Disappointment: A Christmas Post--Or--When Rats Leap From The Crab Apple Tree

" ... in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."   --- Philippians 2:3,4

*****

Remember when I mentioned feeding suet to the squirrels in memory of Sally who'd loved them?

Well, for two weeks I did that. Faithfully, even. But then came the morning when I opened the backdoor and ack! Ack! A huge rat leaped through the air from the crab apple tree into the snow.

He'd been nibbling suet.

I mentioned it to Tom and he said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Naomi saw 3 rats in the tree. She said it was quite disconcerting."

Gah. Flying rats.

Don't you hate it when important-to-you plans crumble? I removed the suet, walked it over to the trash can and since then, I've fed the birds only tiny bits of seed in their hanging feeder.

Oh, and I forgot to mention Naomi set up 3 (4?) plastic storage bins with straw for the outdoors cats whose clueless owners let them out these icy nights--and well--I think she's stopped feeding them because we've not seen any rats since.

(Yes, it would be nice if the cats ate the rats like in storybooks, but we've seen no evidence of that. And no, we can't call the exterminator lest he kill the cats.)

Now, do I like seeing those storage bins in our yard and front porch? Uh, no, but Naomi promised to shovel snow for us if she can only keep them out there. Since age 7 she's made head-spinning deals I can't say no to.  シ

Anyway, most Decembers I'm all, "Every year is a special one with God!", but 2024? Oh dear, I'm leaning toward, "Bah humbug." One disappointment lined up after another to test both my sense of humor and sometimes, my very soul. And yeah, I'm glad it's ending, something I tell you not to say because it can erase from our mind the good stuff.

But I hope you'll allow me this one deviance.

Yet here's what God is telling me: with each disappointment, step closer to Me and concentrate more upon what's going right! And choose good things to do for others in My name. Giving can heal your mind and heart and help others in their journey, as well.

So merry Christmas to you, my readers! Your faithfully reading here encourages me more than you know and may we all in 2025 see many dreams come true as we follow closely to the One who wants to lead our every step.

A truly rich inner life helps cushion the blows of disappointment.

Something else which helps me? Daily over and over I repeat aloud, "I love this life You've given me." I really do, you know, even in the midst of the messy times. I have so much for which to be grateful!

I learned something about my stiff legs: they're most-affected by drops in the outdoors barometric pressure. As long as it hovers around 30 (no matter the temperature) my legs just feel partly stiff. Whew. I can handle that, but will continue to believe for even better.

Oh, and perhaps later I'll hang the suet feeder from a shepherd's staff pole. No way can rats climb that and only a little suet would fall from it. We'll see. (Tho' yes, squirrels won't be able to reach it, either.) We're just waiting to make sure the rats have left for good. 

*****

Some Christmas gifts for you:

TCM Remembers 2024

We watched The Man Who Invented Christmas and enjoyed it even more this second time.

Kindle Unlimited is offering it's annual 3 months for .99 cents deal.

Christmas gift in a jar ideas.

Here's another booktuber I enjoy: Wandering With Stacy

This set of 12 Christian western kindle books is just .99 cents.

This stained glass book stack lamp is so quirky!

And speaking of quirky, we enjoyed the movie, Bookworm. A small amount of 'language' and the young girl, especially, was remarkable.

This mom and grandma live side by side in tiny houses. First part of 2 and I especially loved the grandmother's use of white Christmas decor.

And this was a cute Lifetime movie, free at Youtube: Christmas Pen Pals.

*****

Merry Christmas to all my readers with a special thanks to commenters both here and at Facebook!

We all have incredible times to anticipate in 2025!

*****

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 ***

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

To a Lap Blanket and Rollator In Five Days

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."   --- Isaian 41:10

*****

Man, I don't want to write what will probably sound more like Ramblings of An Old Woman. Yet, God isn't letting me skip on to something else, so here we go.

****

A week ago Monday I could barely walk.

Wait. Let's back up.

Months ago here I mentioned a 'lady problem' and the good news? It's gone. Healed.

How? 

The Holy Spirit led me to make online symptom searches, then with a name, a label, we zipped over to Youtube for videos about dietary changes and vitamins for making that problem vanish.

Then it's kinda shocking how much grace He gave me to release favorite foods. Usually diets and I have short term relationships. But this felt different, important, and like an ending. No longer can I eat haphazardly.

So using food and vitamins like medicine worked for me. Again. No meds needed.

Color me mega grateful.

Then came Monday. (Gee, isn't it annoying when you fix one thing, then another pops up?) 

I stood up from the red couch, took a step and oh dear! My legs went all stiff and achy. The part above my knees (quadricepts?). My oh my, I hobbled all bent forward like a 120-year-old lady.

Gah.

Now, these past years, colder weather has affected my legs, but not that badly. Immediately I thought, "It's time to no longer steam water at the stove to keep us from getting dry air sinusitus." 

Moist air is bad for arthritis. We can drink more water to keep the sinusitus at bay. (Actually, it felt freeing to toss that little stainless steel pan away. Too often I'd forget about it, it would smoke and I'd have to refill it when it cooled.)  **

Then--again--I researched the symptoms, found they were common amongst us oldsters and could be worse--so be grateful they're not, I reminded myself. I've no consistent pain: it only begins with first steps, then I can walk it off.

But still. 

So what if I'm all Linus-like with his consistent blanket? And so what if I sometimes use Tom's rollator? (I asked if it would scare him to see me walk with it. He said no, but I glimpsed in his eyes what I know exists in mine when I watch him without the rollator.)

What matters is that I keep this all in its correct perspective. With a touch of humor. This is certainly not earth shattering.

We jokingly discussed moving to Arizona for the warm, arid skies, but considering we can both barely walk around our own little house, well, that's not happening.

Besides, we love it here.

Anyway, this too shall pass! And what matters is that I battle against self-pity (yesterday was my final day to sit beside it). As Joyce Meyer quips, "You can be pitiful or powerful--but you cannot be both."

So moving forward from what was a pretty pathetic week, I'll--

---concentrate upon, even list, my many blessings.

---remind myself I can still do most things, just a bit slower (our days weren't meant to be by-the-minute races, anyway).

And may I remember that thousands of folks would love to have such a simple problem as this one. May I keep everything in a correct perspective. And may any problem nudge me toward a greater compassion for my fellow man--

-- and a heavier leaning upon God Almighty.

Oh! And more good news: 

Finally, after 13 years, our oh so ugly dining area chandelier is gone. Whew. Now I can quit staring at it while trying to imagine it repainted and re-globed yet nothing improving it. (Larry the Painter Guy came over and removed it for us and did other 'Honey Do' jobs. Don't you just love progress?)

** Darn. Today we had to return to steaming water on the stove. This past week, Tom had dealt with head-cold-like symptoms, but today was the worst and in the past, it's always meant lack of air moisture. Oh well. I'll adapt.

** Next day update: Seriously. It's like a miracle how instantly Tom is healed. Oh my!

******

Here's a nice customized tiny house. (Aren't these a million times better now than when they first appeared years ago?)

Last night we watched the 2004 version of The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve and we did enjoy it, though I preferred the Kelsey Grammer one a bit more. (May be free at Youtube.)

Have you ever watched the older tv series, Angels in Disguise? Very remarkable, those true stories. (May be free at Tubi.)

Dangerous Crossing. This was an old (1953) movie that both Tom and I enjoyed last week. Very well done. Free at Youtube.

I find cottage core videos like this one so relaxing.

******

How comforting to know that always some way exists to turn the pages in our life. We just have to search sometimes.

Such a challenge to be a warm light in a cold world, yet with God, we can do this!

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** 

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

December This and That

"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!"   --- Psalm 113:3

*****

1.) Wow. I've watched some Hallmark-type movies lately, newer ones, and I've actually enjoyed them(!) Is the world ending or ?  ツ

A Christmas Less Traveled

My Christmas Hero

Oh! And Tom and I both enjoyed the new Reagan movie. But then, we knew we would.

2.) What is the story only you can tell?  --

3.) Books I Finished Reading in November:

Moody's Stories, Incidents and Illustrations by D.L. Moody

Greystone Secret: The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Paint the Town Dead by Nancy Haddock

The American Girl Book of Mystery and Suspense Stories by various authors

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

You Can Start All Over by Marjorie Hillis

The Green Turtle Mystery by Ellery Queen Jr.

A Minnetonka Summer by Borghild Dahl

Snowed Up by Rosalie K. Fry

Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You. A Robie Book.

4.) Wow. That Mr. Tesla could really think ahead, right?--

5.) Hooray! Open Library is fixed. Well, mostly. I missed them for weeks, the ability to access the hard-to-find (especially for a low cost) vintage books I love best. 

I did use Libby for the first time (thanks, Ann!), and discovered 2 good books there (yay!), but it's dependent upon what your library system owns and mine? They began disappointing me decades ago and that's when I seriously started collecting the books I love.

Which hey, means I should thank them that now the best library in all the state of New York dwells inside my house. For me.

Yet sometimes Open Library still gets glitches, so besides Libby, here's a list of other places to go (thanks much, Dolores, for sharing this!)

List of 15 sites where you can download millions of books for free.

1. Google Books

2. OpenCulture

3. LibGen

4. Internet Archive

5. Subbook

6. ManyBooks

7. OpenLibrary

8. Good Reads

9. Free-ebooks

10. Bookboon

11. PDFBooks World

12. Obooko

13. O'Reilly

14. E-BookLobby

15. Project Gutenberg

6.) Did we receive any of that crazy New York state snow last weekend? Nope. Whew. We, thankfully, live in the north towns, not those wild, always-snowing-it-seems, south town ones.

7.) I bought these lovely Christmas stickers last week. So nice! Came on a roll of 500 so should last a couple years. heh.

8.) I've thought much about this lately:

These are very different times so God will be doing new things through His people. Seriously, we have much to anticipate!

9.) And never forget! --

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** 

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15