It's New Years Eve 2008. 
Good morning.. it's a very cold morning.. the severe weather alert says we are to have a cold and windy day. The temperature is to get to a whopping 26 degrees with wind chills possible to the single digits. It's 24 right now.. and there is snow on the ground. The alert also says a possible 1-2" of additional snow.
I wondered at first if we would ever get a shot of that beautiful cardinal that comes to the feeder off and on. He's not as busy here as the other littler birds, but spends about 10 minutes flying off and on, then moving out to his nest I suppose. 
This is our front yard as of the last snowfall.. a week ago? It was quite beautiful for a while, everything pristine.
That's a wren , I believe, on the feeder.. Wendell would know better. He's been reading up.
Our squirrels number at least 6 now. This is one of the nests we have seen them go in and out. It's way high in the trees..
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great.
Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere .
Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must take allowance for each others faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace.
Attaining peace
"Jon Farrar addresses marriages, but his comments apply to other relationships as well.
Maintaining peace in any relationship is very difficult. Each one of us is a unique individual who interprets and views things differently. Whether in relationships in the church, among family and friends, or in our marriages, conflict is natural. When conflict comes, we need to follow Christ's example by showing love and forgiveness in difficult situations. God loved us when we were still sinners in rebellion against him (Romans 5:9). We need to show that same type of love to others by being kind, merciful, and patient.
Do you long for peace in your marriage? Ask Jesus to point out times when you have not been forgiving, areas where you need to be patient, and ways you can express genuine love to each other. That is how we have peace in our marriages—when we look for ways to love and forgive each other.
from Praying God's Promises for My Marriage by Jon Farrar (Tyndale) pp 42-43 "
Good evening to you all.. I think. 
It's 11 degrees.. cold. Let's face it, I'm going to moan and groan over weather until spring. I can do that because this is MY blog... hehehe..
It's here. Winter. As I write, it's 2 degrees and the wind is howling outside which means the wind chill factor makes it feel like -15 to -20 degrees.. that's MINUS degrees, friends. Anyone who has to be outdoors should be dressed properly in layers because of the threat of frostbite and hypothermia which can occur in minutes after exposure. It's enough to cause frostbite on a snowman!
I'm really trying to be cheerful here.. but it's hard by times. Another winter advisory for tomorrow morning when I want to be in church.. and then I've got a bug or something too. It's been with me for about 2 days now.. GI upset and nausea.. ugh.
There is a travel advisory out again tonite. At a little after 1am, snow, ice, and rain are in the forecast. We are both hoping that this will not affect our YMCA visit tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, they say the temperature should rise to 35 and there shouldn't be any more ice... I hope.
I really love my part time job, but I love being retired so very very much. It's such a relief to not have to work 3-11 every evening and then holidays and weekends. That was the worst. This is the life!
I really appreciate retirement. I have no clue how I ever fit my work schedule into my week. It's hard to fit 2 office days into it, though I don't want to stop working there just yet.
