Hi Again,

Dad and I stayed in the house most of the day. No outings today. But Dad is needing some Half and Half for his coffee so we may go out later to get that.

Some of our neighbors have a beautiful Chocolate Lab dog. Nearly every time I pull the curtains back on the window towards where he is, he starts barking at me. I can just barely move the curtain, and if he sees it he starts in! It is cute. I think he probably remembers that Princess used to sit in that window and he could see her. She and I often sat there together and looked out the window. She loved that. I miss her so very much. There's just no way to describe the feeling.

2010 will soon be a reality. I was just wondering what the most common New Year's resolutions are? We could probably make some pretty good guesses about them. I read somewhere that the top three are: Lose weight, quit smoking and exercise regularly.

Click Here to listen to "What a Wonderful World" sung by a lovely 7 year old girl. I think she is from England.

Bye for this time!

Love from

Mary

Good Morning,

Hope all of you are feeling well and having a good day. Just think - three more days till January 1st! I remember well when we were thinking about how strange it would seem to say "2000" for the year, and now here it is almost 2010! Do you say two-thousand ten, or twenty ten? I say two thousand ten.

I had the MRI done today. It wasn't too bad, but it's not something I would want to do in my spare time! Ha Will get the results mid-week, I think.

Just a short joke and then I'll say bye for this time!

A plumber attended to a leaking faucet at the neurosurgeon's house. After a two-minute job the plumber demanded $150.
The neurosurgeon exclaimed, 'I don't charge this amount even though I am a surgeon."
The plumber replied, "I agree. You're right. I didn't either, when I was a surgeon. That's why I switched to plumbing!"

Click Here to see something cute and funny!

Thanks to each of you who stop by to see me.

With love, Mary

"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."

Job 26:7

Here are some of the things I've recently learned about the Earth and the Sun, Mercury and Venus. Of course some of these things, we already knew, but it's good to think about them again!

Of course we know that life on Earth would not be possible without the Sun!

The food we eat exists because of sunlight falling on green plants, and the fuel we burn comes either from such plants, or was accumulated by them in the forms of coal, oil and natural gas.

The power of the sun's heat really can't be grasped with our human minds, but here are a couple of illustrations:

Mercury and Venus are much closer to the sun than we are, and I read that if there were any water on those planets the water would become steam because of the heat from the Sun!

There is a huge variation in the temperature on Mercury which is the planet closest to the sun.. The side of Mercury facing the sun is very hot, about 800° F, which is hot enough to melt zinc and tin! But the dark side gets very cold, about –280° F, with no sun to warm it and no atmosphere to hold in the heat.

The thought that amazes me amidst these facts is that---

God has placed the Earth in the exact position in the universe so that to us who are on this Earth, the Sun is life-giving!

Yes, what a wonderful world, what a wonderful Creator!

Bye for today!

With love from Mary

JUST TO SAY I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO VISITING WITH YOU MONDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 28, 2009!

I WILL BE POSTING ENTRIES MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY EACH WEEK.

WITH LOVE FROM MARY

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EACH OF MY

PRECIOUS FRIENDS, EVERYWHERE

WITH LOVE FROM

MARY

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—

That perches in the soul—

And sings the tune without the words—

And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—

And sore must be the storm—

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm—

I've heard it in the chillest land—

And on the strangest Sea—

Yet, never, in Extremity,

It asked a crumb—of me.

Emily Dickinson

################

Be like the bird,

Who pausing a while

On boughs too slight

Feels them give way,

Yet sings,

Knowing he hath wings.

########################

"Come to the edge," He said.

They said, 'We are afraid.

'Come to the edge', He said.

They came.

He gently pushed them . . .

And they flew."

~ Peter McWilliams
##########################
Christmas Carols

Click above to Sing Along!

.

Good Morning,

The past couple of years I've been reading headlines and reports like the one below:

"Since 1997, nearly 1,200 new species have been discovered in Greater Mekong." (in Southeast Asia)"

and like this one:

"100 plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians, two mammals, 1 bird species found."

You notice these headlines say that these species have been "discovered," and/or "found."

When I first read about the little frog they found (which is small enough to rest on the tip of your finger) the thought that came to me was this: It was not discovered, or found by man until now, but there never was even a moment that God didn't know where it was! The Creator does not forget His creation and He always sees and knows "where we are," naturally and spiritually.

----------------------------------------

"The slightest breeze that ever blew,

Some tender grass has wavered.

The smallest life I ever knew

Some other life has flavored.

We cannot live our lives alone

For every life we touch

Is either strengthened by our own

Or weakened just as much."

D.M.

---------------------------------------

So long for today!

Love,

Mary

Today I am only going to be able to share a little joke that our family loves to hear my great-niece Mandy tell.

She first told it when she was just a little girl, and we still get her to tell it every chance we get.

A man goes into a restaurant and places his order for a bowl of soup. The waiter soon brings the man his soup, but as the waiter walks away the man calls him back, Here is the exchange between the two of them.

Man: Waiter, taste my soup!
Waiter: Sir, is that not the soup that you ordered?
Man: Waiter, just taste my soup!
Waiter: Is it not hot enough?
Man: Just taste my soup.
Waiter: If you could just tell me what the problem is...
Man: Waiter, just taste my soup!
Waiter (sighing) says: O.K. Where's your spoon?
The man says: Aha!

Thanks to Mandy!

P.S. Here is a cute link for you animal lovers!

http://www.freekibblekat.com/kartoon.asp

Good Morning,

Today I want to share with you some of my favorite web sites.

Here are some great links, compliments of our dear friend Jamaka.

http://www.bestfriends.org/

http://www.nopawsleftbehind.org/

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

CLICK EVERY DAY TO HELP FEED CATS!

http://www.freekibblekat.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think that the construction of the Great Wall Of China is a fascinating part of World History.

Click below to go to a wonderful web site about the Great Wall of China

http://www.greatwall-of-china.com/

The Great Wall of China was built mainly to protect the Chinese Empire from the Mongolians and other invaders.

The Great Wall of China extends 4,000 miles westward from the seaside town of Shanhaiguan to Gansu Province.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I must go now. Thanks again for coming by!

Love,
Mary

Just a note to tell you that I will be posting only Monday-Friday so, I hope to see you again on Monday!
Mary

Today I will just share a couple of poems.

Yonder Mountain

What is that on yonder mountain?
Is it real or just a dream?
For there I see a resting place,
Just beside a sparkling stream.

I rise and wipe my dampened brow, And stretch my weary back,
I start the journey haltingly,
I feel my weighty pack.

But I must reach that resting place,
'Twas never just a dream,
It lies on yonder mountain,
There beside a sparkling stream.

I Wonder Where They Are Tonight

When it’s cold and dark and deep,
I wonder where the squirrels sleep.
Are they safe and warm and sound,
When night shades have fallen down?

I wonder if the birds are warm,
If perchance ‘twould come a storm,
I hope that they can safely rest,
In their leafy little nest.

I look out on the cold, damp night
‘Tis such a dark and lonely sight,
But God His loving hand doth send,
And then He safely tucks them in.

Photo of squirrel compliments of
http://webclipart.about.com/

Hi Everyone,

Hope each of you are O.K. this morning!

I had been thinking about the expression/word O.K. or Okay. I was thinking that I had heard it interspersed in foreign languages that I have heard spoken--because that was the only part that I understood! Here is what I found out about it at FreeDictionary.com

Word History: OK is a quintessentially American term that has spread from English to many other languages. Its origin was the subject of scholarly debate for many years until Allen Walker Read showed that OK is based on a joke of sorts. OK is first recorded in 1839 but was probably in circulation before that date. During the 1830s there was a humoristic fashion in Boston newspapers to reduce a phrase to initials and supply an explanation in parentheses. Sometimes the abbreviations were misspelled to add to the humor. OK was used in March 1839 as an abbreviation for all correct, the joke being that neither the O nor the K was correct. Originally spelled with periods, this term outlived most similar abbreviations owing to its use in President Martin Van Buren's 1840 campaign for reelection. Because he was born in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and the abbreviation proved eminently suitable for political slogans. That same year, an editorial referring to the receipt of a pin with the slogan O.K. had this comment: "frightful letters ... significant of the birth-place of Martin Van Buren, old Kinderhook, as also the rallying word of the Democracy of the late election, 'all correct' .... Those who wear them should bear in mind that it will require their most strenuous exertions ... to make all things O.K."
Source http://www.thefreedictionary.com/OK

Has anybody seen Santa yet? I've just seen him once or twice so far this year. Maybe he is trying to stay clear of me because he thinks I'll have a long wish list. I really don't though. I might be interested in some new electronic gadget, although I don't know what. I could probably go to the Sharper Image and find something pretty quickly, though. You might enjoy looking at their web site.
Sharper Image

National Geographic online is a wonderful resource for learning about our world--animals, geography, geology and so much more. Their web site is really neat.

Hope to see you next time.

Love from Mary (Dad's daughter)

Hi from the Tennessee Valley,

Thanks for the suggestions about organizing coupons! If you have any other ideas please let me know. I think I saved about $17.00 with the coupons we used yesterday.

I had an appointment today with the neurologist who diagnosed me with Parkinson's about a year ago. She wants me to go to Nashville to the Vanderbilt Clinic in Feb. for a consultation. They have a well-known movement disorders clinic there.

The Dr. also scheduled me for an MRI right after Christmas.She thinks I might be having a few very mild mini strokes and wants to decide what medicine to give me if I need something stronger than the low-dose aspirin.

This poem came to me after a friend told me about seeing a little turtle toddling along on the sidewalk downtown.

My Little Walk In Town
By Mr.Turtle

One day as in the grass I lay
There came this little thought:
"It's such a lovely, sunny day,
I think I'll take a walk."

I had no certain place to go,
No one I had to meet,
With carefree steps I moved along,
On little turtle feet.

No one seemed to notice me,
They all were rushing by,
But I enjoyed my little walk,
Just me, myself, and I.

Then up ahead I saw some stairs,
Just one of many hurdles,
That have to be confronted by
Us little, bitty turtles.

At first I thought I might go back,
Or go around that hurdle,
But then I thought of Mother's words,
"Nothing stops a turtle."

So straight ahead I went and placed
My foot upon the rock,
Nothing now could keep me back,
From going to the top.

All at once I heard a cry,
A startled little, "Eeeeek!"
A lady looking quite surprised,
Stood inches from my feet!

I wasn't scared; somehow I knew,
(E'en though we hadn't met)
That she was happy just to see
A turtle climbing steps!

And so this is my story

My walk was very sweet.

And I returned safe, home again,

On little turtle feet.

---------------------------------------------

Here is a good web page for all kinds of good-to -know information.

Refdesk

Bye for now.

Love from Mary

Hi again from Tennessee,

I appreciate each of you who stopped by here yesterday! And thanks to Mandy, Jamaka, Joan, Maurine and Bill for your comments.

Now, I must tell you about how our grocery shopping went today. Just as Joan mentioned in her comment, with the coupons it took longer to shop. Dad and I decided to use the scooters to get around. You should have seen us chugging along. Dad kept warning me to be careful not to crash into one of those displays in the middle of the aisles. He said if I did he was going to act like he didn't know me! Ha.

I kept fumbling through my stack of coupons and they would slide out of my hand onto the floor! I soon realized I am going to have to organize them better and carry them in something that will be more accessible -- not in envelopes like I did today. It's kind of like the title of my Blog....we live and learn. (By the way, Dad and I made it safely with the scooters!)

There is a web site I love to go to - Info Please. Click on the link below to go to the page that gives us lots of information about each of our 50 states. Our Fifty States

God is in the Smallest Things

I see God in the smallest things,
The bee upon the flower,
This is a quiet way He shows
His mighty power.
For while we humans swat and swing,
To drive the bee away,
The little flower welcomes it,
And bids it stay.
Perhaps the flower and the bee,
Wish that they could help us see
The treasures in the smallest thing,
For then with joy our hearts would sing.

Bye for this time!
Mary

Good Morning Y'all, as we say in Tennessee,
Hope everyone is feeling well today.You have probably already visited Dad this morning. He seems to be feeling chipper. Every morning when I wake up I hear him in the kitchen singing.

We've had rain,rain,rain here. But I love the rain and even a good thunderstorm now and then. I love to hear the thunder. Does anybody else?

Dad and I are planning to go to the grocery store this morning. I have started "coupon-ing." A friend of mine got me interested, and now it is like a hobby for me.I have an envelope of coupons for things we need. I had been lamenting that I didn't have a hobby, and now I have one, if I can call it that. I think I can because when you get all the coupons you need for one week/month, then you start the search all over again. And it really is fun. A real good web site about this is http://www.couponmom.com/ There are many other good web sites about this subject, too. If anyone has a favorite, let us know.

I love to learn new little bits of information and knowledge about the world we live in, don't you? Here's is something that I enjoyed learning . Clipperton Island is located in the north Pacific. It is a ring-shaped island! You can click on this link to get a view of it.
http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcclipperton.htm It is very unusual.

So long for today. Hope to see you in the morning!

With love from Dad's daughter,
Mary