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A good Saturday morning to you all. Was up at o’dark thirty this morning, had my protein breakfast, played some Wordscape on the IPad, so my brain has had it’s morning exercise.

Barbie, hope you find your cord so you can upload your pictures. I couldn’t find mine a year or so ago, but since my camera is a DSLR, I bought a card reader and can just take out it’s memory card and use the card reader to upload. Bet the cart parade was fun to watch.

Awww Annie, so sorry your Christmas plans got tossed to the wind. You can always come here for a White Christmas ya know. I’m tbe same way in that I would like to find a place to spend Christmas next year. One watches all those Hallmark movies of fairy tale towns all decked out and ya wonder if someplace, somewhere, there just might be one in real life. Or an Inn.

Speaking of Hallmark movies, I’m burned out of all the romantic, set in the big city type movies. Too much same common thread. But I had forgotten that I had Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel. Totally different, more down to earth Christmas movies. Watched “The Christmas Card” last night. Love that one as have seen it before. The “Christmas in Evergreen” ones are also favorites. I’ll be in Christmas movie heaven from now till Christmas.

Was reading an article on how the rising Great Lakes are impacting the shorelines Lake never before. Michigan State Parks that are on the Great Lakes ar experiencing washed out dunes, beaches, flooded campsites and even having to move buildings. They are having to sink millions of dollars into trying to save what they can. The Porcupine Mts. State Park is losing the main road to it’s modern campground and scenic Lake of the Clouds, thanks to Lake Superior. Other trails and recreation areas as well as roads are damaged or washed out all over. With the big storms this fall, the power of the lakes has been unbelievable. 8-12 foot and even higher waves have been hitting the shorelines. Homes that were as far as 50 feet from the water have already been lost or on the brink of going. It’s happened in past years, but not like this. And it affects the inland lakes as well, as those with tributaries have no place to flow out and those landlocked have high water tables.

Time to get moving here. Farmers Market this morning and there’s a Christmas stroll on Main Street, so might go see what’s new. We’ve had a big resurgence in new businesses downtown and I can’t keep track of what’s there anymore. There will be goodies around too. Can’t pass that

Tina, hope you get to feeling better so you can enjoy your short time in FL. So glad Josef is enjoying his new home.

Good Morning, Sue that is so interesting about the Great Lakes. Lucky me having been there recently.

I am so bummed that I will not be out at Q this year. Been going out there for about 20 years or so. Getting old is difficult.

Have had a little bite on the trailer.

Robot calls continue to come through. Have to answer the phone in case it is an inquiry on the trailer.

Little cloudy today so will skip the water jogging.

Lyn

Colliemom wrote:Awww Annie, so sorry your Christmas plans got tossed to the wind. You can always come here for a White Christmas ya know.

Er. . . right! I'm throwing on my clothes on now. Think that I'll just drive my van - too cold to bring my little Jayco, plus it's not winterized. Google says 2,300 miles, 33 hours. [checks watch] Do-able! See you at Christmas o'clock!! Please leave the light on for me, I'll probably be pulling in late!

Anne

"Grandfather's Clock"
by Henry Clay Work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrJZLs5zUtU

My grandfather's clock
Was too large for the shelf,
So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half
Than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn
Of the day that he was born,
It was always his treasure and pride;

But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

In watching its pendulum
Swing to and fro,
Many hours had he spent while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood
The clock seemed to know,
And share both his grief and his joy.
And it struck twenty-four
When he entered at the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride;

But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

My grandfather said
That of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found;
For it wasted no time,
And had but one desire,
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place,
Not a frown upon its face,
And its hand never hung by its side.

But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

It rang an alarm
In the dead of the night,
An alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we knew that his spirit
Was pluming his flight,
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time,
With a soft and muffled chime,
As we silently stood by his side.

But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

I have purposefully spent most of the past 10+ Christmas's alone. Here is why:

I was married to an only child whose father had been killed in WWII a month after he was born. His mother never really wanted children and never had any more. She was also clingy and whiney. So after we were married, if we did not spend Christmas with her, she was "ALONE AT CHRISTMAS"! (Add appropriate sobs.) She was also alone at Thanksgiving and Easter and everything else you can imagine, but Christmas was the big one, in spite of her having a sister, aunts, cousins, and a bunch of other relatives, plus an occasional husband or boyfriend.

I swore that when I had kids, I would never do that to them. I felt that they deserved to spend Christmas with their own families instead of driving all over the place to spend it with me. This was also why I had two children, when my ex would have been happy with one. I did not want a single child to be responsible for me when I got old.

So, I usually find a nice, scenic place to spend a quiet Christmas Day and then head over to one of my kid's houses the day after Christmas and visit for a few days. A couple of years when my mother was alive, we found a beautiful restaurant for Christmas dinner. This year I will be at Myakka and keeping my elderly aunt and uncle company for at least part of the day, but I will not mind it. Not the same as when my kids were little, but it will never be the same anyway. Things move on. I am also looking forward to seeing one of my cousins and a friend from high school and his wife, so I will hardly be lonely.

I sold my parents' cottage on Lake Huron in 2000. The lake level was so low then, it was hard to sell it. But way back 20 years earlier, the water level had been very high, and my dad paid a lot of money to have huge slabs of sandstone put against the bank (cottage is very high) to protect the boathouse and the bank from erosion from the waves. Over the years, they got buried by the sand, but I told the new owner that someday, the water would go up again, and he would be very happy to have them!! Don't know if he believed me, but I'll bet he does now!!

Here is an interesting fact: Did you know the Great Lakes were tipping? These enormous lakes ere made during the glacial periods. The upper lake, Lake Superior, had the most ice on it, a mile or more thick. When the ice melted, the weight was released and the northern parts of the lakes started rising faster than the lower parts. So eventually, much of the water from Lake Superior will drain into Lake Huron and Lake Erie!! Check out this article on how the lakes were made: https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/resources ... were-made/

It's a partly cloudy day here, about 54 degrees. Plan to head to Target, where I rarely shop, though it's close, to look for Christmas socks, leggings, and stocking stuffers. After that it's time for our Curves Christmas open house, always fun.
Started to bring in rest of Christmas boxes but too heavy, so will let son retrieve them. Then this evening we can put lights on tree and decorate.
I remember that song, Anne! Boy it's been a long time since I've heard it! I'd love to join you to trek to Sues for a white Christmas! We would wear Sue out, but what fun we would have!
Stay safe on the roads, as the big day looms, people are frantically scurrying to grab what they need and want. My shopping is done except a few stocking stuffers.
Have a good rest of your day!
Velda

I am perfectly happy spending Thanksgiving, Christmas and any other holiday by myself. My son uses me as an excuse to keep from going to Baton Rouge to his girlfriend's family. I cook because he is coming but otherwise I might have a TV dinner.

I received a big box yesterday from my ex-daughter-in-law. I have ask her to please not send me things but she doesn't listen. She even sent my neighbor a gift. I have a box in the bedroom full of stuff she has sent that I will never use. One good thing is I can re-gift it. I have told her that I don't wear robes and she sent me another one. It is so heavy that it will never get cold enough in Louisiana to wear it. This morning I had an idea. I ordered a box of steaks and desserts to be sent to them. Something the whole family can use and I didn't have to go shopping. I'm sure that's a lot to pay for a little bit of meat. I give my sister and her family de-boned stuffed frozen chickens from a local specialty market. A one size fits all gift.

I have problems loosing cords too. I looked everywhere for the cord to charge my camera and couldn't find it. Last weekend I found it in the camper, in the computer bag that I take camping.

I have seen pictures of how high the water is in the great lakes. I can understand the water being high in a lake but why is Venice flooding?

The temperature is up to 78. If it doesn't start cooling off soon I'm going to have to turn the air conditioner back on.

Martha

Okay Anne, I’ll leave the light on You come too Velda and anybody else who wants to join the party! The more the merrier. And it would probably be merry Let’s see, x number bodies sprawled on the floor sleeping makes x number dog kisses and snuggles and.......

Yeah Judy, bet he appreciates those big rocks now. Although the piled tons of rock along the road going to the Lake of the Clouds etc., in the Porkies and Lake Superior just took em right out. And those were big rocks. Boulders actually.

Anne, thanks for posting the lyrics to My Grandfathers Clock. I knew some of the verses long ago. Was singing it to myself as I read it.

Judy, many moons ago, the Grandfather's Clock was one of the first tunes I learned to play on the organ. I understand the frustration of families getting together, as Steve's family has been and is, in our opinion dysfunctional. He was disowned by his family when he went into trucking. Not going to try to explain because we still don't understand it, but that's neither here nor there.

I enjoy cooking a large meal, but there are just the two of us. Seldom do we have visitors, and that's okay. Christmas will be here soon and with the spiral ham and mashed potatoes and sides, we'll be fine.

Our neighbor here in Ocala posts about the flooding (on Facebook) in the Great Lakes, as their house is water front and they had it raised 17" last year because of the flooding. I feel so badly for all of those suffering from the floods.

Just about time to put dinner on. Have a wonderful night.

What a fun thread, great information, too.

Because of in-laws, work, etc, my family, particularly my mother tried to work around everyone's schedules so we could gtg. Thanksgiving usually fell on Fri or Sat and sometimes Sun for us. We'd been celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve since I was a child so that often worked. When I was married my exes family expected everyone with them for any and every "holiday". Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day, Valentine's Day, Easter, the 4th of July, etc. It was crazy and just caused tension, etc. So I'm fine with being alone or joining with others for a holiday meal at an rv park, etc. That was just another rat race I'm glad to be out of. This year there's a good chance I'll be boondocking in the middle of nowhere for Christmas and Christmas Eve. By choice.

Our cottage was about 20' above lake level and maybe 110 feet back from the lake. Still had a good view, but it would have taken quite a bit for the lake to get it. There was one bluff near the beach that was about 10' above lake level and then another one another 10' plus there was about 80 feet from the second bluff to the cottage. And our place was built of concrete blocks and 30' back from all of our neighbors, so their places would have gone long before ours! My dad built smart!

Just found a great article on spending Christmas alone, along with book and movie suggestions! https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/1 ... guide.html

That is the first time I have seen all the words to Grandfather's Clock. I of course now can't stop singing it. Beth the family holiday requirement was definitely grounds!! I think I started disliking Christmas when I found out there was no Santa. I used to start dreading it before Thanksgiving. I'm better now that there are no expectations of attendance anywhere. Both of my brothers also dislike the holiday so maybe it wasn't the Santa thing!

I sorta remember the song but not a lot... trying to remember the name of a song I think Anne you would like can remember part of it if it all comes will add to later.
found the cupboards filled dish washer once so had the sink cleaned out it's full again need to empty the dishwasher and refill it. didn't get to the table but it will happen sometime soon.. I hope
Gizmo eat Shadows food last night poor Giz has really been pooping today a different food is our thoughts... will have to not leave it down on the floor tonight Shadow will just have to eat if he is going to sooner than later... When we are else where he doesn't eat that great...
really ought to pull out my afghan and work on it ... right now Rudolf the red nose raindeer is on.. I think I remember the movie about the boy and dogs... it was a cute one... The Touch of the Master's Hand is the song I have been trying to recall
After Larry passed away I would enjoy time with friends at their campout they had several near by and we would all pitch in.... they didn't come down last year till Jan.. but another couple got a few of us out in the desert folks together... they aren't here yet but will be soon my friends are coming down anymore so at this time I truly don't know what I am going to do will have to see don't relish being totally alone
Lyn we are so going to miss you
sheila

Sheila, I was going to be getting near but could arrive by you on Christmas Eve instead of disappearing lol. No reason for you to be alone. You'll just be stuck with me longer.

I hadn't heard about the Great Lakes rising recently. It wasn't all that long ago that I read the water levels were going way down. I guess like any lake, they are also affected by the weather, even as large as they are. The lake I grew up on has had its ups and downs, literally! One year it was so low that our bay was almost totally empty when it was usually 8-10 feet deep. We figured it would take many years to come back but later in the summer we had a huge rain storm of almost 2 feet of rain in two days, and the lake came back up to normal from all the runoff of that, almost overnight! A few years ago the lake was higher than it had been for a long time and they actually turned the whole lake into a "closed throttle/minimum wake" zone for half of the summer until the levels came back down, so as not to damage the shorelines from the boat wakes.

My mom made Christmas magical! My dad made Christmas hell, since he was always drunk. We spent Christmas Eve at my dad's house and later, in my teens, my mom and I would leave there by 10pm and head out to visit her side of the family for the rest of the night. That was always fun, except everyone in the family smoked and they all had small houses so no matter who's house it was at, you couldn't even see across the room for all the smoke! Lots of food, fun and laughter tho! After my older brother took over Christmas Eve shortly before my mom passed away, it all went down hill and I dreaded going there. Now I am glad to either spend it at the beach or with friends. Usually, I go to a candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve, but this year my new church is doing their candlelight service on the Friday before, for some reason. Since our Christmas dinner at the park is on Christmas Day, I won't have anything going on for Christmas Eve this year. Not sure what I will do yet. I do work that day 'til 3 or 4 (and getting holiday pay for that!).

Today was not very busy at work. All week has been super busy, so not sure where everyone was today. My manager and I ended up staying late because she had a very difficult client in her chair and she couldn't make the lady happy no matter what she did. She finally told her she wasn't going to cut anymore and the lady needed to leave so we could close. I stopped at WM, Big Lots, and the Dollar Store on the way home. Didn't find much I was looking for. Mostly looking for decorations for the dinner. Things are really picked over already.

Have tomorrow off so back to my list of things to do around here. Hope my back is OK. It got a little sore from walking around the stores tonight.

Sue, I will stop by when the weather is warm and sunny there! No snow for me, thanks!