A Day Late and a Dollar Short

‘The idiom "a day late and a dollar short" generally means that someone has both missed an opportunity and been inexcusably unprepared for it. A briefer translation of this saying could be "too late and too little." It can also refer to an unfavorable review of a person's efforts as poorly timed and too inadequate to make any improvements to a given outcome. This phrase is often characterized as one of the English sayings that place underlying importance on time and money. Preparation and organization are usually highly valued in cultures that use these kinds of idiomatic expressions.’ ~  wiseGEEK

I’m a day late with my blog this week and feeling a dollar short!  I so often sit down to blog with no clear idea on what to write on.  Usually, I just start and it comes to me, sometimes taking a totally different path part way through, than I thought it might.

My idea was really to write something each week that resonates with people.  I would love to actually be quite profound every week, but that is a bit of a lofty goal and rather presumptuous on my part!  For some reason, I am feeling that God is wanting me to reach out to people, make them think and help them to remember Him.

I’m sure that is why I wrote my books.  I am hoping that as each story is read to a child they will, as youngsters, come to know and understand God and Jesus, so that they can lead lives that God will be proud of.

That isn’t to say that it isn’t possible to reach adults, nor am I even suggesting that we shouldn’t even try, but I believe that if you introduce children to God and Jesus at an early age, even if they stray from time-to-time, they are most likely to come back to the path at God has for them.

So, ‘But Jesus said “Let the children come to me, and don’t try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom”’ ~ The Holy Bible CEV

Let us teach the stories of God to the children that they may follow his word for the rest of their lives.  IJN

Let not us all be a day late and a dollar short. IJN

Family

I wrote my Thanksgiving blog on the things I am thankful for and pointed out many of the things that I am thankful for.  Most of what I am thankful for is family and I was fortunate enough to have some of my family with me for Thanksgiving.

My brother David came to visit from Toronto.  He was driven by my daughter, Alysse, who needed to rent a car anyway for some weddings she was doing the hair for.  Alysse also brought her fiancé David and Kaitlyn, my other daughter.  I was so glad that they were able to make it!

From Ottawa, came my brother Paul, who drove my sister Carol and her daughter.  Her husband Glenn had to stay home because his mother was in the hospital and because we weren't sure of my nephew’s hockey schedule.

So, with Cavan and I, that made nine for dinner.  A nice number that fit nicely around my dining room table.

Everyone arrived on Saturday, in time for dinner and were able to stay until after Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.  In preparation, I had made three pumpkin pies, an apple pie and a pecan pie.  That’s the first pecan pie I have ever made.  My pumpkin and apple pie skills are really good, but I think I need work on pecan!

Saturday evening, my daughter Kaitlyn made pumpkin cupcakes and they were delicious!  Oh, and I also made Monkey bread to have for Sunday morning breakfast.

A good time was had by all and everyone was a big help.  David was on turkey and stuffing duty and did a marvelous job.  I took care of the potatoes and various vegetables. Carol always seems to be happy on cleanup duty and I thank all of them for coming and for the extra helping hands! I’m afraid that although I love the visitors, they do wear me out, so I am always so grateful for the help!

So, I am hoping to host Christmas dinner and hope that we will have another group of family gather around.  It may not be the same group, but these occasions are family time and any family that can make it is more than welcome!

My Canadian Thanksgiving

As I sit and type my Thanksgiving blog I think of all of the many things I am thankful for.  They are far too many to even list and most of them are people.

I am most thankful for my daughters, who I am very proud of.  Alysse is a hairstylist who is a greatly admired and sought after talent for weddings and photo shoots.  Kaitlyn is on the home stretch to finish her degree in Retail Management, studying to be a buyer, and works at Holt Renfrew—very prestigious!  She has already been contacted through LinkedIn to be interviewed for Tiffany’s!

I am very thankful for Cavan, who loves me and helps me especially with the day to day things that my MS no longer allows me to do.  Lately he has had to put up with a lot of crankiness, as I seem to be doing the job of three and a half people at work and a lot of tasks have to fall through the cracks just to get the important stuff done!

I am also very thankful to, and for, my parents; my mother who I still miss every day and my father, who at 85 still can’t stay still and will pop out to Las Vegas, or wherever on a whim.  I am thankful, for my siblings, their spouses and children, all who enrich our lives.

I am also thankful for all of Cavan’s family, who enrich our lives.

Then, of course there is my dear friend Viv and my co-workers and colleagues, my bosses, and their bosses and so on.

I am also particularly thankful that I am still able to be upright, even after living with MS for over twenty years.

I can’t forget my cats, my house, our home, my car that still runs and the lovely little town of Cobourg where I live.

Of course, I recognize that this is really truly only the tip of the iceberg for what I am thankful for.  I am very blessed that God has allowed so much in my life!

Blue Jays

I’m not talking about the baseball team, I mean actual blue jays!

Before I actually moved into my house about two years ago, I had this film installed on main floor windows at the back of my house, which faces east. 

What, might you ask, does that have to do with blue jays?  Well, I knew that during daylight hours, from the outside, the windows are like mirrors.  That gave me the great idea to start feeding the birds.  This became great entertainment for my cats, of course, because I have sliding doors and I could put peanuts right outside the door and the blue jays would come.  With the sliding door acting like a mirror to them, they had no idea the entertainment they were providing to my furry friends.

My house is built into a bit of a hill, so the main floor of my house is actually the second floor from the back.  What I discovered, was that wherever the birds go, they seem to leave behind their poop.  Not nice!  So, I stopped feeding them and the rain looked after cleaning up the mess.

I missed the jays, so this year, I had the film put on the downstairs windows and I put peanuts outside the downstairs sliding door, leading to the patio to see if they would visit there and lo and behold, within ten minutes of the peanuts hitting the concrete, there they were!  The jays were back, as were my cats.

I actually started it this week because my daughter is coming next weekend and bringing her cat, who will love it.  She lives in the city and only has a Juliette balcony, so little Kanye hasn’t see a blue jay.  This will be so much fun!

It’s a win/win situation.  The blue jays get fed and the felines get entertained and boy are the jays aggressive!  They fly at each other and fight over the peanuts.  They even keep the ravens away.  I quite enjoy the ‘show’ myself.