"Evil Didn’t Win At Sandy Hook"

That's hard to watch without choking up.

"I Laughed So Hard I Almost 'Shipped My Trousers'"

That's the Charles Dickens version of this commercial: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2013/04/ship-my-pants.html

The Blankets I Have Been Working On!

The blankets I have been working on took me from January to December to make. These blankets are all crocheted by me and are for the family. Yes it takes a long time to make and also in the summer I really didn't work on them to much with going out and birding and taking pictures of  flowers. I am just thankful I got them all done in time.

The reason for making these blankets is the older kids got jealous last year because I made blankets for the grandkids. So I found out what colors the kids liked, my son was very easy and you will see why. Then when I was finding out what colors for the kids Drew says I would like one too. So that added another one on. I made six blankets in twelve months.

Here are pictures of the blankets:

Yes to the left is Bears colors for my son and to the right is the colors that Drew's son picked out.

To the left is Whitewater University colors for my youngest daughter and right is Packer colors for Drew. Drew's blanket was the last one and I just finished it on Thursday night.

To the left is the colors that my son's girlfriend picked and the one to the right is the colors my older daughter picked.

Yes I have been busy making the blankets and with everything else all year long. I am just happy I finished these in time so they can get them for Christmas. Now time to go to the store to get everything to start my Christmas cookies hopefully get them done on time!

Winter....grrrrrr

Open Blog - Weekend

Party on!

"What Is the X in Xmas?"

From Dictionary.com:

"December 11, 2013 by: Dictionary.com blog in: Current Events 396 Comments 
 
"Here’s a holiday surprise that only the dictionary can provide. Do you find the word 'Xmas,' as an abbreviation for Christmas, offensive? Many people do.

"You won’t find Xmas in church songbooks or even on many greeting cards. Xmas is popularly associated with a trend towards materialism, and sometimes the target of people who decry the emergence of general 'holiday' observance instead of particular cultural and religious ritual.

"But the history of the word 'Xmas' is actually more respectable — and fascinating — than you might suspect. First of all, the abbreviation predates by centuries its use in gaudy advertisements. It was first used in the mid 1500s. X is the Greek letter 'chi,' the initial letter in the word Χριστός. And here’s the kicker: Χριστός means 'Christ.' X has been an acceptable representation of the word 'Christ' for hundreds of years. This device is known as a Christogram. The mas in Xmas is the Old English word for 'mass.'  (The thought-provoking etymology of 'mass' can be found here.) In the same vein, the dignified terms Xpian and Xtian have been used in place of the word 'Christian.'

"As lovers of the alphabet, we are transfixed by the flexibility of 'X.' The same letter can represent the sacred, the profane ('rated X'), and the unknown ('X-ray'). What does the “X” in Xbox stand for? Find out more about the 24th letter of the alphabet, here.

"What other holiday-related words would you like to know more about? Let us know, below"

Read more: http://blog.dictionary.com/xmas-christogram/

Coffee with Cops at McDonalds

Legal Stranger reports on this morning's Coffee with Cops at McDonald's:

"Pictured is MPPD Captain Brian Smith discussing community topics with Journal Times reporter Cara Spoto.

"BLB and Legal Stranger interviewed Captain Brian Smith and Chief  Zarzecki 

"Topics included  community policing, militarization of police departments, department policies, community bloggers and ccap.

"Also complimenting  the attendance was Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete 

"MPPD Captain Brian Smith and Chief Zarecki also had in attendance  their senior  staff to engage with the public and discuss individual citizen concerns.  

"Coffee with Cops is a great way to meet our public employees and discuss community concerns in a relaxed environment. If you have concerns with police policy, you should plan to attend when another event like this occurs.

"Thank you McDonalds for hosting a fine community event.".

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone and welcome back! Another week has come and gone, seemly in an orderly fashion. I know that sounds weird, but this week felt rather monotonous. Anyways, here's your questions...

1) Have you ever locked your keys in your car?

2) What season stresses you out the most?

3) What is your favorite winter activity?

4) When is the earliest you put up your Christmas decorations?

Enjoy your weekend!

Useless Information

Did you Know: 
The “King of Rock & Roll”, Elvis Presley was almost dethroned!

A new up and coming Rocker, Jerry Lee Louis was writing and singing songs and was climbing the charts extremely fast.

Elvis was drafted into the army which didn’t help his career during this time.

In 1957 as Jerry Lee Louis got to the top, this crazy guy went and married his 13 year old cousin!  He was dropped like a hot rock around the world.

Elvis was discharged from the army and wrote a song named ‘Teddy Bear’ which put him right back on top.

Useless Information

Did you Know:

 

The “King of Rock & Roll”, Elvis Presley was almost dethroned!

 

A new up and coming Rocker, Jerry Lee Louis was writing and singing songs and was climbing the charts extremely fast.

 

Elvis was drafted into the army which didn’t help his career at all.

 

In 1957 as Jerry Lee Louis got to the top, this crazy guy went and married his 13 year old cousin!  He was dropped like a hot rock around the world.

 

Elvis was discharged from the army and wrote a song named ‘Teddy Bear’ which put him right back on top.

Useless Information

Open Blog - Friday

Uh-oh!

Fun Holidays

Open Blog - Thursday

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” - Alexander Pope

Christmas Lights 2013 Part 1

Saturday we went birding and I told Drew that I was going to go somewhere and take pictures of Christmas lights. The thing of it was I never told him where we would be going because I was driving the car. So are trip to us to Candy Cane Lane in West Allis Wi.. Here are some of the pictures that we had taken that night:

           This is the first sign you will see when you drive down the very first street for the lights.

When you drive down the street there are people standing there taking donations for the M.A.C.C. fund for the children.

                                Then we have Santa on his sleigh with the reindeer and presents!

I thought this was really neat it is a dancing Frosty the Snowman. 

              Yes there really is a red M&M out there too. I told Drew that I had to have this picture!         

This is how I felt out there taken the pictures Saturday. Driving up and down about four streets going really slow with the traffic there and the window down the whole time and heat on high. 

I really hope everyone likes the pictures and yes there are a lot more to come with in the couple of weeks 

 left.

"10 Words for Happiness"

From Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/?sshow=happiness-words

Happy Holidays.

"The Copenhagen Wheel official product release"

https://www.superpedestrian.com/

That's innovative technology applied to the ancient concept of the wheel.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my snowmen and snowwomen!  How are you?  I already know: cold.  My, did it become winter quickly.  We’ve already had subzero temperatures and a snowstorm that caused hundreds of accidents.  This is the time of year when I switch into one day at a time mode.  I don’t dare ponder what’s ahead in the next few months because it’s too depressing. 

The good news, of course, is that our Green Bay Packers won against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday.  Sound the trumpets!  Summon the guards!  Yahoo, we sneaked one through!  Hallelujah!  Unfortunately, Mr. Aaron Rodgers is still not well enough to play.  This Sunday, December 15, our gallant warriors face the Dallas Cowboys on their turf.  May the Force be with them!  Knock ‘em dead, boys!

In the Irregular Football League, we are already into our semifinals.  It's my Screaming Psychics vs the Racine Irregulars and the Half-Astrophysicists vs the Fighting Mongrels.  Mr. OrbsCorbs' Orbliterators ended in 5th place and Ms. Tender Heart Bear's The Mighty Bears finished 6th.  

It would be nice if the weather toned down a little bit so that we could appreciate the decorated homes in the Racine area.  I saw some lovely lights going up in early November.  Those people must love their decorations.  I tried to nudge Señor Zanza up a ladder to decorate our home.  No such luck.  Junior offered to do it, but I was afraid of what he might do.  If times were better, I would’ve hired professionals to do it.  Well, I decorated the porch and the interior myself.  It looks simply marvelous!  Santa, you’re welcome here.

I read that donations are down this year at Salvation Army kettles.  Many are blaming that on a campaign to donate to other charities because the Salvation Army is perceived as anti-gay:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/salvation-army-anti-gay  I wonder how much of that is true and how much of the dip in donations is due to economic hard times?  I believe that those at the “top” have little regard for the suffering of those “below” them.  They don’t give a damn that life has become difficult for so many or that it impacts donations.  I shout, “Shame!” but it changes nothing.

Christmas is supposed to be a joyous time of year and I hope that’s true for you.  It can get hectic, so it pays to stop and think about the true meaning of Christmas.  I wish all of you Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Merry Kwanza, Festive Festivus and Happy New Year!  Or Happy Holiday(s) of Your Choice!

Here’s a lovely video entitled “WestJet Christmas Miracle: real-time giving.”

Wasn’t that inspiring?

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog today.  I love company and I love you.  I don’t discriminate; I love everybody.

Have you been naughty or nice?  Ask madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Stay warm, my dears!  Please be extra careful driving in bad weather.  Avoid it if you can, go slowly if you must.  Ho-ho-ho!  Geloscopy!

A caring husband

He: “My dear, what can I help you with”?

She: “Take this bag of potatoes, peel half of them and put them in the cook pot”.

Open Blog - Wednesday

Stay positive.

Ring-Tailed Poot Sighting

After Charlie gets his evening treat, he likes to nap in a tent made by hanging a robe from a doorknob. He's also claiming the space underneath the kitchen sink as his.

"VIDEO: Traffic cam captures massive pileup on Highway 41/45"

See: http://fox6now.com/2013/12/10/video-traffic-cam-captures-massive-pileup-on-hwy-4145/

Why do we have to relearn how to drive in the winter every year?

"Russell Brand Will Blow Your Mind"

Eleven minutes is a long time to listen to anyone, but the message here deserves it.

I don't know that much about Russell Brand and I didn't know about this aspect of him.

Open Blog - Tuesday

Yummy.

New Weather Widget

The weather forecast on our sidebar now comes from the Weather Channel. Accuweather has changed their widgets and they are huge.

Local Loyalty - Sweet Flame

Today's edition of Local Loyalty

 is about a wonderful find at 335 Main Street, 

Sweet Flame, open Mon.-Sat., 10am-5pm.

Here is the link to their web site -

 

Sweet Flame

 

They are also on Facebook. 

I had the nicest visit with Tom, who owns it along with his wife, Sheila. 

When I 1st walked in, the atmosphere was so warm and inviting, and smelled simply yummy!  

Their 2 year birthday as a business there, was yesterday, 

the 8th of December. 

They offer an amazing variety of honey's, both local and from across the nation and the world. You can even taste and try many of the varieties they offer! Can't do that at the grocery store! Anything you want to know about each honey, they are your people.

 

They also carry some very unique foods from specialty places, and deal with them directly. That direct connection with the very people that make their products is really cool. 

Tom personally makes all the candles for the store, right there, in store - how cool is that? They are all natural wax, and well scented. He can custom color or scent any candle, tealight, votive or pillar, 

or even special order. 

When asked what three words he would use to describe their store, the answers were - 

Unique

Artisan

Handmade.

Next time you're downtown, try to make a point to stop in and check them out. You'll be glad you did, I sure am!!

      

 

Open Blog - Monday

Be careful out there.