Toward a New Year

Saying for the Day- Be very sure your anchor holds and grabs the solid rock.

We stand on the threshold of a brand new year ( unless, of course, we get one of those recycled one’s).
In that new year there will be changes.
New things will happen.
Old things will break down ( hopefully things and not people).
The one thing we know for sure is that things will change for both good and bad.
As years change we look for a constant, something to hang onto while everything else spins around us.

For me that constant is the love of God.
The God that sent his Son into the world will be there for me.
The God that broke into my life when I was very young will hang on to me.
The God that has been with me for all of my life and that has sustained me no matter what the years brought will be there.
God will continue to surprise me with unexpected miracles.
God will fill my life with his peace and joy.
I know this because of all the years in which God has done this for me.

So I face the new year with excitement waiting to see what new things God will do.

May all of your new years contain such wonder.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and people party– Tonight is the big night. The Fly Inn has its big party. They have even rigged a big Pigeon egg to drop from the roof right at 12:00. It’s not a big apple but it’s the next best thing made possible by small town creativity. One expects people will leave their own parties and fill the main street to see this unique event. It will be just like New York. Bob Johnson, the owner of the Fly Inn is doing everything possible to make sure it works. They plan on testing it at least twice today.
Last Lutheran is having a prayer service tonight from eleven to twelve. People should get out just in time to see the egg drop. From past experience, though, there won’t be many people at the service.
There will be small party , tonight , at the old Jupola place. Toivo and Eino and their families will gather there as they did when old Mr. Jupola was alive. They keep up the tradition. Pigeon Falls is very big on tradition.
One wonders if the dragon will show up and start a new tradition. That is , of course, a possibility. The White Rabbit could also make an appearance. A good night for Mrs. Trumble to go demon hunting.
A new year is coming for Pigeon Falls. Will it finally bring a solution to the White Rabbit and the Dragon mystery? Will the stone man be recovered. Will Tommy and Eino tell what they saw at the end of the track? Will Mrs. Trumble’s secret be revealed? Will the purpose of the occupation ever become clear? Is Mrs. Trumble Tommy’s long lost grandmother? Is Tommy really the undertaker’s kid. Will we keep asking stupid questions we never answer? Only the new year will tell.
*****
No Link until next Wednesday. Have a great New Year.
Went to another new church today, St. Mark's. They didn't have communion but otherwise it was a great experience. One of the members I knew from Crystal as he was a brother to a very good member and visited from time to time. In the afternoon Pat made another batch of saffron buns and his son made cupcakes. Then we played cards.
Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

NOTA day

Saying for the day:-Some days are more important than others and this is not one of those days.

Today is a nota day. They come every once in a while, usually sandwiched between two big holidays. You know…

Nota day to return things – we did that already.

Nota day for leftovers– we ate the last of them yesterday.

Nota day for big parties– those are held tomorrow night.

Nota day for cleaning– we are all cleaned out.

Nota day for visiting– who has the energy left?

Nota day for News Years resolutions– Monday we make and break those.

Nota day for writing great blogs-if there is such a day.

Nota day for blog visiting-most people aren’t writing.

I guess its just a nota day.
So I’ll spend it with my grandsons.
Perhaps we’ll go to a movie.

What have you planned for your nota day?

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and things are very quite for the moment.– Mrs. Smythe had a big welcome home party run by her neighbors. They put a big sign across the garage door. Nobody noticed until the celebration was almost over that they spelled welcome wrong. The Smythe’s were welomed home. But nobody really cared as there was plenty of good food and lots of Hawaii stories to be told. People really did miss the Smythes. Mrs. Smythe was so overwhelmed that she even started to cry at one point in the party, when they gave her the welcome home gift. She said that Pigeon Falls people are the nicest people in the world.
Nancy, who helped plan the party said that Tommy made the sign and she thinks he misspelled welcome on purpose. Tommy says he would never do a thing like that but there was a big smile on his face when he said it.
Toivo Jupola, Eino’s brother, was the toastmaster at the party. He knows more jokes than anybody else in town. One never knew there were so many Hawaii jokes. The one about the guy that was going to Hawaii but ended up in Alaska was really, really funny.
Eino didn’t go to the party. He was home going over the video tapes from the break in. He is still trying to figure out how they got the hermit statue out of the basement without it showing on the tape. Tommy told him he has to face the possiblity that it walked out on its own but Eino isn’t accepting that. He says that statues don’t come to life and break doors. It just doesn’t happen. Then Tommy reminds him of what they saw at the end of the track.
Plans continue for the big New Year’s Eve party at the Fly Inn. It will be the biggest party in town. One has to wonder if our dragon won’t be tempted to make an appearance. Mrs. Trumble may very well be waiting with a loaded shotgun. She’ll get that dragon yet.
****

Link for today: Echoes in a Nomade's Head-:-Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments to get those hollow JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your points ( not yet updated)

I over slept this morning so this post is a little late. There will be no link tomorrow or Monday.
Took my grandkids to a movie about dragons. It was great fun . Then we went to Peter's for a short time. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Some Sniblets for the Future

Saying for the Day: Truth is where you find it.

Yesterday I had my annual visions. After eating all the leftover beef and ham. After drinking three cans of diet cola. After eating all the remaining pie. I fell onto the couch and went into the required trance. These are the visions of Dr. John called sniblets. December 28, 2006
Sniblet I– First waking period
Vision 1.
“I saw a small tree crying. It was surrounded by laughing donkeys. The harder it cried the more the donkeys laughed. Then I saw that they were being watched by a huge crowd of people who were shaking their heads.”
Might have something to do with global warming.
Vision 2
“I saw sand. Lots of sand . It was pouring down and people tried to stop it. I heard voice crying “ stop the sand” , “ Understand the sand’, and “ Join the sand” . Then I saw a globe and the sand poured from the mid-East all over the globe and still nothing stopped it.’
Might have something to do with global warming
Vision 3
“ I saw a horse with no legs trying to move. It was getting thinner and thinner because there was no food. Then there were hundreds of horses with no legs and people were throwing pond scum on them. The horses grew legs and carried stuff.”
Might have something to do with global warming.

Sniblet II– Second waking period
Vision 1.
“ I saw people killing birds, hundreds and hundreds of birds. The people were sickly and looked like they would die. They kept crying “ Kill the birds” but still more birds came.”
Perhaps some kind of new religious movement?
Vision 2.
“I saw a fence, a very long fence. It was gray with red here and there. People were climbing over the fence and crawling under the fence. Other people where crying “ shame, shame” The crawlers and the climbers paid no attention. But then a helicopter came and shot the crawlers and the climbers but still they came . They could not be stopped.”
Could be a football stadium?
Vision 3.
“I saw a plane with no wings and yet it flew. It flew fast but there was no fuel. It circled the globe ten times and landed in my backyard. Then it developed legs and ran away. A voice said “ Behold the plane of no wings and many legs and save it or we perish”. Then another plane with no legs and using no fuel landed in my backyard and it grew no legs. A voice said “ behold the plane with no wings and no legs. Destroy it or we perish”.
Could it have something to do with future of transportation?

Then I fell into a deep sleep. Thus ending this years visions. I’ll wait for Petrovich to return and interpret them.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run and so do ACLU lawyers– THE ACLU sent a lawyer today. He went to talk to Mrs. Trumble before starting a suit in county court to force her to take down the manger scene in front of the Town Hall. She told him they were breaking no law and so the manger would stay. He read her three pages of court decisions that stated clearly that governmental units could not display religious symbols on public property. That’s when she explained to him that the land in front of the Town hall didn’t belong to the town it belonged to Eino Jupola. Mr. Jupola had no problem with the manger scene. Then he went into great detail on how it was against the law for governmental units to display religious symbols even on private property. That’s when she told him that the manger scene didn’t belong to the town. It belonged to her. It had been in the family for years. It had never belonged to the town. Now a private citizen can still put out a manger scene on private property in this country even if you don’t like it, she said to the lawyer. As he came out of the Town Hall he looked up to see the dragon coming at him with fire pouring from his mouth. He ran as fast as he could to the train station and the dragon headed back to the woods. One doubts we will hear from him again. Mrs. Trumble says this does not change her attitude toward the dragon.
The question that bothers people now is who called the ACLU. Everybody seems to like the manger scene where it is. Who would want to make trouble? Nancy says she has asked lots of people over coffee and nobody will fess up to doing it. But somebody must have. One guesses we have to put it in the mystery box with the dragon and the hermit statue.
***

Today's Link: Suej224- Please remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those educational JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
Today we draw a JCPOINTS winner for the last time in 2006. Next year our pic a prizes will be even more priceless.

Betty is drawing and the winner is


Quilldancer


Congratulations Quilldancer- Because you are the last winner in 2006 you can ignore the instructions and pick two prizes from the PIC A PRIZE list. Quilldancer had 1138 chances of being drawn as opposed to our top JCPOINTS person who has 2339 chances. Changes are coming in 2007. New prizes! New JCPOINTS. nEW! NEW! NEW!
In the Linna house nothing everr goes the way I plan it. I had planned on going to Green Bay today and visiting my grandkids that live there. I was also going to visit and old friend, Ralph, whose son is in the hospital there. But then my other son decided to come a day early and so we had to wait for him to come in. But now the boys are here and it has been fun. They opened their Christmas gifts. We have a toy called Grab It that we were going to use but it won't run. But now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Meet and Greet

Saying for the day- There is nothing worse than a bad doctor.

Next Tuesday we have a "meet and greet" with a possible doctor. We have never had to do this before. In Crystal when we came there was no choice. You took the doctor that was there and that was that. But now we have to find a doctor. I have no idea what questions to ask in a “meet and greet session. So I am drawing up a list and thinking about it . Here are my questions so far.
1. How many of your patients died last year?
2. How cold are your hands?
3. Are you gay?
4. How much do you drink?
5. What kind of vacation time do you take?
6. What is the person like who covers for you when you are gone?
7. Which hospital takes your patients?
8. Do you know everything?
9. Have you ever made a mistake?
10. How many law suits are pending against you?

Those should be good for ice breakers.
What do you think?

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and people are happy most of the time– Mrs. Trumble sent a registered letter to the ACLU. It reads as follows. “ Dear ACLU, Drop dead! I’ve broken no laws. Don’t fight with me or you’ll be sorry.

M rs. J.W. Trumble, Mayor Pigeon Falls “
Eino tried to talk her into a gentler, kinder, letter but she ignored him. She says that she knows what she is doing and she won’t lose.
Nancy says that the people coming into the coffee shop are all supporting Mrs. Trumble. They like the manger scene and don’t want it removed. The conflict is selling lots of coffee.
Nobody has seen the white rabbit or the dragon since well before Christmas. People sort of miss them. Mrs. Trumble says if they show up again she won’t miss them. She is going to get the council to end Tommy’s silly law so she can shoot the White Rabbit.
Tommy says that he may have made a mistake giving an old lady power like that. But then she is doing well in everything else.
Petrovich has gone to Russia , for his retreat, to study some manuscripts in an old monastery. He is still convinced the truth lies in those driblets. But he wants to see the originals and not a copy.
Tommy and Eino want to meet with Dr. Fortress because he has to know what they know about the occupation. So far he has argued that he is too busy to meet with them.
One wonders what the new year will hold for Pigeon Falls. Will the town learn what Eino and Tommy know. Will the hermit thing ever be explained. Will Petrovich return? And what about Mrs. Schmidt?
*****

Today's link-Nutmeg Religion Journal- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those angelic JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
Did some blogging today. found out we are losing Starbender who has brought laughter to our dull lives. She has taken a new job. She will be missed. Betty and I went food shopping. It is always interesting to see how nice people are to a man with a walker. Tomorrow we may go to Green Bay and visit my grandchildren. May take my grandaughter to a movie. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

To be a Yooper

Saying for the Day: Once a Yooper always a Yooper.

I saw this thing by Jeff Foxworthy on Cindy's blog and realised that it could be adjusted to fit Yoopers, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. So here is

What it means to be a Yooper.

1. If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in the Upper Peninsula .

2. If the ice cream stand is closed from October through May, you might live in the UP

3. If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you might live, bundled up, in Upper Michigan

4. If someone in a the hardware store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in the UP. (doesn't everyone do this?)

5.If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving a round the middle of his forehead, you might live in the UP.

6.If you have worn shorts and a parka on the same day, you might live n the UP.

7. If you have had a lengthy phone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in the UP . (usually they're people from the south when this happens and they are so much fun to chat with- even if you don't know them)


YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE Yooper When

"Vacation" means going South to Green Bay for the weekend.

You measure distance in hours. (we are one hour from Marquette, almost 3 hours from Green Bay almost 5 from Duluth...)

You know several people who have hit a deer more than once. (just about everyone I know)

You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again. (mostly in our vehicles)

You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching. (blizzard? You call that a blizzard?)

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked. (yup)

You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend/wife knows how to use them.(we know how to change oil and tires, too)

You have taken a sauna and rolled in the snow or jumped in an icy lake

You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. (just about every year)

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow. (for certain)

You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter,

You can identify a southern or eastern accent. (ya sure!)

Down South to you means Milwaukee.

Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed ! (this includes the new shop on the farm)

You go out for a fish fry every Friday. (just about)

Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost. (due to snow one year)

You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

You find 10 degrees "a little chilly."

You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to
All your Yooper friends and to those who used to live
here and left. --(chickens!)

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run and life goes on as normal– Mrs. Trumble got a certified letter from the ACLU today demanding that the manger scene in front of the town hall be removed. Clutching “Dragon Slayer” she said “ Let them try to remove it”. Look out ACLU Mrs. Trumble is coming and she fights dragons without hesitation.
Eino has gone over and over the tape from the break in at the garage when the hermit statue was stolen and he still doesn’t have a clue as to how they did it. The closet door was broken from the inside, only one person was seen on the tape and he was leaving . More than that he wasn’t dragging any statue . It just makes no sense.
Mrs. Schmidt is coming home tomorrow. All her kids are coming for a big New Year’s party to make up for missing Christmas. She has a million pictures from Hawaii to share and can hardly wait. The only thing as good as a vacation is sharing it with others even if they don’t want it to be shared.
The Fly Inn is getting ready for its annual New Year’s bash. It will be the biggest party in town. They are even bringing in a first class band from Madison, the Dorothy Heralds. It will be a night to remember.
Petrovich is going on a retreat to study the old Russian driblets to see where he went wrong. It could just be a matter of date. He is still convinced that Pigeon Falls is coming to its end. But it sure looks as if he is wrong. The government is even paying to keep the trains running for the next two years which sure makes it look like Pigeon Falls will be around for a few years anyway.
*****

Today's link-Serenity Quest- Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those Sexy JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
Today we went looking for a new doctor. We have a meet the Dr. appointment for next Tuesday at a health center just about a mile from here. Then we went shopping . We bought some figures for the next lay out. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Happy birthday Chris - a day late

Saying for the day: It is good to be remembered even if its a little late.

Yesterday was my little sister’s birthday. Those are pictures of her in the upper right corner. It tends to get forgotten because of that other holiday. It’s tough being born on Christmas. You never get to have a birthday party on your birthday. It always has to be a few days earlier or a few days later. Then there are all those tightwad relatives that give you birthday/Christmas gifts. Even brother’s like me tend to forget sometimes its your birthday.
My sister was born with a hole in her heart and we weren't sure she would ever celebrate a birthday. My mother literally loved her to life. She is so much younger than me that she was like an older sister to my kids and my other sister’s kids who spent a lot of time at grandma’s house.
The good thing about a Christmas birthday is that when you reach the age that you would just as soon forget birthdays all together you can. Unless, of course, you have a brother who remember the day after.
Well Sis happy birthday the day after. I hope your birthday went well and you got lots of birthday/Christmas gifts.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run and life is good most of the time– It was a very nice Christmas in Pigeon Falls. Pastor Marvel’s sermon may not have been the greatest Christmas sermon ever but it was very good. The congregation went away with visions of the miracle which is Christmas . They felt the love that God has for them.
Families gathered and laughed and shared and sometimes fought a bit , if that was their tradition. The “occupation”,, the stone hermit, the White Rabbit, the dragon, the Bishop and all were forgotten for the moment. Even Petrovich, who put aside the driblets for the day, was able to celebrate.
Mrs. Schmidt called home from Hawaii and sounded as happy as one could be.
Nancy enjoyed having the day off and having someone else do the cooking.
Eino and bother Toivo gathered in the old family home as they have for years and shared memories of long ago Christmas’s which of course were better than anything we have today.
All across Pigeon Falls people rejoiced .
It was a special Christmas for the Kirkala’s because at 1 o’clock Christmas day there newest grandchild was born. Their son Bob and his wife Nancy, who live in Chicago, had a baby boy. What a great Christmas gift.
*****

We will get back to the daily links tomorrow.
Today i worked at the fine art of doing nothing because I had nothing to do. By evening I had the nothing thing done pretty well. Now I need a brteathing treatment.
GBYA

Yes its Christmas Day

Merry Christmas bloggers



Have a wonderful day

Christmas Cards

Here is a bit of the Linna family Christmas history as seen in old Christmas cards.








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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run and Christmas is a special time-Mrs. Schmidt called Nancy this morning to tell her how wonderful Hawaii was.” There is no snow “ she said at least three times. “ I’m going to have a green Christmas”. She said she even bought a Christmas tree ornament in the local store so she can remember the day. It is a palm tree with gifts underneath. The only thing she is going to miss is Pastor Marvel’s Christmas sermon. They seem to get better every year.
Poor Pastor Marvel has two services this morning and then two more tonight. But he has “ the greatest Christmas Eve sermon ever” done. He will be worn out by Christmas morning and then he has one more service.
All across Pigeon Falls people are getting ready to celebrate the birth of Christ in their own way. Some will go to church twice today. Some won’t go at all. Some will have big family gatherings for others they will be small.
There are lots of family traditions here. Traditions that cover when you open gifts , Eve or day. What you have at your feast. When you put up your tree. Some still put it up on Christmas Eve.
But for all the residents the past year is put aside and the miracle which is and always has been Christmas is all that is really important.
******

No links until next Wednesday. Have a blessed Christmas.
We did some house cleaning. I visited all the links . We went to Christmas Eve service. It was wonderful to take Holy Communion after such a long absence. Cominh home we tried to make a batch of saffron buns but nobody watched the bread machine and it kicked into bake before we caught it. We lost about half the batch. The buns we got tasted different. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

So I borrow

Saying for the day: If you can't think of anything then borrow.

Learn a little about me..( taken from ArtsyTartsyViray)

1. How tall are you barefoot?
5'5" I used to be 5’9”

2. Have you ever smoked heroin?
I don’t smoke heroin . I smoke Salmon.

3. Do you own a gun?
Wouldn‘t have a gun in the house? Do own a baseball bat.!

5. Did you get nervous before "meeting the parents"?
Yes . Every time. ( Even after we got married)

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
Great as long as they are no fat.

7. What's your favorite Christmas song?
Silent Night sung at the late church service.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
COFFEE!!!

9. Can you do push ups?
I can hardly do stand ups.

10. Is your bathroom clean?
Wrong person to ask I don’t clean. I mess.

11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
A Cross my son gave me in the hospital.

12. Do you like painkillers?
They never seem to work for me...

13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
You gotta be kidding.

14. Do you hate any of your exs?
I can’t remember any.

15. Do you have a dog?
Almost

16. Middle Name?
James

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
Why am I doing this?. This is stupid. Why am I doing this?

18? Believe in Santa
Yes and once I was him.

19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink:
COFFEE, ORANGE JUICE, Diet Rite

20. What time did you wake up today?
4:30AM

22. Current worry?
Not a worry in the world

23. Current hate?
Snow and cold and ice

24. Favorite place to be?
Snuggled in next to Betty.

25. Least favorite place to be?
Dr’s Office

27. Do you own slippers?
SURE

28. What shirt are you wearing be specific?
My plaid nightshirt

29. Do you burn or tan?
Burn

30. Favorite color(s)?
Green

31. Would you be a pirate?
No. Too much work and I get seasick.

32. What songs do you sing in the shower?
Never sing in the shower.

34. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
I never was afraid because my dog was there to protect me.

35. What's in your pockets right now?
I HAVE NO POCKETS RIGHT NOW..

36. Last thing/person that made you laugh?
Betty and I trying to sing for our Christmas greeting. It took four trys.

37. Best bed sheets you had as a child?
I must have had one but who can remember back that far.

38. Worst injury you've ever had?
My arm pulled out of its socket and tore up the muscles.

39. If you could cheat on your spouse, would you?
No! When you are married to the most wonderful woman in the world what could possible attract you to cheat?!

40. Are your parents still together?
Same cemetery.

41. Who is your loudest friend?
Jack

42. Who is your most silent friend?
Ralph

43. Does someone hate you?
I guess so. But I don't hate anybody.

44. Do you wish on shooting stars?
No

45. What is your favorite book?
Anything by C.S. Lewis.

46. What is your favorite candy?
Milky way

47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding?
I can’t remember what song was played.

48. What song do you want played at your funeral?
“The Wicked Old Witch is dead” from the Wizard of Oz.

49. What were you doing 12 AM last night?
SLEEPING

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
Everything hurts so I’m still alive.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where trains still run and life might be good at least until after Christmas– Pigeon Falls got a light dusting of snow last night and looks like something out of a storybook. In fact it would make a great painting. Too bad Norman isn’t around to paint anymore. Eino’s son , always looking to make a buck., is running horse drawn sleigh rides out into the country. ( Well its really a wagon but who quibbles ). The recent occupation by the army seems like ancient history and people are getting ready for Christmas/
Mrs. Schmidt called home from Hawaii and everything is going well. She is finally going to have her Christmas dream.
Eino has decides not to worry about White Rabbits , dragons, or hermits until after Christmas.
Pastor marvel is writing the greatest Christmas sermon ever and will be ready for Christmas. Mrs. Marvel wishes he would spend less time on the sermon and more time helping her get everything else ready.
Nancy is going to close her place on Christmas day and spend Christmas with the relatives. She is bringing a whole bag of saffron buns. Uncle Bob is bringing a blueberry pie and the feast will be great.
Mayor Trumble has put a big manger scene in front of town hall and said “Poo on the ACLU” but nobody has complained.
The milk train came in this morning , right on time. The upper track is back in operation.
Life is good.
*****

No links until next Wednsday enjoy the holiday.
In the morning I got up late. I did the blog. Then we went over the Christmas list. After lunch we ventured out of the Fortress shopping. We went to six stores and we didn't get lost once, which is a record for us. I even got a Christmas gift for the dog so don't let him read this. Now I think we are really done. Got back in time to find that we had received two more suprise gifts. And some wonderful mail. One of Betty's friends sent a letter telling what is happening in the Tops Club and the Church. She has been asked to help out with the secretary's job because the secretary quit. Nothing ever stays the same. Tomorrow we will go to the Christmas Eve service at the church we attended last Sunday because it is close to the house. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Merry Christmas Sort Of

Legal Preamble From the Linna Family(Hereinafter called the family or Wishor) To our relatives, friends, a few enemies, and a guy we met on the street (herineafter called the wishee), Please accept without obligation , express or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, politically correct, low stress, non addictive, gender –neutral celebration of the winter stolstice holiday practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious/ secular persuasions and / or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all… and a financially successful , personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but with due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures or sects. This greeting implies no promise by the Wishor to actually implement any of the wishes for the Wishee, Any references implied in this greeting to a deity shall not imply any endorsement by or from said deity in respect to this greeting. The same may be said for any other traditionally festive figures, whether actual or fictitious, dead or alive. All statements made concerning the year of the Wishor are to be considered true within the broadest range of the understanding of truth.
Having read that.


We wish you

a Blessed Christmas

And a

Happy New Year

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and life has returned to normal.– Lots of excitement in Pigeon Falls last night. Somebody broke into Eino Garage and stole the stone hermit statue. In so doing they set off all the alarms and seemed to have gotten caught on video. The problem is that the video doesn’t show anybody going in but only leaving. Further the closet door in the basement where the statue was kept seems to have been broken out from the inside rather than in from the outside. The video shows a man leaving the garage that looks a bit like the hermit and there is a piece missing from his shoe. Eino says that he hasn’t figured out how they did this. He doesn’t know how they got the statue out without the statue being seen. There is no way one man could have done it but there are no others in the video. Just another one of those mysteries.
Mrs. Schmidt is all excited because she And her husband are leaving tomorrow on the early train for the airport in Iron Mountain. Then they will fly to Hawaii and she will finally live out her dream of a : “Warm Christmas”.
Dr. Fortress ran a free train today for anybody who wanted to go Christmas shopping in Iron Mountain. There were even cars there to take them where they wanted to go. It was all paid for, according to Dr. Fortress by Homeland Security because people didn’t have the opportunity to shop while they were quarantined. Perhaps, the government has a heart after all.
Tommy, Eino, and Mrs. Trumble met last night and talked about what Tommy and Eino had seen at the end of the tracks. They decided it might be best at this time not to tell anybody since they were probably not going to be believed anyway. This is true since the trestles seemed to be back even if slightly askew. Tommy can’t understand how one day they could be gone and the next day be back. It could be they were all hallucinating.
Nancy says that people would like to have answers but don’t think they are going to get any. So most of them are just going to celebrate Christmas and go on with their life.
Will we ever know what Tommy and Eino saw? Will the trestles disappear again? Will anybody ever explain the quarantine? What is Mrs. Schmidt giving her husband for Christmas?
*****

No link for the day until next Wednesday so go have fun. Of course if you want to leave the words Dr. John here and there that’s ok.
I sent out some Christmad Greetings this morning. Then we went shopping. My daughter drove and she says we didn't get lost but the building we were going to had moved or something because it wasn't there. That was as good as lost. Then we got to two stores and did Christmas and grocery shopping. I think the Christmas shopping is just about done. Well I need a breathing treatment. ( Esther I need your E-mail address)
GBYA

Surprise

Saying for the day- A gift that surprises is remembered.

In the last week we have had two surprise Christmas gifts.
Surprise gifts are the ones you tend to remember.
This got me to thinking about gifts and surprises.
Over the years my parents gave me a lot of Christmas gifts but I can’t remember most of them.
But one year I asked for a movie screen.
It was all I really wanted. I had a camera and I had a projector.
But I had to project on the wall.
My mother said it was too expensive and that I didn’t need it.
I was sure they would get it anyway.
So when my parents would go to my aunt’s to play canasta and leave us to take care of the foster babies I would look.
I looked in my mother’s closet.
I looked under my parent’s bed.
I looked in every hiding place I could think of including the basement and the coal bin.
There was no screen.
You can’t easily hide something that big.
There were lots of presents, all wrapped, my parents knew we were nosey.
I was sure that I wasn’t getting the screen and to be honest I was disappointed.
So Christmas morning came and there at the bottom of my pile ( I had a pile) was one long box.
I was so surprised .
It was like magic.
I had my screen.
Later I asked my mother where she had hidden it .
It was under my bed the whole time.
It was hidden in plain sight or almost plain sight.
That’s the way it was with that first Christmas.
God sent his gift to us hidden in plain sight.
The promised gift was given but not the way it was expected.
Christmas is an always has been a time of surprises.
May God bless you all.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and normal things are strange-Day six of what Mrs. Trumble calls “ The occupation”. It was a strange night in Pigeon Falls. Thomas Billings coming out of the Fly Inn at one in the morning swears that the light poles vanished and then returned. People all across the town said that they felt funny. Sort of like riding a roller coaster for just a moment.
This morning the General took his troops , loaded them into the train and left. He told Mrs. Trumble the quarantine was over. He gave no other explanation.
At the same time the telephone service came back on. It was almost as if the week never took place. The troops left on a special addition to the morning milk train.
Dr. Fortress met with Mrs. Trumble at the town hall. He told her that the government had given him a grant from the “ Railroad Extension Act “ that will cover operations for the next two years and is renewable after that so they wouldn’t need to get state aid or a third party investment. For a short time the train would continue running on the lower tracks as it had for the last week. The mountain track that runs through Crippled Creek is out of commission. It seems that a trestle has shifted a foot and there is a break in the track. It will take a week or so to fix that. The mountain track is more the tourist route and not used for supplies or day to day activity.
Mrs. Schmidt is going to go to Hawaii unless something else goes wrong.
It is starting out to be a great day in Pigeon Falls. Will we every know why the troops occupied Pigeon Falls. What did Tommy and Eino see? Why is the trestle off a half a foot? Has the government bribed Dr. Fortress? Will these stupid questions ever stop?
*****

Today’s link-No more links until next Wednesday. Go Christmas shopping. Go see a movie. Go to a play. Have fun
In the morning Apria came with my new oxygen filler so now I can fill little tanks to take in the car and we can leave the big clunker at the house. I sent an e-mail to my Bishop who read it and jumped as Bishops will to a wrong conclusion and E-mailed me. I had to send another as a corrective. I will learn. Betty wrapped Christmas gifts and we are almost done. Then we made a couple of little videos but I have no sound on my machine so I don't know how they came out. I know I look bad in both of them but then I always look bad. I need a camera that will make me look good. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Saffron Buns

Saying for the Day- There are few things in this world as good as a saffron bun.
One of my saffron bun receipes

ST. LUCIA BUNS (SAFFRON BUNS)
INGREDIENTS
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup margarine
2/5 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed saffron

2-1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast or bread machine yeast
1 beaten egg
1 tablespoon water
Raisins
sugar
Add the first 9 ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's dough cycle directions. When cycle is complete, remove dough from pan. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 24 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, shape dough into traditional shapes.
Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise about 3 minutes or till nearly double. Mix egg and water; brush onto buns. Place a raisin in the center of each coil. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 375° oven about 10 minutes or till golden. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 buns.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and soldiers sit on the main street– Day five of “The Occupation” as named by Mrs. Trumble .Despite all of her requests the General in charge has not seen fit to explain anything to the good Mayor. Nobody knows why the soldiers are here or why they can’t leave the town.
Mrs. Schmidt is now sure her dream trip to Hawaii is off. If you can’t get out of Pigeon Falls then you can’’t get to Hawaii. She is also worried because her children call every day and of course they haven’t been able to call since this whole weird thing began. She is beginning to believe that it was done just to keep her from going.
Toivo and Eino haven’t told anybody about their trip out. For the moment they are keeping secret whatever it is that they saw.
The train comes in every day and brings supplies just as it always has only now it is guarded by soldiers. They unload everything and check it over. One wonders if they are looking for a bomb . They are from Homeland Security after all.
Nancy, whose coffee is back up to $.50 is running out of saffron.. She used a lot on St. Lucia’s day which was December 13. Saffron buns are part of the celebration of that day. Now she can’t order any more saffron with no telephone or internet connection. She could of course order it snail mail. But she is not sure that the mail the soldiers are taking is actually being sent. They have only the General’s word on that.
Will this “occupation” ever end. What about Christmas? What did Eino and Tommy see? Where is the dragon when you need him?
******

Link for today-Crazy Mad Englishwoman- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments to get those crazy JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total. The prizes can bbe seen HERE.
If you want a great explanation of where we got the tradition of the Christmas Tree from then goto Lazy Blogger. He explains it today.
We are doing a special Wednesday drawing this morning to give away the rest of the Christmas prizes. No choices. winner gets all the Christmas ones.

Betty has drawn.

The winner is


Starbender


Congratulations Starbender. Starbender had 425 chances of being drawn as against 2332 for the person with the most chances.This time the prize will get to you if I have to carry it there myself.
We started the day trying to get postage printed at home. It looks so easy in the Post Office commercials but it isn't. First there are all the usual blanks to fill out. Then you discover that Priority Mail is the lowest price you can get . No parcel post. So I filled out the blanks and my credit card refused the charge. Twice it refused the charge without any reason. So I went to the credit card internet site and discovered that they hadn't changed my address. I changed it through the site and then went back to the Post Office site. Now it accepted the card and printed the label. But it runied one good label by printing the instructions on it. By the time we got the two packages labeled the mailman had come and gone. So now we have scheduled a pick up for tommorow. In the mail we got a wonderful suprise Christmas gift that we did not in any way expect. There are really nice people in this world. In the afternon we went shopping. This time we did get some more of our Christmas shopping done so that's good. Now we have been trying to get the inhouse network Peter set up to work and it won't. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Labels, labels, labels

Saying for the day: For lack of a label the kingdom was lost.

When I was in my first parsonage I took movies.
I wanted to use some of the movies from our first parsonage Christmas on this blog.
The problem is that those movies are in 8mm and not on video tape.
I need to send them to a company that will transfer them to a DVD.
I stand ready to do that but there was a problem.
The boxes with the movies were stored somewhere in my son's garage, in boxes that were not clearly labeled.
So Peter had a hard time finding them.
But he did and he brought them here and I rejoiced.
In two boxes are pictures of long dead relatives, of Christmas's past, of my children's childhood.
Pictures I want to share.

So I opened the treasure boxes and discovered reel after reel of 200 feet of film.
They were all nicely spliced.
The only problem is they have no labels.
I have no idea of what is on which reel.
Labeling is one of those things I was going to do when I got a round to it.
Now in Crystal Falls, where the projector is, this would be no problem.
I would slip the movie in the projector and run a few feet then I would know what it was.
But the projector is in Crystal Falls ( not Pigeon Falls) and we are in Neenah.
I am sitting on a gold mine of images and I have nothing to mine them with.
There are far too many and I am very much too poor to send them all in to be converted.
So I sit here frustrated and unhappy because long ago I didn't take the five minutes I would have needed to label each reel as I finished it.
I feel so stupid.
Label , label, label or you will be sorry.

@@@@
News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and the US army is in control– This is Day Four of what Mrs. Trumble is calling the” occupation“. Nobody from the town has been to the outside world and nobody from the outside world has been to the town since the “ occupation” began.
Petrovich is staying home since some people are blaming him for all of this. When Nancy asked him if he had anything to do with this he said “ Do I look like a shaman priest that I can make things happen? I just read the prophecy that’s all. I just read the prophecy”. Nancy figures it would take more than a shaman priest to get the army involved. Something else has to be going on.
Yesterday Eino met Tommy at the storage shed for the railroad’s speeder. It is at the end of an unused siding. Dr. Fortress left it there when they were working on the trestle at crippled creek. Eino and Tommy broke the lock on the shed and then Eino got the speeder started. Then they headed for Iron Mountain through the Crippled Creek pass. It took about fifteen minutes to reach the pass and they figured to be in Iron Mountain by early afternoon. Coming out of the pass , however, they made two discoveries. First the trestles and tracks were gone, vanished. Second in the distance they could see something they could not believe and should not be able to see. They rode the speeder back in silence. By late in the evening they were back in their respective homes both shaken by what they had seen.
****

Today's Link- One Guy's Thoughts- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those dreamy JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
It was a good day. I finally added to my links , The Old Fart. Jan, and Happy and Blue2. I fixed Josie's link. I did some blog visiting. We got the last of the Christmas cards out and three packages. Then we went shopping and bought nothing . This does not help our Christmas gift situation. We are just doomed to fail this year. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Monday before Christmas

Saying for the Day: You can not give a nicer gift than a good comment.

Twas the Monday before Christmas and all through the blog
Not a creature was stirring not even the frog
The saying was hung so neat at the top
In hopes that nice comments soon would drop
With ma at her keyboard and I at mine too
We waited for comments from people like you.
Its been a good week with comments galore
But still one could hope for more and yet more
The best of the week and worth JCPOINTS too
Was the poem about Petrovich by Javanagogh
But it’s a new week and time for the new
We need more comments from people like you
Leave long ones or short ones or medium too
About how you feel they will give us a clue
An now I exclaim fore I drop out of sight
Happy Comment Monday to all and to all a good night.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and the army is in control– Day three of what Mrs. Trumble is calling “ The Occupation” began quietly enough. During the night the Tonkin place returned, if it was ever really gone. Mrs. Tonkin said that yesterday the soldiers wouldn’t let them out of the house. With the return of the Tomlin’s the half a barn and the cornfield have vanished.
Could it be that whatever is keeping the town quarantined is causing mass hallucinations? Certainly whole houses and half barns can’t just pop in and out.
Tommy didn’t show up for school today and his parents are worried. Eino, of course, knows where he has gone because he told Eino yesterday. In fact Eino knows the whole plan.
Now Eino is missing. His brother says he went home to get some parts for a car and will be back this afternoon. That satisfied the soldier who asked where he was. Nobody can leave town because every road is guarded.
Mrs. Trumble is demanding from the General in charge that the town be given some kind of reason for this occupation. The General disliked the term “occupation” but gave her no reason. He says it is for the good of the nation and she just has to believe him. Mrs. Trumble has threatened to have him broken down to private when she finally gets to her political friends.
Other than that life in Pigeon Falls is pretty normal.
*****

Link for the Day:Intelligent Gal's View on Life... Remember to leave the words DR. John in the comment to get those high IQ JCPOINTS. Check your totals HERE.
..Now I am going to try to visit all my links and a ferw others that should be links but I procrastinate.
Almost forgot we need to pick a Pic a Prize winner.

Betty is drawing.

And the winner is...

Going to be announced in just a minute.

She is reading the slip.


Little drum role , please.


The winner is



W.J. Christopher


Congratulations W. J. Christopher (artist extrordinary) now go to PIC A Prize and pick your prize or prizes and leave the numbers is a comment. W.C Christoper had 115 chances of being drawn against the top person who has 2323 chances. Wow now that's luck.
I didn't get to as many blogs as I wanted as blogger was very slow at opening the comment sections. But I did try.
I also did another sixteen Christmas cards, got my sister's Christmas gift ready to mail, and went shopping fot a Christmas gift for my daughter. Now I need a breathing treatment .
GBYA

Tigger on Toast

Saying for the day: The best songs are the new songs.

My daughter has a toaster that burns an image of Tigger ( from Whinny the Pooh) onto the toast.
It also plays a little tune when the toast is ready.
My five year old grandson thought this was so great he made up a song, the Tigger son.
It went Tigger… Tigger… Tigger on toast.
This was repeated until he was distracted by something else.
But then he decided grandpa should sing it with him.
He thinks grandpa can sing , poor kid.
Then he wanted his aunt to make a movie of us singing “his song”.
So because I had nothing else for the blog this morning here is Luke’s “Tigger on Toast”.
The camera Penny has doesn’t do great sound so listen carefully.

Now I have to go look for a church.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and nobody can leave.– This is the second day of what Mrs. Trumble is now calling “ The Occupation’. The town is under control of the army and not just any army but highly trained special forces. Nobody can enter and nobody can leave. All contact with the rest of the world has been cut off.
Aside from that life is going on as usual. The school is open and the kids went to class. The stores are open and Nancy’s coffee shop is doing plenty of business. Yesterday she served record amounts of $.25 coffee , a lot of it to soldiers who couldn’t believe the price. She tried getting information from them with no luck at all. No one is telling why the town is quarantined.
Eino watched the news programs on television to see if he could get some information. WBAY out of Green Bay said that the government was running some kind of test of National Security and people were banned from an area just below Green Bay and that there was a similar ban on an area in Upper Michigan. Attempts by reporters to enter the area had been rebuffed. The announcer felt that these were strange places to be testing national security. There was no mention of a quarantine in the news cast.
Tommy stopped in to see Eino and told him he had a plan to get out of Pigeon Falls and find out what is going on. Eino told him not to take chances but to let the adults work it out.
Then there is the Tonkin place. The Tonkins lived just outside of Pigeon Falls and this morning , according to their neighbor, the place vanished. First it was there and then it seemed to glow. Then it was gone. In its place there was part of a corn field and what looks like half a barn. Since this is not possible it must be some kind of illusion. Houses don’t vanish. Whatever virus they have must be causing them to see things. It is also causing them to not see things as nobody has seen any of the Tonkins since yesterday.
Other than seeing things nobody seems any sicker than usual. The town hypochondriac is now she is sure she is dying of the pigeon flue. According to her she has all the symptoms. She is convinced that soon everybody will have it.
Will all of Pigeon Falls vanish? Do they have some new kind of bird flue? Will Tommy escape? Will we ever know?
*****
Today's link-Right Brained Girl- Rememeber to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those sad JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
We got everybody up and made it to church on time. It is a nice church not far from where we live now. The pastor is a bit long winded but the people were friendly. The only thing that bothered me was they have Communion only twice a month. After church we went to a place where the kids got to jump on things filled with air. They had a woinderful time. By the time we got home Peter and his wife were there. He worked up an in house network so that all the computers can now share things like pictures. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Christmas Train

Saying for the Day: A tree without a train is not a Christmas Tree.

This year we decided to run one of the Fantasy trains around the tree. This is the frog special. - @@@@

News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where trains still run , at least until February– Tommy, the undertaker’s kid got up early this morning. It was almost like Christmas. He looked out the window and the town seemed to still be there. There was an eerie blue mist rescinding to the swamp but otherwise everything seemed normal enough. He dressed quickly and took his big red wagon and went down to the railroad station. He watched the milk train come in. Mrs. Trumble had negotiated a last minute deal with Dr. Fortress that would keep the train running until March .The train , this morning, had three passenger cars which was in itself unusual for this time of year. Out of the cars came soldiers that fanned out through the town. The sound of helicopters could be heard overhead as jeeps were lowered from the sky. Tommy knew that something was wrong but had no idea of what it could be. Everything looked normal. He even counted the light poles to be sure they were all there. Mrs. Trumble arrived at the Town Hall to find a General waiting for her. She was informed that the town was quarantined and nobody was to enter or leave for at least a week. When she asked why she was informed that that information was classified. Then she asked by who’s orders were they quarantined. She was informed that the orders came from the very top level of government and was for the purpose of national security. At this point Mrs. Trumble retired to her office intending to call her friend the governor to find out what was happening. She discovered all the phone lines had been cut off and wireless phone service was somehow being blocked. There was no way to contact anybody outside of Pigeon Falls. Soldiers were now turning back outgoing traffic on all the roads out of Pigeon Falls. It was like the plot for a bad movie. One expects some kind of monster to emerge from the bush at any moment. But it was the 16th and the town was still there. Nobody seemed any sicker than usual. Everything in fact seemed desperately normal. So why were they quarantined. Don’t they have any rights? What kind of national security BS is this? Has the entire town been infected with some dread new disease? If so where did it come from? Will everybody die a horrible death? Is this the beginning of the end of Pigeon Falls? ******

Link for Today- Kelley Bells- For Whom the Bell Tolls---Please remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments , if blogger lets you, to get those unreviewed JCPOINTS. Check your totals HERE.
Spent the morning getting everything ready to mail. Mailed all the Christmas Cards that were finished, all the certificates for which I had addresses, and last Monday's prize . I also mailed off two Christmas gifts to relatives. While betty and Pennie took them to the Post Office I played with grandkids and dog. Pennie bought a portable dog pen to put the dog in while we were gone in the afternoon. Then we went out to eat. Then took the kids shopping. It was great fun. Got back to be greated at the door by the dog who had ripped out of the dog cage. He didn't hurt anything and was glad to see us. Betty added another Video to her blog this one of Luke's program. I read my comments and yes Esther I got your comment but was hoping it would say "have buyer for house".l I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Doomsday

Saying for the day- Live today as if tomorrow won't come because today is really all you have.

Today I have to decide what happens to Pigeon Falls.
To be honest with you I still haven’t made up my mind.
So I have prepared three different entries for tomorrow.

In one Pigeon Falls is gone, forever.

In another I cop out and leave Pigeon Falls in limbo.

In the third we are back to business as usual.

As to the first I am leaning toward the ending where everybody gets turned to stone although the town falling into the mine wouldn’t be a bad way to go.
I could combine them and have the government experiment turn them to stone and then the extra weight causes them to drop into the mine.

Of course last spring Pigeon Falls as a mystical , magical town came out of the fog.
I could send it back into the fog which would mean that it could come back at some future date.
In effect I could put off deciding.
You will note I am leaving the door open for that possibility in today’s entry.

Finally I could just keep writing the story of the very normal little town of Pigeon Falls.

Last year I had no trouble putting it on hold till the spring.
But last year I didn’t have people saying save the town.
Even my good friend Ralph sent me an e-mail saying please don’t destroy Pigeon Falls.

I will spend the day weighing the options and you will find out what I decided tomorrow.

@@@@
News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where trains still run , at least until tomorrow– Tommy, the undertaker’s kid got up early this morning. It was almost like Christmas. He looked out the window and the town seemed to still be there. There was an erie blue mist coming up out of the swamp but otherwise everything seemed normal enough. He dressed quickly and took his big red wagon and went down to the railroad station. He watched the milk train come in. There was no freight and no passengers. He counted the light polls and they were all there. It was December 15 and so far nothing had changed.
Yesterday the two big parties had taken place. Petrovich’s Doomsday party had turned into a a drunken brawl which spilled out into the street. At that point the dragon made its appearance and scared them sober. It flew low and even singed the cap of one of the drinkers. The poor guy was sure the end had come.
The other party was a real joy. People laughed, played games, made Yule logs. They had a great pot luck feast. There was even talk of an annual “ Embrace the Future Party”. Just as it was breaking up they heard the commotion down the street and came out in time to see the dragon buzzing the Fly Inn crowd. In all the commotion nobody noticed where the dragon went.It was an exciting evening.
Now the town waits for tomorrow . Will it come. Will we ever know the secret of the dragon or the White Rabbit. Will Nancy really sell coffee for $.24 a cup on the 16th. Will Mrs. Trumble save the railroad? Does Mrs. Trumble have some deep dark secret? Is she really Tommy’s mother’s birth mother or Tommy’s long lost grandmother. Is Tommy really the undertaker’s kid? Will Erica leave Jack ( Woops that’s “ All My Children not Pigeon Falls). Will Eino ever know about the stone man in his basement? And what is that strange blue mist? These and other questions that make about as much sense may never be answered if Petrovich is right.
******

Link for the Day:Yorkshire Pudding- Please leave the words Dr. John in the comment, I think it will let you but with blogger who knows, to get those boring JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total. Click on the PIC A PRIZE to see what pricless objects are there.
I spent the morning making and addressing Christmas cards. Wednesday's prize winner hasn't picked her prizes yet so I have held off on the next drawing. In the afternoon we went to see my grandson in his "Holiday" concert. The school inserted new words into we wish you a Merry Christmas so as to cover all celebrations. They were taking no chances on getting in trouble with the ACLU. Yet they ended the concert with Joy to The World just as it would be sung in Church. My grandson , by the way, sang great. Then we went out and ate. Coming back when wqe were 1/2 mile from our exit we were forced off of the highway early and we have no idea why. There were police cars and firetrucks all over the place. We found our way home. So now my grandkids are here and the dog. I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Toyland

Saying for the day- Why TOYLAND was like heaven when I was a kid.

I was in Menards the other day and they had a big sign that said “ TOYLAND”.
I haven’t seen one of those in years.

It brought back memories of the time just before Christmas when I was a kid.
In those days there was no Toys are Us or Wal mart with a big toy section all year long.
But the month before Christmas the big department store in Ishpeming and the big Montgomery Ward store in Marquette would open their TOYLAND.
It was like getting a preview of a child’s heaven.

In Ishpeming you took the elevator to the third floor an experience in itself.
When you got off there it was.
A land filled with every kind of toy you could think of.
There were Lionel and American Flyer trains along with the lowly Marx trains.
A boy could dream that he could get one of those really fancy Lionels though deep inside he knew he’d only get a Marx.
There were tinker toys and Lincoln logs and hundreds of other toys.
You wanted to stay there forever.
The toys weren’t on shelves like at Wal Mart they were displayed .
There was always at least one train running on a big display table.
It ran around a big doll house and model toy cars.
Every year I waited for that visit.
When the Christmas toy catalogues came I would pick out what I wanted to see up close and then look for it in one TOYLAND or the other.

Today’s kids will never know that joy because they have toys coming at them all the time.

It’s just not the same.

@@@
News From Pigeon Falls– the little town where the trains still run for at least one more day-Mrs. Trumble has a meeting with Dr. Fortress this afternoon to try one more time to extend the closing date of the railroad so that she can get everything in order to keep it running. Dr. Fortress has given no indication if he will listen to her or not. One wonders if he knows what he is going to do.
Tonight the big parties will be held. Petrovich has promised the finest Doomsday party ever. The Fly Inn is all decked out in black with Halloween decorations on the walls ( skulls and stuff). They even have glasses with skulls on them. It is going to be some party.
The preparations are well along at Last Lutheran as well. Pastor Marvel is ready to “embrace the future” . There will be games and a pot luck meal. There will be Yule logs to take home . It will all be very upbeat. Pastor Marvel may even play his accordion. He knows three songs.
Nancy says that most of the people who are stopping in for coffee are going to the church party. They don’t think anything bad is going to happen. But just in case it is the church is a better place to get ready than the tavern.
Mrs. Schmidt says she is going to Hawaii if she has to walk to the airport. Nothing is getting in the way of her dream, nothing.
Mrs. Trumble looks tired. She has given everything she has to the task of being Mayor and it shows. She needs to slow down a bit.
The wild cards, if you will, in tonight’s parties are the White Rabbit and the Dragon. Will they make an appearance? Who knows.
*****

Today's Link-My Life and Times- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those freshly laid JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total. You might win a PIC A PRIZE.
And you might not.
I tried to leave some comments but blogger wouldn't let me at any Beta Blog.
I got out of the Fortress for a bit. we went to the Credit Union an d Wal Mart. I needed some more ink for Christmas caqrds. I now have all the Christmas certificates ready to mail except two ) I don't have their addresses. I got half of our Christmas card list finished. Betty went and had her hair done. If possible she even looks more beautiful. Tomorrow we get Luke and Bree for the weekend and the dog. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

I lost it

Saying for the day- You Never miss the E-mail till its gone.

Yesterday I managed to blow out my in-box. I have no idea how I did it but I did.
All of yesterday’s E-mail is gone forever.
You can not know what that means to a person as paranoid as I am.
I am now imagining all the wonderful E-mail I got that I will never see.

I am sure I got the last of the instructions from that English lawyer that can’t spell on how to get the million pounds some nice guy , who I never met, left me.
Now I will never know where to send my social security number and bank routing information.
Thus I will never get the million. I am so upset.

There must have been at least one thing I won like a 46 inch high definition television.
It would have been mine for jumping through only eighteen hoops, small price to pay.

Ralph , I am sure, forwarded me some jokes and something patriotic.
I could have used a good laugh.

A long lost relative may have sent me a note to see if I was the grandson of James and Mabel.
Now he will never know and I will never meet him.

A note from my son Patrick who almost never writes.
I know yesterday was the day.

A chance to win a new car.
But I had to respond yesterday.

I am sure there was a special one day sale on the movie camera I really want.
Now I will never get it.

I am going to learn how to backup my e-mail so it never happens again.
But still yesterday is gone forever.
What, oh what have I lost?

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run at least until December 15- Petrovich says that the Arab doesn’t even have to come to Pigeon Falls. He can load the bomb in a crate and send it by train to be unloaded in Pigeon Falls. The bomb has a timer set for December 15. The end may be sitting down at the depot. Eino says there are no unclaimed crates sitting down at the depot. Petrovich says that there still are several days to go. Watch for that crate.
Nancy says if the prophecy is true why watch for the crate when we are going to blow up anyway. That makes some kind of sense. Unless you see the prophecy as shadows of things that might be rather than thinngs that will be. In which case the outcome could be changed.
In the meantime Bill O’ reily who now owns Wink’s Woods is having a name the end contest. He is giving a prize for the most original end to Pigeon Falls. Here are some of the entries.
1. An Asian Pigeon flys in and the whole town dies from Bird Flue.
2. An airforce plane carrying an Atomic bomb crashes in Pigeon Falls and the bomb goes off.
3. Iran shoots an Atomic Bomb in a Korean Rocket and misses New York but hits Pigeon Falls.
4. The government research that produced the stone man in Eino’s basement goes further berserk and everybody turns to stone.
5. The government research that produced the giant White Rabbit now produces a huge snake that swallows the town.
6. The government experiment on moving people through space misfires and the entire town ends up in Texas.
7. A new deer tic bite produces a disease where people dance until they die. Pigeon Falls parties out.
8. The iron Mine hits a pocket of underground gas that blows the top of the mountain off and it lands on Pigeon Falls.
9. A volcano suddenly rises up through the main street and covers the town with lava.
10. A Martian space ship steals the entire town for an inter galactic zoo.
Pigeon Falls may not have many days left but it does have creative people.
*****

Today's link- We Have Only Just Begun in Real Time- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those very real time JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
We are having our clearance event so there is a special drawing today. The winner will get two prizes from the Christmas Pick A Prize List.
And the winner waits for Betty to draw.

And Betty has drawn.

The winner is


Drumroll please----


Cindy


Congratulations Cindy- Now you need to go to the Christmas Pic a Prize list and pick not one but two prizes .( leave the numbers in a comment) Wow Cindy had 1095 chances of being drawn while the top person had 2302.
I spent the day creating Christmas Cardfs and printing them. we will start sending out tomorrow. Betty spent the day cleaning and putting things away.
Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Yeah A Dern Tag

Saying for the day: Friends don't let friends tag friends.

I had planned a very funny blog for today, a tale from the parsonage. It’s what I usually do on Tuesday. This tale was exciting , funny and still it would have broken hearts.It was about Christmas, the breaking of a toy Santa with a snowball, and what happened after. It even had some parsonage fairies.
But Starbender tagged me. I tried to ignore it but she left it in a comment. Well its not worth fighting over so I will do the tag. The tag concerns ten things I will never do, tonight, or any other time.
If I can remember it I will tell the other story next Tuesday .
But then you know how my memory is.
To make it more fun I decided to use Cindra Jo’s eighteen words in this blog while balancing a cup of water on my head and holding a marshmallow sleigh in my right hand.
Ten things I would never do.
1. Tag a friend.
2. Go dancing
3. Listen to anything by the Ramones containing the words Rudolph or Blitzen.
4. Use the word “ain’t” . ( My first grade teacher taught me that along with the rest of the children)
5. Run naked through a mall singing songs about Rudolph the red Nosed Reindeer on the day after Thanksgiving. ( ‘Cause there is no room to run in a mall on the day after Thanksgiving)
6. Eat anything with tomatoes in it.
7. Swear at the person who tagged me ( no matter how tempting)
Did I say I would never tag a friend. O! Yeah I already said that.
8. Drink Whiskey
9. Drive in wet cement.( My uncle did that and they arrested him)
10. Jump off a tall building with an umbrella for a parachute.
There I have completed the tag. But of course I will not tag anybody because I would never tag a friend.

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News From Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and which may soon be gone forever– With only three days left until Petrovich’s doomsday the town is quiet. A little snow fell last night. The morning milk train came in on time. One wonders what the dairy farmers will do if the railroad shuts down. Some of them may go out of business as well as the local dairy. The railroad and the town are tied together.
Mrs. Trumble is trying to get Dr. Fortress to extend the deadline into March of next year to give some time for everything to come together. So far Dr. Fortress has not consented but she keeps trying. Last night she got the town council to hold a special millage election in February ( the earliest it could be held) to raise one mill for the railroad.
Now she is having the town lawyer draw up the wording for that ballot. There isn’t much more that Mayor Trumble can do.
The White Rabbit and the dragon haven’t been seen for some time now. Perhaps, it’s the snow or they may have fled a dying town. The parties on Thursday could bring them out.
Poor Mrs. Schmidt is still not sure her trip to Hawaii (her dream trip) will ever take place. If there is no train there will be no trip. Though one of her sons has offered to drive up that horrible road and take them to the airport in Iron Mountain. That was a nice offer from a son who doesn’t want her to go. But it is winter and there are days when that road is impassable.
Tommy hasn’t gotten into any trouble lately. He is working with last Lutheran’s youth group to get the Yule logs ready for the party on Thursday. He doesn’t seem at all worried about Pigeon Falls ending.
******

Today's Link-Carpe You Some Diem- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those highly artistic JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your point totals.
It has been a weird day. I started trying to find out how to use You Tube to put my movies on the blog. They sent me an e-mail to looka t before I uploaded. When I opened that e-mail and hit the part I was supposed to hit my inbox disapeared and all the recent e-mail went with it. I can't get it back. So whatever letter I got today I'll never see. I finally did get the You Tube thing worked out so in the future I can publish some movies. Then I worked on this year's Christmas card. I look horrible but we are going with it. Betty got the train around the tree running and if everything goes right we will have a movie of it on the blog soon. We are still unpacking boxes. I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Leave a comment Monday

Saying for the day: If you can't leave a nice comment leave a bland one.

Another “ Leave a Comment Monday” has rolled around. So many things to comment on and so many comments to beg for.
Last week four people stand out in the comment area. Jan and Chana did remarkable summaries of the blogs that existed only in my head . There also Mimi stands out with her seeing a non existent video.
The one other comment that almost knocked me off my chair was Margaret’s-
“Marzipan Ice Age characters!! What a hoot. The little sabertooth squirrel is my favorite. He reminds me of Dr. John trying to find his false teeth in the morning. Especially in the way he chases that nut around all the time.“
I must give honorable mention to my daughter-in-law for her acceptance speech from last week’s award.
So to each of the great commentators I award 50 JCPOINTS and 10 to the honorable mention.
Today we begin our December clearance . The winner of today’s drawing will have the opportunity to pick two prizes from the Christmas section which we are trying to clear out.

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News from PigeonFalls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and there are four days left to Petrovich’s doomsday.-People are busy in Pigeon Falls getting ready for the big parties on Thursday evening. Petrovich wants black streamers all through the Fly Inn . He has ordered special plastic glasses with skulls on them. Her has made huge signs out of the two driblets which mark in his mind the end of Pigeon Falls and is putting them on the walls of the bar. He is paying for a band which has to be dressed in black. He found a group called the “ Zombies”.He says that he doesn’t care what it costs because there won’t be any day after.
Pastor Marvel , on the other hand, is decorating the church in bright colors for his “ Embrace the Future Party”. Everything there is being done by volunteers. The youth group is making Yule Logs for families to take home with them in preparation for Christmas. Volunteers are taking care of cookies and other treats. They will have a nice non-alcoholic punch. He has a committee working on embrace the future games. Two vary different parties pointing to the fifteenth.
Mrs. Trumble continues her struggle to see to it that the trains are still running on the sixteenth. She has a promise from the governor, she has an investor, she is ready to go to the community for one mill, and she is working with Dr. Fortress. There is not much more that she can do.
*******
Link for the Day:Chased by My Inbox- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those Beauty endorsed JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
And now the drawing-

The slip is being drawn-

We have a winner-

The winner is-

ArtsyTartsyViray

Congratulations ArtsyTartsyViray- Please go to the new PIC A PRIZE LIST and pick your prize or if you want to help with the December clearance pick two clearance prizes. Then leave the number or numbers in the comments.
This morning I sent my last E-Bay purchase back. It didn't work. I mailed out last Monday's prize ( I still have a paid up membership in the procrastinator's club). Betty and I went to the credit Union to continue the process of shifting to the new Credit Union. In the afternoon I visited all the links and left lots of bland comments. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

The unbeliever's loss

Saying for the day: Without faith miracles go unseen.

One of the differences between believers and unbelievers is that unbelievers see coincidences where the believer sees a miracle.
Let me give you an example.
After I got out of the hospital and was so unsteady on my feet Betty and I decide that we would have no more dogs. We were afraid the dog would knock me down. Besides we didn’t want to get a dog sitter when we went to visit the kids.
My sister Dawn knew this.
Yet one day she calls to tell me that she was in a restaurant and on the bulletin board there was an advertisement for a pure bred English Spaniel, the kind of dog I grew up with. Would I be interested?
I remembered that my daughter was thinking of getting an English Spaniel so I called her but she pointed out that things were too chaotic at the new house to have a dog at this time.
I knew my son and family dog had just died and that Peter felt it was too soon to get a new dog. But I called and asked if they would take care of the dog until the new home was ready for it.
Much to my surprise he said yes after consulting with the family.
So I called my sister. By this time the dog could be gone.
She gave me a telephone number and I called the family with the dog.
They wanted $90 and I was not prepared to pay that for a dog I had never even seen.
So we talked and they came down to $50. I told them I would take the dog.
I called my sister and she said she would go and get the dog and bring it the 90 miles to the house in Crystal.
On the trip Uncle Paul fell in love with it and offered to keep it. They paid the $50.
When I saw the dog I fell in love with it too so I said we’d take it.
It seemed to sense my problem and didn’t jump on me.
We left some of the stuff we were taking to the new house to make room for the dog and went to Peter’s house.
There the dog stayed.
Some days later when my grandson was playing with the dog my daughter-in law asked where the dog came from. He answered “ I got him from heaven. I was missing my other dog, so I asked God to send me a dog to play with and he sent me this one. So, I named him Spanky, the royal dog. Isn't he perfect, mom?"
A whole set of circumstances that lead to a little boy’s prayer being answered.
I see a miracle.
I see the hand of God.
The unbeliever sees only coincidences. The poor unbeliever.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where trains still run and the end may be coming soon-Petrovich stopped in for coffee at Nancy’s and she got to ask him a question. She wanted to know how anybody could possibly believe that Pigeon Falls would be a target for a terrorist . Petrovich said it is the logical target if you want to scare a maximum number of people. If you blow up part of New York or Chicago people will be angry but they will feel safe in their small town that could never be a target. But if you blow up the small town then you know that nobody is safe. Aside from that the small town has no defenses. It does not expect an attack. And it won’t take much of a bomb to wipe it from the face of the earth. Now Nancy is watching for Arabs with a trunk.
Eino says he still thinks its all nonsense. The town is not going to end and that’s that.
Mrs. Maki says she felt another rumble this morning and she is sure an earthquake is coming.
Pastor Marvel preached on getting ready not for an end but for anew beginning when Christ comes again. All the churches were full this morning. One wonders if it has to do with the five days left before doomsday?
******

Link for the day:Blueapples- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments to get real JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
Sometimes we miss a Word from God. This morning I read a comment on this blog by Javanagogh on obeying the speed limit. Then we left to go to my grandaughter's Sunday School play. I have a big Pontiac Montana Van and when its going fast it still feels slow. My daughter was driving and I was paying no attention. Then the nice policeman stopped us. Fourteen miles over the 65 mile limit. $ 180 fine. Life would be better if we paid attention to the speed laws.My daughter acted like the Christian she is and thanked the officer . The program, however, was great. My grandaughter had two solo parts and unlike me she can sing. I loved it. Then we went shopping. Got back to the house late. Now I eeda breathing treatment.
GBYA

American Democrazy

Saying for the day: It is a wonderful thing that even the dead can vote.

America continues to export democracy to the world.
We will fight to make others accept our form of government .
And why not?
Here in America everybody has a vote.
Your skin color doesn’t matter, the language you speak doesn’t matter, and your economic condition doesn’t matter.
You get to vote.
You get to choose between selfish, self centered, crooked, not to bright, and often perverse candidates.
But you do get to choose and the choice is everything.

There is one group that has had the right to vote almost from the beginning that doesn’t get to vote in other countries.
That group is the dead.
Only in America do the dead get to vote.
They have been voting in Chicago for years ( there according to the usual reliable exit poles they vote for Democrats).
A long time ago in Iron Country they voted to move the Courthouse to Crystal Falls.
While in Florida we know they always vote Republican.

This last election not only did the dead get to vote but they finally began electing some of their own.
For example Katherine Dunton , running for an Alaskan school board seat, though dead , ended in a tie and to be fair they did not disqualify her because she was dead but tossed a coin and elected her.
In North Carolina Sam Duncan was elected to the County Soil and Conservation Board.
The election was so low key, no interviews, no brochures, no telephone calls, that even his followers didn’t know he was dead.
But the elected dead’s poster child has to be Glenda Dawson who won her Texas State House seat.
The fact that she sent out a colorful campaign mailer a month after she died greatly helped her cause.
The good news is she made no promises.

I predict this is a coming trend.
As we come to understand that the dead can do no worse than the last congress , will take no bribes, will never vote to go to war, and won’t molest congressional youth staff, we will vote for more and more of them.
Besides they have a huge voting block to begin with.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run and doomsday may be approaching-Mrs. Herman Maki said that she felt an earthquake this morning and she is sure the end is coming. Her husband told her it was no earthquake just blasting at the mine. But she is not convinced.
Petrovich has been watching the incoming trains looking for an Arab with a large trunk. He says that he read in some Scientific magazine that you could make an Atomic bomb that would fit in a large trunk. He knows that security at our ports is so bad that it could be smuggled into the country. Eino says if the town is going down with a bomb it will more likely be a truck full of fertilizer. The speculation as to the end of Pigeon Falls goes on as the countdown to December 15 continues. Only six days left and then ?????
Mrs. Trumble is busy trying to make sure the 15th wont be doomsday. She is also pointing out that the town will go on even if she fails to save the railroad.
Nancy , of course, stands with Mrs. Trumble. She is not only offering coffee at $.25 a cup on the 16th but is going to half price her famous saffron buns. The 16th will be a real celebration at her shop.
Other than that life goes on as normal in Pigeon Falls. The basketball season has started and the New Potatoes have lost their first two games. One is getting used to the opposition crying “ Mash those spuds, mash those spuds” but a name change is still in order.
*****

Today's Link-Cinderellandme -Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments to get those spoiled JCPOINTS- Check HERE for your totals. We are getting ready for our annual end of year Clearance which begins Monday.
Spent the day unpacking and triming tree. Also put up some of the outside decorations. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA