I’m going through withdrawal. I haven’t seen the ocean in 2 months.

 

  

Sign seen at office supply store:

All unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy!

 

“You wouldn’t believe how many parents let their children run wild in here. We just about added free kitty to the list too.” Clerk at office supply store.

We’re probably the closest to snow that we will get for this year. Upper 30s with some precipitation. Down 8 degrees or so and it would be snow. Alas, we live in south GA so it is highly unlikely to happen. Meanwhile in California they are losing the majority of their citrus crop to ice storms.

When the going gets cold, the cold drink cappucino. Since I don’t have a Timmys nearby, I brought home a can to make my own english toffee concoction.

and these new stamps will warm your heart

okay, enough of the cheesy pictures, and on to my office conversation pieces.

My grandparents had a really cool barometer which found an owner other than myself at the estate auction but I bought a similar one on ebay several years ago. It is supposed to be hung outside instead of a climate controlled area like my office but several weeks ago a low pressure system was moving in and this is what the barometer looked like:

If you look close you will see several droplets at the bottom of the neck. On a normal day, the water level is the same in the body as in the neck. When the pressure inside the glass builds, it forces the water up the spout. The only way that air can get out is through the neck. I also have a temperature gauge that is not very accurate, but pretty to look at:

The lowest floating glass bubble is supposed to be within 2 degrees but like I said, it is not very accurate. Who am I to complain…? I got it free from an office supply place with an order. I’m cheap like that. I also have 2 tool sets here that I got with other orders.

This weekend I will be staying with 4 boys ages 5-12 while their parents are gone for the weekend. Probably I’ll get in some basketball and football if I so desire. They love the refrigerator biscuit “donuts” so we’ll work that into the menu. Oh, and Andy Griffith, Buster Keaton and the old animated version of Gulliver’s Travels.

Have a blessed weekend! I’m sure mine will not be boring!!!

I’m not sure what the forecast for Ohio was on Tuesday but I’m pretty sure I know what the weather was like: gray and gloomy. Of course, in Florida the sun was beaming down with a gentle smile. Now onto other news not (directly) related  to sports…..

My weekend went from unplanned to chock full in about 20 minutes. Good thing I love spontaneity and have a flexible schedule (it helps that I’m single!). We were able to get a gym for volleyball tonight which is unusal for 2 weeks in a row. The other unusual thing is that we still have enough people to play even if some are gone for the weekend. Our youth group is small but several married couples hang out with us too which is great! The v-ball games are for whosover will come to play and tonight ought to be a big one.

I plan to go to a ladies conference tomorrow, the speakers being Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli. Last summer when I was at the beach for a week with a group of ladies we watched a video series by Dee and Kathy called Falling in Love with Jesus. The topic tomorrow is Living in Love with Jesus. Some of you may have read Dee’s book, The Friendships of Women. If you haven’t, I highly recommend it!

In the evening I plan to meet up with the others who are going to Savannah for a hockey tournament. Yes, we have live hockey this far south! It is an annual tournament between UGA, GA Tech, FSU and U of F. Of course, most of the players are from the northern states or Canada!! It is always fun to watch. Especially the last game, which is the 2 Georgia teams. Most people around here are fans of one team or the other, NOT both!

Oh, yes, umm we (Sharon and I) decided to invite 2 of the newest ladies in our church to go out to eat. We felt it was time to explain to them exactly what is appropriate as newbies to do or not to do. If you read Ginny’s site you noticed that we apparently got through to them. When you have such a large church as ours you have to make sure that things don’t get out of hand too early. You wouldn’t want them making themselves too much at home before you’ve really decided if you like them or not. Okay, okay!! I’m am totally kidding here! We assured them it fine to plan a cropping party at the church and they can initiate a lunch party (we expect to be included of course!! ) Seriously, they are great ladies and we are tickled to have them here. I anticipate many more good times ahead getting to know them better!

 

Yes, it’s great to be home again. But it really was a good week! Kind of a snowless one for as far north as I was but that did make traveling less complicated.

I left on Christmas Day flying from Savannah to Erie. I had a 3-hour layover in Detroit so I enjoyed a meal with my book at Chilis Too. The airport had a decent number of travelers for it being a major holiday. I arrived in Erie on time and was met by Lois. Before leaving the airport we were offered some goodies from a tray by an older janitor fellow. He had told Lois earlier which petit fours he had made. “This is a fancy airport,” he said of the small, 5 (?) gate airport.

Night shift with Lois the next two nights. I stayed up with her until 5 Tuesday morning and 3 on Wednesday morning. Good thing I got a half decent amount of sleep since Lois only had 1.5 hours due to a funeral and admitting a new resident. We headed out for Southern Ontario about 5 pm. Stopped at a Taco Bell for supper and they were in desperate need of a 1-800 call. No chicken, which I can understand since you never know exactly how many people will order chicken dishes but instead of mentioning it before you order, she would wait until you’ve perused the menu for several minutes, placed your order and then she’d say, “um, we don’t have any more chicken.” The floor was terribly littered. The pepsi and mtn. dew fountain drinks were spewing nothing but carbonated water. The drink area was terribly sticky and no, I am not overusing the word terribly!

We arrived at Wayne and Sheila’s place by 11. Got some chatting done and then headed to bed, after meeting their sweet little man Evan who woke up for his midnight snack. Slept in until 9:39 the next morning!! In the afternoon we did a little shopping in the small, friendly town of Milverton. Visited a little in the afternoon with Sheila’s mom and SIL Rachel and got to meet Dave and Rach’s cute little boy! Joyce and Sandra came over in the evening to chat a bit.

Friday afternoon went to Leon and Ruth’s place. Ruth took us on a tour of the 1880s house they are remodeling. I could really kick myself for not taking my camera along!!! It is quite a place and they are doing a great job with it. Can’t wait to see the finished project! In the evening we went out to eat for supper in honor of their oldest daughter’s 6th birthday. Afterward we went to Waterloo park to see the Christmas lights and take a short ride in a horse-drawn trolley. We stopped in at the Webers to see Phil and Marcia. Their baby was already sleeping so didn’t get to see him (other than pictures). Back to Wayne and Sheila’s place and enjoyed some hot tub time. A perfect ending to a lovely day.

Saturday Sharon came over for breakfast and we got to catch up on her life at Eagle’s Wings. We were privileged to hear some of her “bush time” experience. We headed back to PA, this time stopping in at Niagara, along with a whole passle of other people. Actually it wasn’t near as full as it is in the summer but crossing the border there took nearly an hour, even though our time with the customs agent took about 50 seconds.

I was given a gift certificate to Red Lobster so we really splurged and had a delicious meal. Their biscuits were even better than I remembered them to be!!

Sunday in PA, Monday flew back home. Nearly a hum-drum travel day until the last flight. We were all situated and nearly ready to leave on the plane in ATL and then they announced that there was a hydraulic leak that would take too long to fix so we had go the other end of the concourse (read: long walk – this is Atlanta) and eventually boarded another plane. Instead of arriving in Savannah at 7:30, it was close to 9. The NW agent said, no, they do not repair any zippers that get busted on suitcases. I asked what they do repair and he said only tears that you can see all the way through. Grrrr! I still may check with someone else on that.

Well, there you have it. I am typing under the influence of Nyquil so that probably explains why this update seems a little flat. I seem to have brought a cold back with me. Hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!! Now it’s time for me to do something I didn’t do in December: write a Christmas/end-of-the-year form letter.

Marylou

P.S. Oh, my! How could I forget to mention the Canadian cuisine such as Tim Hortons (english toffee cappucino for me), all-dressed chips (all the ruffles flavors combined), poutine, krispers, and one Harveys fast food restaurant is missing some vinegar packs that I brought along home to add to my fries at some later time. There is a link there for poutine which is also described by some as a “heart attack in a bowl.” The kid at the cash register at Harveys said the poutine was a good choice. When asked what kind of cheese was used he replied hesitantly, “Poutine cheese?” According to online sources it is white cheddar curds, the fresher the better.

 

 
The cool “water noodle” display at the Detroit airport.

After shopping in Milverton

Yours truly and Evan

Lois with Leon and Ruth’s girls

 
Sharon, Lois, Sheila and I before we left Ontario

 
The thundering falls at Niagara