It’s Fun Monday once again.
Our Host : The every positive and thoughtful Sayre.
Our Assignment:

What was the most touching, wonderful part of Christmas for you this year?
AND
What was the craziest, stupidest, funniest part this year?

Touching, wonderful part - FAMILY
Craziest, stupidest, funniest part - FAMILY

My tree - yes the constantia wire adds that special touch don’t you think?

And still I did not win ugliest tree - how is this possible? Well there is always next year.

For others contribution head back over to sayresmiles

FUN MONDAY - Random Acts

It Fun Monday time again

Our Host: The judicious and prudent lovely ladies over at Mommy Wisdom
Our Assignment:
1) perform a random act of kindness. Now, before you freak out, please read on. This is actually really easy!! This act may be for someone you know or for a perfect stranger. It can be big or small, it'll all up to you.
2) Then, blog about what you did and why. How did it impact the person(s) you did it for? And better yet, how did it impact you!? How did you feel after you did it? Would you do it again?
3) If you've had a random act of kindness bestowed on you (recently), we'd love to hear about it. How did it impact you? How did it make you feel?

1) I don’t have a good deed or even a act of kindness for this week unless you count not stabbing the “Old One”. My friend Debbiesue would say that counts but she is good, generous, my friend and knows what it is like living with your ever aging parents. I was home sick most of the week and unable to do my normal escape to work each day, and want a gold star or points or something for not stabbing him. But it really doesn’t count as a random act of kindness, thou I pretty sure it would be considered justifiable, my sister says she will testify in my defence but I still don't think not stabbing you farther count as an act of kindness, so I will tell you of the week before last , just after Thanksgiving. I’m in the garage crushing cans preparing to take them for recycle. Yes, I’m one of the great waste generation and I drive an evil SUV but I feel we should do our part, beside I turn the cans in for cash that is than donated to our local humane society, (This in not my random act this is a normal thing I do) besides they are always strapped for cash. So, I’m out smashing cans, seeing how for medical reason I am no longer permitted my elixir of life, know as diet Mt Dew to the rest of the world, I must now rummage to supply my can smashing addition and had to give up on my plans for my Christmas tree.

It only takes 485 can (two month supply) but no more Dew for me. So I’m left to foraging for my cans pulling the odd can from atop someone else trash, picking up litter, asking co-worker for they cans, it is amazing how quickly they comply, not sure if it is the odd voice (some have compared to that of Ozzie from Black Sabbath with better diction) “I Want Your Can” in lieu of I’m Iron man, or the stare, not sure. Hey, I’m being deprived you expect me to be Little Miss Marry Sunshine. Any way I’m in the garage smashing cans, I love the crunch they make, not sure but the whole can collecting could be just so I can smash the little cans, the power. I’m sure the head shrink would have something to say about my need for violence, but they’re all a bunch of overeducated, drug using whack jobs, beside they said I was sane enough to work in our nuclear field. When along comes the Pastor from next door, a nice enough man all in all and should get some kind of an award for all he and his wife do, no I don’t go to his church, but still like the dude he is non-denominational and for all the years he has been our neighbor I have never heard him say a cross word about anyone. He had a funeral and the church had the dinner but there was a lot of extra food, that the family donated to the local youth home (one of the places the pastor works, the church doesn’t give him must if any thing for a salary so he works besides all the time he donates, he even had his church assist in the local clean up that the group I belong to arranged with help from the county, that was in addition to them opening the social hall for our pot-luck after the clean up. As I said a good guy). Besides food should not go to waste and anything would be better that the institutional non-food they normally get at the home. So we pack the leftovers and head off to town in my SUV, see there is a reason for me to have an SUV and you don’t need to be a soccer mom. When we get to the home you can see the Charge Person is pleased but a little disturbed too. I questioned what the problem is, well there wasn’t enough of any one thing for everyone to have for dinner and it will cause strife. Caulking my head I say what, you just make a Sheppard’s pie, casserole, or pot pie, with some tidbit no big deal. (My Mother was the queen of feeding a large family on leftovers to the point you didn’t know they were leftover. Debbiesue, my roommate from back in the Farmington, New Mexico days can contest that I have some of my Mothers skills in that unusual department.) The Charge Person gives me this deer in the headlight look and says she has never heard of such a thing. Somehow they talk me into showing some of the kids how to make a Sheppard’s pie, but under my rules:
1. Five would stay and help me with making dinner
2. Five would set the table and come up with after dinner entrainment -TV was not acceptable, games or songs or a play their pick (they were playing host.)
3. Five would have to finish my chore of smashing the cans, so the pastor went an got my collection of cans for the task.
4. After dinner five names would be drawn to see who would clear the dishes and clean up without complaint. Those were the rules.

The kids agreed and when they found out what I was doing with the cans, the 15 without a task took to foraging for more can. They managed to amass more cans in a few hours than I had over months of collecting. I think they all had an enjoyable evening, the pastor says they did. The shelter got twice the donation they would have. It is astonishing how thing work out when we work together, did I do much no, just willing to help when asked, as was everyone involved.

2) How did it make me feel? I’m not sure as it wasn’t a planned act it just was, but it made me feel good that the kids all pitched in and helped and went out of their way to help collect cans for others.

3) Guess the collecting of can would count.
Well how is that for a story? You can read of other random acts over at Mommy Wisdom
Thanks for stopping by.

Good By My Little Bark

Sad time in Penny town - beside being ill most of the week yesterday we had to put down our much love Boarder Collie, Barkley. So today I will tell you the story of how I got Barkley. Barkley wasn’t the demon dog that the Joner was after all he was a boarder collie, whos sole purpose for living is to please. I was living in Texas working on decommissioning the Super Collider, yes that is some of the type of work I did for our government. Anyway I’m living in Texas on about an acre of fenced property with lovely pecan trees, reason for the fence. But when I rented the place I thought a 6 foot chain link fence would keep an Alaskan Malamute in, I was wrong. The local animal control officer (John) got to know each other on first name bases, I had work out a deal that in lieu of him writing me citation after citation, I would make a monthly donation to his shelter and he would just pick the Joner up and ride him around in the truck when he escaped, this he did often. I would make the repairs and adjustment to the fence that John felt were needed to keep a Malamute home. Well we decided that the Joner was lonely, Malamute are pack animals and maybe if he had a pack he would stay home. (Getting you pet a pet is not a good idea) But that was the game plan, so week after week I would go to the shelter and watch as John would bring out a puppy or older dog only to have it be scared of my Malamute. Malamute aren’t exactly small dogs, and there wasn’t an abundance of them running around central Texas, to the best of my knowledge Joner was the one and only and he did his best to roam the entire county, much to the chagrin of John and I. So one day I get a call from John, and he says he has the perfect dog for the Joner, besides he really needs my help, could I stop that evening after work. I agree so after work I stop at the house and load up my malamute to go and try yet another dog for Joner to scare. Well we pull in and John leads us into a room of these eight little fuzz balls. Three run away to the far end of the room and two cower behind John, two more swat and pee, and one brave little pup give a playful little bark and starts playing with this monster of a dog, as if that is the most natural thing in the world. I tell John yep I take the little bark, (Barkley). He give me these big sad puppy dog eyes and says he needs me to take all eight puppies. I explained I live in a rented house and I’m not sure how the owner would take to eight puppies. He somehow or another convinces me to take all eight and that the next weekend at the town fair he will see if he can’t find homes for them all. Joners was in heaven and by the weeks end all eight were playing with him, but it was still Barkley who would always be first. The seven other little fuzz ball would huddle together , Barkley would cuddle up to the big hairy malamute at the foot of my bed, as if he knew he was to stay with the Joner. John was good to his word and on Saturday we cleaned the little boarder collie pups up and got them new little colored collars and leashes and a wagon that we hooked up to be pulled by a Malamute with a sign stating “Boarder Collie Puppies in need of a Good Home“. By the end of the day John managed to adopt out all seven of the remaining puppies. If I had know how wonderful and easy Boarder Collie were (well compared to Malamutes) I would have been tempted to keep more than one. But Barkley managed to bring joy and love to my life since 1989 that’s right nearly 20 years, so it is time to let the old dog rest. He will be joining the Joner, and Reggie, and three of the brother’s dog out on the farm, in a spot that is make just for them with a brook, and a bench, and a lovely view where you can sit and reflect.

Dogs have given us their absolute all.We are the center of their universe, we are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the bestdeal man has ever made.?Roger Caras