just a share... and with the freezing weather forecast

 

Read this recently and just wanted to share:

and an old picture I've shown before:

The weather is supposed to be going down to the teens and single digits Sunday and Monday here. So we've been putting out boxes and blankets for the ferals... as well as extra food and water.  We also have a heat lamp on the back patio for them.

And definitely check your car motors before starting the car. Staying inside a warm car motor is dangerous, but the feral kittens do it quite a lot around here.

and...

I know I do...

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Starting 2024... with books and a Rx

Well, 2024 is here!  And I have to say that I'm glad. Hope I continue to be glad as the year progresses. But... since 2020 through 2022 was a basic 'no go' and 2023 was a 'maybe it's really over', I have high  hopes for 2024 (remember that song, "High Hopes"?) 

The end of 2023 (the week after Christmas) had me with severe stomach pains, a doctor's visit, and a CT scan. Turns out I had a flare-up of Diverticulitis (not sure you call it a 'flare-up' when it was your first ever episode). I'm on a Rx now and all seems to be under control.  Have any of you had this diagnosis? My brother-in-law has had this condition for years and recently had surgery to correct this. However, I've been told that some cases (hopefully mine) never get that severe.

OK, enough of that. The next picture is one of my new books (given to me to read by a friend) for this month. I'm happy to sit in the afternoon with my cup of tea and surrounded by these books as I chose which one will be next. However, I'm still in the middle of 2 - 'Rusted Wasteland Steele Protector' (AI), and 'A Dangerous Place' (the  Maisie Dobbs series). Both good reads.

books to read

By the way, how many of you actually stayed up to watch the New Year come in? DH and I stayed up and watched the Ball drop in New York... and I made my MIL's home-made eggnog spiked up with a little bourbon. So we toasted in the New Year earlier than midnight.

Then on NY's Day I made our traditional pork roast, black-eyed peas, southern cabbage with bacon, and corn bread (while DH watched football on TV - although happily he cleaned up after I quit cooking to take a nap). And that to me signals the official end to the holidays (except for maybe taking down the Christmas tree which we will have to do this week - sadly). 

And I will say that as much as I do enjoy the magic of Christmas... and all that it entails, I am glad to see the end of it this year. Guess I'm showing my age, but all of it is a lot of hard work. Maybe it's time to slow it down and just make future holidays quieter. We'll see.

Oh, and you can see my 2 Nintendo Switches in the background with the books in the previous picture. I do still play Animal Crossing with my granddaughter, her mom, and a friend. We can each play from home and visit each other's islands. I'm not much for games in general, but have to admit that this game is well done and keeps my creative juices running.

Also... I'm finally checking into getting a hearing aid. My consultation (although we 've already consulted by phone) and appointment is later this month. I'm actually getting excited about it. Really tired of not hearing or catching the words in a conversation, asking people to repeat themselves, or just not following what is being said. Time to do something. And I read recently and it was confirmed by the Audiologist I spoke to that if one doesn't correct their hearing problem, there's evidence that this could lead to early dementia. That isn't good... so I'm going with getting it correctly sooner rather than later.

So, no NY's resolutions, but some plans for starting 2024 right... more books and a hearing aid! And if I can actually get myself going, more decluttering!! 

Here's a cartoon I thought was cute... and funny!

Hugs (virtually),

Rian

January 1, 2024 Rabbit! Rabbit!

 

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!



and...

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Watched "The Creator" on Christmas Eve...

Yes, we watched "The Creator" on Christmas Eve... not exactly a happy Christmas story (although the name would appear so). It is basically about AI - which is also a series of books I'm reading on my kindle (Steel Guardian by Cameron Coral). It's not the same story, but similar. Basically it's about future development of AI who are both intelligent and sentient (to a point). Ends up with the more intelligent AI robotics fighting a war against the humans. There are 3 camps: the robots who hate humans, the humans who hate robots, and the robots and humans that live together harmoniously (sound familiar?). In both book and movie, a child is created (not exactly sure how) and this child is considered to be either the 'answer' or the 'weapon' - depending on which camp you are in.

Anyhow, I found it interesting. I think AI is here and we ought to learn as much about it as we can in order to know how to deal with it. That said, those of us who are 'older' will probably not have to deal with it long. But our kids and grandkids will... (at least these are my thoughts).

OK, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will soon have a Happy New Year. 2024 is almost here! Hard to believe for one born in 1945. How did those years past so fast? 

It's the day after Christmas and when DH hugged me and whispered Merry Christmas yesterday evening, my words were "Yes, we made it through another Christmas, how about that?" Not to say I didn't enjoy it, I did... love all the family/friend get togethers as well as the atmosphere of love and kindness... but lets' face it, it's a lot of hard work. But I'll continue to do it as long as I can because of the wonder of it all... and for the memories we're creating.  

What are your thoughts the day after Christmas? 

To close here's a few pics of our oldest son's 2 dogs dressed up for Christmas:

Winston

Abbey

And yes, the outside ferals got their share of Christmas dinner and a few kitty toys!

Hugs (virtually),

Rian

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... around here. There's baking taking over the kitchen, packages and wrapping paper taking over rooms, and goodies being received from family/friends on the bar!

Xmas tea cakes - as yet undecorated

Xmas goodies on bar

Xmas tree unlit

Close up of tree to see the Mardi Gras beads

Our little kitty under the tree

Doorbell ringing with Amazon and UPS deliveries! Phone ringing with kids trying to coincide their times with ours, Family members from out of state checking in to say Merry Christmas, etc.

The last week of frenzied activity... but all fun and only once a year (thank goodness)! 

And before I forget I have to tell you 'a little story'. It's short and not that exciting, but it made my day last week. OK, I have a Amazfit watch. My son gave it to me a few years ago. It does a lot of the same things (but not all) that an Apple watch does (but not as expensive). However, I really like it and wear it every day... not to tell time, but I like the way it tracks my steps and my sleep (time of deep and light sleep, heartrate, etc.) and more than anything I like that it vibrates when I get a phone call (most of the time I have no idea where my iPhone is so may not hear it). 

But about 2 weeks ago, the wristband broke. So, I was looking on Amazon to see about buying another Amazfit watch... and low and behold, there were available watchbands you could buy for the Amazfit 5 (12 for 9.99!). I couldn't believe it. I thought the watch and the band were all in one... but believe it or not, the watch fits inside the rubbery band and you just have to snap it off. I was amazed! (Amazon is wonderful) I now have 12 different color wristbands  to match my outfits (although I like the grey  and probably won't change it unless it breaks). Anyway, that's my story. 

Broken wristband

new grey wristband

assortment of wristbands...

How about that?  Just a little thing, but it made me happy. How about you ?  Any little things that brought you joy lately that you'd like to share?

And finally decorated my Christmas tea cakes :

Wishing you all a very safe healthy Merry Christmas 2023!

(and grateful from the bottom of my heart for my blogger friends - for their kindness in sharing these little things with me) 

Hugs (virtually),

Rian

a poem remembered...

"So much to do... so little time. I could not let my body tire..." These words are from a poem called "The Blue Bowl" that I read years and years ago. For some reason these words have always stayed with me. It's a really nice poem. If you get a chance, check it out. It's by Blanche Bane Kuder. You can google it.

Perhaps with Christmas and all that entails, it's fitting that I think of this poem. We try to make our homes a "pleasant place where weariness might take its rest". The world we live in is complicated. It's truly full of wonderful things... yet, it can be full of sorrow and sadness too.

All we can do (IMO) is try to find a balance between the two. How? Each of us must find our own way. But in general I imagine it's just enjoying the beauty this world brings while helping in whatever way we can to alleviate the sorrow. Loving kindness to all is a start... and it fits into all phases of our lives... at home, at work, world-wide. 

Now I realize this may all sound naive. It's complicated. Yes, it is... but like Mother Teresa said, "Not all of us can do great things. but we can do little things with great love". Anyway, it's something I think about when it feels like the world has gone mad.

It's Christmas, a magical time! I remember how magical it felt as a child. And remembering, I know that I do believe in magic (not the kind that in the old days people associated with evil, but the kind associated with miracles). The magic of Christmas to me is similar to the words in the song "Amazing Grace'.... ("how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed"). We 'believed' as a child  in Santa Claus and reindeers on the roof, etc. And that believing made it real. The story behind Saint Nicholas could be real, could be legend... but even if it was a just a story that brought happiness and joy to children - that is magic enough.  

Ok, enough of that - my monkey mind goes on and on.  I do like this next picture though...

there is magic there too

And Look! My Hatch Pepper plant has 2 Hatch Peppers growing on this side... and 1 on the other! I had to transplant it into a bigger pot and now it doesn't fit on the windowsill with it's friend, Mary Maidenhair Fern. I'm hoping the separation won't be too damaging.

OK, back to baking! So far I've made as of now - undecorated Christmas tea cakes, Espresso chocolate delights, and Pecan chocolate graham cracker bark.  Tomorrow it's Whiskey Balls, pralines, and little rum cakes!

Christmas Elf 

So now my Elf and I bid you good day! 

 And also wish that you all have a 

Magical Christmas!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

last minute Christmas 'to do's'...

cute cat ornament

I don't have anything specific to blog about this morning. But like everyone else these days, there's so much last minute stuff that needs doing. With me it's mostly getting all the cards and goodies made, put together,  and mailed.  

This morning on my 'to do' list was e-check in with my Cardiologist for appointment next week, call my Eye Doctor for annual appointment in January, work on  knitted Afghan so it can be delivered next week, mail a few Christmas cards (I do these a few at a time), and make weekly supply of home-made catfood for the ferals. 

(Our grandson who lives with us isn't feeling well this morning. Hopefully he hasn't picked up Covid at his work, but it's entirely possible. He is wearing a mask and staying up in his room for the most part.) 

The Christmas tree is almost finished. Ornaments are on, just have to add the Mardi Gras beads. I'll post a pic when it's done.

Our 'animal tree' is done. It sits on the front room table with ornaments of our past kitties whose love we still hold in our hearts. All of our kitties had been with us for 15 years or more... so they are very much missed. 

and now The ferals get all our attention and care:

cooking for ferals this morning

BTW,  DH and I finally got into a few activities at our Senior Center. Every time we've tried to get into anything this past year, it's always been 'full'. I had to go online on Dec. 4th and actually got in 3 of the 4 that we wanted. We're on a waiting list for the 4th one. 2 of them are talks (one is about 'AI' and the other is about 'Advances in hearing technology'), and 2 are fitness related.

It's hard to plan activities that run from January through the summer. Things don't always go as planned, but all you can do is schedule the dates and...  hope for the best.

This coming weekend is bake, bake, bake... and then mail, mail, mail! Actually we FedEx... don't mail (finding mail not so trust-worthy anymore. Takes forever in some areas). Then I have an appointment to have my heart monitor put on, then a Christmas lunch with friends, and hopefully by then, some of the Christmas orders will be here so I can wrap or bag (Xmas bags are more expensive, but definitely easier).

Lastly, I will post a pic of Santa in the Cheeky Chicken yard (on my shelf) :

and a funny meme:

Thanks for reading...

Hugs (virtual),

Rian