Gingerbread House

I have never really stopped and thought about or built a Gingerbread house. I kind of took for granted it was a kid thing to do. I am an adult.

However, I took the time this year to help construct one and decorate it. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon. When it's cold and miserable outside.

Granted it was my first experience, and I didn't do all of the fancy elaborate decorating, but I thoroughly enjoyed sitting down and decorating what I could.

I also faced facts: this is probably the only home I will ever own, so I tried to decorate with as much class as I could.
Here are some pictures:

Thanks for reading
Lynn

Amaryllis Flower

A boss of mine gave me my first Christmas present of the year: an Amaryllis. I have never had one of these before. However, I always wanted one but Christmas is always a stretch on the budget to splurge on myself, so I was especially joyful to see it sitting on my desk yesterday.

It also served as a fundraiser for my boss whose family has been affected by Huntingdon's Disease. What a unique way to fundraise, especially at Christmas when it seems the demands for money seem unending.

I planted it today and will keep it near a sunny window. I will also keep this blog open so that hopefully it will bloom before January 1st and I can take another picture of it.

Here's what it looks like now:

Thanks for reading
Lynn
January 18th: All of it is blooming at the moment:

My camera simply doesn't do it justice. The colour is a vibrant orange. I really really like it and am so lucky the thing didn't die on me.

"Heaven Is For Real"

A coworker lent me a copy of the book "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo two days ago. I officially started it yesterday and finished it today. I couldn't put it down. I even took it to work to read it on my breaks. That's a bit unusual for me.

If you haven't read it it's about a little boys journey to Heaven and back. If you don't agree that there's a heaven, then this book is not up your alley.

However, I found it deeply impacted the way I think of heaven. It was so refreshing to hear about it from a child's perspective. His impression was so free of rules and other formalities that most religious leaders have imposed upon their believers. I will reflect on these observations of heaven for years to come, because heaven has always seen as something very few of us will ever reach.

Here are some of the observations (this could spoil your experience with the book if you plan on purchasing it ):
"God and Jesus light up heaven. It never gets dark. It's always bright."
-The marks left from the cross were revealed as marker marks to a little boy.
-On the subject of dying: "It's going to be okay. The first person you're going to see is Jesus."

What an incredible little boy and what an incredible gift he has been given. I hope this simple yet special message reaches as many people as possible.

Thanks for reading
Lynn

Drive Thru Williams Park

A local park has a drive thru Christmas light display. I have never driven through it. Tonight was the night I happened to have free.

On my previous entry I stopped by a coffee shop, picked up my apple cider, and headed to the park.
It's a good thing I am so familiar with this park. I get to visit it every year as part of my volunteer job.

I pulled in tonight and knew instantly the path I was on. Except this time there wasn't any loose livestock. Go figure!

This display is a bit different than I imagined it. However, it was fun to try and get into the Christmas spirit.

Thanks for reading
Lynn

Driving Through a Drive Through at night

I have a little bit of nightblindness. I don't like driving at night. Oncoming car headlights are nasty.

I also have never driven through a drive through at a fast food restaurant. I don't want to scrape the car up with my stupidity. However, tonight was a real treat.

I took my truck through a local coffee shop's Drive Thru for the first time ever at night and didn't hit anything. I was even close enough to the lady that I didn't have to get out of the truck.

I ordered only one thing on the menu because I was a bit nervous, but it worked out okay. I won't be doing this again, anytime soon but know I can do this again if need be.

Thanks for reading
Lynn

Enough Medications

I never thought I would have to blog about this, but here goes. I have never been on as many medication as I am on now. I had cancer and still didn't have to take as many pills every day. I am a bit down because of this. A bit of this is personal, so I will spare some details.

I counted 7 different medications or special procedures I have to work on for 7 different  parts of my body. That's got to be some kind of a record.

My skin has two different medications or procedures for. The skin graph takes care morning and night using cream. Skin in my neck region uses antibiotic cream that takes care morning and night.

Then there's the ever present ear infections. They take pills.
Then my stomach takes another pill. And then there's my intestines. Another couple of pills a day for it to thrive or allow me to work without issues.
I won't even get into how screwed up my back is and the medication I have to take for that!
There's one more but I seem to have forgotten what it is. However, be assured there's a good reason I have forgotten what it is.
If only the doctors would recognize somethings not right here. No offense, but I am still somewhat young. I can't imagine how life will be like when I am officially old. And I worry about drug interactions now, what happens 15 years down the road, when another 6 proceedures have been added?

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Pickling Herring -warning pictures attached!

It was once a tradition in both my husbands family and mine to make Pickled Herring each year. When I was young, a local radio station hosted a herring sale fundraiser to benefit children. About 6 years or so ago, this fundraiser was cancelled.

However, this year another group of fundraisers came together and offered the sale this weekend. My husband and father took advantage of this, making today an early start.

We picked up two 20 lb. bags before 7:00 this morning. By 10:30 all 40 lbs. of fish had been filleted and are now sitting in crocks waiting for either 2 or 3 weeks until the next round of preparation.

I have never filleted or gutted a fish before. I do not like blood. However, all of that changed today when I was faced with the daunting task of helping to clean 40 lbs! By the end I was like a seasoned pro.

However, the day was not without injury. About 1/2 hour in, I cut myself filleting one of my many fish. It's not that bad, but everytime I hit it, it bleeds.  Furhter, I halso hurt my hands cutting so many fish. I'm not used to holding a knife that long. However, I figure it is a small price to pay.

Here are some pictures:

My first fish of the day.

My last fish of the day
Thanks for reading

Lynn

December 17th: Today was the end of my pickled herring story. My family and I processed the fish into jars filled with brine, onions, and other spices. These should now be ready to eat in about one week. I am glad to be finished this as today was a task and a half. The longest things to wait for included rinsing the fish and waiting for the brine to cool once it had boiled. I am so grateful this is over! I am tired of smelling herring on my clothing. Here are some more pictures: