Fuzzy Sticks?

The other day, Diane and I went in search of craft items we needed to make candy canes out of

twisted cord. I sent Diane to the rear of the store to buy white pipe cleaners that would make it possible for us to make the canes have a flexible top.

She came back and reported the store only carried "fuzzy sticks." A closer inspection revealed

they were indeed only pipe cleaners in a pretty bag. They came in red, green and white, so of

couse we bought one of each color.

Diane has already made a few tiny wreathes with hers and we plan to start twisting tomorrow.

We have a deadline of December 5th and should have at least a dozen ready to sell At St. John

LaLande by then. For those who have never heard of this particular St. John, as I hadn't, he

was one of the "North American Martyrs" who attempted to bring Christianity to the new world. At the time of his death, he was only 15. He had been in the service of the Jesuits for

a few years. Thank goodness we only need to serve God by selling crafts and cookies at the

annual fund raiser.

I intend to visit a tobacco counter soon to find out if pipe cleaners are available in today's

society or if pipe smokers have to use "Fuzzy Sticks" to clean their pipes.

Thanksgiving

This year we tried something completely different. I finally decided it was time to stop

making Sally's family eat two turkey dinners within 8 hours of each other. So, we brought

pumpkin pies and coffee to their house around 6 p.m.

Levi was on the sofa sleeping, but when he heard us talking, he woke up and was still in full

swing when we left about two hours later. Everybody, except Ezra and Levi, was excited to

see the Plaza Lights turned on tonight.

I remember the first time I went to see the "turn on." It was with Jim and his family and

we parked on top of Swanson's. The view from their roof was amazing. We were all huddled

together because it was about 30 degrees! At that time we were a fairly large crowd:

Gladys, Jim's grandmother, and his mom, Betty. Also, Martha, Archie, and Nanett. And, the

newcomer, me. At that time, both Diane and Sally were still a "twinkle in God's eye."

Over coffee after the event, Betty made her annual observation. "I don't know why every

body makes such a big deal out of watching the lights come on. If you come down here at

5 p.m., you can see them come on any night of the week until the middle of January."

Because our group was smaller this year, I ordered a full Thanksgiving dinner from Hen

House. All I had to do was bake the turkey (for 3 hours) and microwave or bake green beans,

dressing, carrots, sweet potatoes and gravy. The easiest part of all were the cranberries:

we sliced the jellied Ocean Spray and a cranberry-orange relish came with the dinner.

I think next year, I will go back to making my own dinner, because the pre-arranged

dinner actually took as much time and energy as starting from scratch. With apologies to

the Bard, perhaps I can end with my own observation:

Double, double, toil and trouble

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Eye of newt and hair of dog

Cranberries growing in the bog.

Oven roast, smoke, fry or bake,

My annual bird I ought to make.

But the pamphlet said, "Just re-heat.

Take the burden off your feet."

What the grocer fail to mention:

A half-baked turkey needs more attention

Than his fresh cousin ever did!

Happy Holidays in the making,

One Month

It has been one month since my Mother passed away. She was 87, and, of course there were

signs that led us to realize time was getting shorter. In September, she had a stroke. After she

returned to her nursing home she was only eating about one quarter of her meals. Realizing

that this was her body gradually shutting down, my brother, sister-in-law and I knew it was

time to see her. Sally and her family were also planning to go to St. Louis at the same time.

Thursday, September 30, we were making plans to leave the next day. Because of previous

work-related commitments, Lynne was going to St. Louis the following weekend. Friday

morning, Diane and I were finishing our packing and Jim was getting the cat ready to take to

her kitty-sitters. When the phone rang, and I saw my sister's ID, I knew why she was calling.

There was no other reason for her to call since we would be there in a matter of hours.