Thursday Thirteen - New Year's Eve

So another year over, another year gone! A new one beginning at the break of dawn. Farewell 2015, welcome 2016 - may all of your hearts be light with joy and prosperity.

I'm late today getting to Thursday 13 - my computer decided this morning to go down and it took some time to get it back (and then the power went out while I was in the middle of writing this). Perhaps one of the worst things, for me, about 2015 has been Windows 10. It has certainly taken up a lot of energy and time that I really didn't have to give.

But onward and upward, as they say. And then with it being New Year's Eve, what will I write about today?

1. So far, I have not made any resolutions for the New Year. I've not thought about it at all.


Has absolutely nothing to do with this post.

2. Some years I choose a power word, but I haven't done that, either. I think if I choose one, it might HEALTHY. But I'm still thinking on it.

3. Yesterday, as the year came to a close, I found that my health is still bad enough that I am still unable to go out and "do" a story as a news reporter. In the effort, I learned that I really don't want to go do them anymore, actually, which was a revelation. I thought I'd never stop wanting to do that but its allure has vanished. Maybe that's because of my health but I think instead maybe I've just grown apart from it. So I think I will be spending 2016 figuring out what it is I want to do with the next five years of my life.

Hollins University. Also nothing to do with this post.

4. I also reaffirmed something yesterday that I already knew - I really don't fit in. I'm an introvert, and while I need an occasional outing, I am not good in groups. That is why being a news reporter worked for me for 30 years. I could be involved yet not be involved. I sat on the sidelines and watched, and then provided information for others. It was a way to teach but not actually stand in front of a classroom.

5. My next phase of life should involve something sort of like #4 - a way to work but not be overly involved. Volunteering has always sounded good and I have done it in the past, but for unknown (at least to me) reasons I tend to rise to the top of the groups. I find myself being nominated for office. Then I am named Secretary or Press Relations or some such, when really all I want to do is attend the meetings, meet and greet, and leave. I have been known to drop out of organizations after being pressed by one person or another to take a leadership role. I don't mind selling the hot dogs but I don't want to be the one organizing the fair.

Trillium. Blooms in April. Also nothing to do with this post.

6. It would be nice to spend more time with friends and family. I am not actually expecting that to happen. Everyone has their lives.

7. Perhaps I should learn something new - take some free classes, or set up my own version of a course in something I'm interested in and watch lots of TED talks or YouTube videos or whatever I can find on the subject. That might be fun.

Bear photographed in 2009. And nothing to do with this post.

8. Maybe, given all the issues I have had with Windows 10, I should take computer programming. :-)

9. Coloring is something I hope to do a lot of. Several people gave me coloring books for Christmas. Very nice books, about mythical places or fairy forests or wizardry. Fantasy elements that interest me. I find it meditative so one thing I plan to do is clear a spot in my office where I can do that daily.

Black swan, 2010. Also nothing to do with this post.

10. This is not a resolution but a must: I need to stay on top of our bookkeeping records better.

11. It would be nice if we could have world peace and hope, but I don't see it coming. I will hope, though, that in 2016 people can be less afraid and a little nicer.

Rainbow 2011. Also nothing to do with this post.

12. Laughter and music are good sounds, ones that I need to hear more of.

13. And I'm looking forward to Downton Abby.


Happy New Year! Thank you for reading Blue Country Magic!

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 425th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Christmas Day 2015

Christmas Day is generally spent with my in-laws.

My sister-in-law (left) and my mother-in-law preparing snacks.

 

The prodigal nephew comes home. We weren't expecting him; he said he had to work but showed up. A pleasant and lovely surprise.

 

My husband apparently pontificating on some important point. That's nephew Chris on the right.

 

 

Mother-in-law's Christmas tree.

 

The opening of the packages.

 

More package opening.

 

My husband had wrapped this parcel in duct tape.

 

The remains of the day.

 


A little food porn to finish it off. Christmas dinner!

Christmas Eve 2015

Christmas Eve is when I held an open house of sorts and folks, generally family, dropped by.

Here are some photos of the day:

Table ready for guests.

 

How I hid my treadmill.

 

My tree for 2015.

 

Packages and decorations on the other side of the room.

 

How I decorated the fireplace.

 

My friend Teresa brought me this lovely painting on Christmas Eve. Didn't she do a fantastic job?

 

My aunt, Carolyn.

 


My husband, apparently eating.



My brother.
 




My brother and his son, Trey.




My father.



Shannon and Rita.

 

Shannon, Rita, and Eunice (my mother-in-law).

Missing from the photos because apparently I didn't pick up the camera while they were there: my sister-in-law, Dina, my niece, Zoe, and her boyfriend, and Shannon's boyfriend, Chris.

Sunday Stealing: Year End

From Sunday Stealing

The 2015 Year End Meme

From the archives!

1. What did you do in 2015 that you’d never done before?

A. I stopped working and writing (for pay). I've never deliberately done that before. I have always had a job of some kind.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

A. I didn't make any resolutions last year. I don't know if I will make any for 2016.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A. No.

4. Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2015?

A. I learned that most people do not change.

5. What was your favorite new TV program?

A. Supergirl!

6. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?

A. Better health.

7. What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

A. Can't really think of any dates. I had nice visits with friends for which I am grateful, but I don't know the dates they occurred. Wait, we had a nice trip to Charleston in the fall. That'll do.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

A. I went from only being able to manage 2 minutes on the treadmill before it bent me over double with pain to 25 minutes before the pain forced me off. It doesn't sound like a big deal but it really is.

9. What was your biggest failure?

A. Diet.

10. What was the best thing you bought?

A. A coloring book.

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?

A. My husband has been very good and kind while I've tried to get more healthy and overcome this weird disability I have acquired.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and disgusted?

A. 

13. What song will always remind you of 2015?

A. I don't really know. Maybe that Adele song, Hello.

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?

A. Writing and guitar-playing.

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?

A. Playing video games on the computer.

16. What was the best book you read?

A. The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert

17. What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?

A. If I had not had to give up my writing work at my doctor's request (it was more like an order).
 
18.  Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

A. 
 

Starry starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

 

Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They did not listen, they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will.

 

     -- Don McLean

 

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

 

Saturday 9: Happy Holidays!

Saturday 9: Happy Holidays! (from the archives)


1. As you can see, Sam (meme author) loved giving her annual wish list to Santa. Yet some children are reluctant to climb into Jolly Old St. Nick's lap. Did you enjoy the tradition or were you shy? Or did you by pass it altogether -- either because you wrote him a letter or because your family didn't celebrate Christmas?

A. As I recall, I wasn't afraid of him, though I remember that he scared my brother once when he dropped by the house (some friend of my father's, I think). However, I don't recall climbing on his lap every year, though I am sure I must have.

2. Are you currently on the Naughty or Nice list? How did you get there?

A. I hope I'm on the nice list. I mean, the worst thing I do is eat raw cookie dough and cut the tags out pillows.

3. Did you ship any gifts to friends and family this year? If so, which one traveled the farthest?

A. The one I sent to England to a friend would have gone the longest way. Others went to Florida and California.

4. Did you buy yourself a gift this year?

A. Yes. On Black Friday, J C Penny's had a nice warm coat marked down to a ridiculously low price, and I needed a new coat. So I bought it. I then donated my old coats to a church that was collecting coats and blankets for homeless people, since I had a new one.

5. What's your favorite holiday-themed movie?

A. It's a Wonderful Life.

6. Thinking of movies, Christmas is lucrative for Hollywood. Have you ever gone to a movie theater on Christmas Day?

A. Once, a very long time ago, we attempted to see a movie on Christmas day but the theater was closed. That was probably 25 years ago. Haven't been back on Christmas day since.

7. Have you ever suffered an embarrassing moment at the company Christmas party?

A. No. That's mostly because I've been self-employed for the last 20 years.

8. What's your favorite beverage in cold weather?

A. Hot chocolate.

9. Share a memory from last Christmas.

A. Hmm. Christmas 2014? My aunt did not make it down to see me for the first time in about 15 years, and it wasn't until the New Year that we were able to visit and exchange presents. She brought along her granddaughter, who at 8 years old is the most well-mannered and brightest child I have ever met. She can carry on a conversation better than most adults. My husband and I were very impressed with her.

As for yesterday's Christmas (which was the last Christmas, right, now that it's over?), my nephew who lives in Florida turned up unexpectedly, much to our delight. He'd initially had to work (he's in health care) but his schedule changed so he caught a flight home.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Merry Christmas!

Thursday Thirteen - Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas if you celebrate: Happy Thursday, if you don't!



No snow for us this year. This photo is from 2007.

Christmas Eve has always been the day I look forward to more so than Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is all anticipation and excitement. You can still play "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" or "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," which on Christmas Day you shouldn't do because it's more solemn. At least, it is more solemn once the packages are opened.



Santa from a 2008 parade.

When we were children, my mother used to let my brother and I exchange presents on Christmas Eve as a way to calm us down. I am not sure how old we were when that tradition started, but it is one we have continued almost annually.

I have no words of wisdom for the holiday. Not sure what to list for a Thursday 13, either. We are having extremely warm weather - too warm for making candy and other things that do better in cold weather, that's for sure.


Tree-top Star from 2008

So what to write? A list of things I want? I don't want much, though. World peace, less fighting, more empathy - the things that only humanity can change by changing their hearts. Santa doesn't bring those kinds of things.

How about a list of how naughty I've been? Because we all know I am super-duper bad.

1. I ate raw cookie dough. I know, it is the worst possible sin. I mean, what if that raw egg gets me all messed up? I've only been doing this for as long as I can remember, but I did it just yesterday.

2. Tags do not remain on my pillows. I remove them.

3. Some of my writing earlier in the year was okay. I was proud of it, anyway. I did my best.


My brother in 2007. Has nothing to do with my writing. But he has much to do with Christmas Eve.

4. But then I stopped writing, and became sloth-like, because my doctors wanted me to stop having stress and stuff in hopes I would get better. So I played too many video games.

5. Envy overcame me when I saw the new smart phones. I would really like to have one but I am trapped with an old flip phone. Maybe one of these days.

6.  Unless one can lust over chocolate, I am not sure I experienced this particular sin this year.

7. However, I did eat a lot of chocolate, and while my weight didn't exactly climb, it didn't go down, either - so gluttony, here I am.

O Christmas Tree (2009)

8. I became extremely angry over something or another, but it must not have been overly important because I don't remember the incident. I just know my blood pressure went up.

9. A poor deer jumped into the side of my car. I never did know if it was okay, because it limped off and it was dark and foggy. I hate to hurt animals.



This is not the deer I hit. This is just a pretty picture.

10. I cursed. A lot. Sometimes the foul language flows from my tongue like water being turned to wine. I can make a sailor blush, or a football player faint, or something.

11. I coveted one of my friend's abilities to draw and paint and be a wonderful artist. She does it so effortlessly, like blinking an eye or licking your lips. Doesn't even know she's doing it, just doodling is perfection.

Just a Christmassy photo.

12.  I killed spiders. I am sure I stepped on ants, too, but I know I killed spiders. Great big ugly hairy spiders that we call wood spiders that come out from late September until mid-November. They roam my hallway in my house and are monstrous spiders that make Shelob in Lord of the Rings look like a tiny little baby spider.

13. Last, but not least, I circle back to #4, because I stopped writing almost completely, and that is indeed a bad thing. It is a gift and I am not offering it to the world, because not everyone can write. Some people write better than I, but others do not. We should all do what we are best at.

Not my Christmas lights.

Anyway, happy holidays to you and yours - may your days be blessed.

Thank you for reading Blue Country Magic!

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 425th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Little Christmas Eve

In Norway, Sweden, and neighboring countries in Europe, they call the day before Christmas Eve "Little Christmas Eve." So happy Little Christmas Eve to those who celebrate.

Here is one of Santa's secret helpers checking up on me. I hope I've been good!

Destroying History

The county Board of Supervisors have wasted no time in beginning the destruction of two historic buildings to make way for the "progress" of a shell building which, as far as the public knows, has no company interested in occupying it.

Well, supposedly they are moving them intact to another place, a historic preservation area, on Greenfield. I and many others expect the structures to fall apart when the real effort to remove them is underway. Hopefully we will be wrong and the supervisors will be right.



The structures as viewed from the industrial drive into Greenfield.



These old buildings have been on this high knoll for at least 150 years. The buildings have never been open for public view. The idea is to move them to a historic zone within the industrial park, where a display of some sort might eventually come to fruition.

This has been the plan for 20 years, so I am not holding my breath on the construction of this historic preservation area. During this time, the county did little to protect and preserve these structures, instead leaving most of the buildings exposed to the weather.

 

I am unable to climb the hill to reach the buildings due to a health issues, so I used a zoom to take these shots.

Greenfield was once the home of Colonel William Preston, a Botetourt County statesman and a Revolutionary War hero. These structures that the supervisors are tearing down are pre-Civil War and include a slave dwelling and kitchen.
The Botetourt Center at Greenfield is a 922 acre site the county purchased for $4.5 million in 1995.  The land was divided into an industrial area, a parks and recreation area, and a school area.  The county built Greenfield Elementary School and the Greenfield Education and Training Center in 2000.  The county completed a couple of ball fields and built a $3 million sports complex at the Recreation Center at Greenfield.  Two industries located in the industrial area; one left, so there is one building there for sale. There is also a "pad-ready" site that a business could build a structure upon. It's been available for several years with no takers.



A view from the road. Note the construction vehicles already in place to remove the structures.



When the property was purchased, county officials heard citizens’ concerns about the historic nature of the property and said the historic areas would be protected. A document provided by the county shows that there were several 20th century structures, including a couple of barns, which no longer exist.

The farm was called Greenfield Plantation, named so in 1761. William Preston moved from Greenfield to Drapers Meadows in 1774. He represented Botetourt County in Virginia’s House of Burgess in the 1760s, before there was a United States.  He was a pioneer and a soldier who defended the Virginia frontier during the Revolutionary War.
Preston's son, John, also a Revolutionary War soldier and a Botetourt County statesman, became owner of the Greenfield farm after William Preston and his wife died. The Preston family owned Greenfield through seven generations and sold the land in the late 20th century.

The Greenfield mansion burned in 1959, and it is thought that part of the original log structure existed until that time.

The kitchen that is being torn down measures 16’ by 18’ and faces the southwest wall of the original mansion, which no longer stands.  The slave dwelling is log saddlebag double slave house located west of the house site. It has two log pens which are joined by a stone chimney.  The log walls are exposed on the exterior and chinked with whitewashed red clay.

Part of the structure is protected by an early 20th century porch.

 

The house foundation is the remains of a structure built in the antebellum era.  Historic photographs indicate the structure was a two-story brick dwelling before it burned.  There is also an outbuilding dating back to approximately 1834.

One of the two known cemeteries on the property contains a number of Preston deceased.   Another cemetery has been portioned off with white fence and is said to be the burial grounds for the black servants to the Prestons.

Even though the county has not yet created the Greenfield historic area, the structures being demolished were often visited by folks who venture to Greenfield to walk the fields or the Cherry Blossom Trail.

Sunday Stealing: Christmas Questions

From Sunday Stealing

Christmas Questions

1. Have you been naughty or nice this year?

A. I think that depends upon whom you ask. I am generally a nice person. This year I have become a bit more opinionated than in previous years, I think. I'm a little tired of so much stupid. It burns.
 
2. What do you want most for Christmas?

A. Good health. Acceptance of the fact that I have curiosity and not great passion. Here's an interesting video by Elizabeth Gilbert about accepting yourself as a curious person and not a passionate one. Watch it and see if you learn something. It's about 25 minutes long and well worth the time if you're still searching for something.
 
3. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

A. It's a Wonderful Life. It is interesting how it resonates so well today.
 
4. How many Christmas cards do you normally send out?

A. About 60.
 
5. Do you still get a stocking?

A. Yes. My husband and I have a little game where we fill stockings for one another.
 
6. What is your favorite Christmas song?

A. Do You Hear What I Hear? Here's a Mannheim Steamroller version of it, sans words.
 
7. What is your favorite Christmas TV special?

A. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the original version). I fit in with the misfits. I'm independent!
 
8. What is your favorite way to wrap gifts?

A. With paper.
 
9. What do you look forward to most at Christmas?

A. Getting it over with. Well, not really. Some years, maybe. I like seeing family and friends, and I like the mystery of gift-giving. I like the decorations. I don't like the cold so much anymore.
 
10. What did you do for Christmas this year?

A. Same as every year. Put up a tree, placed some doo-dads around the house, wrapped presents, made fudge, went to a few parties.
 
11. Who do you want to kiss under the mistletoe?

A. My husband.
 
12. What kind of Christmas tree do you have?

A. We now are the proud owners of an artificial pencil tree.
 
13. Did you take part in a Secret Santa?

A. No.
 
14. Did you go to any Christmas parties?

A. Yes.
 
15. How early do you wake up on Christmas morning?

A. Usual time, sometime after 6 a.m. or so.


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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Grandma Got Run Over!

Saturday 9: Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (1979)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

*I am surprised that song is that old. I feel positively ancient now.*
 

1) According to a marketing research firm, this song is both one of the most played and most hated songs of the season. Do you like it?

 

A. I do, yes. Not on Christmas Day, but I like it before then.

 

2) In this song, Grandma's troubles start when she drinks too much eggnog. Do you like eggnog?

A. No. My husband is a big fan of boiled custard, though. Which is somewhat like eggnog but not.

3)  In the song, Grandpa recovers from losing Grandma by drinking beer and playing cards with Cousin Mel. Will you be celebrating the holidays with cousins?

A. Maybe.

4) When did you most recently drink a beer? Was it in a bottle, a can or a glass?

A. It has been so long since I drank a beer I couldn't tell you. It would have been over 30 years ago.

5) The lyrics refer to "pudding of fig." In "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," the carolers demand figgy pudding. Yet despite its popularity in holiday songs, Sam has never tasted fig pudding. Have you?

A. Can't say that I have. I've eaten pudding, and I've eaten figs, but not figgy pudding.

6) Thinking of holiday sweets, would you prefer a gingerbread cookie or slice of pumpkin pie?

A. Gingerbread cookie. I would like to have one like the Gingerbread man on Shrek, that talks and everything. That would be fun. I could name it Elmo!

7) This song was recorded by a duo named Elmo & Patsy. It occurs to Sam that she has never met anyone named Elmo. How about you? Any Elmos in your life?

A. I do not have anyone actually named "Elmo" in my life, but my husband's nickname for our nephew is Elmo. I do not know why. He has called him that since he was a baby. The young man's name (he's 20 now) is actually Christopher.

8) Do you need snow to get "into the spirit?"

A. It helps.

9) Random question: Are you going to get/have you gotten a flu shot this year?

A. No. I have received the flu shot a few times, but generally I don't. I'm in the high risk group and should but I usually am sick after I receive the shot, even though "they" say that doesn't happen. When I had the pneumonia shot a few years ago, it was months before I felt better. That one I expect I'll have to have again at some point, because of my asthma. My doctor does not push flu shots, either, which tells me a lot. If she thought it was important for me to have it she would say so, but instead she only gives flu shots when people ask for them. I value her opinion.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.