My Christmas Cactus

It's missing from my photos, you may have noticed.

But...it isn't Christmas yet.

Here it is, and it is trying.

There is one bud, right in the center of this picture,

that I expect to be bloomed out

every morning.

But...it may be waiting for Christmas Day!

I inherited this ginormous cactus,

and I feel unworthy to be its caretaker.

(Obviously, I am--unworthy.)

At least I have rotated it this year so that

all the buds are not on one side!

I tried giving it some food.

It is too big to put in a dark closet.

I think according to Sandy Smith and Linda Tucker

I didn't ignore it enough.

Theirs are already blooming and thriving 

on neglect, they have told me.

And I don't know how Paula Howell treated hers--

pampering or neglect--

but she claims hers is blooming profusely!

What do you think?

Will she bloom by Christmas Day?

Before?

By Easter?

I'll let you know in glorious color

(I hope)!

Please Peek At My Christmas Wonderland!

My Christmas decorations have not changed

much over the years.

But...some of you may not have been my Facebook

friends when I showed pictures in the past.

I am, therefore, using that excuse to repeat!

Welcome to what to me feels like

 Christmas wonderland.
**And don't forget you can click on the pictures
to make them larger.**

This is my view from my recliner.

The reason for season and the most cherished

of my Christmas things.

Jack bought this beautiful Lenox nativity set for me.

(Thanks to Santa's helper, initials SLSM!)

The table is set and ready.

The fireplace, etc.

The little candle lit ceramic houses are probably 

at least 40 years old.

The backdrop for them was "new" 17 years ago.

These are ferris wheels on the left...

and merry-go-round horses on the right...

Yes, it is.

New pillows
(to look good but annoy you
 when you try to sit on the sofa.)

And the tree.

I've noticed that all trees tend to look much alike in

amateur photographs.

Since I can't even take credit for decorating this one,

may I say it is c'est magnifique in person.

 This candleabra is a L & J Stovall antique.

I bought it, thinking it was the most beautiful thing ever.

It hung in our first house in Burleson over 50 years ago.

 My decorator made the arrangement and changes

it out with the non-Christmas version every year.

This stunning angel is a newer addition.

(Found by Susan and her mother-in-law, Shirley!)

Talk about hard to photograph!

The gorgeous poinsettia behind the fountain is a gift

 from Linda and Dan Phillips.

 and flying above...

Remember The Market?

This foxy couple came from there and are right here

to greet guests every year!

 Some new things this year:

These cups are great, as long as you're right handed!
(Their noses can be a problem for lefties!)

 The "JOY" is new; the flaming
plum pudding is a treasure of long standing!

I've saved my best new Christmas item until last.
If you want to see it, just

Click Here




Thanks for indulging me by sharing in my
festivities!
I truly wish every one of you could be here 
in person!
You'd find me sprawled out in my recliner
dying of fatigue.
No, no.  Just kidding!

Merry Christmas!

Bogus Virus Warning!

I spent at least an hour this morning on the phone

with Apple Support.

The week of Christmas, who has time for that?

So...I'm going to tell you about my experience and

hope it might help you avoid a similar fate.

I was browsing Facebook as I remember.

I clicked on something unusual but interesting.

My screen started flashing and telling me that I had

fallen prey to a virus and must call an 800 number

to free my computer.

The message took over the whole screen, and

there was no getting rid of it.

I even forced the computer to quit, but when I

started it again, it was still flashing and warning!

This is a very helpless feeling.

But, if it happens to you, don't panic.

It is a scam about which you can see many videos

on YouTube.

(After, of course, you get your computer unlocked!)

 First and foremost, by all means, 

DO NOT CALL THE 800 number on the screen!!!

That will give the scammers access to all

your information!

Because I have a relatively new Mac, I called

Apple Care.

The consultant knew my problem immediately.

He was able to legally get on my screen with me and 

walk me through the fix.

This message allegedly came from Microsoft.

But no one will ever legally invade your computer

 in this way.

If you go to YouTube and enter something like

my title, you will see many videos about the problem.

I "took a bullet" for y'all and watched one for

34 tedious minutes! 

Want to know why the scammers do this?

To "fix" the problem and protect you from future

problems, they charge

 $299 for 2 years or $499 for 5 years.

My Apple consultant said he had heard of

charges as high as $700!

And this for a problem which does not exist.

I feel like I'm not being much help here.

I don't even remember how "we" fixed my problem.

It was just a few clicks.

I sure don't have any advice about a PC.

Oh, yes I do!

DON'T CALL THE 800 number!

Now that I've done my best to protect my little

chickadees, I've just got to get to wrapping some

packages!

Y'all be careful out there in cyberspace, hear?

Dilemma: Done Deal

In case you haven't involved yourself in my dilemma,

you may Click Here to do so!


I arrived at Pope with all four Connect 4's in my car.
I took one in.
My little guy was very proud as we unwrapped
our new game, and he insisted I write
"Kids Hope" on the box!
So...we played once, and he was on to another game!


When I left after our hour, I forgot about the
extra cargo in my back seat!
I couldn't decide where I needed to go--until I
got close to Target. 
Oh, yeah. I needed to bite that bullet.


Feeling pessimistic, I looked at my arrival time.
11:02 A.M.
When I got inside, I took this picture of the line:

But I was chill--even though it was long and there was
 only one single solitary person working returns!


Since I was trying to take pics, my load was awkward.
I put it down on a shelf,

until a kind store employee brought me a basket!

My turn actually came very quickly.
I explained that I had received these three extra games by mistake, and that I would like to pay for them.
Nothing to it!
He thanked me for my honesty, scanned the boxes,
and I paid!
I was back in my car at 11:15.


So that probably makes two inventories that are off,
but my conscience is not!
Kids Hope has four new Connect 4's.
And all's right with the world!


******************


I hope you know that the last thing in the world I am
trying to do is pat myself on the back over
this incident.
The mere fact that I rationalized reasons not to
do the perfectly right thing, shows my vulnerability.

My Ethical/Moral Dilemma

Every Monday I get to go to Pope Elementary and

for one hour be a friend/mentor to a 

fabulous fourth grade boy!

Last week he was excited to see that I had a game

from our game shelf for us to play--Connect 4.

But...an essential piece of the game was missing.

My little guy was able to make it work,

but I was afraid others might not be able to.

I decided to buy us a new game.

Did I want to go to Toys 'R Us or Target at

this time of year?

That would be a gigantic NO.

I wanted to get on my trusty computer and order!

Target had a great deal with free shipping.

So I ordered one.

This is what was delivered to me.

Not one but four Connect 4 games!

I was only charged for one, so let the rationalizing begin:

1. "It is not fair that I have to go stand in line at

Target to return 3 of these things I did not order.

Especially when I carefully made my plans so I

would not have to go there.

In the cold. When I'm oh so busy."

2. "My receipt does not even show 

how much I paid. My local Target is going to be

thrown completely for a loop if I try to return these!

And it will totally throw their inventory off!"

3. "I might get the warehouse person in trouble who

made this mistake if I return the extras."

4. "Our KidsHope program has other schools, so I

could just give each of them one of the games

as a benevolent gift from Target!"

5. "Can you even imagine the confusion on the poor

person's face at 'Returns and Exchanges'

when I say 'I wish to pay for these extra games

which were sent to me by mistake?'"

"Whaaat?

How do I ring that up?"

6. "I'm sure Target would be more than happy

 to support

Mission Arlington, so I'll just take the extras there."

Aye yai yai!

See what I mean about a dilemma?

Woe is me.

I think I should be able to sell myself on any 

one of the above plans of action.

Why can't I seem to do that?

Well, gotta get to bed.

Have to be at Pope at 9:30.

Then I guess I'll stop at Target on the way home.

Maybe I'll just walk in and leave them 

on the counter.

Now that's an idea!

-------------------------------------------

P. S. Our organization, KidsHope USA,

will have a training session again in January.

If you have one hour a week to give,

I guarantee you will receive blessings many

times over in return!

The Corn

I know everyone is anticipating an elaborate

corn casserole recipe.

You may be disappointed.

My corn is more about the container than the recipe.

(Well, my family may disagree.)

But, it all started with this Shawnee corn dish, 

given to us as a wedding shower gift in 1956.

I had chosen china and pottery, but a

member of Jack's church

branched out and gave us this unusual gift.

I began taking corn to our family gatherings, of course!

I loved this dish from the beginning.

I don't know where, but I saw a simple recipe

for corn casserole which turned out to be delicious.

It was 1 box of frozen cream style corn and

 1 box of frozen whole kernel corn

mixed and baked together (with butter, of course!)

You'd be amazed at how good it was.

After many years of taking this traditional dish to every

 family celebration, the cream style

was changed--not for the good.

It was more of a whole kernel with sauce.

I felt my casserole was not as good.

But then...  

Disaster befell in the first degree!

The cream style was discontinued!  Completely!

I drove to every store in creation.

I called the company (Green Giant, I think.)

I finally found frozen cream style corn at the

Super I on Forest Hill Drive.

It was not a well known brand, but it was cream style!
So for many years I have made at least a semi-annual
(Easter and Thanksgiving) trip to--Forest Hill,
ironically where the story began!


Oh...one important change to my "recipe."
Now I use only the cream style corn.
It contains plenty of whole kernels.


Do you think you can handle this?
1. Frozen cream style  corn
2. Butter (about a small hunk per box!)
3. Salt and pepper
4. Flour to thicken (T. or so per box)

Microwave the corn--about 4 minutes per box
Mix it all together.  Bake a spell.

I bought 8 boxes for Thanksgiving.
We were having 16 guests.
I have two corn dishes now.
There was not a lot left. The first dish is usually
emptied before all the first servings are completed!


How legendery is this corn in our family?
Well, the first of our younger generation just married.
Miss Emily Marie Oliver (Madeline and Susannah's
 beloved cousin) and Mr. John Deaso
are now the proud owners of their very own corn dish.



P.S.  Isn't it funny to think of all the changes since
we got that corn dish?
Who ever would have believed it would
have its own blog on something called
the internet.


***UPDATE - DECEMBER 2019***


When I last left you, I was getting my corn
at the Super 1 store in Forest Hill.
Shortly after, the store went bye bye.


I won't go through all the evolutions since then,
but I am now driving to Brookshire's in 
Midlothian and buying Pictsweet frozen cream
style corn in 1 pound rolls. 
I am back to mixing it with equal numbers (but 
smaller) whole kernel packages.
And butter. Not much thickening required.


I just hope Brookshire's stays in business
and keeps carrying my corn!
I don't mind the drive at all!

TSA Pre Check Report

As you dear readers may remember,

this, my bargain cruise, was my first trip

as a qualified TSA pre check enrollee.

As you may also remember, I was not my usual

exclamation point self about this benefit.

I flew before the crack of dawn from DFW to Miami.

The flight left on Saturday morning at 6:10 A.M.

When I got to the security area, my suspicions

began to play out.

The pre check line was not even open yet!

There were a few people waiting for it to open,

and I was directed to join them.

But I, Miss Smarty Pants, was too smart for that!

I said I was not going to wait and marched

myself into the fairly short regular line.

I hope it made me feel good, because it was

probably a mistake.

The pre check line opened almost immediately.

In this particular situation, it didn't make

much difference time wise.

But remember--it was the middle of the night!

I flew home from Miami at 11 something A.M.

They are in the pre check business 

big time there.

There is a serpentine line that looks like the

one for Space Mountain at Disney World.

However, there was no one in it!

I breezed right through.

So I'd have to say the outbound trip was a

Dud,

simply because the line wasn't open.

The inbound trip was a

Deal.

I continue to lean in the pessimistic direction, however,

cause what if all that line had been full of people

in Miami?

But...

I'm still not ready to turn in my membership!

In a generous spirit, I am giving them another chance.

My Bargain of all Bargains Cruise!

I'm back from a short cruise on Royal Caribbean's

oldest, smallest ship--

Empress of the Seas.

Why would I choose to do that, you ask?

Well...there was a very good reason.

It was FREE!

And I will say, I sure got my money's worth!

Here we are parked, ironically, beside the world's

largest ship, Royal Caribbean's

Allure of the Seas.
(This picture was taken on the third day of the
cruise, in Cozumel.)

Kinda pitiful, isn't it?

But did I care?  NO!  The Allure would not be FREE!

So, off we go from Miami!

Waiting to board!

My luggage tag says, "Life's a ride.

You've gotta buy a ticket, hang on tight

and keep going aroud 'til they kick ya off."

Not theologically very sound,

but amusing at my advanced youthful age.

Here I am waiting for my room to be ready!

My room was very adequate (but itsy bitsy.)

As you can see, it had an ocean view.
(Well, it's a land view right now.)

Not many balconies on this grand old dame.

The next thing I photographed...

Yippee!  Room service wakeup call!
There was one of these hanging on my door
every night before I turned in!

And the next...

Yikes!  But it's FREE!

First Stop!

My "wildlife" shot--a prerequisite for every trip!

I heard one of the shopowners say "Hello, Mama"

as she walked by!

This mama and her babes must be quite a fixture at the

port--maybe its most photographed!

A stranger took this for me.

It doesn't look so small when not next to a giant!

So, I did some shopping in Key West and decided

to go deposit my purchases in my room,

have lunch, and return.

But...this is what it looked like out my window
when I was ready to venture out again.

So after a delightful Cuban sandwich room service lunch,
(with Dr. Pepper I bought in Key West)

this is what I did instead!

I'm reading John Grisham's latest.

The Empress had recently been refurbished,
so it was very beautiful
(and decked out for Halloween!)

This area on the back is lovely for relaxing.
(Taken in Cozumel, so that's the Allure 
in the background.)

Our next and only other stop.

where I got: drum roll, please...

Mexican vanilla!


Before I knew it--time to disembark!
It was a fast, fun five days.


I hate to end with a sad story, but...
I had a window seat on the flight home.
The plane was fab--a 777 200.  I took some pics:

It was just like being in business class.
Miles of leg room--elaborately reclining seats!
Then I put my phone in my purse which
was on the floor.


It had occurred to me, and I had overheard
some conversations,

that the President might be in
Florida campaigning before the election.
All of a sudden...I saw Air Force One out my window
as we taxied out for takeoff.
Oh, yes...I could clearly read United States of America
on the side!!!
But remember?  My phone was stowed away!
By the time I dug it out, put in the wrong code 
SEVERAL times, and focused,
this is all I got.

But that's it!
You'll just have to take my word for it...again!
No do overs.


Thanks, Royal Caribbean!
This cruisin' fanatic had a great time!
I'll always be willing to help you fill up your ships!