Getting With The Season

Today my Aunt and I got the outside Christmas lights up. There are 3 deer, a polar bear, and 2 pine trees, one large and one small. My Aunt was worried about getting the timer set right. Last year, on the first night, the lights didn't go on until 2 am. I checked at 5;30PM and they are on, at least part of them are on. One deer only has it's head lit up, the large tree is very spotty.I guess we'll have to run down the dead bulbs or missed connections. I picked my daughter up for one of her overnight visits and her tree was up and decorated, done on the 1st of December. I don't think I've ever been that early. I guess we'll do the inside decorations next week.

I've been reading about and seeing on the news, the huge rain and wind storms battering the Pacific Northwest. Fortunately, my Son and family live on somewhat high ground, But I still need to call them to check that they are okay. We're supposed to get another snow storm again this weekend. It's too bad I work weekends. At least it's not supposed to be quite as cold as the last one. It was in the 20s, so everything was frozen or freezing. Hopefully, it will stay above freezing this time.

I finally had enough of our electric can opener not opening. I got an old fashioned, handheld opener! I think it's always better to have a way to cook and clean by hand,just in case.

Dates of Note

November is a busy month for me. Today is my Daughter's birthday. Next week is my Son's birthday, plus my Aunt's birthday as well. Also next week, is Thanksgiving. This week will also be busy due to a big promotional event that my company holds every year the weekend before Thanksgiving. As I've probably mentioned, I am food demonstrator. We are a bit under staffed right now. We have to stay on the floor, serving from 10AM to 6PM for all three days. As we are short people to relieve for lunches and breaks, we will operate in tandem, 2 people working 2 demos together and covering both demos for breaks and lunches. It will be a little tricky, but should work.

My daughter will be 41 today, I think. I don't always pay attention to my kid's ages, then I have to pay attention to my own. Michele won't mind my giving away her age though. She doesn't pay attention to things like that. In fact, she had forgotten her birthday herself. She was too busy looking forward to "turkey day". Michele is my handicapped child. She is mentally disabled and also has some autistic behaviors. She has been able to live in a supervised apartment and work in a sheltered workshop enviornment for about 14 years or so. She's managed, with her staff, to build a life of her own, for which I am very grateful. She lives a fuller life than she did at home, though I'm sure she misses some of her family at times. She does spend an overnight visit with me and her Aunt every 2 weeks. Unfortunately, she hasn't seen her brother and his family for quite awhile. Hopefully, we'll remedy that sometime this next year. When I think about things to be thankful for, all the things I've learned from my children and greandchildren are high on my list.

The Fourth of July

Another 4th of July has passed. We had a fairly quiet day, just a barbeque for my Aunts, my Daughter and me. I had to get my Daughter home by 3 PM, so we didn't worry too much about fireworks, except for the effects on the dog. She held up pretty good, but was plainly unhappy with the noise. We didn't get up quite early enough to walk down to the park to see the end of the parade, though we did see some of the entrants going down our street afterward. We were also out for a walk when the Air Force jets flew over, folowed by their flying "gas tank". The jets were flying over all the smaller towns and their celebrations, so the refueling plane was probably more convenient and more cost effective than going back to base for a fill up.

It was quite hot, but we frequently have hot Fourths. It will be even hotter the next 3 days, which are expected to go to 100 degrees and higher. The whole West seems to be sweltering. Still, the Midwest is busy being flooded and having oil slicks in thier rivers, probably worse for disrupting families and causing property damage. The west is having some disruptions and property damage in the form of wild fires, which are likely to get worse rather than better as the summer progresses.

It's funny how we all seem to so look forward to the summer months and frequently, before the summer is over, we're looking forward to the relief of Fall. Maybe we should try to look for the best whatever the season, just live each day the best we can and hopefully find the good in our lives.