HAT TRICKS...

 

This last week has been a challenge. 

 A challenge to get out of bed,

 a challenge to get dressed,

 a challenge to carry on

 living as one should. 

 That challenge has not always withstood 

the tests that have been presented, 

so a number of hats have been donned 

to make it possible to figure out

 which one fits...

...and the winner is

 that of a

 TV critic!

Let me take you back

 to how the week started.

  The skies were gray,

 although a little piece of blue escaped

 and showed itself from time to time.

  We had snow, 

which was a beautiful sight 

until it turned to rain and more gray skies.

  In the end, however,

 all the color was 

sucked from the atmosphere 

and we are left with...

...only starry, twinkly lights within, 

which we hold onto with a 

mountain of strength.

We came upon this hat trick

 quite by accident.  

Normally, each morning starts 

with a bit of 

TV news and coffee,

 before the day begins.

.  One morning, however, 

we turned to see 

if the Magnolia Network 

on Discovery Plus had started 

and we were, 

from then on,

 immersed in a full day's worth

 of TV watching 

which actually turned into a

 week's worth of TV watching 

from morning until time for bed. 

 The new Magnolia Kitchen with Joanna Gaines

 is a fun hour filled with good recipes,

 filmed on a beautiful new set 

in an old grist mill, 

and chock full of

 the humor, family 

and enjoyable entertainment 

that we have come to expect from

 Chip and Joanna Gaines. 

 The "new" Fixer Upper

 shows every Friday. 

 It is still the same, wonderful show 

that it always was 

with just a little tweak

 to make it all new and interesting. 

 There are more shows

 offered on the network. 

 Each one telling great stories 

about everyday people and their endeavors

 to make the best out of life

 for themselves and those around them.

Moving on to Netflix:

 We just finished Schitt's Creek.

  For awhile now,

 I have passed over this show.  

I don't know why, I just thought

 I wouldn't care for it

 but let me tell you, 

had that impression held up, 

I would have missed out on 

one of life's little treasures. 

 This was six season's of pure gold.  

The characters are all so special,

 the story line always

 keeps you wanting more, 

and I fell in love with each and every character and situation.  

A beautifully written story

 done with class and humor.

  I am sad it is over.

We are now watching

 "Last Tango in Halifax". 

 Two wonderfully, charming people, 

meet after 60 years apart

 and the story of the merging 

of their two families. 

 It is all done with laughter, tears, secrets and everything in between.

  Well acted and written and 

so, so entertaining.

Another good movie 

was "Penguin Bloom". 

 A young boy finds an injured bird

 and brings it to a family 

who is going through a horrible tragedy.

 It is a heartwarming story 

with the need of about six Kleenex.

All of the shows I have mentioned 

are only on Netflix and Discovery Plus. 

 You do have to pay extra for these 

but for about $13 a month, 

it is all well worth the expense. 

 There are many more shows and movies 

along with documentaries offered

and it makes staying in 

so much more enjoyable.

One last thing 

that has nothing to do with watching movies. 

 We still are not able 

to get our Covid-19 immunizations.

  I have signed up for all that is available 

and my doc 's office says

 they don't have any and don't know if they will get any at all. 

 I am hearing from neighbors,

 and friends and family

in different parts of California

 that they are getting theirs. 

 It is becoming very frustrating.

  Are any of you having this problem?

My little wolf in sheep's clothing says:

Stay Well

Stay Home  

And

Wear Your Masks

Until next week, 

I hope I have something better to write about.

I am running out of hats!

...Judy...

"Teddy said it was a hat,

So I put it on.

Now, Dad is saying

"Where's the hecks

the Toilet plunger gone?"

Shel Silverstein

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and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

THE COLORS OF MY WINTER...

 

The snowmen have been put away. 
 Normally they are in attendance until Valentine's Day
 but this year I am finding that

 I need a little brightness, 
I need a little color and 
I need a little lightness in the world that I inhabit. 
 I would never describe myself
 as being a true winter person. 
 I do love the first rain or snowfall 
after a long, hot summer
 but it all wears thin after just a small while.
  In my opinion,
 the last few years and especially 2020
 have been like living in an eternal winter, 
and I am going to try to change 
all that for myself 
to the best of my ability.

So,

 I am starting to combat the cold days ahead

 by putting away things within

 and replacing them with comfort and cozyness 

that will be in complete opposition to 

what is without.

  As I sit in my favorite spot 

and look out at nature's elements,

 I will feel and be warmer 

than I have been

 in awhile.

I live in California, 

so rest assured

 that we do have more than our share of sunny winter days, 

and I do love a winter's day warmed by sunshine 

but, just in case, 

I have done something that I have never done before.  

I have left one small tree

 up after Christmas,

 devoid of decorations, 

but with starry, twinkly lights ready, 

with the flick of a switch, 

for when the cold

 settles in.

In the sitting room, 

the addition of colorful pillows,

 normally used in the patriotic months, 

along with pictures and flowers

are doing the job assigned to them and...

...along with the warmth from the stove 

and the presence of pine cones 

there is a slight nod to Old Man Winter, 

and the greens liberally sprinkled around

 reminds us that spring 

will be on the way 

as well.

And speak of the devil:

Overnight the beauty happened...

...but we are warm and toasty inside.

The inauguration was another bright spot. 

 It was decidedly different 

but done with simplicity and good taste. 

 I was so thankful that 

a beautiful ceremony honoring those that died from Covid 

was incorporated 

and the rendition by Lady Gaga 

of the Star Spangled Banner 

and the beautiful young woman poet 

were especially bright spots.

We are moving into another era 

and whose to say

 that it will be good or bad?  

That is how it is with politics. 

 For now, though, 

the feeling is of

 hopefulness and joy.

  I strongly wish,

 however,

 that we can all take 

President Biden at his word:

  "Give me a chance, know my heart". 

 

That would be

 a very good place to start.

 

 If you need a little help, 

picture what you heard and saw 

on January 6, 2021.

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Stay Warm

Stay Home

and

Wear Your Mask.

Pray for the vaccine 

to be made available

 to all of us

 sometime soon.

...Judy...

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TODAY, SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS...

Chrysanthemum:  Truth

Calla Lily:  Modesty

Orchid:  Refined Beauty

I really don't have much news this week.

  Just thought I would string along

 a few random things

 that have been happening

 over the last few months or days. 

 Also, for lack of photos

 to go along with it all,

 here are some of my go-to subjects, 

flowers and their language... 

Alstroemeria:  Devotion

 ...these are being used to signify

 our better selves in better times. 

 Bright spots of color 

that are so

 badly needed now.

Larkspur:  Lightness

Canterbury Bells:  Constancy

Calendula:  Sunshine, fire, passion

Statice:  Fond memories, sympathy, success

Over the holidays,

 we received multiple phone calls

 that are a waste of time and energy and, frankly, offensive. 

 We get a lot of 

these types of calls most days

 but there is something about receiving them at Christmas 

that just seems to make them so much worse...

Sunflower:  False Riches
  

...calls from Medicare, 

calls about selling back braces,

  calls about orders placed on Amazon 

  wanting to deliver some piece of technology equipment 

that costs $7000, 

please give them the OK to deliver.

All of these calls 

are made in order to

 gain access to your personal info and

 it is so sad 

that a lot of them do succeed.

Iris:  Message

  The best (or worst) one 

was a young man calling me Grandma and 

saying (crying) that he 

was in dire trouble and 

evidently needed my help

 in the way of some money.  

I knew it wasn't my grandson,

 so I admit,

 that I strung him along

 just to hear what he wanted. 

 I called him Bobby and 

told him I missed him

 which he didn't object to and 

after a long babbling of how

 he had an accident while on vacation 

and had to go to the hospital

 because of his injuries 

I told him that his real grandma

 must be so proud of him

 and he hung up.

  The very next day 

I received the same call

 from the same person,

 this time I called him Jack and

 he didn't object to this either.  

I then told him that if he wanted 

to make some money

 he better keep track of 

who he was calling

 and told him

 I didn't think he was any too smart. 

 Well, he hung up again and

 that was the last call I got.

 

 Merry Christmas!

Camellia:  My Destiny is in Your Hands

Before Christmas 

we saw an ad from Omaha Steaks 

which money wise was a pretty good deal.  

We decided to order the package and

 its expected delivery date 

was December 18.

  That date came and went and

 I called to see where it was,

 the auto voice said it had been delivered,

 I said no it had not.

  So they tracked it and said 

it would be here on the 20th. 

 That date came and went and

 I called them and cancelled.  

It is frozen and packed in dry ice

 but how long will that last?  

They said no problem,

 how sorry they were and

 they would remove 

the charge off of my card... 

Pink Roses:  Grace

 ...on Christmas Eve,

 our next door neighbor called..  

there was a box 

on their front porch 

addressed to us.  

We picked it up and 

sure enough,

 it was the box of meat. 

 I expected it to be

 all thawed out and stinking, 

but even though the dry ice was gone 

all of the meat was frozen hard,

 so I put it in our freezer. 

 That night I got an e-mail 

saying the meat had been delivered so

 I called them and 

told them the meat was in good shape

 and they could put the charge back

on our card.

They replied absolutely not,

 that for what we had gone through,

 keep the meat free of charge. 

 Now this wasn't a $20 charge

 by any means,

 and we thought that

 was pretty good business. 

 BTW,

 we have eaten almost all of it and 

it is very good meat.

 

 As of this writing, 

we have ordered another package, 

promised delivery on January 18,

 and in was on our front porch

 on that date.

 They included a cheesecake medley, 

and we had one for dessert last night.

 Oh, so, good!

Yellow Tulips:  Declaration of Love

I got all of my Christmas packed up 

but not put away. 

 The trees are still standing, 

but undecorated.

 I can't wait to get it all put away and

 dig into some deep cleaning.

Remember this old Sequoia Redwood tree 

right by our driveway and back door? 

 The one that the city

 (or someone hired by them) butchered? 

 Well, the Captain was noticing

 that our foundation at the back of the Cottage was lifting out of place. 

 He surmised that 

the tree roots were the culprit. 

 We had heard rumors that whoever owns the adjacent lot where the tree is 

was planning on selling and

 we needed to address this problem

 before they did.

  We got hold of the property manager and she said he would call us.  

We didn't hear anything right away 

so we contacted

 the property manager again and

 just a little while after that call,

 a man showed up

 from a tree company and

 said as soon as the permits come through

 they will take down the tree. 

 He said in his estimation

 the trunk is about eleven feet in diameter.

  I am sorry. 

I know the tree has been here 

a very long time and 

one neighbor has already 

raised objections, but

 I am so excited 

to get this monstrosity out of here...

 Now, we will be able to have a clean car,

  no stickery branches in the carpets,

 none hanging from poor Kai's tail

 or climbing up our pants legs. 

 I guess we will address 

the foundation after 

the tree is gone.

Asters:  Patience

Feverfew:  Warmth

Regarding the above photo:  I think the little white bloom is feverfew, but am not sure. If anyone knows the right name, please tell me.

The very last piece of random news 

and the best one yet.  

Tami was exposed to Covid_19 

from someone she works with. 

 She went to get tested right away

 and she is negative.

Pale Peach Roses:  Modesty

Periwinkle:  Tender Recollections

Lily of the Valley:  Return of Happiness

 

 So that's all the randomness

 I can come up with for now.  

The inauguration is

 scheduled for tomorrow.

  Please let there be

 nothing horrible happen. 

 So many toxic circumstances 

have been unleashed into our country 

and it will take a long time to clean up. 

 What has happened

 in the United States 

since the election (and before) 

has been a disgrace and 

the time has come 

for it to stop!

Parsley:  Festivity
 

 Close down the playground, 

lock up the bullies,

 their leader and his enablers

 and let the adults and, 

what the United States has

 always stood for,

 take charge!

Rosemary:  Remembrance

Sweet William:  Gallantry 
Carnation:  I Will Never Forget You

Nandina berries:  Protector of household

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Stay Home

and 

Wear Your Mask

On Thursday, January 21, 
it will be exactly one year
 since the first known Covid case was found in Washington.
 As of today, Tuesday, January 19,
 the United States has had

 400,000 + deaths.
 If the vaccine is available where you are 
please take it. 
 It is not available yet 
in my town in California.

...Judy...

Daffodil:  New Beginnings

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