And so goes another year. They build up like New England snow; if we’re lucky. That’s why I never make fun of that blue-haired driver in front of me. He/she did something very right to make it this far in life.

I will be going back to school in 2009. I just have to figure out for what. I’m leaning toward the fields of nursing or law. Heck, maybe I could be a staff nurse for a personal injury attorney and cover both fields at once. What I know for sure, is that we should never stop learning.

Whatever you decide to do in 2009, do what you enjoy and enjoy whatever you do.

Cheers

The church ladies stopped in shortly after I arrived home today. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the visit, but with indoor animals numbering in the double-digits, I can leave the house spotless at night, go to work and come home to a tsunami of fur and overturned what-not. Luckily, I was only de-boning a turkey when they arrived and the place wasn’t in too bad a shape.

I put the turkey bones and such outside for the outdoor wild “people”, seeing it’s hard to find food at this time of year. Don’t ya know though, when I looked out the window, the neighborhood cat was walking away with a drumstick. How’s them for apples?

Christmas was overwhelming in the gift department. Much too much stuff. So much stuff, I am ashamed. But the best present of all, wasn’t really a present at all.

Having Matty home for four days was wonderful. He’s a busy guy working for the Feds in Philly these days, so he seldomly gets back home. But even he was happy to get back to the North Pole and visit with me and the furfaces.

I can’t be sure, but I think I heard him mumble “Hello, wonderful Drewsville General Store” as we drove by. I’m sure he’d deny it, unless pressured into confessing by Brenda.

Yep, the big city has lights and glitz and lots of action. But there’s no place like home.

Most of the happiness and “ho-ho-ho” of Christmas left me after my parents died. But of all the holidays in the recent memory, this one had to be the nicest.

Hamel gave me an extra day off to visit with husband, Matt, who has been away at his new job in Philadelphia since before Thanksgiving. We had a very quiet and relaxing day. I cooked an excellent meal. The furfaces gave it two paws up!

I especially loved the deep red purse and matching wallet Matt gave me (to match my Jeep, he said) and the winter vest in pale lime green. I know he loves his red Blackberry Curve and his new cordless iron. I never knew a man who loves his work shirts to look as crisp as Matty does, so being a “lefty”, he’ll enjoy the cordless aspect of this new tool. I gave him more than enough “gag” gifts and he gave me stuff I want him to return, only because he went way above and beyond. But no hard feelings.

Today, we get to take sister, Meggie, out for lunch and lay claim to the socks sister, Joy, bought for me and left at Meggie’s. (All I really wanted this year were socks.)

I hope you enjoyed the day and like me, appreciate all the stuff we really don’t need and the things we really do.

For everyone to be warm today,
inside and out.
For animals to be companions,
and not a meal.
For children to act like kids,
and adults to have more fun.
For peace and goodwill among men.

Jeannie

The mercury reads zero, the wind is blowing and factoring in its velocity, it feels like 10 below out there. It’s 11:15 pm and a middle aged man, a second shift worker, walks from downtown Keene to the bottom of Court Street and heads up Maple Avenue. He’s literally freezing to death. No one at work offered him a ride and he’s out there without a hat or gloves. Sounds dangerous. No, it sounds deadly to me.

How is it possible for Keene Police to drive by without rolling down the window and asking about his well-being? How is it possible not to wonder whether or not this man is suffering from hypothermia?

Eleven people have died across this country since the weekend because of the cold. Do we want to make it an even dozen?

By the time I heard about this man’s plight, he had disappeared into the dark. So much for being at the right place, at the right time.

Come on KPD, have we become so entangled in rules and regulations and that we overlook the potential for danger or death? Can’t you spare this guy a ride?

Two million people lost their jobs this year and yet every member of Congress is slated to get a $4700.00 pay increase next month. It’s a 2.8% automatic raise. If they vote it down, it will be a sign of confidence and belief in the new administration. A belief in America’s new deal with you, the taxpayer.

As for the historical background, back in 1789, members of Congress received six dollars a day, or about $75.00 a day by today’s standards. As of 1965, members were receiving $30,000 a year. That’s an equivalent of $195,000 in today’s terms.

In 1989, Congress passed an amendment allowing for the automatic raises, unless lawmakers specifically voted to reject it. Which Congress did, until 2000.

Currently the average lawmaker makes $169,300 a year, with leadership making slightly more. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) makes $217,400, while the minority and majority leaders in the House and Senate make $188,100.

I am my own worst enemy. I have the type of personality where, if something needs to be done, I attack the project 110% and don’t quit until it’s done. I tend to institute unrealistic time frames, which means instead of the two hours planned, it’s a four hour project, but even so, I won’t stop till I am finished. I skip meals and sleep to get a project to completion. I said I would get it done, so come hell or high water, that’s the way it’s going to be. That’s how my mind works. It’s very bad, seeing I don’t leave room for the human component. Of course not, that would be a sign of weakness. God forbid I ask/wait for help. That explains how I pulled my back taking a heavy chair up two flights of stairs all by myself. That explains how Matt managed to unload a 275 gallon oil tank all by himself.

Mom used to have this phrase growing up, “do it right, and do it right now!” I guess I still do. Poor sister, Joy, walked around for years as an adolescent looking to find where the “elbow grease” was hidden. And goodness knows we’ve all “snapped to it/or out of it” as mother would demand.

We all pull things out of our childhood and incorporate them into who we are now. The person who said the key phrases may be long gone, but their voice plays-on like an endless loop in our brain. I guess I wish I had a more laid-back childhood because it made for a very manic adulthood.

Now, onto the next project.

I’ve been busy buying, wrapping and sending Christmas presents along with balancing my checkbook at every turn. Tomorrow morning I will ship my final box. Thank the BIG GUY! Christmas cards were a piece of cake compared with all the hoop-la of professionally packing presents.

I think Christmas is a little over the top, but that’s just my opinion. There was nothing I wanted heading into the Yule Tide season, there’s nothing I want six days before the big day and there’s nothing I want on the 25th. I need socks. When sister Joy asked what I wanted, I said, “socks.”

I feel especially sad this year for anyone who cannot celebrate Christmas because of the power problems. I know there will be a handful of houses still not connected to the grid by the time Thursday rolls-around. That’s because power crews will stop working to head home to celebrate Christmas with their own families. That’s understandable, but still very sad.

I will be very happy to have my husband home for Christmas. He’s been gone a month to his new job. Thanksgiving was a big bummer for me. It was a day of no heat in the house and a bowl of soup; actually two bowls of soup. So, in some ways, I know how powerless the “powerless” segment of society feels. Very depressing. You can bet I’ll savor a good meal and good company for the upcoming holiday.

Six days and counting.

I am so manic about not missing work that I risked my life and the safety of my pets last night driving from Walpole to Keene in the ice storm. I had to stop three times along Walpole Valley Road to move big tree limbs just so I could get through. Not smart for a woman to be doing at midnight, all alone on a road where there’s no cell reception. Did I mention that visability was under 1/8th of a mile due to dense fog? Yep, that was the trek into work. By the time I got to Keene I was sick to my stomach from fear.

I made sure to leave extra food and water for the furfaces thinking I might be delayed getting home, but I chose to travel Route 12 and trees down were not an issue at mid-morning so I arrived back safely.

Unfortunately, all the power was out and while I had plenty of pet food in the house, I didn’t have a single can of anything for people, only macaroni and rice and such, all things that had to be cooked. But with no power, that was impossible. I guess I should have eaten in Keene but I was too anxious to get home to my pets.

I live on my debit card so I never carry cash and when the power’s out, debit cards don’t work. When the power’s out, gas stations don’t work and so forth on down the line. Tomorrow I will get some cash.

Obviously, the power is back on now and I’m loving this cup of coffee I’m drinking; such nice hot coffee. But tomorrow, I also promise I will stock up on canned foods in the event of another emergency. You see, I am one of the lucky ones. More than 400 thousand people in New Hampshire still don’t have power and I’m sure many of them were equally as unprepared.

There are lots of things we put off till tomorrow that should have been done today. Luckily, I still have tomorrow to make up for the shortcomings of today.