Whats new Sunday

Aloha my friend......Gentle hug coming your way. Roller coaster ride comes to mind when I read your posts....Ha! But isn't that better than having a stale, do nothing life??

You are a pioneer woman..........hang in there, darlin. Life is your palette! Paint us a pretty picture!

With so much aloha for you!

Maui Karen

Good Sunday morning to everyone!

We spent yesterday digging out from the 13 inches of snow that fell Fri into Sat.  My husband and son are both on vacation until Jan 5th now, so everyone is home to enjoy the holidays and play in the snow.  We are supposed 4 more inches today.  Whatever..it's winter and I live in New England.  At least we are in for a white Christmas this year, and the view is lovely from the dining room window.

This month, as a family we decided to sponsor a child thru Children International.  A few wks ago we sent in our request for more info and they sent us a packet with a photo of a child who needs our help.   We are thrilled to be sponsoring this 15 yr old girl, and are looking forward to having her as a long distance part of our lives and family.  Getting her photo and info yesterday, and sending that first monetary sponsorship gift to her, was a great Christmas gift for me!!  I'm so thankful we have the ability to do this, when I know there are plenty of folks everywhere who are having difficulties making ends meet. 

Last nite Glenn and I went to dinner with our friends Terry and Bob.  We haven't seen them in a while, but we always go out to dinner to exchange gifts and celebrate the holiday.  Had a great time!

Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Cara

Hi Cara
I just wanted to thank you for sponsoring the 15 year old girl through Children International. You will change her life and she will be forever grateful that people on the other side of the world cared enough to help.  I teach sociology, and I am faced with the numbers of people who die yearly from starvation when I teach intro soc.  It is always a shock to my students to hear the numbers.  We, in industrialized countries, (I'm in Canada) can do so much to help...
Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox  and just say "Thank you" for making someone's life and the lives of her family better.
Margaret

 

Thanks for your note Margaret!  I can't tell you how much sponsoring Maricel has meant to me.  I know it will help her and her family, and that gives me great joy, as well as showing my own 13 yr old son how life is in other parts of the world, and how much he has in his own life, as well as showing him how easy it can be to help someone else *****ally needs it.  Again, I just feel very fortunate to be able to share what we have with her. 

Cara

Joey cat responded quite well to his Depo shot. He got in the fridge to beg for his bowl of 1/2 & 1/2. Tom and I don't use the stuff. we keep it on hand just for Joey. I'll pamper him as long as possible.

Tom decided he had enough of my bah humbug attitude. He hauled out the Christmas decorations, put on the music and insisted we decorate. It was fun. All I needed was a shove in the right direction.

Today we are going to get the lasagna supplies. That's his favorite Christmas meal. Since I don't eat pasta, I'll make mine with layers of veggies.

Mary, Matthew, Melanie and their two dogs have had a tummy bug. Mary was so ill that she became dehydrated and her hubby started IV fluids. It is good to have a doctor in the house. They are finally feeling better today.

Kisses to all
Annette

Boy, what is it with us & getting up so early?
Margo prayers, for you Grandma. It is hard to see someone we love change so much.
 Annette I have a question for you. We found a kitten, less than a year old, in our wood shed. She is very anti social & only comes out at night. We brought her in the house about a month ago. Any advice on how to make her more social? She will let me pick her up & will sit with me & she was litter box trained in one day.
 Actually any one that knows what we can do please
 help me. We also have 2 shihTzus.
 Thanks, Nan

Nan, my Misty is very anti~social too. When we got her she was living in the basement of her first owner and wouldn't come upstairs for anything~including to eat or drink. When we got her she was very skittish and wouldn't come out of hiding for a while. Then she gradually got to coming out more and more but still most of the time was spent under the bed.

Now she is out here all the time with us but when she hears someone knock on the door she is outta here faster than anything. She goes back into the bedroom and hides under the bed again. She won't come out when someone is here either. Tho she is getting a bit braver and braver and at times if someone is here long enough (like for hours) she will sometimes (and only sometimes) venture out and slowly come out to the living room. She is still skittish and probably always will be. Some kitties are like that and some are more sociable. But then again I am not that much of a kitty person. Now if they were like dogs I would know a lot more. This is just my experience with my Misty. But I would consider it a plus since she is getting in your lap and sit with you.

Thank you Brenda. I am not a cat person either, but there was just something about this 6lb. black fur ball. I am the only one she trusts.
Nan

Nan,

I'm no cat expert, even with 8 of them. They all have different personalities. Our Nicki was scared of people and panicked if we attempted to pick him up at first. Now he whines to get close.

I do have a couple of suggestions.

Try hand feeding her. Put the food in your hand or on a spoon. We used small jars of baby food - the pure meat variety such as turkey or chicken. That helps develop trust and she will look forward to getting close to you.

Talk to her in a soothing soft voice, especially when you are entering a room where she is isolating. That will help her get used to the sound of your voice. You may feel like a complete idiot, but the kitten won't mind.

She may never be completely social. The feline personality can be stand offish, depending on the cat. Mine won't leave me alone.

It has only been a month so give her time to adjust to a warm loving home. She must have been cold, lonely and frightened out in your wood shed. Good for you for taking her in.

Annette

Good morning to you, Nan and my other OFF family.

I am sitting here thinking that I don't want to go to church this morning. I would rather go back to bed and huddle under the warm blankets. It is -4 degrees here this morning. The temps during the day aren't going to get much higher either. Tomorrow is going to be more of the same. UGH! I want summer back~where did it go? I think I missed it!

Bill is coming to church with me this morning. I never even asked him~he told me yesterday that he was going to go with Brittany and I. It kind of shocked me but I didn't let him know that. Brittany is acolyting this morning and then we as a church are acknowledging them. At coffee hour this morning we are having a cake for them. It is to bad that I can't take a bite but I must remember the 20 pounds that I need to lose. I just have to keep focused on that!

Bill is sick with a cold and so as we all know from past experiences we are soon going to see him pass. He is such a man when he is sick. No one has anything as bad as he does and he isn't behind the door at letting you know that either.

I went to Walgreen's yesterday and got Brittany 2 Webkinz's but I have to take one of them back since she is getting one (the elephant) from her mom. I got her a St. Bernard dog too but Autumn is not sure if she has that one or not. I guess she has so many of them that her mom can't keep track of them either. In case you all forgot Autumn is my niece and her daughter is Brittany. I keep forgetting that you might not remember them. Sorry.

I guess Bill and I are going shopping for DIL's gifts today after church. I am not sure just what to get her but I am thinking of some maternity clothes. She is in need of them. I guess we are getting together some time before Christmas but I am not sure when. Shawn was over for a bit last night. I am not sure just what he is working this week before Christmas. It is so hard to believe that in a few days it is going to be Christmas. I am not sure just where all the time went. It seems like just a while ago that we were having it last year.

Eileen is having her surgery tomorrow morning. Or I should say afternoon. She has to be at the hospital late morning tomorrow so let us all keep her in our prayers for a safe surgery and a fast and pain free recovery. We are waiting to see if I am going up to her for a few days since neither one of us know what the weather is going to be like. When you live around here you never know what the weather is going to be  bringing. It can be sunny one minute and then the next you get 5 feet of snow dumped~kind of like when Carla shovels her sunshine, ours is just wet, white and heavy. That is the only difference in what we shovel. But I would rather have the sunshine to shovel. Just my own opinion but ask anyone that has the white stuff to shovel and I am betting that they would agree!

I better get going. I have to take my shower and put on my ton of make up to make me look presentable for church. I am sending love and hugs to all and special prayers are going up for everyone. Have a blessed day and remember to smile since this is the day the Lord has made and let us rejoice in it.