Betty’s Week

    It was fun delivering the papers last week, again on Tuesday morning. You get to visit with a whole different crowd than on my usual Wednesdays. After enjoying short visits, I wished everyone a happy New Year. Then completing my route I went home to cook for our Watch Night Service at Woodland Hills.
  We enjoyed some great food. Our pastor, Bro. Lynn Jones is from Louisiana and so we made some red Beans and rice and chicken and sausage Gumbo. Wanda McClus-key made the red beans and rice and it was delicious and I made the gumbo. We both made cornbread. (This was just accidental, Bro. Lynn —was not planned).
    We do love you, but we’re not that organized. In addition to this we had all kinds of cakes, pies, cookies, candy, dips and chips, other finger foods, drinks, tea and coffee. Needless to say, no one went home hungry.
  The young people enjoyed what sounded like some fun games. Us older folks played double-twelves dominos. Most of us had never played before, but I can tell you it was a fun game. Does take a long time to complete this game—was almost two o’clock before we got home. Bro. Lynn had to interrupt the game to give the devotional and pray in the new year. Had he not he might have had to just pray in 2015. He and his wife, Danielle, were going to Louisiana next day to visit family there. I’m sure he was sleepy, even though he left us still playing.
  I slept until just before nine on New Years Day—wanted to get up in time to see the Rose Parade. I had not seen a parade in many years and I thought it was beautiful. Sister Jimmie, who had been watching them through the years, didn’t think it was up to par.
  Celeste and Jim had spent a few nights on the Queen Mary recently and while they were home Christmas, they told me that one of these years they would take me to the Rose Parade. Said we could stay on the Queen Mary, which is less than an hour from the parade route, and just drive in. Sounds great to me. I always thought the Mississippi Lions Band should be a part of this parade (still do).
    Mississippi has won more Lions’  parades than any other state. Do believe that would get an invitation. Jim was a member of the Mississippi Lions Band for four years and I just knew that if the band went to the Rose Parade, Ed and I would go. Never happened. Jim would not try out for the McDonald’s Band, which always went to the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade and also to the Rose Parade, so I missed out there, also.
  My New Year’s lunch was left over baked ham, potato salad, blackeyed peas, cabbage and cornbread. On Hallmark they ran the parade again after lunch, so I watched to see if I’d missed anything on the first run. I did—you just can’t take it all in on one viewing and I’m sure you would miss lots of things even if you were there in person.
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  Thursday it was back to work and I was glad to get there. Even though I enjoyed my day off, it’s strange not to see anyone for a whole day. Did talk to Brother Terry late in the afternoon and then to Jimmie for a short time. Mom had fallen, but did no damage. Thanks to everyone who continues to pray for her and all the family.
  Late in the afternoon Thursday I caught up with my work and went on over to the nursing home to relieve Bo for a few hours. When Dorothy, our night sitter, arrived I went on to Mom’s to catch up on the sleep I missed the night before—experts say you can’t do this, but I did feel much more rested even though I had to get up at 4:30 Friday morning.
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  Great-niece Caroline Cole celebrated her first birthday last Saturday, even though she was born on January 5. I missed the party—no one came to relieve me.
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  The weather has definitely been erratic this week. It was 51 degrees when I went home Saturday night and remained in the 50s most of Sunday. However, by Monday morning it was in the low teens, with a strong north wind. I went out to warm up the car, came back in and found warmer clothes, gloves and a scarf. The prediction is that it will be even colder tonight (Tuesday), then warm up a bit on Wednesday, climbing back into the 50s by weekend. I’m looking forward to that heat wave. I hate cold weather.
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  Caution for the attention to pets, pipes and folks who do not have enough heating has been stated all week.
  We have a church cat and Cindy Barnes took it home with her Sunday night because it was to cold for it to be outside. She’d already provided a house and food for it.
  Didn’t warm my van up before I left the church Tuesday night, so the coldest I’ve been this year was going home New Years Eve. My van was parked at the kitchen door and when I got in I notices that I had some frost on my windshield. Wasn’t alarmed because the last prediction I’d heard was a low of 34. Turned on the wipers and it went away. Thought I was okay.
    Then I pulled onto North Main and the windshield again frosted up. I pumped some washer fluid onto it, thinking this would surely defrost it. Wrong! The thing iced even more and so I pumped and drove through the little cleared spot. The washer fluid splashed onto my mirrors and side glasses and froze and the windshield was also covered. It was a scary ride home. In addition to this, I met lots of cars out at two o’clock in the morning. I was sure that I was meeting drunk drivers, and I know they though I was the worst of the lot—I could barely see the center line. Was really glad to get up my hill and into the carport without having an accident.
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  Made no New Year’s resolutions. Doesn’t do any good, I just break them. Know I need to exercise more and eat better, but probably won’t.
  Hope everyone had a great New Years and will have a happy and prosperous 2014.