ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
The moments of our lives may be bright with possibility, dark with fear or sadness, or even plain everyday gray, but God's glory never fades. May God's glory shine into the exciting lights, upsetting darks, and boring grays of your every day.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28TH, 2017
Sunrise: 7:53 am
Sunset: 5:06 pm
Life is a Special Occasion!
Hallmark
Today is Card Playing Day which is the perfect time to spend an hour or so playing cards with family and friends. And, it arrives at just the perfect time of year, a few days after Christmas. The holiday hustle and bustle is over. The kids are getting bored of their new toys. It's time to turn to card games for a calmer, relaxing, and more slow paced form of fun and entertainment.
Enter the world of card games. Cards have survived for centuries as a form of play and entertainment. Sure, there are a few serious gambling types among us, who view cards a serious business. To most of us, card games are just games.
Spend the day playing cards with family and friends. If you have kids, make sure to play some age appropriate card games with them. You'll find its quality time with the kids that will create many warm memories.
If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.
Jawaharlal Nehru
The holidays were always a time to play games here at my house. The family was together with time to spare and games were a fun way to spend time together. Now a days that doesn’t happen much at all. I have some decks of cards stashed away though, just in case.
It’s been downright below freezing here this week and while it would be a good time to sit and play cards, there is no one but me here at my house. I do have a couple of my friends coming on Saturday for lunch and I plan to remedy that fact as we have an afternoon of games planed for after lunch.
Today I hope to the finish the after Christmas clean up around here and do a little decorating for New Years. I’ve a snow flake table cloth to put on and some banners to hang up at the windows. The rest of the house remains decorated for Christmas until January 6th, Epiphany, the the official end of Christmas for me and the day we celebrate the Three Kings, also known as the wisemen.
The furnace has been running almost constantly the past few days. I guess it is having a hard time keeping the house warm and I’m sure I’ll have the utility bills to prove it. On the bright side, the sun came out yesterday which certainly brightened the day but didn’t warm things up much at all.
The very first picture today is of my Christmas hyacinth. DS#5 and his family gave it to me last Easter. I’d set it in it’s pot outside when it died down last Spring with the intention of planting it in the ground. Some time before Christmas and before it turned freezing cold I noticed some new sprouts coming up and took it out to my sisters house where she has some sunny windows to sit it in and sure enough it grew. She gave it back to me for Christmas full of blooms. Now I’ll enjoy it till it dies down again and set it back outside till Spring comes when hopefully it will bloom again. It’s a gift that has kept on giving. And it’s fragrance is wonderful!
I hope you all have a GREAT day. Happy Thursday!
WHAT’S NEW IN THE KITCHEN
There is a food holiday to celebrate every day of the year!
It's National Chocolate Candy Day! Chocolate candy is one of the most popular sweets in the world. It can be combined with everything from nuts and caramel to raisins and pretzels to make some of our favorite chocolate treats!
Chocolate is clearly an American favorite treat. Over 2.8 billion pounds are consumed annually. On average that means each person consumes over eleven pounds per year! To celebrate National Chocolate Candy Day, enjoy some of your favorite types of chocolate candy.
One candy that has become a tradition for me at Christmastime is a box of chocolate covered cherries. I buy them in the grocery store and they are not very expensive at all. But they are very good.
There are lots of chocolate covered candies that are easy to make and another Christmas favorite is chocolate covered nuts. So I found this easy to make variation to share with you all today.
White Chocolate Spiced Pecans
1 lb pecan halves
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 bar White Chocolate
Beat egg white and vanilla in a large bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Coat pecans first in egg mixture, and then stir them in to spice mixture. Spread in buttered shallow pan and bake at 200 degrees for 40 minutes to 1 hours, stirring every 1 minutes.
Melt white chocolate in the microwave at 50% for 30 seconds. Repeat until chocolate is melted. Dump the pecans in to the melted white chocolate, and lay out on a cookie sheet, or cooling rack that will allow any access chocolate to drip off.
When chocolate hardens, enjoy!
COUNTING MY GIFTS
Games lubricate the body and the mind.
Benjamin Franklin
Counting at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for. There is truly is always something to be thankful for.
5569. for games of all sorts, cards are fun
5570. for chocolate, always good and good for you
5571. for pecans, my favorite nut
Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!
PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS
Please pray for God's protection of
our troops and HIS wisdom for their
commanders.
Almighty and eternal God,
Protect our military
as they discharge their duties
with the shield of your strength,
may the power of your love
enable them to return home in safety
that with all who love them
they may ever praise you for your loving care.
AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters
and Paramedics and EMT’s
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
DS#5
ADVICE FOR TODAY
Life is more fun if you play games.
Ronald Dahl
A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone dear…
Love,
ma
3 comments:
Glad your Christmas hyacinth came back in bloom! So pretty! I like to play card games too. I forgot a lot of them we played when I was growing up. Might add to my goal list to learn some new card games this year as well as try to remember the old ones :)
betty
We, too, leave our Christmas decorations up until Epiphany. (I suspect it actually originated when we put up our tree late, at the 11th hour v. religious significance.)
Years ago I became hooked on playing Canasta ... but haven't played cards in more than 40 years! Bridge sounds far too serious, but I've heard good things about Euchre and Pinochle from Tom's side of the family.
Love that last photo of your son Pam! He looks very happy! I have not played Canasta in years! I like playing card games, but usually have to be retaught the rules every time! (So not a lot of people like playing with me, lol) Happy to hear your Christmas Hyacinth bloomed! yay! We will probably take down our decorations on New Years Day. That's what my mother always did and so that's always when I have done it. I always hate to see them go away for another year. It seems to be so final! Have a beautiful day and thanks for being a part of mine! Love and hugs! xoxo
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