The Last Weekend of November

The Friday after Thanksgiving is usually a day of shopping in the middle of crazy crowds, endless lines at the checkouts and items on sale that mysteriously run out within an hour of the store opening.  For others, it is a day of rest and relaxation to recuperate from Thanksgiving dinner and an extremely poor showing by your football team.  However for us in the upper peninsula, it will also be a day of snow shoveling, snow blowing and cleaning up from the blizzard we had over Thanksgiving. 

 Normally for me, the day after Thanksgiving has always been the start of the Christmas season.  Up until now, I have refrained from listening to Christmas music, looking at Christmas decorations on store shelves since September and watching Christmas movies playing every night on the tv.  It is irritating to me that the holidays seem to start earlier and earlier every year. I refuse to celebrate Christmas before Halloween and Thanksgiving.

As I said, today is the start of Christmas for me. Today I will begin decorating the house and listening to Christmas music while B does clean up outside from the blizzard.  Saturday we were supposed to be going to a large Christmas craft show we attend every year.  It is wonderful to walk thru and see all the crafts made by very talented people (not me).  We also find a number of items for ourselves as well as family.  However, this year that trip is canceled for us because of the continued snowy weather and the distance we would have to travel over snow covered roads. Since I do 90% of my shopping online, I am finished with that.  The coming days will include baking for the holidays, getting the Christmas tree (a real one) and a wreath for the front picture window.  I will wrap gifts and write holiday letters to friends near and far.  I will watch a variety of Christmas movies and specials on the tv.

This Sunday is the beginning of Advent in the Catholic faith and I will begin making my Advent offering. Each year I get an item for each of the 24 days of Advent to donate to my local pet shelter.  I will also be praying a rosary every day, which is my personal Advent gift, asking that God instill in the people of the world the gifts of kindness, love, patience, and generosity in order to move away from the violence, hatred, meanness and lack of humanity we seem to be experiencing now.

Christmas is the season of peace and love.  I hope that all of you experience that at this time of year.  Don't let the pressures of the holiday overwhelm you.  Remember everything you need to celebrate is right in front of you.  You only need to really focus and you will see it. 


 

Sunday Summary

 Well, the beginning of March started quiet but it didn't last long.

Last Monday, B and I were able to get out and get haircuts.  He said we were beginning to look like the hippies we had tried to be when we were dating so long ago.  Funny man!  After the haircuts, we headed to the grocery store to stock up as we had heard the reports of the snowstorm coming our way.  It's a good thing we did because the snowstorm turned into a 2 day blizzard.  The snow started on Tuesday as white fluffy but by Wednesday morning, it was that heavy wet snow.  So between wind gusts up to 40mph, white out snow conditions and ice on everything, the only thing to do was hunker down at home.  Everything was closed including the two universities which never close unless it is a full blown blizzard.  We were lucky with power only going out once but only lasted an hour.  Of course, getting out to get ashes on Ash Wednesday was completely out of the question but all of the churches rescheduled ashes for Thursday because of the weather.  By Thursday, all had stopped except for minor flurries.  We had so much snow at our front door that B had to dig it out for us to open the door.  It took him all day to snow blow us out and then he only got the front of the house done.  The second half he did yesterday.  I hope this is the last storm of the winter but living in the UP for all this time, I know that is not always the way.  We have gotten snow in May and June some years.  Where is Spring!!

We were able to get out Friday and get our taxes done.  Nothing too different from last year.  We are getting a refund from the federal but nothing from the state.  However, we don't have to pay anything to either one so we are happy about that.  Who knows what the next 4 years will bring with a certain orange one and his minions in office.

My eyes after the cataract surgeries are doing beautifully.  I am still getting eye drops but they should be done in another week.  I am noticing how clear everything is when I am looking long distances.  I still need my readers for close work but I can live with that.

For Lent, I am getting up earlier so I can spend a quiet hour focusing on my faith.  With a cup of tea, my journal, and a devotional book called "Mornings with God" by Joyce Meyer (a Christmas gift), I try to focus on what I will give to Him to handle and what I can handle myself.
 

"If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master's presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord's presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed."      
St. Francis de Sales

I did remember to "spring forward" on the clocks.

Blessings to you all