My family came up on Sunday and we celebrated advent and played Pinocchle and Mom and I did some work on the dress is is making Joy for a wedding she is in. I was quite enjoyable, the coolest part is that my brother fixed my internet!!! Apprently our stupid Anivirus was blocking the sites... go figure.
So Hip, Hip, Hooray!!! Go Bug!! The talended kid also won 2nd place in a dance competition Friday Night!! Go kiddo!
So that is all the REALLY happy things that just happened. Christmas is just around the corner.. I can't wait!!
I have discovered some sad truths, just because you can read a recipe and follow directions, does not mean that you can cook anything, for me this is especially true of any recipe that calls for "egg whites beaten until stiff" and "wax paper". I made attempts at new recipes this year and both fell quite flat, literally. I was a rather traumatic experience.
It has been really cold and windy here lately, it is raining today. A while ago I had made a shelter for aHolly so the cold wind would be too bad, unfortunatley it was mad from wood and cardboard. So she ate the cardboard and demolished what she could of the wood, just it time to bring to pieces around her during the coldest part of the year! Silly bunny, shelters are for keeping warm, not eating!!
Sigh, I will have to come up with an alternate option, or something better constructed.
Well, thats all for now folks!
God Bless and I can't wait to see you all for Christmas!!
The Up's and Down's, In's and Out's of daily life with a loving husband, a sweet boy, a fun-loving gal and a new life in the Philippines! God has indeed blessed us.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Frosty
BRRRRrrrrr!
I drove to work this morning and it was unbelievable!!
There is Frost Everywhere! And it is thick, it looks like it snowed overnight. I would guess it to be 1/8" thick, everything looks so beautiful!! The trees are lightly flocked and all the bare decidious trees look like lace doilies.
The Pointsettia that Jonathan brought me at work is still alive, sadly the one from Dan and Joy at hoem is swiftly dyeing, although I have decided to believe that it is not me that kills every living plant that comes in to my home, it just my home, spicifically the ad lack of sunny windows. So I will have to do with my plants here at work, I have a nice big window that is quite condusive to plants, I know this because my African Violet is still alive and I got it the day after I got hired. I can't wait till Christmas!! In exactly one week and a few hours Jonathan and I will be driving down to Longview, and The Festival of Christmas will continue. Since my Family celebrates Advent it started the Sunday After Thanksgiving.
I have hand-cut snowflakes hangin in my window, and it looks really pretty with the thick frost on the parking lot.
Well that is basically it! Have a merry week and a Merry Christmas!!
God Bless!!
I drove to work this morning and it was unbelievable!!
There is Frost Everywhere! And it is thick, it looks like it snowed overnight. I would guess it to be 1/8" thick, everything looks so beautiful!! The trees are lightly flocked and all the bare decidious trees look like lace doilies.
The Pointsettia that Jonathan brought me at work is still alive, sadly the one from Dan and Joy at hoem is swiftly dyeing, although I have decided to believe that it is not me that kills every living plant that comes in to my home, it just my home, spicifically the ad lack of sunny windows. So I will have to do with my plants here at work, I have a nice big window that is quite condusive to plants, I know this because my African Violet is still alive and I got it the day after I got hired. I can't wait till Christmas!! In exactly one week and a few hours Jonathan and I will be driving down to Longview, and The Festival of Christmas will continue. Since my Family celebrates Advent it started the Sunday After Thanksgiving.
I have hand-cut snowflakes hangin in my window, and it looks really pretty with the thick frost on the parking lot.
Well that is basically it! Have a merry week and a Merry Christmas!!
God Bless!!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Stupid Internet and Happier Times
Hi all!
My internet is possessed by a demon. So here I am writing my blog from work. There is something wrong with our internet at home that is unexplainable. it will allow us to visit many webpages, just not any of the ones that you log into. So no e-bay, no blog, no e-mail and no IM.
Sadness, So I occasionaly use my work computer.
What has happened since that last time I wrote?
Well, the snow melted :(
We finished decorating the house for Christmas :)
If you are ever in the area, you should stop by, the tree is pretty I ahve Christmas music and we can have Christmas cookies and coffee or cocoa, depending on your preference.
I made Lots of Christmas cookes that are very yummy, and a handful of experimental ones that mostly got thrown out.
Jonathan and I met up with my family and saw Naria!! It was very well done, I think that I will want to own it when it comes out on DVD. Having read the books MANY times, there are one or two things I would have added/changed, but all in all, it was quite enjoyable. I missplaced my cell phone just before the movie started and thought that I had lost it for good, luckily though it had indeed fallen out of my purse, it had fallen out into my car.
Saturday Morning we headed out to Leavenworth with Dan and Joy, we stopped at this great little bakery in Greenlake and filled up on caffiene and Joy and I split a delicious "orange raisin nutmeg bread pudding", since I was driving Joy had to feed me like a baby, but it didn't detract from the taste. The sunrise was beautiful, we watched it coming up over the mountains while we were driving, it was amazing!!! Leavenworth was so much fun! there was a very attractive amount of snow and lots of pretty icicles. I managed to slip and fall one some ice once, I have a nice bruise and a couple of sore spots, but nothing that I can't handle.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone for Christmas!!
I will try to post pictures once Joy e-mails them to me!
God Bless and Marry Christmas!!
My internet is possessed by a demon. So here I am writing my blog from work. There is something wrong with our internet at home that is unexplainable. it will allow us to visit many webpages, just not any of the ones that you log into. So no e-bay, no blog, no e-mail and no IM.
Sadness, So I occasionaly use my work computer.
What has happened since that last time I wrote?
Well, the snow melted :(
We finished decorating the house for Christmas :)
If you are ever in the area, you should stop by, the tree is pretty I ahve Christmas music and we can have Christmas cookies and coffee or cocoa, depending on your preference.
I made Lots of Christmas cookes that are very yummy, and a handful of experimental ones that mostly got thrown out.
Jonathan and I met up with my family and saw Naria!! It was very well done, I think that I will want to own it when it comes out on DVD. Having read the books MANY times, there are one or two things I would have added/changed, but all in all, it was quite enjoyable. I missplaced my cell phone just before the movie started and thought that I had lost it for good, luckily though it had indeed fallen out of my purse, it had fallen out into my car.
Saturday Morning we headed out to Leavenworth with Dan and Joy, we stopped at this great little bakery in Greenlake and filled up on caffiene and Joy and I split a delicious "orange raisin nutmeg bread pudding", since I was driving Joy had to feed me like a baby, but it didn't detract from the taste. The sunrise was beautiful, we watched it coming up over the mountains while we were driving, it was amazing!!! Leavenworth was so much fun! there was a very attractive amount of snow and lots of pretty icicles. I managed to slip and fall one some ice once, I have a nice bruise and a couple of sore spots, but nothing that I can't handle.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone for Christmas!!
I will try to post pictures once Joy e-mails them to me!
God Bless and Marry Christmas!!
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
Kissing Under the Mistletoe
By Sara Williams:
Kissing under the mistletoe has long been a part of Christmas tradition. But just what is mistletoe and how did its association with Christmas evolve?
About the Plant - Mistletoe is especially interesting botanically because it is a partial parasite (a "hemi-parasite"). As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients. But mistletoe is also capable for growing on its own; like other plants it can produce its own food by photosynthesis. Mistletoe, however, is more commonly found growing as a parasitic plant.
There are two types of mistletoe. The mistletoe that is commonly used as a Christmas decoration (Phoradendron flavescens) is native to North America and grows as a parasite on trees from New Jersey to Florida. The other type of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of European origin. The Greeks and earlier peoples thought that it had mystical powers and down through the centuries it became associated with many folklore customs.
The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries which are considered poisonous. It commonly seen on apple but only rarely on oak trees. The rarer oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by the ancient Celts and Germans and used as a ceremonial plant by early Europeans.
The traditions which began with the European mistletoe were transferred to the similar American plant with the process of immigration and settlement.
Origins of its name: the common name of the plant is derived from the ancient belief that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings. This belief was related to the then-accepted principle that life could spring spontaneously from dung. It was observed in ancient times that mistletoe would often appear on a branch or twig where birds had left droppings. "Mistel" is the Anglo-Saxon word for "dung," and "tan" is the word for "twig". So, mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig".
By the sixteenth century, botanists had discovered that the mistletoe plant was spread by seeds which had passed through the digestive tract of birds. One of the earliest written references to this appeared in England, in 1532, in an Herbal published by Turner. Botanists of the time also observed that the sticky berry seeds of the mistletoe tended to cling to the bills of birds. When the birds cleaned their bills by rubbing them against the branches or bark of trees, the seeds were further scattered.
The magical traditions - From the earliest times mistletoe has been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. It was considered a bestower of life and fertility; a protectant against poison; and an aphrodisiac.
The mistletoe of the sacred oak was especially sacred to the ancient Celtic Druids. On the sixth night of the moon white-robed Druid priests would cut the oak mistletoe with a golden sickle. Two white bulls would be sacrificed amid prayers that the recipients of the mistletoe would prosper.
Later, the ritual of cutting the mistletoe from the oak came symbolize the emasculation of the old King by his successor. Mistletoe was long regarded as both a sexual symbol and the "soul" of the oak. It was gathered at both mid-summer and winter solstices, and the custom of using mistletoe to decorate houses at Christmas is a survival of the Druid and other pre-Christian traditions. (Mistletoe is still ceremonially plucked on mid-summer eve in some Celtic and Scandinavian countries.)
In the Middle Ages and later, branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil spirits. In Europe they were placed over house and stable doors to prevent the entrance of witches.
It was also believed that the oak mistletoe could extinguish fire. This was associated with an earlier belief that the mistletoe itself could come to the tree during a flash of lightning.
In parts of England and Wales farmers would give the Christmas bunch of mistletoe to the first cow that calved in the New Year. This was thought to bring good luck to the entire herd.
Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. Mistletoe was believed to have the power of bestowing fertility, and the dung from which the mistletoe was thought to arise was also said to have "life-giving" power.
In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up.
In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry.
And for those who wish to observe the correct etiquette: a man should pluck a berry when he kisses a woman under the mistletoe, and when the last berry is gone, there should be no more kissing! It is believed that an unmarried woman not kissed under the mistletoe will remain single for another year.
A health to mistletoe and a Merry Christmas!
Thank you: http://gardenline.usask.ca/misc/mistleto.html
Kissing under the mistletoe has long been a part of Christmas tradition. But just what is mistletoe and how did its association with Christmas evolve?
About the Plant - Mistletoe is especially interesting botanically because it is a partial parasite (a "hemi-parasite"). As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients. But mistletoe is also capable for growing on its own; like other plants it can produce its own food by photosynthesis. Mistletoe, however, is more commonly found growing as a parasitic plant.
There are two types of mistletoe. The mistletoe that is commonly used as a Christmas decoration (Phoradendron flavescens) is native to North America and grows as a parasite on trees from New Jersey to Florida. The other type of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of European origin. The Greeks and earlier peoples thought that it had mystical powers and down through the centuries it became associated with many folklore customs.
The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries which are considered poisonous. It commonly seen on apple but only rarely on oak trees. The rarer oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by the ancient Celts and Germans and used as a ceremonial plant by early Europeans.
The traditions which began with the European mistletoe were transferred to the similar American plant with the process of immigration and settlement.
Origins of its name: the common name of the plant is derived from the ancient belief that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings. This belief was related to the then-accepted principle that life could spring spontaneously from dung. It was observed in ancient times that mistletoe would often appear on a branch or twig where birds had left droppings. "Mistel" is the Anglo-Saxon word for "dung," and "tan" is the word for "twig". So, mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig".
By the sixteenth century, botanists had discovered that the mistletoe plant was spread by seeds which had passed through the digestive tract of birds. One of the earliest written references to this appeared in England, in 1532, in an Herbal published by Turner. Botanists of the time also observed that the sticky berry seeds of the mistletoe tended to cling to the bills of birds. When the birds cleaned their bills by rubbing them against the branches or bark of trees, the seeds were further scattered.
The magical traditions - From the earliest times mistletoe has been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. It was considered a bestower of life and fertility; a protectant against poison; and an aphrodisiac.
The mistletoe of the sacred oak was especially sacred to the ancient Celtic Druids. On the sixth night of the moon white-robed Druid priests would cut the oak mistletoe with a golden sickle. Two white bulls would be sacrificed amid prayers that the recipients of the mistletoe would prosper.
Later, the ritual of cutting the mistletoe from the oak came symbolize the emasculation of the old King by his successor. Mistletoe was long regarded as both a sexual symbol and the "soul" of the oak. It was gathered at both mid-summer and winter solstices, and the custom of using mistletoe to decorate houses at Christmas is a survival of the Druid and other pre-Christian traditions. (Mistletoe is still ceremonially plucked on mid-summer eve in some Celtic and Scandinavian countries.)
In the Middle Ages and later, branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil spirits. In Europe they were placed over house and stable doors to prevent the entrance of witches.
It was also believed that the oak mistletoe could extinguish fire. This was associated with an earlier belief that the mistletoe itself could come to the tree during a flash of lightning.
In parts of England and Wales farmers would give the Christmas bunch of mistletoe to the first cow that calved in the New Year. This was thought to bring good luck to the entire herd.
Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. Mistletoe was believed to have the power of bestowing fertility, and the dung from which the mistletoe was thought to arise was also said to have "life-giving" power.
In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up.
In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry.
And for those who wish to observe the correct etiquette: a man should pluck a berry when he kisses a woman under the mistletoe, and when the last berry is gone, there should be no more kissing! It is believed that an unmarried woman not kissed under the mistletoe will remain single for another year.
A health to mistletoe and a Merry Christmas!
Thank you: http://gardenline.usask.ca/misc/mistleto.html
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