My dear friend Myrl. . .

It has been a long time since I visited with her. . . I stopped going when I got sick and was on so much medication. I didn't trust myself to walk that far after she "moved home." Her kids did a reverse mortgage on her home so she could have a full time nurse live with her.

Anyway, I surprised myself today that I could walk all the way over there in 40 minutes (She doesn't live on a bus route.) For once, it wasn't raining. I AM SO SICK OF RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Myrl woke up for a minute or two but almost didn't recognize me as I had pulled my hair up on my head in a clip and I look different when I do that. I talked to her and said "Merry Christmas" and promised to return soon. I wish she could talk. . . she was always such good company with her stories of growing up and and all her trips and relatives.

It was kinda melancholy to go to Myrl's home again. . . it was my home for awhile too since she took me in when I was out of work. I made those nativity snowmen at her house after I shoveled the driveway two years ago. . . that was one beautiful snowstorm. . . I got three elderly friends' driveways and sidewalks shoveled before i headed back to Myrl's to build my snowmen. Then the ice storm hit and we lost electricity, school got cancelled for a day and we were stuck in the house for days because everything was pure ice. . . but o so white and beautiful!

Double Duty Dustpans

The poem that follows is on the tag attached to my special cookies I made as Christmas gifts for my Pastor and his wife and the Bell Choir director this year. I heard about this idea on the internet and it was unique and perfect for gift giving. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did thinking about giving it.


While baking you some cookies,
there was knocking at the door.
As I jumped up to answer it,
the pan fell to the floor.

I stood among the cookie crumbs
and wondered what to do.
The day was late, the time was short,
I had no gift for you.

I bent and swept the cookies up
into a small dustpan.
A friend like you, I told myself,
would surely understand.

The gifts that matter most in life
are those the heart does send.
With that in mind, I give to you
these cookies from a friend.

Dream Snow. . .

It was Friday and I had skipped lunch at work to help a few children work on their Christmas presents for parents during their nap time. The ones that needed to finish never napped anyway so I felt like we were bing productive. It had rained in the morning but the sun had tried to peek out for awhile during the time my TA left for lunch.




Anyway, to get back to the snow. SNOW? Well, yes, there it is in the title. . .



My TA had returned but I was doing a working lunch and was helping a student with their handprint ornament details. All of a sudden, it got very dark. I mean, the room had the lights off and we were working in a corner of the room near a window with blinds partially opened. Then I heard a noise. " OK, that's it!" I said, and we put the ornment down safely and I went to investigate at a different window ner our entrance.





IT WAS SNOWING hard pellets of ice. I was wearing just socks on my feet as we hve our class in a historical building with wood flooring. I stepped outside anyway. YES! It was blowing hard and the snow was actually covering cars and roofs but not staying on the pavement. I didn't know how long it was going to last. . . knowing how much my class kids loved snow, just like me, I walked around the classroom and grabbed every child that was not sleeping and took them out to the foyer to see it. Then I hollered for my TA to wake the rest up because they were going to miss the snow if they slept the last 45 minutes. She did and they sleepily appeared in the foyer where it was floor to ceiling windows and they could see the snow falling.





I'm not sure who enjoyed it the most. We sat there 15 minutes seeing this wondrous sight. The last time it snowed here this school year, we got NONE at school but they had surprises for them when they got home as it did elsewhere in the city. Then, it stopped so we all went back to our cots and I worked with a few more kids and got their ornaments finished. I hope the parents will enjoy the handprint snowmen as much as we do.





The snow disappeared by time as we got up from naptime and had our snack and went out to play. If we ever get enough snow there to play in, we are going out even if we are in the middle of something else.

Snowmen I have known. . .

The above are a few of the snowmen my 4 year old preschool kids painted. It was difficult for them to paint a white body on white paper even tho I had tinted the white paint with blue. You can see that they don't yet have extensive experience making snowmen in their young lives. I still think they are adorable. My favorite is the one with the green background!

After we read a few more snowmen books, I will have them paint new ones on blue construction paper. Hope to see lots of details. We will do lots of activities related to snow next month.

My wish for them would be to get to build snwomen at school. . . maybe this is the year we will get a good snwofall and be able to accomplish this?

Christmas is coming. . . .

Making this wreath on Saturday helped me to realize I would miss my Christmas tree if I did not put it back up -- after taking it down last week because I felt depressed. So, today, I dug out the sections of the tree and assembled it again. Now, getting all those lights on it will be my next job. Then, I have to unpack the big storage container of ornaments I hand wrapped last week. . . I didn't think I could leave them put away for long.

I purchased the three metal word ornaments from a Christmas shop called "Holly and Ivy" last month. Well, actually, I got 4 "word ornaments" but somehow I have misplaced the "LOVE" one. Maybe it is wrapped up in paper toweling and in the tub of ornaments. I don't know. I am a champion in losing/misplacing things. Always have been! Why should this year be any different?

When I make my wreath at church with our ladies group, I have never --in 20 years -- used anything but pine branches. . . THIS year, I decided to try three different kinds of greens and I like it. I wish I had a couple more blue and silver ornaments to put on the wreath but I used them up for some project years ago so 4 will have to make do.

Maybe Monday after work I will put the lights on my tree and Tuesday, the hundreds of ornaments will adorn it once again. We will see. I love having my tree up all year. I love the positivity that coems from seeing it daily. It makes my day!

My DIL is unhappy that I can't come to their house for Christmas Eve because I have a committment to play hand bells at church for the Christmas Eve service and only have Christmas Day off from work. (With working at a daycare, you don't get days off like at a school.) She should have invited me sooner, before I made other plans.

Sooooooo, puting my tree up all year helps to ease the sadness when i m alone for the holiday once again. I wish I had news from oldest son in Afghanistan. I wish I had located my daughter. I wish I had a good paying teaching job. BUT . . . no news is good news. I know my daughter is capable of taking care of herself. I love teaching my preschoolers even if I don't get paid what I am worth.

I think I will teach them to sing "O Tannenbaum" during my German lessons. . .

I don't have to wait for December 25th for Christmas. . . it's always here in my heart!