Artist getting more organized

I am making huge inroads on the organization project. I spent all day in my closet. I found maternity clothes and its been over 14 years since I needed those. There is nothing uglier than spandex gone bad. I carried bag after bag after bag of old, stained, waaaay too small clothes out to the dumpster. I have got to stop keeping things like I have been. Hopefully this will be the beginning of not being a clutter bug. Tomorrow I will start on my art room. I have always had a good idea what I wanted my studio area to be like. I intend to get it headed in the right direction this next week before I start back to teaching the kids on the 4th.

Two of my wayward kitties made it back home today. Garfield came home wailing something fierce. He can be quite vocal when he wants to be. Dottie the calico queen also showed back up . I think they were both locked up in someones storage building. They were both hungry and scratched up. Dottie has done nothing but sleep. Garfield ate a big meal and then headed back outside. I can't keep him inside. He will spray everything in sight. Little TJ is no where to be found. I figure he was killed by the pack of dogs that roam at night. He was too young to know how to get up a tree to save himself. Poor Dottie has had 5 litters and Garfield is the one one of her kin that has lived. I'm going to keep her inside this go round so maybe she can raise a litter and I can finally get her spayed. She is such a pretty cat. She has had a calico kitten each time but they have never lived more than a few days.

Look at these wonderful people

I just love all our wonderful helpers at the food pantry. Jan tore herself away from her new little daughter Charlie Ann to come down and help us out.Donnie and Andy are always there to help. Mr. Hannaford is a mainstay. If I didn't have Jackie to run interference for me I might be snookered by more people that I care to think about. She can be a bossy butt at times but her heart is as big as she is and its a good heart. Some of my helpers are camera shy and they were hiding from me. But we were getting ready to open the flood gates and had out those boxes. If you have a good back you need to come and help us out. I can't seem to get those young'uns to some on Saturdays to give out the food. Oh they will collect it for me. And there are many thankful people for those collections. But the strong backs are needed for 'toting' those boxes out the doors for the ones that can't carry it. All I heard on Saturday was "I'm gonna need a BIG Tylenol when I get home." Each box was filled with a 3 lb. ham, a 2 lb can of Chicken a 1 lb can of shredded pork, 10 15oz cans of veggies and fruits as well as the 2lb bags of rice and cereal and liter of milk. So each box weighed in at 20 pounds or more. Ya'll pray that we get another helping hand from FEMA for 2007. I hope that we can get even more this year. The pantry desperately needs it. Our overhead is low. The utility bill is about the minimum each month. The insurance is 300 or 400 a year. I forget how much on that one. The shipping each month for the food runs around 200 to 250 and we still have to drive down to the drop off point and then bring the food back. The December shipment was 3999 pounds and that cost us 200. The majority of the food is donationed but we have to pay for it to be shipped from Jackson to our pick up point in Starkville. I can only use the FEMA money to buy food locally so that buck doesn't go as far. But both grocer's do a wonderful job of giving us as much as they can both bear for the best possible price. And the pantry does have non-profit status. There are no employees. I could use a filing cabinet if anybody has one they don't use any longer. Some good folks donated a desk for me and a good chair and we have a long table and some folding chairs for when we have to sign people up and for re-registering.

Scott built all of the pallets and the tables that we stack the foodstuffs on. The rollers were donated by a store that was going out of business. Those have been a God-send. The boxes just load so much easier when you can roll then down the line instead of pushing with all your might.

Some of the pantry recipients come and cut the grass for us and make sure that the trash is put on the street and then move the dumpster back for us. They also come and help carry out the boxes. It makes them feel better that they can give and not just take.

December Food Pantry was huge!

The December food give away was a huge success. Or Surprise. Take your pick. We had the 2nd half of the FEMA money that I had been holding on too for 6 months so that we could get hams for the Christmas box. It's only about a weeks work of meals but its something. Those were really nice boxes this time. The first two pictures are of all 225 boxes that we put together. We still had a good bit of miscellaneous canned goods left over for emergency boxes. We made up 225 boxes and had enough money to have 225 hams. Last year we gave out 196 hams so we thought we would get some extras for this year.



There were 159 boxes stacked up on the pallets and the rest were on top of the long row of tables. Our volunteers worked hard and fast on Thursday the 20 to load up those boxes. Then on Friday evening James Wright drove up with our hams and we carried them into the pantry. The hams had to be added as the boxes were picked up on Saturday the 22nd. People started lining up in the Bollinger Theater's parking lot by 9:30. WE don't give out the food until 12.

All the volunteers for Saturday turned out and we started giving out those boxes. I started worrying about 12:45 if we were going to have enough to go all that were coming. I don't broadcast what will be in a box ahead of time. I did have a couple of folks that I took to the side and talked to about scamming us. I had found out that two 'households' were actually one. They knew that we can only give one box per household. I hope one day that we can give a larger box to the larger families. But that is a thought for another day. When we hit the 225 mark Sr. Mary Jean and Jan Spradling and Joe and Millie Goforth and the others from Calhoun City and Vardaman threw it into high gear and made up more boxes. Sr. Mary ended up having to give some gift cards to Freds and Piggly Wiggly to the last 3 people in line. We gave out a total of 244 boxes and then the gift cards so there were 247 households that we gave too.

Christmas and New Years is sort of like Easter and Christmas at Church. You only see some folks at Easter and Christmas time like they can get all of their religious nuturing in those two holy days. Its like that at the pantry. WE might see some of these people a time or two during the year and then we won't see them again until its time for a presumed special box. I would love to be able to give out a great box year round. But that is not always possible. But I do know that there were some nice dinner spreads for the Christmas feast this year.

Another Christmas Past

I made it through another Christmas. Since I am 53 that would make this the 54th Christmas. I was just 5 months old for my first one in 1953. I really didn't get and Christmas Spirit until Christmas Eve morning. I actually decorated the tree and turned on the lights. I think that is the first time in 6 years that I personally decorated the tree. Its all done in red and purple and blue with a little gold thrown in for good measure.

We were able to celebrate Christmas morning Mass with Fr. Tim this year. ITs a first for us. We have always had to make do with Christmas Eve vigil here in Bruce. He couldn't come then but was able to celebrate on Christmas Day so that was a nice change. It was also quiet that my niece didn't show up and stress us all out. I can't remember when she wasn't making hay of the evening. It was a sad thing to do but she has chosen her path in life and it is the wrong path.

It was so wonderful to see Christmas thru the eyes of that sweet little Bella.. She was just in awe of everything.

We couldn't afford anything big and gaudy this year with paying for my reconstruction surgery. But you know what? Christmas isn't about how big a gift you can give or get. I would actually prefer that there not be anything big if there has to be gifts given. It's about being with family and friends. Scott wanted to do a light show so we did. That was his gift. I needed new glasses (badly it turned out!) so I got them. I hope I can convince people next year to just give something that will fit into the stocking. The girls got me a gift card to Hobby Lobby and I got me some more watercolor paper and a new table easel. I really like it. Scott is going to build me a taller drawing table and put a light box in it. I need one of those badly. Little things like that are all I need. Ariel and Erin both bought gifts for people that showed a great deal of thought.

For 2007 I see myself doing more for my mom. She can't afford to keep paying someone to help her around her house and yard. I will probably be doing more yard work than I care to do and so will Erin but we will get it done. I cooked more at moms than she has ever let me do before. As long as things are put back where she likes it then we are ok. I can identify with that. She likes towels folded just so and dishes put in just the right spot and pots and pans stacked just so.

The personal budget is going to be tightened up too. We can do this. I just keep hoping that I can find some part time work doing transcription. Either that or more portraits and paintings.
Either way I would be satisfied. I did 8 portraits in November and December. I think I'll do some for my sister for her birthday that is coming in March. She wants a wall of Bella so I'll try and deliver.

And I even made the dreaded day after Christmas sale because the girls wanted to use their gift cards. I thought I had died and gone to hell! I really don't like huge masses of people like that. It was like stirring stew with a stick. So on that note I think I'll drag my tired self upstairs and go to sleep in that nice warm bed and sleep off the stress of the day. I will not venture out tomorrow. I have plans on cleaning this house from top to bottom and starting the new year off with a clean house. I will sit on my butt on New Years Day and read a book and eat my lucky meal. That is my plan and I am sticking to it!!

Charlottes Web Quiz. Which Character Are you?

I'm Charlotte. No surprise. I actually figured for Wilbur but I scored at Charlotte.
Subject:
Charlotte's Web Quiz: Which Character Are You?
Message:
I thought you might enjoy taking Charlotte's Web Quiz: Which Character Are You?, a quiz on Beliefnet .

New glasses

I finally broke down and got new glasses. I have gone thru RK surgery to correct my literal blindness. It was wonderful being 20/20 for 10 years. Then I had the cataracts from taking the tamoxifin for 5 years. But the choice of prevent cancer from recurring or blindness.....hmmmm that's a no-brainer. So I had the cataracts removed. 20/20 again. For a short time. Then the huge change hit. So I am now the proud owner of bifocals. cute ones too. I could not believe how well I could see. I could not bellieve how badly I was seeing. That was scary. I also can see just how much my girls have been missing when they vaccum the floors. Gotta get them on that one. Taking advantage of Moms blindness like that.

UP and Down on the roller coaster

I am a punctual person. I'm not anal about it but I am punctual. If I say I'll have something done by a certain day I will. I just can't tell you what time that certain day it will occur. And I depend on people that hire me to do a job for them to pay me on time. With art work that isn't a problem. Tha usually entails a partial payment to start with so that I can purchase any needed supplies like the oversized canvas or a special paint I don't keep on hand. When it come to my tutoring tho, ahh there is the rub! People must think I am made of money or something. I am hanging on by the same thread everyone else is. I have utilities to pay and taxes to pay and a mortgage to pay and car payments and student loans for myself and my soon to be college aged daughter. I went without hot water for a few days because we didn't have the available funds to purchase one. Thank goodness it was not winter time. Then I had my first surgery and couldn't work for 6 weeks. THAT will put a dent in the ole bill paying. Now in order to get our helath insurance premium down we have to both lose weight and prove it to the company. IT will cut our premium in half so we are going to do it. Yesterday I spoke with my on-line health adviser and I need to lose 25 lbs. I have 6 months to do it thank goodness. But I have to eat right around 1000 calories a day!!! that means if I want a hamburger I can have 1/4 of it. Or 2 oz of that 8 oz steak. Or it means I will probably be eating 2 bowls of oatmeal and one light meal a day and lots of water. So If you see me looking at your overly filled plate longingly just know that I am lusting in my belly for your hearty platter of goodies. I'll have to go to talk to Fr. Tim about this! I am sure there is a lesson in discipline in this whole matter. I lose money because I am such a patsy and I have to lose weight so we can save money because I am such a patsy that I can't get people to pay me therefore I lose money......just a never ending roller coaster.

Tell me, just how does one get to be disabled? I am sure that I fit a category somewhere. Does being a patsy count!!

The Week before Christmas

Starting the countdown now. The stress and anxiety of this time of year gets to me. I haven't really liked to decorate my tree since I worked as a visual display manager in a major department store. The year I had to decorate and maintain and undecorate 72 trees was the kicker for me. I didn't put a tree up for years until my girls were born. Then it was because of them. As I have gotten older tho I really see how the Spirit of Christmas giving has become highjacked by secular commercialism. The true Spirit behind the gift isn't there. It's become 'gotta get a gift cos he/she is going to get me one' or no real thought goes into the gifts. Its so easy to walk into Wal-Mart or Big-Lots or the store of your choice and just start picking up random thngs that you think someone might like. And the truth be known, how many of you have ever gotten what you might have really wanted? I asked for bath towels every year. Honestly, I do. That is a gift that for this household there is a true need. I don't know what happens to our towels. Two teenaged girls that bath umpteen times a day just wears those little terries right off the towel. Have I ever gotten towels for Christmas. Hmmmm yeah. But not for the last 10 years. My Daddy always gave us a huge gift certificate to Sears and we would go and load up on nice thick thirsty bath sheets. He died 10 years ago. So now I just ask for towels and then go and buy them myself at random times. If anyone asks me I also ask for art supplies. That doesn't happen often either. Those gift cards from Hobby Lobby or Micheals are wonderful. I guess folks don't think its personal enough. I love to give a gift card to someone. You know why? Because I don't really know what to give someone. If I pick out a book at Books A Million, they will probably already have it. Can't tell you how many times that has happened to me. I love cookbooks but not everyone cooks except for my sister and she already owns most of the ones that I have been looking at. My taste in clothing is not like anyone else I know. So its hard for me to pick out something other than comfy PJ's or a t-shirt with a smart saying on the front. Then there is that price issue. As hard as I try NOT to let it bother me, I can't spend a lot of money on each person and it bothers me when someone gives me a gift that I know is way more than I would spend or even be able to spend.

We started out with our girls giving them just a few gifts. Things that they can truly use that they wouldn't get normally in the course of the year. But nothing extravagant. There are no i-pods or game cubes or x-boxes here. Lots of books and movies and games (the kind you have to sit down and play with other people around the table and interact with!)

I wish that I could one day just tell people to give to the food pantry in my name. That would give me much pleasure. I have been blessed with having a roof over my head and I can still work to pay the bills. It's tight around here but we still have food. I don't like to see people that are truly in need and there are many here. Regardless of why they don't have enough is not a big deal. Some are too old to work anylonger. Some are too ill. Some have screwed up their lives so badly that people look down their noses at them and won't give them a chance so they don't even try any more. But they are still human beings made in the image of God and Jesus welcomed all to his table. I have to tell myself that everyday and think, 'am I the Samaritan or the person that looked the other way and walked on the other side of the road to avoid the person in need?'

This Christmas, give in the Spirit of the One that we want to be like. The gifts don't have to be huge and elaborate. They just really need to be from the heart and be something that the other person really doesn't have. Have a blessed Christmas and New Year

Why did we do our Christmas lights this way?

people keep asking us why we did this.

Scott has added more music to the Christmas light show. Several familiar Christmas songs as well as some music from the 'Grinch' have been added.

1. We did it for the kid in all of us. It's not just little kids that are getting a kick out of watching our lights. Its all ages that stop to look and listen. When Scott was a little boy he loved the lights and I did too. Both of us can remember our parents driving us around to see the Christmas lights before we went to bed on Christmas Eve. We have never gotten over looking at Christmas lights. Plus, before my Daddy died in 1996, he wanted to put lights all over his house. He never got the chance to do it the way he wanted. Bright and a lot of lights. So we have taken up the gauntlet and will do our best to carry on the task that he set out to do. DT would love it!!!
2. Its a great hobby. Scott gets so much joy and satisfaction out of thinking up and planning the light sequences and displays! The laughter and smiles from the people that are watching is the best gift he could ever get.
3. We have been so blessed and the light show is our gift to our community. However, we would like to draw attention to our favorite charity. This is the Season for giving and we will be collecting donations for the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry from now until December 19th. We will be packing the Christmas food boxes on the 21st and the Pantry is still short a few items. A large barrel will be out front to collect non-perishable food items. We could really use peanut butter and coffee. Please stop by and enjoy our lights and music and help fill a box for a needy family this Christmas. Merry Christmas to all!

Grinches at Christmas and the Real St. Nicholas.

I know a 16 year old young man that works very hard. He comes from a large family and he is the older brother. I have watched this young man grow over the last 10 years. He has the most amazing work ethic I have ever seen in a kid his age. He is very responsible and very driven. And he also still has his 16 year old goofy side thank goodness. This week he got the wind knocked out of his sails. Someone stole his wallet at school. The wallet contained his truck payment. He doesn't know when it happened. His wallet was pretty big and could have fallen out of his pocket. No one has owned up to finding it. It contained his license and over 200 dollars. Somebody is going to have a nice little Christmas at this kid's expense. I hate it for him. He is the saddest little guy knowing that someone has taken his money. He is one of those kids that isn't the most popular at school. He doesn't 'fit' into the 'in' crowd. Yet he would do anything in the world for you.

Every year my daddy used to do something for someone that really needed a Christmas boost. He didn't do it for a pat on the back. He did it because he saw someone in need. I don't have the money to give to this kid but I'm going to let ST. Nicholas know about it. I'm sure that St. Nicholas will come thru.

Did you know that there really was a St. Nicholas? He was a little man, just topping 5 feet in height. The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children. St. Nicholas is also the patron of sailors and voyagers. One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

for more information go to this site to learn about St. Nicholas.
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38


PS: I did tell St. Nicholas and this morning I ran into the young man at work. He hugged me and told me that he had received a package from St. Nicholas. I feel very thankful that I was able to pass on the need to someone who could make a difference in this kid's life. He didn't know how to accept the gift and I told him that he was a good person and that the gift was a reward for being kind and caring. ANd that one day he could pass on the kindness by helping someone else in need.

Christians-a poem by Maya Angelou

While Maya is not my favorite writer by any means, I do like some of her writings. This poem is a good example of faith and is as it should be. V

Christians - By Maya Angelou
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

More Food Pantry Pictures

The food is ready to go. There are 196 boxes in this corner and more on the packing tables. We try to pack a good nourishing box. Canned veggies, fresh bread, canned fruits, toothpast, soap, dish detergent, soups and canned meats and tuna, dried beans or peas. Sometimes we have quart cartons of milk but we don't have refrigeration so it has to be the milk that is in cartons that don't have to be refrigerated until after its opened. Presently we can only give one box per household. One day I would love to be able to give larger boxes to the larger families.

At Thanksgiving and Christmas we splurge and put a Ham in the box. We have been blessed with getting FEMA funds for the past couple of years. FEMA stipulates that we spend the money locally and that it goes only for food. The pantry partners decided that everyone deserved a ham for a Christmas feast. Last year was the first time we did it. This year we will do it again. The Thanksgiving box had a 2lb. can of chicken, and cornbread mix and cranberry sauce. All the recipients had to do was add the celery and onions and sage and some broth and they had a nice dish of chicken and dressing.

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry is an ecumenical non-profit organization that is helping feed the need in Calhoun County. The Food Pantry is a member of the Mississippi Food Network/America’s Second Harvest. St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church, Bruce United Methodist Church, Lewis Memorial Methodist Church Calhoun City, Bailey Memorial, Vardaman and the rest of the Calhoun County Methodist Cluster and many wonderful men and women from various prayer groups have come together and distributed approximately 30,000 pounds of food in 2006. In 2005 we distributed 18,000 pounds. The need for more food donations has increased because hunger has increased.

In our area alone, over 400 individuals rely on Our Daily Bread Food Pantry for a box of food once a month. Some are children but over half are retired men and women trying to live on a small retirement check. That 400 is only the tip of iceberg. There are many more that we can’t serve because we don’t know about them and because we don’t have enough to give.

Ordinary people….young and old, male and female, black and white. The face of hunger will surprise you. Many people experience the invasion of hunger in their lives and they look just like you and me. Because the face of hunger looks like us, it is up to us to make a difference. It is a tragedy that anyone in this country should be hungry when the USA produces enough food to feed the world. 20 percent of food in the US is wasted and thrown away. There is no shortage of food in the United States and sadly there is no shortage of people that are ‘food insecure’.

Who are these hungry people? You might be surprised.
There is the child who can’t concentrate in school because she didn’t have enough to eat last night. Her older brother is disabled and he can’t stand to see his baby sister crying because she didn’t have enough to eat, so he gives her half of his portion. He goes to bed hungry and vows that one day he will somehow make sure that he and his sister will have enough to eat.

An elderly woman has diabetes and it is getting worse because she doesn’t get the proper nourishment. Some well-meaning soul brought her a box of doughnuts to eat when her sugar drops. She really needs a jar of peanut butter.

The older gentleman tries to help out the ‘widow women’ he knows by running their little errands but his heart is giving him trouble because he had to decide if he was going to buy medicine or buy some food that was good for him this month. He can’t afford to do both on his small retirement pension.

Everyday people in Calhoun County don’t get enough to eat. It’s happening in Bruce and Calhoun City and Vardaman and all the places in between. It happens to the working poor who have had a temporary crisis or people that are laid off from work or have a devastating sickness that is beyond their control. Often they have already used up what little savings they may have socked away and they are ashamed to ask for help.

The fact remains that they are still hungry!

I can’t predict the stock market or the weather but I can share some facts about hunger that will impact all of us as Our Daily Bread Food Pantry enters its seventh year of operation.

Fact: According to the USDA in January of 2006, more than 38 million Americans are living on the brink of hunger. That is 13.5 million households that are ‘food insecure’.


Fact: Heat or Eat? People face a real dilemma in the winter. Do they heat their house or do they eat 3 meals a day? If they cut back on food then they can keep their homes a little warmer.

Fact: Higher utility rates mean higher utility bills. Even when you turn the thermostat down and only turn on necessary lights, the rate hikes still run up the electric bills. Higher health costs and higher fuel costs all add to the need for food assistance.

Fact: Not all people who need Food Pantry assistance get food stamps nor are they eligible. Most families that do get food stamps get less than $20. That really goes a long way.

Fact: 379 to 400 people rely on a box of food from Our Daily Bread Food Pantry once a month. The majority are elderly men and women who have worked hard all their lives and now they have reached the ‘Golden Years’ and they don’t have enough of the right stuff to eat.

Fact: The 2000 census showed that 19.9% of Mississippians live at or below the poverty level.
The population of Calhoun County is approximately 16,069 people.
18.10% of the population of Calhoun County are below the poverty line.
29.3% of the population of Bruce is below.
25.2% of Calhoun City is below.
24.1% of Vardaman is below.
18.6% of Derma is below.
20.7% of Big Creek is below.
27.3% of Slate Springs is below.
1.1% of Pittsboro is below. (I think someone is withholding the truth about Pittsboro)


You do the math. Our Daily Bread is only able to feed half of these people that have the need. I can dig up more statistics but where hunger is concerned, statistics are only numbers with the tears brushed off.

How can you make a difference?
People feel powerless to help their community or they may just choose to close their eyes and hope that it all goes away. Some might say let some government agency take care of it and we all know how that doesn’t seem to work. People of faith can make a difference. They can band together and take charge and take care of their brothers and sisters.

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry needs your help and you can help in so many ways. Your contribution can be in the form of a monetary donation. You can organize a food drive by collecting our most needed items through your office or church or youth group or community group. You can volunteer at the pantry. Participate on Food Packing night by sorting and packing the boxes for the monthly distribution. Help us with the clerical work once a month. Be here to carry out boxes of food on distribution day or help direct traffic or help people sign up. Help us with our once a year Empty Soup Bowl fund raiser by making soup and selling it.

How can you make a difference? Buy the ‘3 fer’ and ‘2 fer’ deals at the grocery and put 1 or 2 of those items in a bag and give it to the pantry. Help us come up with ideas to raise the funds needed to keep the Pantry up and running. Sacrifice a couple of hours of your time so that others won’t go hungry.

Saturday ramblings

One daughter is at work and one is at play. Lordy how I wish she would start getting a bit more mature. She is STILL in the tree climbing stage. I suppose I should be thankful that she isn't out chasing boys and getting into compromising situations like a lot of 14 year old girls I hear about. She would still believe in Santa if I hadn't told her about it years ago.

I've got to read about 6 chapters today for my class tomorrow and I have to pick up and vacuum around the house. You would think with two teenage daughters I might have a little help around the house. NOOOO! I used to keep a spotless house. That was before children and husband and working all the time. Boy do I wish I could be the mom on 'Leave It To Beaver'. Wouldn't that be a riot. Always wearing that dress with the belt and those pearls and happily cooking in the spotless kitchen and all of the family sitting at the table to eat at the same time. uh huh. Pipe Dreams...... I spent most of yesterday helping a friend organize her home. We did manage to find the living room. Just 4 more rooms to go for her. I threatened her bodily harm if she lets it go again.

Scott is on his way home from work. He is going to have to round up the playing child and get her to bag the leaves in the back yard. She is waiting for 'tomorrow'. After all Miss Scarlett tomorrow is another day!!!

Tonight I get to be a judge for the Christmas parade. Its going to be colder than a well diggers butt in Alaska! At least its a short parade. Then I'll come back home and sit in front of the heater and warm up drinking some coffee and finish my lessons for tomorrow. Theology is an interesting study. The study of God.

Prayer needs

My friend Olivia is back in the hospital. She has been battling breast cancer for nearly four years. It started out with the lumpectomy and all the treatments that go along with that. At the first of this year the cancer returned in the same breast and she underwent a radical mastectomy and all the treatments for that. Then she started having pain. Unexplained, bang your head into the wall pain. She has been to pain specialists and all of her other doctors and there has been no explanation for the pain. So now she has 'over medicated' herself to the point of she can't get easy. But the other thing is, she has fluid in her chest cavity and the fluid has cancer cells in it. So its time for more chemo because there is cancer somewhere in her body and its hiding but its causing her pain. Pray that she will be able to overcome this. She can't continue to live on pain meds and other things and she is going to have a tough time going thru all the treatments again too.

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My second pray request is my long time friend Deb. She has had a bum leg all of her life and a bad spine and a host of other ailments. Her leg is infected and she is in danger of losing it. I am going to her little cottage and help her get her stuff sorted and put away so that she can get a hospital bed into there and she can rest with her leg elevated. She really needs a recliner that leans waaaay back but she is living on disability and can't afford the chair. If I had the money I would get one for her but I can barely keep my own head above water at the moment. So I'll do the next best thing which is go and move her stuff around and make some sense out of her living space. She is a tough and gruff bird on the outside and a crying puddle of goo on the inside. Most people can't get past the tough guy persona.

Friday morning musings/or the world according to Vonda

I stumbled into the downstairs 'kitchen' in my studio area and started heating water for my cherished cup of morning coffee. I don't use tap water. Too many chemicals to murder the taste of the coffee. As the water was heating to the optimum temp of 190 degrees I rinsed out my French Press. The French Press coffee maker is a wonderful tool. I can make 2 cups of coffee any time I want and extremely quickly. It is a tall glass cylinder with a plunger in the top. Attached to the plunger is a fine mesh wire filter. The water is hot and it is time! I put one scoop of coffee into the cylinder and then here is the big goof!! I noticed that I had also put in my required sugar and coffeemate! Into the cyclinder! ACK!! Then I thought 'Oh what the heck!' So I poured the hot water on top of the mixture and placed the top on it and PRESSED the filtered plunger down and it actually made a decent cup of coffee. I won't do it that way again but it's drinkable.

The advantage of using the French Press is I only make coffee when I want it and only make it a cup at a time so I don't waste coffee and I don't feel guilty about having it sitting there on the warmer and then I am compelled to drink all ten cups and spend the rest of the day in a caffine induced whirlwind! The other advantage is it seems to create coffee at its finest. No bitterness, I can actually taste the essence of the coffee bean, and its just an elegant way to make a fine cup of coffee.

Now onto my next morning musing......I ask you who gives a flying rip about Brittany Spears and her PAR***TAY ways? Is she acting like a Mom of 2 very small children? Nope. Is the dad, that fabulously leechy moocher KFED or FED-EX as the loser should be called, any better. Oh nooo! After all remember he was running with the Britster while his girl friend was pregnant with his second child by her. So he is really in the running for Father of Year in my book. Brittany is acting like some of these young and stooooopid moms I have seen. What the heck is wrong with the younger generation! (Did I just say that!?) It's still the 'IF IT FEELS GOOD DO IT' mentality of the free sex ideas of the late 60's and 70's. We are losing our morals people. Wake up and don't just smell the coffee. Drink the bitter dregs of our permissiveness. The very moral fiber of our country is at stake. Pictures are taken of the so called self-important cele-'brats' out partying their little naked skinny butts off and splashed across the national papers and magazines. Used to in the not so far ago past, those kinds of pictures were called PORN! Now its just an Oops she did again. If I want to see a naked picture I'll peep at myself in the mirror when I get out of the shower. That is sobering enough!
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I am disturbed to read that a newly elected politician from some other state is requesting to be sworn into office using the Koran instead of the Bible. This country was founded on the principles in the Bible and not in the Koran. He is a Muslim and he has the freedom to practice his religion in the USA just like all the other religions. I don't care if someone is Jewish (that is a race of people as well as a religious belief; they are after all God's original chosen ones), Muslim (anyone can be a Muslim, not just the Arabic people), Baptist, Anabaptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Lutheran, Pentacostal, Latter Day Saints, etc. They all have the right to practice their religious beliefs. But displacing the Bible as the book to be sworn in on is not part of the deal. That is part of the weft and wuff of the fabric of founding of this country. I have already fired off the letters to Senators Lott and Cochran and Representative Wicker. Both email and land mail. Wake up folks before our country as we know it changes! WE can no longer be an ostrich. Things are happening out there, up there, around us that will not be so easy to change back. There are people and nations that are very very jealous of the freedoms that we have. They are intent on destroying us. Some are already sitting back and waiting for the world to change as we know it. The wheels are turning but that doesn't mean that the destruction of our land can't be stopped.
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I'll rant more on that at a later date. My coffee is calling to me and I have to go and help out a friend that is in dire need at the moment. So enjoy your morning cup of coffee and be sure to read between the lines all the news that you see on the tv and in the papers and magazines. Pull your head up out of the security of your insulated life and see what is happening in the world before it is too late. Write to our elected officials on a regular basis and let them KNOW what you really think!

thoughts on teaching

Each year I say that I am not going to teach any more children than the ones that I have. And then something happens that makes me change my mind. Like a child that calls and tells me why they want to be homeschooled or a mom calls with a child that has a special need. Then I have to sit and think and pray about it and see if I can add more veggies to the soup. I have had as many as 17 kids here before and that was some serious stress! By and large it has always been a good experience for everyone but I have had some very difficult times also. I have always known that I was not cut out to teach in the 'traditional' sense of the word. I was never one of those kids that fit into the round hole. I was the square peg. That is the kind of kids that I teach. Square pegs. That is not an insult to them. They just have different learning styles that don't fit in the 'traditional' schoolings methods.

I do use a curriculum that I use along with the Charlotte Mason method of teaching. I believe in reading, lots and lots of reading about anything and everything. Learning is a life long experience. And it should be enjoyable. Although I can think of a few times I learned some things that weren't too enjoyable. But life is like that you know!!

A season or a lifetime?

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. The y may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Christmas lights

Scott has worked hard all year on this little light project of his. I want to make a video later on and post it. This doesn't do justice to the display withtout the music. The songs that the music is synced to is Charlie Browns Christmas, Snoopy's Christmas, Elvis' Blue Christmas, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, Canon in D, and Trans Siberian Orchestras, Wizard in Winter. It is pretty awesome that we even were able to pull this off. So far its 15,000 lights and we could have put up more but we don't have enough channels yet. Maybe next year will be bigger and better.

Traffic out front hasn't been too bad. People are kind enough to pull over to the side, stop, watch and then move on. Some are a bit curious about the radio frequency. They just don't understand what is going on. Then some of the folks that I didn't think would understand did. Go figure! Anyway, tune to 100.3 FM. to hear the music that goes with the lights.

I hope that next year we have Handel's Halleluia Chorus and some Manhiem Steamroller synced in. I see light and color when I hear music and I think other people should too.

family reunited after 60 years

My mom finally met her two half-sisters this week. It has been an amazing time for our family. Back in 1932 when my Mom was born, my grandfather left to find work. He left my grandmother behind because she was pregnant. For whatever his reasons were and for whatever the circumstances were, he never sent for my grandmother and mom. Maybe he was not ready for a family. Maybe he thought once he left that he could not come back. No one really knows. My grandmother Sally never said a bad word about him and I never heard my Greatgrannie Russell say anything bad either. After 5 years he divorced my grandmother and remarried and started another family. Thing like that happened in those times. It happened on my Dads side also. I've just never been able to find where my great grandfather Tedford went.

Mom met her father for the first time when she was about 15. They didn't hit it off at all and Mom never tried to see him again. She knew she had two younger sisters but they didn't meet until now. Their father, my grandfather died in April of 2005. There is no longer a barrier to them having a relationship. It is really neat to see how 3 women, all raised in different circumstances have so many similarities. They sound alike, they all have the tenacity of a pitbull! And they are all opinionated. They arrived on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. It has taken months and weeks of planning to get them together under one roof. I have seen laughter and tears and squealing and jumping up and down. My mom was in a hard jerk she was so nervous. But she has finally met her two paternal sisters and the meeting was good. Now she can add them to the family. When her other half-sister that she shares her mother with, comes home from overseas, it should make for an interesting homecoming.

I like my two new aunts. Talking with them about the branch of the family tree that I didn't know has explained a lot. I now know where the art talent comes from and the extreme love of learning. The features and the temperament; We all resemble very much.

There is a copy of an old photo in the display at the museum that our town is working to create. It is a photo of the log workers in 1929. They are standing and sitting on a huge log that is loaded on the old Lindsey wagon with the team of mules. My grandfather, their father, Marshall Gray, is perched up on that log. I can finally say that without upsetting my mother.

The water has gone on under that bridge and my mother and her sisters can now be a family even if it has been over 60 years in the making.