Illustration by Judith Ann Griffith

Peace on Earth

Merry Christmas One and All

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

This is a local river where an eddy in the bend of the river froze into a perfect circle. An amazing piece of nature.

We have no new snow but some freezing fog last night. The grandgirls have been out of school nearly a week now and are coming over for a Star Wars/pre-Christmas party with me. They've never seen it and I have first three films, not that we'll be watching all of them at one time. I have popcorn, muffins, and hot chocolate. Lunch will be pizza. The little tree is decorated, not a Charlie Brown tree although it's working it's way there. It doesn't seem to take up water and the needles are dropping fast. Still, it is lovingly decorated with care by the eldest of the group and its beautiful to me. I am grateful they live near and I can see them often. I am missing the two who live in another city about 275 from here. Merry Christmas all.

One more week

One more week until school's out. I can't think how many years its been since I've been in school, or my kids have been in school but I still look forward to Christmas break.

When my sister Nancy and I were little kids we thought Santa brought everything, gifts, decorations, tree, the whole thing. There may have been lights up around town, a creche at church, and trees in our grandmothers' houses but not ours. The house was undecorated when we went to bed Christmas Eve. We left cookies for Santa and then into the sack straining to hear jingling, or hooves on the roof. Nevermind we had no chimney. My sister Nancy and I would then pop out of bed at dark thirty and creep towards the living room. There would be the tree, lights on, big lights shining in the dark and gifts. I'm sure our little jaws dropped to the floor. It was magical and mysterious. Its still one of my favorite things to just sit in the dark and watch the Christmas tree lights.

Did you have that lead tinsel they used to use on trees? It was silvery and heavy and didn't fly around like the new stuff. We called it rain and carefully picked it off and saved it for next year. It was made of lead not mylar. I was surprised to find you can still buy it, on the web at least.

The Christmas I remember the most I was four which would make my sister two. Old four and old two as our birthdays were in March. That year under the tree were not one but two doll houses with furniture, and a metal wind up train that ran around on a set of tracks with friction sparks blowing out its chimney. I imagine the memory has to have lost some details but it seems clear as a photo in my mind even now. Some years I have had fake trees, decorative branches, even a virtual tree one year made of lights fastened to a wall. This is my first Christmas as a single for years so I decided to get a real tree and put it up in the living room window. I going to get lights, some of the new large ones that look like the big, old, multicolored lights of my childhood. I plan to get the tree with my son and then enlist the grandgirls in decorating. Christmas Eve I will sit for a moment or two in the dark before the family dinner and enjoy some of the peace just watching those lights brings.

Obama's Stealth Attack on Social Security

I watched Obama yesterday as he outlined the changes and "compromises" in store for us. I was totally disappointed and royally pissed, not just as a senior but for the future of this whole country. "Yes, we can," seems to have become attached to "but we're not going to."

Check out Ronni Bennett's right on column at Time Goes By today: if the payroll tax holiday were to become permanent - and it will if it passes Congress with this current proposal - it will force massive cuts to Social Security. I'm not up to the task of commenting today so with Ronni's permission I have copied the below portion directly from her column. Please read it and take some action.


Obama's Stealth Attack on Social Security
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Please read the post below and then come back to read this update.
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) tells me that time is of the essence on this proposal as Congressional members try to get out of Washington for the holidays. In an email, the NCPSSM said, “Flooding members' offices is what is absolutely needed...House members have been far more vocal in their opposition to this deal than we’ve seen in the Senate but it’s vital that seniors and their families contact their representatives in both."Far too many in Washington don’t understand the fundamental threat of what’s being proposed and they need to hear from seniors.” At their website, the NCPSSM has set up Payroll Tax Letter to legislators that is similar to what you can do at congress.org. Here are instructions:
Follow this link
Under “Elected Officials,” enter your Zip Code and press Go
At the top of the next page, select “Issues”
At the top of the page, select “Tax Holiday is no holiday at all”
Separate letters to the House and to the Senate will appear. Feel free to personalize them. Fill in the required information, press “send message” and you're done.
PLEASE DO THIS in addition to calling and emailing individual lawmakers. And please don't put it off for later. Time is short and the future of Social Security is at stake.
Also, feel free to copy any or all of this post and use it at your blogs. Attribution to TGB is not necessary.

Fresh Snow

It's been a quiet week. Two days of warming and the seven inches of snow disappeared and then today it began again. The small maple across the street has kept its red leaves through the surprise early snow and freeze.

Looking up I see snow sticking to the tiniest of branches.

The bell in the backyard totally still, no wind at all as everything turns white again.

Nightfall and the neighbor's Christmas lights are on, the first on the block. More snow tonight says the weatherman. May all travel safely home this evening.