DADDY - BROOM BROOM MAMA'S HOUSE!

Tis the season to be with our family.  The snow fall is beautiful, but on the otherhand with my marrieds headed this direction in the snow ... it makes me worry.  I just got a text message from Rhiannon saying that the tiny girl in the back seat keeps saying "Daddy!  Broom broom Mama's house!"  I'm assuming that is tiny girl language for HURRY UP DAD!!!  Gotta love it!  "Broom broom Mama's house" ... just too cute!

Since last night I've baked chocolate chip cookies, ginger/molasses cookies, Pride of Iowa cookies, cake balls, lasagne, vegetarian Swedish meatballs (a first time on this recipe for us!), Special K patties, lemon pepper chicken (the real deal), cheesy potato soup, started soup base for vegetarian chik'n noodle ... and I don't recall what else. 

Oh!  Sharon Wooten shared a jello recipe with me via her Christmas letter.  It sounded good and I made it.  Has banana, strawberries, pineapple all together in a strawberry jello.  And as luck would have it - it seems to actually have set up for me!  I'm atwitter.  I have the WORST luck getting jello to set up for me.  Nick looked at it in the fridge and said it looked really good.

Now, my feet, legs and back are yelling -- "SIT DOWN!  Do something else besides cook in the kitchen!"
So with my final potato peeled and most of the mess cleared away (the dishwasher needs to finish it's load so it can be reloaded) ... I'm sitting down and saying "that's all she wrote" for today.

It's Sabbath and Christmas Eve -- interesting to think that people all over the world tonight are focusing on Jesus.  At least I hope they are.  We've gotten so lax here at times that I'm almost embarrassed.  To think about the Creator of our world - pausing from His heavenly duties and coming here ...

Yesterday was my brother Marv's birthday (Happy Birthday little brother!) - and today is my son-in-law Ryan's birthday (Happy Birthday son!) ... Ryan, Rhiannon, mom and dad had their wedding anniversary on the 21st.  Eight years for Ryan and Rhiannon and 58 years for mom and dad!

Visited at mom and dad's house on Wednesday.  It was the first time since Thanksgiving - with vacation etc.  I was happy to see dad looking better.  His color was so much better than Thanksgiving and he seemed to be more 'with it'.  He obviously felt better.

For those of you who know Aunt Nita - she had a scary encounter with ... okay I don't know what she encountered - but it was scary!  Not sure I have all the details.  Seems as if her appendix ruptured back in October and somehow the infection had encapsulated.  Then a few days ago it ruptured and sent the infection into her body.  They had to do emergency surgery which seems to have gone well from what I understand.  She will be in ICU for a few days and then when released will stay at Kelly and Margie's house for a few days.  I think she must be a little bit like her older brother (my dad) in the toleration of pain.  I would think she would have had some pain involved in the whole appendix situation.  I'm such a weenie that its hard for me to understand.

This weenie had a close encounter with a BIG OWIE today.  I had finished using the stove and was preparing to go on to another recipe.  I started clearing off the counter and throwing stuff away, wiping, etc.  I had my wet rag and started wiping off my stove top (flat top) and all of a sudden hot steam permeated the rag and hit the palm of my hand hard.  The burner was still really hot.  I have a couple of spots on my hand that are tender, but I sincerely thought I was going to have much-o blisters all over my palm.  I think by tomorrow with a little time and Emu oil - I'll be good as new.

Have you heard of Emu oil?  I was at a craft show a few weeks ago and came away with several Emu products.  I really don't know why - except she sat me down and rubbed some of it across my shoulders and neck and it felt so good.  I liked how it smelled (though others tell me it smells like Icy-Hot or Ben-Gay or something ...).  What really caught my eye was that on one of the posters touting Emu Oil's many many benefits ... was that it was good for thinning skin.  I've had a terrible time with my forearm skin being paper thin (maybe not even that thick) and any time one of the dogs touches me I get these blood blister things under the skin.  Even while on vacation Randy got me a massage - and the massage lady made one of my arms ge that red stuff under the surface. 

So anyway I'm counting on Emu oil to fix that -- and I've been using it as my morning moisturizer and really like it.  I'll either look smashing when I'm 97 or ... I'll have feathers!  (Emu is a bird.)

We took my Kia van to the Kia van hospital a couple days ago.  We knew before we left for Florida that something was wrong with it.  But we thought it was something simple like the thermostat was going out or something.  Nope! Nope! Nope!  I don't know all the techno-mumble jumble for it - but the bottom line is it needs a whole new engine.  OUCH!  We think with the new engine the van is still worth fixing and the cost of the new engine is cheaper than buying a different vehicle.

Speaking of different vehicles.  The road yacht is going back.  The guy we bought it from is looking for something a little different for us.  It's a wonderful automobile.  We took it to Florida and it was like travelling in a recliner - so comfy!  But the mileage isn't exactly what we want.  The guy we got it from is super to do this for us.

Well - I sure wish my son in law would "broom broom to Mama's house"  I'm getting anxious to see them!  But seriously I don't want them to "broom broom" too much with the snow and road conditions.

Remember to stop and thank Jesus for all He has done for you.
V