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| a gift of cookies |
..... but it definitely was not Santa Claus. Actually, it was a week too soon for his arrival. Checking the calendar, we knew it was the day for our old roof to be replaced.
And such a clatter it was!!! No less than six fellas (maybe 10?) were tromping around up there. When stuff is being dug and scraped off the roof, one takes their life in their hands to step outside lest debris hit them on the head. The sounds of their work were loud, thumping, hard dropping, and sometimes I checked the front door because I thought a visitor was knocking.
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| new roof in progress |
Having been through this before some eleven years ago in another house, I knew the noise would be bothersome and go on forever. But I think time must have diluted my memories of it because by mid-day I decided doing anything requiring mental clarity was useless. I could hardly remember my name for the relentless pounding, scraping, and such.
So the 'sounds of the season' have not been all Christmas carols around here. The project took two full days and then late on Day 3, the huge dumpster blocking our garage entry was hauled off.
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| goodbye to the dumpster |
This has been shared to illustrate how the less glamorous aspects of life must go on even in the most delightful of holiday seasons. Of course we are thankful for the new roof, which had to be rescheduled due to heavy rain last month. We are also thankful we can cross that project off our To Do List.
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| a gift by Bonnie & Pop |
Cards and gifts have been arriving. Again this year I have thoroughly enjoyed giving foodie gifts through the internet. WOWOWOW! Is that easy or what?!!!! I should have caught onto that years ago. My go-to has been Harry and David, but there are oodles of similar websites from which to choose.
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| Gary in the frozen food section of Publix |
We do the grocery shopping together. Gary pushes the cart and has a sharp eye out for the BOGO sales (buy one, get one free). Have any of you noticed, as I have, how walking down the frozen food aisle is so (how shall I say it), so rewarding, satisfying.... uh, not unlike Miss America on the runway. (You don't get it, do you?)
Well, in Publix the frozen food cases are dark but as you progress down the aisle, sensors pick up the activity of the shopper and the lights pop on. The farther you walk, the more lights turn on. It's so rewarding! People who are depressed during the holiday season (or any time of year, for that matter) should go to Publix's frozen food aisles.
Let's see, what are some other observations I've made since the last blog post?
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| palm tree delivery |
Those who don't live in Florida may never have seen this before. I was exiting my car in the Walmart parking lot when I spied this nursery truck. Large palm trees are transported this way; it's not an uncommon sight around here. It sort of fascinates me.
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| Grinch in a tree |
While I'm on the subject of trees, Gary spotted the Grinch on one of our bike rides the other day. We swerved out into the middle of the street to avoid getting grabbed by that green hand!
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| music makers |
Also on our bike rides through the neighborhood, I am pleased to say we've seen a good number of Nativity displays and the large letters spelling out JOY but this is the only set of carolers I've seen.
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| Christmas music station on Direct TV |
We listen to Christmas music every morning with our first cup of coffee. Probably my favorite aspect of Christmas is music, but with that said, I prefer the older carols and tunes with lyrics I can understand and even hum along with. And Mannheim Steamroller's Deck the Halls. (click on the song title to listen)
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| afternoon tea |
While composing this post I've brewed some black tea for Gary and me. Reflecting on Christmas, I see that as our children have aged and the circumstances for all of us have morphed into alternate ways of doing things, Christmas isn't quite like it used to be. But I am adjusting. My desire and energy levels for the chaos of it all have modified into something quieter and definitely less busy. Surely many of my older readers are agreeing with me.
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| one of our trees this year |
We will be in town for Christmas this year. We have plans to dine with friends and just keep a low profile. I'm okay with that. We both have got all the shots, vaccinations, etc that are out there, but with that, we've found the pandemic-standard of less association with groups of people seems to reduce the possibility of catching germs.... something that people who are 70-something need to consider.
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| Wise Men water color |
In closing, I want to give my readers gifts -- links to some resources that have been incredibly helpful to me this past year. Some I have mentioned before but they are worth repeating. These are faith-based resources that have aided my thoughts on baffling circumstances. Perhaps they will be of encouragement to some of you as well.
Susie Larson
God Is Glad to See You
https://www.susielarson.com/daily-blessing/sbc3g69x98po8fymgw7iy6xqau1tm8
Joyce Meyer Ministries
Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope
When It’s Not the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Lysa TerKeurst’s book Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are
With that said, I want for my readers what one of my former pastors has said recently:
- peace where you need it most
- joy where you're least expecting it
- hope that renews Christ's purpose for your life
(Pastor Larry Yarbrough of Deermeadows Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida)
Until next time, grace and peace.
9 comments:
Our Christmas will be a quiet one, too, Barbara. I really miss not being to able to see our grands, but they will celebrate Christmas with their other grandparents this year because they live in North Carolina, too, and are easier to get to. I'm happy for them!
God bless Gary and you always, and Merry Christmas!
Wishing you that same peace, joy, and hope!! Merry Christmas to you and Gary, and wishing you many blessings in the coming year!! xo
Enjoyable post. Yes, roofing is a noisy, noisy affair. We had an awful hail storm about two weeks ago and many folks in our area are getting new roofs. It totally missed us and we were so glad that we were not one of the many claims filed at Tommy's office. Christmas blessings to you and Gary!
You had me chuckling over the freezer runway. It has to be a very quiet day at our grocery stores to experience this, but I have and I think it's a pretty cool feature. Startled me the first time it happened, though. Merry Christmas to you and Gary!
Such a lovely and uplifting post, Barb! I hope that roof job was completed before the big storm we had last weekend? Must've been. I know you were glad to have it over and done with! Thank you for the links and other wonderful thoughts and ideas for managing the Christmas season with grace. I seem to be struggling more this year than I thought, but probably because we were both a bit under the weather and our energy levels have bottomed out. But we are better now and trying to make up for lost time. Not going to let the Grinch grab me either! I do hope you and Gary will have a blessed and wonderful Christmas together. And yes, I was in Publix the other day and noticed the exact same thing you did about the lights coming on as we walked down the frozen food aisles! Isn't that funny? I didn't exactly think about being Miss America, however! I wish I had...I would have enjoyed the journey a lot more! LOL. Blessings to you!
Glad the roof has been taken care of even though it created a noise ruckus! I enjoyed all the shared pictures in this post. The lights do that in the freezer/refrigerator at Target. No Publix in my part of Virginia. Wishing you and Gary a peaceful Christmas, Barbara.
I was wondering if you got the roof done, smiles. Wishing you both a Merry Christmas my friend.
Merry Christmas to you and Gary. Glad that roof got done!
I am dreading the roof thing. I know it is going to happen here in the next year of two and such a mess it will make. I love Christmas hymns and carols. Not just 1 or w2 on a December Sunday but all month. I got so tired of not being able to hear the ones I wanted that I made me a playlist and add to it as I think of one I am missing. It is just what I want to hear. Pooey on all the radio stations for not playing the good stuff. Y'all have a good Christmas.
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