Four Virginia Reels

Eight Rules of Life:

1. You must make peace with your past so it won’t disturb your future.

2. What other people think of you is none of your business.

3. The only person in charge of your happiness is you.

4. Don’t compare your life to others. Comparison is the thief of joy.

5. Time heals almost everything. Give it time.

6. Stop thinking so much. It’s alright not to have all the answers.
7. No amount of guilt can change the past. No amount of worry can change the future.

8. Smile. You don’t own all the problems of the world.

Four More Winds

Reverse Advent Calendar

Each day add an item to a box.

On Christmas Eve, donate the box to a food bank.

December 1 – cereal

December 2 – peanut butter

December 3 – stuffing mix

December 4 – boxed potatoes

December 5 – mac and cheese

December 6 – canned fruit

December 7 – canned tomatoes

December 8 – canned tuna

December 9 – dessert mix

December 10 – bottled applesauce

December 11 – canned sweet potatoes

December 12 – cranberry sauce

December 13 – beans

December 14 - crackers

December 15 - rice

December 16 - oatmeal

December 17 - pasta

December 18 – spaghetti sauce

December 19 – chicken noodle soup

December 20 – tomato soup

December 21 – canned corn

December 22 – canned peas

December 23 – jam or jelly

December 24  - canned green beans

-          From Passionate Penny Pincher

Virginia Reel

Harold and Tina Ehrenberg were expecting company over Thanksgiving in their Mandeville, Louisiana home. They were cleaning the house to get ready when they ran across a lottery ticket they’d bought months ago. The drawing was June 6, and theirs was the only winning ticket. After taxes, the Ehrenbergs took home a little more than a million dollars. They intend to put the entire amount toward their retirement. “We don't have any plans to buy anything crazy or go on any big trips,” Tina explains. “The most fun,” Harold adds, “is going to be depositing that check.” The Ehrenbergs are very lucky they found their ticket when they did. If they’d waited just two more weeks, it would have been completely worthless. Moral of the story: The best time to clean up is right now. You never know what you might find.

X Quartet

We didn’t have many Thanksgiving leftovers this year. But we do have just enough turkey for a double batch of soup, which we could serve next Sunday with fresh rolls. Until then, it's safely tucked in the freezer. 

Creamy Turkey Gnocchi Soup

3/4 cup butter

Pinch of red pepper flakes

5 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 large onion, chopped

3 big carrots, chopped

3 ribs of celery, sliced

1/3 cup flour

5 cups chicken or turkey stock

1 pound potato gnocchi

1 cup cream

3 cups turkey meat, chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 cups spinach, chopped

Melt butter over low heat. Add pepper flakes, garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Saute at least 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle flour over veg; stir. Blend in stock and bring to a boil. Add gnocchi and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in cream, turkey, nutmeg and spinach. Continue cooking until spinach wilts. Serve hot, topped with grated Parmesan.

Thirty-Six Sawtooth Stars

“When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day, no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us? As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done. You might pray and ponder, asking the question: Did God send a message that was just for me? Did I see His hand in my life?” – President Henry B. Eyring

Christmas Winds

In 1939 Irving Berlin was sorting through a stack of songs he’d written for the musical that would eventually become Holiday Inn. He came across “White Christmas” and had second thoughts. Was it too depressing for a holiday song? He sang it to Bing Crosby (Can you picture singing ANYTHING to Bing Crosby?) who at first didn’t see anything special about it. But Bing told Berlin not to toss the song. Audiences took a while to warm up to “White Christmas,” too. When Holiday Inn debuted, “Be Careful, It’s My Heart” was by far the biggest hit. I suspect it’s not a coincidence that the popularity of “White Christmas” blossomed during World War II, when so many soldiers were serving overseas and longing for Christmases at home, “just like the ones I used to know.” Today the song Irving Berlin almost threw away is still the best-selling single of all time.

Fig Tree Wyoming Valley

I wish I could tell you who wrote this little poem. I’ve seen it attributed to Russell H. Conwell, to Karen McLendon-Laumann, to Rajarshi Chakraborty (No, I’m not kidding) and to Spike Milligan. Whoever penned it, it seemed to me to be worth passing on:

Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu,

When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin.

When he smiled I realised I'd passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth.

A single smile, just like mine could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin, don't leave it undetected.

Let's start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!

 - Source Obscure