WE HAD CHRISTMAS COMPANY TODAY

     KAI READS US A STORY FROM A BOOK HE RECEIVED THIS CHRISTMAS

It was the sound of an overnight hard rain clanging on our steel roof that briefly had me awake a few times during the wee dark hours.  Not the best way to start a new day.  Those rains, although lighter, continued throughout the morning turning rural gravel roads into a quagmire of mud.  Needless to say, Pheebs and I kept the Jeep out of all that and stuck to several paved roads for a half-hour cruise through the soggy countryside.

 RED AND GREEN CHRISTMAS COLORS COUNTRY STYLE AND NOTICE THE FLOODING

Kelly's two sons, Ben and Jason along with Ben's two young boys Darion and Kai rolled in about 12:40 this afternoon for a Christmas visit.  With the two young boys being older now they were well behaved and it was nice to see Kelly interacting with her two sons and two grandsons.  And she had gifts for the grandsons too.  Kelly had also whooped up a great turkey supper with all the fixins'.  (I scrubbed and sliced the potatoes and carrots) Especially enjoyed was a 'pink jello salad dessert' she made.  That recipe of crushed pineapples, strawberry jello, and whipped cream mixed with cream cheese had been made by Kelly's Mother each year at Christmas for many years and it is the best jello salad dessert that I have ever tasted.  Chatted for a while after supper, Kai read us a story and then it was time for them all to head for home.  Jason, Ben, and the boys packed things up around 5:45p.m. and hit the road in a cold pouring rain.  Overall today, a good time was had by all:))

 KAI, BEN, KELLY JASON, DARION

 NOW GREAT TO SEE A YOUNG PERSON ACTUALLY LOOKING AT A BOOK INSTEAD OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR A CHANGE

 KELLY HAS PRESENTS FOR THE BOYS 

 KAI IS INTERESTED IN ROCKS AND STONES SO KELLY GAVE HIM SOME CRYSTALS 

 THERE IS THE JELLO SALAD DESERT I LIKED SO MUCH

 OUR CHRISTMAS DINNER WAS 'GIT YER OWN STUFF'

Only four more days to go until the end of the year when a wee welcome mental boost takes place.  'Out with the Old and In with the New' as the old saying goes and it's an old saying I understand well.  It's like at midnight of the old year we step up to the counter at the 'Old and New Problem Store' and flop our big sack of 2023 problems up on the counter, trading them in for a brand new sack of 2024 problems.  With the heavy burden of our old sack of 2023 problems lifted, we readily shoulder our new sack of 2024 problems and with a touch of renewed confidence head back out the door hoping that the big storm of human confusement we just trudged through to reach the Problem Store hasn't worsened while we were inside at the counter making our trade.  What are the odds I wonder...............      

 RELAXING AFTER A GREAT SUPPER

 KAI WITH HIS BOOK....HE DID VERY WELL IN READING US A STORY AND SO WELL, IN FACT, I THINK HE IS GOING TO BE A N AVID BOOKWORM WHICH WILL SERVE HIM WELL IN LIFE 

 ALL PACKED UP AND HEADING HOME

 THANKS FOR COMING GUYS, YOU MADE YOUR MOTHER'S DAY

Normally by this time of the year, my snow shovel and I would have already moved about 3.8 tons of snow.  But, so far this year I have only had to mess with maybe 12.6 pounds of the cold white stuff.  I like it when this happens:)) 

Al's Music Box:)) Suzanne  is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s. First published as a poem in 1966, it was recorded as a song by Judy Collins in the same year, and Cohen performed it as his debut single, from his 1967 album Songs of Leonard Cohen. "Suzanne" was inspired by Cohen's platonic relationship with dancer Suzanne Verdal. Its lyrics describe the rituals that they enjoyed when they met: Suzanne would invite Cohen to visit her apartment by the harbour in Montreal, where she would serve him Constant Comment tea, and they would walk around Old Montreal past the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, where sailors were blessed before heading out to sea. Cohen's recording was released as a single in 1968 but did not reach the music charts. The song only charted after Cohen's death in 2016.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Joan invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, 'Would you like to say the blessing?'  'I wouldn't know what to say,' the girl replied.  'Just say what you hear Mommy say,' Joan answered.  The girl thought for a minute, then bowed her head and said, 'Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?'

- What happens when a police officer gets into bed?  He becomes an undercover cop.

A wife went to the police station with her next-door neighbor to report that her husband was missing. The policeman asked for a description.  She said, "He's 35 years old, 6 foot 4, has dark eyes, dark wavy hair, an athletic build, weighs 185 pounds, is soft-spoken, and is good to the children."  The next-door neighbor protested, "Your husband is 5 foot 4, chubby, bald, has a big mouth, and is mean to your children."  The wife replied, "Yes, but who wants HIM back?"
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