
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.
SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR,
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.
GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,
PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.

I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,
'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.
I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY,
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.
BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES....
HAPPY EATING TO ALL - PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,
MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS.
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

Kim :-)

UPS Airlines

Just in case you need a laugh:

Remember it takes a college degree to fly a plane, but only a high school diploma to fix one...a reassurance to those of us who fly routinely in our jobs.

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a 'gripe sheet,' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
*
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
*
P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit
*
P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.
*
P: Auto pilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent...
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
*
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
*
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
*
P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.
*
P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
*
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
*
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search
*
P: Aircraft handles funny.
(I love this one!):
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious.
*
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
*
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
*
And the best one for last
*
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget

Have a GREAT day!
Kim :-)

Old Barns And Old People

A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking.

He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway. I told him right off he was crazy.

He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked. He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale.

I told him he had a funny idea of beauty. Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there's been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint's gone, and the wood has turned silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful..

That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn.

The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country home he's building down the road. He said you couldn't get paint that beautiful. Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.

It came to me then.. We're a lot like that, you and I. Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver gray too... And lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord knows what He's doing.

And as the years pass He's busy using the hard weather of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons to do a job of beautifying our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!

They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich man's house. And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled off to Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us on the Great Sky Ranch.

And I suspect we'll be more beautiful then for the seasons we've been through here...And just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.

May there be peace within you today.
May you trust God that you are
Exactly where you are meant to be.

And I do sincerely Thank God for my wonderful friends and family who care about me even though I show signs of weathering!

Have a GREAT DAY! ~ Kim :-)

Cold Winter

It's late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.

Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.

But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?' 'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.
The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.

Remember this whenever you get advice from a government official!

Also remember, when you don't know how to lead, find out where the crowd is going. Then, get yourself in front of the crowd and move in the same direction. Works most of the time.

Watch out though! When the blind lead the blind, they both fall into the ditch (Luke 6:39).

Have a GREAT day!
Kim :-)

National Tie-One-On Day

The concept is simple, on the day before Thanksgiving, you are encouraged to wrap a loaf of bread in an apron (or other linen), write a kind word, and deliver this gift to a person who could use the encouragement. This is the story of the origins of Tie One On Day,

Four years ago, EllynAnne Geisel was rolling dough for “one more pie” for her Thanksgiving feast, “When I suddenly took stock of the amount of food I’d prepared for the next-day’s holiday meal.” For a dozen guests, Geisel recalls, “there was just too much!” Deciding that her company “absolutely did not need another dessert choice,” she spontaneously wrapped a sweet in a handy piece of cloth…an apron. “Then I wrote “Thinking of You” on a notecard, and still wearing my own apron, walked out the front door.” Within a block, Geisel was presenting the wrapped treat to a very surprised neighbor, “who I’d heard was experiencing a difficult time.”

Turns out, Geisel was in for a surprise herself. “I hadn’t anticipated that acknowledging my neighbor with a baked good would have me feeling positively buoyant.”

It is that win-win for participant and receiver that Geisel is promoting through her National Tie One On Day. Celebrated on November 25, 2009, Tie One On Day is an opportunity for people throughout the country to put the “give” back in Thanksgiving.

According to Geisel, a store-bought item is as easily wrapped as homemade, “and the cloth can be anything from an apron to a napkin.”

In celebration of National Tie One On Day, EllynAnne has generously offered this wonderful recipe for Lemon Bread that you can bake and wrap in your (hopefully home-sewn) apron.

A Lovely Lemon Bread
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking power
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
Optional Addition: ½ cup chopped pecans

Lemon Glaze:
¼ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed for zestier flavor)
½ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix the butter with the sugar, lemon extract and eggs.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating flour mixture with the milk, stirring each addition just enough to blend.

Fold in the lemon peel(and pecans).

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Use a spatula around the four sides to loosen the loaf from the pan. Remove loaf from the pan onto a cooling rack.

With the wooden pick, poke holes in the loaf top.

Drizzle the lemon glaze over the top
(Tip: Place rack over a piece of wax paper for easy clean up)

**Wrap the cooled loaf in foil and store in the refrigerator for 1 day before serving
**Plastic or foil wrap will protect the cloth from the syrupy glaze

Yum! In celebration of National Tie One On Day, check out some apron patterns on Apron-icity, for everything aprons online and in your town.

I plan on doing this - how about you!
Happy Thanksgiving from Wyoming!
Kim :-)

Living Bible

His name is Tim. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college.

He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it..

One day Tim decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Tim starts down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are
really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.

Tim gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Tim.

Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do.

How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.

The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane.

All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.

And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Tim and worships with him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion...

When the minister gains control, he says,

'What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen,
you will never forget.'

'Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!'

~ Author ~ Unknown

Kim :-)

The Sandpiper

by Robert Peterson

She was six years old when I first met her on the beach near where I live. I drive to this beach, a distance of three or four miles, whenever the world begins to close in on me. She was building a sand castle or something and looked up, her eyes as blue as the sea.

'Hello,' she said.

I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to bother with a small child.

'I'm building,' she said.

'I see that.. What is it?' I asked, not really caring.

'Oh, I don't know, I just like the feel of sand.'

That sounds good, I thought, and slipped off my shoes. A sandpiper glided by.

'That's a joy,' the child said.

'It's a what?'

'It's a joy. My mama says sandpipers come to bring us joy.'

The bird went gliding down the beach. Good-bye joy, I muttered to myself, hello pain, and turned to walk on. I was depressed, my life seemed completely out of balance.

'What's your name?' She wouldn't give up.

'Robert,' I answered. 'I'm Robert Peterson.'

'Mine's Wendy... I'm six.'

'Hi, Wendy.'

She giggled. 'You're funny,' she said.

In spite of my gloom, I laughed too and walked on. Her musical giggle followed me.

'Come again, Mr. P,' she called. 'We'll have another happy day.'

The next few days consisted of a group of unruly Boy Scouts, PTA meetings, and an ailing mother. The sun was shining one morning as I took my hands out of the dishwater. I need a sandpiper, I said to myself, gathering up my coat. The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited me. The breeze was chilly but I strode along, trying to recapture the serenity I needed.

'Hello, Mr. P,' she said. 'Do you want to play?'

'What did you have in mind?' I asked, with a twinge of annoyance.

'I don't know. You say.'

'How about charades?' I asked sarcastically

The tinkling laughter burst forth again.. 'I don't know what that is.'

'Then let's just walk.'

Looking at her, I noticed the delicate fairness of her face.

'Where do you live?' I asked.

'Over there.' She pointed toward a row of summer cottages..

Strange, I thought, in winter.

'Where do you go to school?'

'I don't go to school. Mommy says we're on vacation.'

She chattered little girl talk as we strolled up the beach, but my mind was on other things. When I left for home, Wendy said it had been a happy day. Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed.

Three weeks later, I rushed to my beach in a state of near panic.. I was in no mood to even greet Wendy. I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt like demanding she keep her child at home.

'Look, if you don't mind,' I said crossly when Wendy caught up with me, 'I'd rather be alone today.' She seemed unusually pale and out of breath.

'Why?' she asked.

I turned to her and shouted, 'Because my mother died!' and thought, My God, why was I saying this to a little child?

'Oh,' she said quietly, 'then this is a bad day.'

'Yes,' I said, 'and yesterday and the day before and -- oh, go away!'

'Did it hurt?' she inquired.

'Did what hurt?' I was exasperated with her, with myself.

'When she died?'

'Of course it hurt!' I snapped, misunderstanding, wrapped up in myself. I strode off.

A month or so after that, when I next went to the beach, she wasn't there. Feeling guilty, ashamed, and admitting to myself I missed her, I went up to the cottage after my walk and knocked at the door. A drawn looking young woman with honey-colored hair opened the door.

'Hello,' I said, 'I'm Robert Peterson. I missed your little girl today and wondered where she was.'

'Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in. Wendy spoke of you so much. I'm afraid I allowed her to bother you. If she was a nuisance, please, accept my apologies..'

'Not at all -- she's a delightful child...' I said, suddenly realizing that I meant what I had just said.

'Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson. She had leukemia. Maybe she didn't tell you.'

Struck dumb, I groped for a chair. I had to catch my breath.

'She loved this beach, so when she asked to come, we couldn't say no. She seemed so much better here and had a lot of what she called happy days. But the last few weeks, she declined rapidly...' Her voice faltered, 'She left something for you, if only I can find it. Could you wait a moment while I look?'

I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something to say to this lovely young woman. She handed me a smeared envelope with 'MR. P' printed in bold childish letters. Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues -- a yellow beach, a blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was carefully printed:

A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and a heart that had almost forgotten to love opened wide. I took Wendy's mother in my arms. 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,' I uttered over and over, and we wept together. The precious little picture is framed now and hangs in my study. Six words -- one for each year of her life -- that speak to me of harmony, courage, and undemanding love.

A gift from a child with sea blue eyes and hair the color of sand -- who taught me the gift of love.
________________________________________

NOTE: This is a true story sent out by Robert Peterson. It happened over 20 years ago and the incident changed his life forever. It serves as a reminder to all of us that we need to take time to enjoy living and life and each other.

The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.

Life is so complicated, the hustle and bustle of everyday traumas can make us lose focus about what is truly important or what is only a momentary setback or crisis..

This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug, and by all means, take a moment.... even if it is only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.

Everything that happens to us happens for a reason.. Never brush aside anyone as insignificant. Who knows what they can teach us?
________________________________________
I wish for you, a sandpiper.

Kim :)

Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine

From the 1961 Operation Coffee Cup Campaign against Socialized Medicine as proposed by the Democrats, then a private citizen Ronald Reagan Speaks out against socialized medicine. There is no video because this was an LP sent out by the American Medical Association.

Swine Flu ADVICE - latest info from Dept. of Health

IF YOU WAKE UP LOOKING LIKE THIS, DON'T GO TO WORK!

LOL! ~ Kim

A 9/11 Tribute - Let's Not Forget

God Bless our Troops and the World for not forgetting what happened on this day, September 11, 2001.

Kim