January Has Flown By

This month has really flown by!  There is always a bit of a letdown after the hub-a-bub of the holidays, so it is a bit of surprise to find the month flying by.

I’m still working at the cookie factory.  This was supposed to be a three-week job and I’ve already been there eight weeks.  I do have another temp agency that is anxious to get me working for them so we’ll see what happens.

I started reading my Bible during lunch hour.  I usually spend my lunch hours reading anyway.  It was pretty easy with the English Standard Version (ESV) since it is a soft cover book.  So when I finished that version early last week I asked God what version to read next and he told me to read the King James Version.  I didn’t want to bring my leather bound Scofield Bible to work but I remembered that I had the King James Version on my Palm.  One advantage I found reading the Bible on my Palm was that the screen only shows 3 – 4 verses at a time so you never lose your place….

I don’t like reading books on the desktop but don’t mind reading e-books on my Palm.  The only problem I have with buying e-books is that they can’t be resold.

A small bookmark shouldn’t take three weeks to stitch, but I guess that shows I haven’t had too much time to stitch lately.  But I will get it done today and start on a beaded pin.  They are both for birthday next week but the gift may be a little late….

It has been a very mild January down here and some of the trees already have buds.  The two maple trees always bud early but they can hold the buds for about a month.  This morning I noticed that our weeping willow is starting to bud as well.  We’re not done with cold weather just yet – the last freeze day is at the end of March.  But at least we made it through the 3rd week of January, which is usually when winter storms hit us such as the blizzard of 2000, and the ice storm of 2004.  During both of those storms we lost our power for 23 hours!

I got all four of my W-2 forms so it time to gather up the rest of the tax stuff and walk it over to our tax preparer – he lives around the corner from us.  Last year he was pondering retirement, but we got a letter from him earlier this month so I guess he’s not quite ready to retire yet…

I’ve got the last few stitches to do on the bookmark and do want to get the beaded pin started so I’ll say good-bye for now.

Take care & enjoy,
Florence

Mid January Blahs

It’s funny that I was able to keep up with weekly posts during the busy month of December, but as soon as January comes around, I slack off!  I had one last Christmas gift to finish stitching and it didn’t get done until last Saturday!  Better late than never.

I’m still working at the cookie factory.  The job has lasted longer than I thought it would but finding a replacement for the cost accountant hasn’t been all that easy.  What little I know about cost accounting makes me glad that I only have to deal with accounts payable!

I’ve got my tax folder started.  I’ve got the mortgage information and one W-2 form (I’m waiting on three more – yep, I worked for four different temp agencies last year).  I had to remember to go to the Navy’s finance site to get my 1099.  We got a letter from our tax preparer so I guess he’s not quite ready for retirement.  We started going to him when my husband had a business, but we still go to him.  I don’t mind at all turning my tax stuff over and getting back complete forms.  Works for me!

I’m still reading the English Standard version of the Bible.  I’m in Jeremiah right now so not too much left to read in this version.   I find the book of Psalms a hard book to read through.  There is so much great stuff in each one!  I really liked these verses from Psalm 51:

1. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.


2. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.


3. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Of course it was a couple of weeks ago when I was reading the Psalms so I went to the Bible Gateway (http://www.biblegateway.com/) and searched for “create in me”.  Worked pretty well!

I hope all is well with you and yours.

Take care & enjoy,
Florence

Here we are in 2006!

Here we are in 2006!  This is a big Zero year for my husband and me.  I will be 50 in April, he will be 60 in November, and our 30th anniversary will be in December.  Yikes!!  How time flies…

Yesterday was sunny and mild and today is dreary and wet.  I don’t get too upset about rain this time of the year since this is the wetter time of the year.  The years that we didn’t get winter rains we had droughts.  It’s especially nice when I don’t have to get out into the rain….

Still working at the cookie factory.  I don’t think that this job will last more than a couple of weeks, but we shall see.  I’m pretty sure that another job will follow.

I’m not big staying until midnight on New Year’s Eve.  I usually get up between 5 and 6 am and that is soon enough for me to face the New Year!    I also don’t made resolutions.  I have issues I’m dealing with but I take them to the Lord since I need his help to resolve them.

I know that a lot of people already have put away their Christmas decorations by now but ours will stay up until January 6th – the day the wise man arrive.  The Catholics celebrate that day much more than other denominations.  Spain is a Catholic country and they do not exchange gifts on December 25th – Christmas is spent going to mass and gathering with family members.  The Three Kings bring the gifts so gifts are exchanged on January 6th.  It was nice to see a non-commercial Christmas – something that is very unusual here in the United States.

Well the thunder is rumbling so I guess I better wrap this up and get off of the computer.

I hope that you and yours New Year is off to a good start!

Take care & enjoy,
Florence