Jeri, Your doggie photo is hilarious. Thank you!!! My prayer is peace to all, to every person of every religion. During this particular season I feel an urgency to the prayer that every child be protected, and may every person be guarded by grace. May there be good will among men and women who govern our nations. May there be bountiful provision given to all. May the creator who created the world bring good weather for abundant harvests and gardens and may the waysides and meadows be filled with beautiful flowers of all kinds, shapes forms and colors. A prayer of Roses. May the blossoms of wild roses thrive along the pathways and gladden the hearts of those who see these five petaled wonders, and note their dainty charm. May wild roses be preserved in all their habitats. May every person upon seeing a rose in blossom be uplifted in spirit, for roses have had a particular place in the spiritual tradition of many a faith over thousands of years. God bless your home and those within, and all your pets, freinds and kin. Lux.

It snowed last night so everything is a blanket of white for Christmas day. I feel a little guilty, but I don't think it is too deep so I'm not going out with the snowblower til tomorrow. I'm the caregiver for my Mom, and it is just the two of us this year. We open presents on Christmas Eve, so we had a lovely night with the house decorated, the fireplace going and the tree all decorated and lit. Then about 11:00 pm as I was settling into bed but not asleep yet, I heard this funny thump and a tinkling. Uh oh, that can't be what it sounded like! Sure enough, go out to the living room and the tree had fallen over. Didn't fall out of it's stand, just tipped the stand and flopped over! Luckily only one ornament broken. Unfortunately, it was one of my favorites, my duck bell. If you are now scratching your head and going, "Duck bell???", it has a bell for a body with a duck neck and head on top and duck feet for the clappers. Very cute. Fortunately I think I can glue it back together. And I was very relieved that none of the older (my grandmother's and mother's) ornaments were hurt. Anyway, just stood the tree up again, filled up the water and everything seems back to normal today. We just had a simple dinner (lunch?) today, turkey and cranberries, asparagus, rolls and peppermint ice cream. And just for snacks, of course, we have 3 lbs. of See's candy and assorted cookies, fudge and other goodies in the house. Should be enough to last for awhile! Forgot to mention the wine we had with lunch, which will make Mom nice and sleepy. So I figure she will plop herself down in front of the football game and promptly fall asleep, thus giving me a restful Christmas afternoon to read or shop on the computer - my sister-in-law gave me an Amazon gift certificate. Which reminds me, Mom gave me a moth orchid for Christmas. First orchid I've tried, so anybody who has any tips, send them along. Also growing paperwhites this year (usually do amarylis). They are just starting to bloom. Look lovely. However, they are supposed to have a wonderful fragrance and while they do have quite a strong smell, I'm not so sure yet that it's wonderful. Maybe it will improve as they open more, or maybe I will get used to it. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all of you and yours.

Even one goat can change family. Two would be beyond their wildest dreams, probably. They can actually make a living with that one goat. I'll try to find the website--fascinating.

Hi everyone, I just rejoined this forum. I stopped when they started to charge but am glad to be back. Nice job on the altered pail. They have directions for this on the www.raggedyscrappin.com site All the graphics and directions are there. As well you will find tons of ideas of what to put in the cans and other types of cans. Great to be back.Irene