Perfection

 The New Year presents itself as an opportunity to make personal improvement. Since, I've always considered myself similar to Mary Popppins, that is "practically perfect in every way", contemplating improvement is always difficult for me. 

However, whilst happily haunting the Internet, I happened upon a list entitled, "How to Write Good". Can't everyone improve their writing skills? Here are the a few of my favorites, from the list:

    1. Avoid Alliteration. Always. (I try to avoid alliteration....."Nansense by Nancy" being the     exception!)My sister hated the alliteration of her maiden name, but she turned right around and gave one to her only daughter!

    2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. (Who does that? surely you have never asked......     "Where did you go to school at?")

   3. Writers should never generalize. (Never write Never, ever.)

   4. Who needs rhetorical questions?

Bottom line. I'm guilty of all of these absolutely horrible Grammar faux pax. I've done all of the things listed, millions of times. Which leads to number 10. Of course, it is "exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement." 

Remember Naughty Nancy's Nonsensical Nounery, always knows where you are at.

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 Dear Lord. A little bit of humor, is a good thing. Life gets really hard sometimes, but a smile now and then helps a bunch. Thank you for bringing brightness into our lives.  You are our constant.

  

 

"And since we've no place to go......."

 January, in the Midwest. That means cold weather and snow. Well, as we like to put it, "We got dumped on, this past weekend." At last count, we measured 8 inches of ice and white stuff.....where it didn't drift. But, with the 35 mile per hour winds, we have drifts of 2 feet or more, piled up in places. It was a real blizzard!

It's beautiful. Prior to the big storm, we had gray, overcast weather. It was cold and wet. But, with this big snowfall, we can look out upon a panorama of clean, crisp, whiteness. Now, that we're in our third day of coverage, we see dozens of wild animal and bird tracks, all over the lawn. The sun is shining and the pond is frozen over. No, I'm not going to go skating, but maybe it's thick enough to try it.

Now, there is a caveat here. We don't have to venture out, on the snowy roads, so we don't care how much snow comes down. Like everyone else, in the area, we were well prepared. We went out last week (before the accurately predicted snowfall) and purchased a little extra milk, bread and toilet paper. Stocking up on toilet paper makes sense. Who doesn't remember "The Great Toilet Paper Shortage", during the initial Covid outbreak? Buying bread and milk, not so much. But, it's just what we all do.

I'm just a teeny bit sorry for the parents who have had a couple of extra days added onto their kid's school vacation. Kids shouldn't be waiting at their bus stop, before daylight, in just 6 degrees above zero  weather. But, I really don't care. These days, I'm not always sure what day of the week it actually happens to be. 

Retirement is pretty awesome. I'm sorry, if you have to get out of the house, today. Well, maybe not too sorry.

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"Thank you God for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you God for everything."

"Let's start the New Year right...."

First Post of the New Year. This is where my list of New Year's Resolutions, should be inserted. Let me just tell you that my list of faults is unusually long. I have a lot of improvement to make, in 2025.

Most folks, data says, keep their New Year's Resolutions, an average of less than four months. In fact there is a specific, designated "Quitters Day" (The second Friday of January) which tells me that, for a fact, it's way less than four months.

Here is a list of six of the most popular Resolutions, and my thoughts about each of them:

1. Save more money. (Not happening. I'm 78, for what and why would I be saving it??)

2. Eat healthier. (Okay. That's a pretty good one, and I could do that, but I like to eat.)

3. Exercise more. (Another good one. We have a room full of exercise equipment. I just need to use it.)

4. Lose weight. (If I ate healthier and exercised more.....Right?)

5. Spend more time with Family and Friends. (I think my Family is happy that I have a lot of Friends, who keep me busy and away from bothering my Family.)

6. Quit smoking. (I never started.)

So, I have recently read that the best way to ensure keeping Resolutions, is to "add something positive" as a goal. Remember when, as children, we would attempt to "give up chocolate for Lent"? That's negative. We should have been thinking about "helping mom more, or doing our homework without prompting". So, writing a blog a week, or finishing craft projects I've already started, would qualify as positive????

And, those resolutions are more successful, if you celebrate your success. That's where I would have a problem. Because, if I would lose weight, I would want to celebrate with eating something very sweet or excessively greasy.......which would not be healthy eating and certainly would make me gain back, any weight I had lost.

So, I'll not be making any New Year's Resolutions in 2025. I'll just be doing what I can to make it a good year for everyone.

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Dear Lord. Some of our decisions are bad, unhealthy or downright stupid. We need Your guidance. Help us to use the little wisdom that we have and allow us to rely on Your Ever Present Grace.