Friday, December 21, 2012

Ever Seen A Sparkle Ball? They're Beautiful.

December 21, 2012

Good morning.  It's going to be warm, windy and wet today.  The weatherman promises temps in the 40's F.  I have to share something amazing.  Yesterday I made a quick trip to the post office.  It was sunny and not very cold.  As I was coming out of the post office, I noticed what looked and felt like rain.  Sure enough, we were having a sunshiney rain shower.  I have never seen this (that I remember) happen before in the winter.  It was really pretty.

Did you know that at this moment it is 48 degrees BELOW zero in Anchorage, Alaska???  My goodness, how can anyone live with those temps?  It makes me feel ashamed for complaining about our cold temps.  I guess we sometimes don't realize how lucky we are with what we have.

For Nani, I must confess that after your comment I opened my box of goodies.  I only took out what I thought was perishable and left the rest in the box.  My daughter Deanne saw your comment yesterday, and sent me an email telling me very sternly that I was not to open any more presents.  I told you she checks up on me. 

I did tell Deanne that you said it was okay for me to share some of the goodies with her but she said she could not be bribed. lol.   I will take photos of my goodies and post them tomorrow.  The ones that I did taste (eat!) were delicious yummy.   I must say that I am really enjoying this Christmas.

This morning, let me share a photo of what Audrey has been making lately.  Someone told her about "Sparkle Balls" and she made a couple of them.  Wow, they are really beautiful.  They are made from little plastic cups and a string of mini Christmas lights.  Have a look here.  Isn't this pretty?


If you would like to try making one of these, you can find lots of places with directions on Google.  Some even contain videos showing you how it is done.

A few days ago, I took a photo of some of the last of the Mrs' grapes.  They sort of look a bit petrified.  I thought they were quite interesting, though, and worth photographing.  Their stems sort of look like tiny reindeer antlers.


It's five o'clock now and time for me to start getting ready for work.  I have a few busy shifts coming up starting today through Christmas.  Then I should be off for a few days.  My friend at work has a daughter at home so I swap shifts so that she can be at home with her family for the holiday.  That's all my news for this morning, so till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

5 comments:

Nani said...

Dee Dee, I know from watching the Christmas specials (I'm thinking Santa Clause Is Coming To Town) that sharing a present is supposed to make you not so tough on your Mom. Yes, that means if you can even bribe a bad guy, a good-guy can easily be bribed! Have a cookie and be blissfully bribed! :D

The sparkle ball is lovely! I just don't come up with creative ideas once the oven is turned off. The world is definitely a more beautiful (and yummy) place when we all add our specialties!

I think it's awesome that you swap shifts so your coworker gets the holiday with her family. I can pretty much guarantee that David will always work on Halloween as long as he has coworkers with trick-or-treating age kids. Boy, I'm surrounded by good examples of how the great world can be if we all work together.

I have one last day of baking and house cleaning before our party tomorrow and if I can I like to have it done by bed time the night before so I am decently rested for my guests. So I need my coffee and ro get started!

Hugs, Nani

The Queen Jester said...

The sparkle ball is lovely, it's amazing what you can do with just a little bit of this and that.

You have a good day!

Mat's Merry Memoirs said...

Lovely sparkle ball....they have been around for awhile, used to have one, don't know whatever happened to it! LOL! Glad your weather is not too awful. Don't work too hard, but bless you for changing and allowing her to have family time. You will be blessed in return! Got lots to do, so off here and get busy, thanks for stopping by! Merry CHRISTmas to you and Pogo! hugs, Mat

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

You are a good heart and I know your co-worker is ever so greatful to you. When I was working at the hospital (and in charge of making the schedule) I always made it a point to schedule the single nurses and older nurses on the holidays so parents could be home with their children on Christmas morning. You can never replace those memories and if Mom or Dad aren't there, it just isn't the same. Good on you Edna.

Sparkle Ball, what fun. It looks happy. I have a friend who comes up with great new idea's every year and yet, never a sparkle ball. I will have to one up her for a change :)Thanks for the idea ...

We have had a winter storm going on since yesterday afternoon. Last night it was snowing, raining, sleeting, blowing and freezing. Today it is just blowing and freezing and everything is covered with ice. The snow is still on the ground though and I am hoping it will stick around so we can have a White Christmas. I don't know why that makes such a difference, but it does. Izzi is loving the snow. I have a hard time getting her to come in. She has no clue that it is cold out there. She has so much coat on, it is probably the only time of year that she is really comfortable. I do know she has much more energy when it is cool verses hot. I, on the other hand,need to put so many layers on to keep warm enough to stay out with her that I can hardly move ... I look like a stiff legged, stiff armed zombie. The only good thing would be if I were to slip and fall on the ice, I would have ample padding to protect me.

My son has requested ham for our Christmas dinner. I haven't cooked a ham in years, but I bought one. So, I need to, sometime between now and Tuesday, figure out the best way to cook it ... I am open to suggestion, if you happen to have a good glaze recipe. Otherwise, I am pretty close to ready. A few last minute things and I will be done ... never would have thunk it :)

I hope you are able to get rest between your work days. I worry about your sleeping habits. I know in nursing they always told us that night shift was not healthy living and that we should not always work that shift ... just sayin'. Of course, I worked night shift because it was a better shift to work even though it was hard to get a full day's sleep the next day. Night shift, more things happen and it is very busy which made the time pass quickly. So I guess we have to take the bad with the good. Anyway, you be well and be rested so you can enjoy your Christmas like you deserve.

Good night Edna ...

Andrea @ From The Sol

smiekeltje said...

Amazing what people can make of simple things!
Hope your shifts will be not too disturbing and that you will get some good winks at the nights.
Brrrr, those temperatures in Alaska are aweful! And yes, we shouldn;t complain too much about our weather at the moment.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Hugs
Kyra