95 thoughts on “Merry Christmas Everyone!”

    1. Merry 🎄Christmas to you and yours!

      To Filly, Kea and Kay, your families, friends and all who visit with you dearly beloved souls on this jewel of a blog!

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Monticello
    December 25, 2024 5:40 am

    There is always a reason for President Trump’s focus.

    Greenland

    “Chinese state media have identified Greenland as a critical strategic hub, citing its proximity to Arctic shipping lanes and its rich reserves of uranium and rare earth minerals. In 2019, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced its “Polar Silk Road” initiative—an extension of its Belt and Road Initiative—aiming to develop Arctic shipping routes and encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in regional infrastructure projects.

    Economic ties between Greenland and China have grown significantly over the past decade, driven by efforts to expand Greenland’s mineral mining, oil and gas exploration, and tourism sectors. Greenland’s increasing dependence on China has coincided with Beijing’s broader Arctic ambitions.”

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/denmark-boosts-greenlands-military-defense-capacity-after-trumps-remarks-5781492?src_src=Morningbrief&src_cmp=mb-2024-12-25&est=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAdekieAcExszJ%2F%2BIup2RRBLs0yEwDqSCg6YP1dslBy16t%2FTYQ3Q%3D%3D

    Liked by 2 people

  5. MERRY 🎄 CHRISTMAS! – SALLY Q UPDATE!

    Oh what a gift – The Word of Truth, the Bread of Life – the Savior, Redeemer, King and Sovereign Ruler, Good Shepherd for our sinful souls!

    Sally Q had a good day yesterday. I talked with her about pain medicine – that she could use it as prescribed every 6 hours to prevent or wait until she was hurting to treat her pain. She thought about that and decided to try preventing pain. She asked for a pain pill at 9:20 am and after dinner at 8:30 pm.  

    She also had a good visit with the Hospice Chaplain and so did I. This seems to be a comfort and blessing for Sally and was a definite comfort to me. 

    The Chaplain will have the Hospice supervisor contact us tomorrow. We are going to request a different Nurse Case Manager. 

    The Chaplain said the Nurse who is closest to our area, is a quiet, empathetic, skilled problem solver. Just what is needed as we travel through this excruciatingly hard time in our fractured family. The weekend call nurse grew up in Dowling Park and is also that kind of problem solver. 

    We need a comforting supportive personality working with and for us right now, not an adversarial one…not one who makes and causes problems.

    Sally was getting tired by the time I had dinner prepared, but she perked up when it was time to eat – looked like her old self, with rosy cheeks, sparkly eyes and she thoroughly enjoyed the scallop pasta dish, vegetables and Tiramisu dessert. She ate like she had a good appetite.

    Her blood sugar was high this morning around 4:30 am, so I gave her Lantus long acting insulin shot early and contacted her Dad, and we urged her to drink water – and it has gradually gone down.  

    Her bodily functions are fairly normal. She used her computer a little while yesterday. I can tell she tires more easily and sleeps more during the day. Today, we will try to take a walk, which she enjoys.

    Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Merry Christmas everyone! Still foggy here this morning @ 25; Wheezer was waiting and is not eating again, looking thru the window – wants to scratch me again, I guess. Nope! Not falling for it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Morning Filly! Merry Christmas!!
      who says women are the finicky sex? LOL
      we got up to 32* yesterday and that frozen stuff on the roof starting falling down on the deck. Sounded like giants stomping around out there! i was gonna shovel it off today but i gotta go out there and peek up to see if it’s all down first. that heavy stuff will knock me out if it falls on me…lol

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh, my, yes – and if there’s any ice chunks buried in that snow, it could quite literally knock you out with a serious head injury!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. the icicles were curling back towards the windows on the west side of the house and thankfully all last evening we heard tremendous THUMPS. we could see the snow falling off the roof on the deck side and assumed that was happening on the other side as well. this morning we have MORE snow overhanging the roof, so it didn’t ALL fall off.

          Liked by 1 person

  7. Just The News: “President Joe Biden on Tuesday night signed 50 bills into laws, including a bill that officially makes the Bald Eagle the national bird, and a bill championed by Paris Hilton that protects children at treatment and care centers.

    The slew of laws comes a day after the president vetoed a separate bipartisan bill that would have created dozens of new federal judge posts, claiming it failed to “resolve key questions in the legislation.” The bill was passed shortly before Congress left for the year. 

    One of the new laws designated the bald eagle as the national bird of the United States. The legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate in July, and passed in a voice vote in the House last week. 

    The eagle has been considered a national symbol since the Second Continental Congress put the bird on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, but was never officially declared the national bird under U.S. Law until Tuesday. It was passed under the same chapter of U.S. law that designates “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, “In God we trust” as the national motto, and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” as the national march.

    Another major bill that was passed was Hilton’s “Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act,” which establishes a Federal Work Group for youth residential programs that works to ensure facilities are implementing best practices for their patients. The group will also provide recommendations for federal oversight in the future, according to The Hill.

    A third major legislation was a bill that requires public colleges to include campus hazing incidents in its annual security report.

    He also signed multiple legislation that renamed federal buildings, including post offices. One post office in San Francisco will be renamed to honor the late-California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

    A full list of the new laws can be found here.“

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I kind of thought that might be the case the other day and considered taking pics then; this morning, even more screens were covered so I thought why not? It doesn’t happen very often.

        Like

  10. Just The News: “Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy being in charge of the incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is perhaps one of the most exciting ideas from President-elect Donald Trump. 

    Through it, you could have a true change in government. That’s likely one of the reasons that the powers that be are fighting to separate Musk and Trump, and back him out of the equation. They’re afraid of free media and they’re afraid of the change this could bring to government. 

    Javier Milei has shown what can be done. He’s turned a deficit into a surplus for the first time in more than 100 years in their country, and in such a short time in office.

    It may take a little longer for us, but how do you do it? With commitment, will and afuera!

    “Argentina’s Monthly Inflation Rate…

    Dec 2023 (Javier Milei takes office): 25.5%

    Jan 2024: 20.6%

    Feb 2024: 13.2%

    Mar 2024: 11.0%

    Apr 2024: 8.8%

    May 2024: 4.3%

    Jun 2024: 4.6%

    Jul 2024: 4.0%

    Aug 2024: 4.2%

    Sep 2024: 3.5%

    Oct 2024: 2.7%

    Afuera!

    https://x.com/charliebilello/status/1856497994956206422

    These are not new thoughts, it’s just the will that’s been missing. 

    Musk cited remarks from Ronald Reagan from 1975, before he was president. But it’s all kinds of sense when it comes to tax policy as he explains that even then the government was taking about half of what Americans earn. Reagan spoke out against taxes on businesses that the left pushes but then end up landing on the people.

    “Very wise words” (Reagan on Johnny Carson – 2 of my favorite people!)

    https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1871520121212346496

    “We oughta have tax reform, and we oughta start by making it so simple you don’t have to hire a lawyer to figure out how much you owe every year,” Reagan said. “We live in the only country in the world where it takes more brains to figure out your income tax than it does to earn the income,” he quipped. 

    “There’s very little that government can do as efficiently and economically that people can’t do themselves. And If government would  shut the doors and sneak away for three weeks, we’d never miss ’em.” 

    That is so true and takes on special meaning when the powers that be are always threatening government shutdowns to try to get bad bills passed. Then Reagan really nails the problem of the “unelected bureaucracy” that truly determines more policy than the Congress of the United States (and now, may just have been running the country for the last four years). 

    Reagan foreshadows DOGE and Sen. Rand Paul’s Festivus report when he explains how they spent $249,000 on a study about the “Demography of Happiness.” 

    What did it find? He explains it found out that young people were happier than old people, they found out that people who earned more were happier than people who earned less.  And they found out that well people were happier than sick people. “That’s $249,000 to find out it’s better to be rich, young and healthy than old, poor, and sick.” 

    The answer to curing inflation is a balanced budget, Reagan declared. He knew that then, we all know it. Yet Democrats and many in Congress of both parties are contend to spend like it’s going out of style, without any consideration for the effect. The effect under Biden was crushing prices on everybody. 

    Carson said you have to spend less than what you take in. Reagan responded, “It’s like protecting your virtue. You have to learn to say ‘No.’” That killed Johnny Carson. 

    Then, Reagan said why can’t we have a law that every time a member of Congress introduces a spending program, he has to introduce a tax program to pay for it, and let the people find out. Then you’d really have a slowing of spending if it always had a consequence that people could see. 

    How much of a tangle is everything in? The Office of Management and Budget can’t even tell you how many “boards, commissions, agencies, bureaus, and departments there are in the federal government.” 

    We’ve been talking about this for almost 50 years. We’re at a point where the words are more true than ever and where we now have a golden opportunity. 

    You finally have Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy with the force and the will. Now, they need to harness that same common sense and make it happen, despite the people who will try to stand in their way.” 

    Liked by 1 person

    1. it’s simply unthinkable that they can’t name or number the agencies spending our money or give us an accounting of where it goes.

      any department–and i mean ANY–that fails an audit of where they spent their budget or allotment gets it cut by HALF the next year AND half the bureaucratic staff gets canned.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. EXCERPT: “On Sunday, a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet flying off the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea was shot down by friendly fire; see ‘Friendly Fire’ in the Skies Over the Red Sea Brings Down US F-18 Super Hornet. The aircraft, part of the “Red Rippers” of VFA-11, was about ten miles from the Truman on a final landing approach, having completed its mission of refueling a recently launched flight. The aircrew was alerted to an incoming missile and ejected before impact. The missile was an SM-2 surface-to-air weapon fired from the Aegis-equipped guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG64), the defensive center of the Truman carrier strike group.

    What was already a disturbing picture became much more horrifying when it was revealed Tuesday that a second F/A-18 Super Hornet narrowly escaped the same fate.

    On the same night a U.S. Navy fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea, a second jet nearly suffered the same fate. An F/A-18 Super Hornet – flying a few miles behind the Hornet that was shot down – was forced to take evasive maneuvers after a second surface-to-air missile was fired from the cruiser USS Gettysburg, narrowly missing the second jet by 100 feet while it prepared to land aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, a source with knowledge of the incident tells Fox News. 

    It is more than a little unclear how a radar system with the capacity to track hundreds of aerial contacts treated two friendly aircraft in a landing pattern as threats when the Truman strike group was not under attack. According to the report, pilots on the Truman are somewhat concerned about the level of training and discipline aboard the Gettysburg, “Navy pilots are angry about the incident and question the training aboard the USS Gettysburg, the source said, calling it ‘insufficient.'” Yep, I bet that is exactly what they called it….”

    https://redstate.com/streiff/2024/12/24/another-navy-jet-nearly-shot-down-by-friendly-fire-in-the-red-sea-n2183590

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Red State:

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Here in the United States, we’re accustomed to thinking of Christmas as a winter holiday; even if one lives in Arizona, southern California, or Florida, the very thought of Christmas conjures up images of parkas and mittens, seeing one’s breath in the chilly air, snow on the ground and hot cocoa waiting when we go back inside and, perhaps, listen to Bing Crosby singing how he’s dreaming of a white Christmas. (I can promise you that here in Alaska, every Christmas is white.)

    Christmas is, however, celebrated all over the world. In places like Australia and New Zealand, it’s summer at Christmastime. And in Brazil’s Amazon basin, it’s just as hot and muggy at Christmas than at any other time. But never fear; on Tuesday – Christmas Eve – we learned that old Saint Nick isn’t passing by kids in the Amazon.

    Santa Claus braved the sticky heat of the Amazon rainforest this weekend, taking two boats to bring gifts to children in a village near the Brazilian city of Manaus.

    The visit was arranged by Amigos do Papai Noel, a Brazilian charity that has been taking gifts to children in the Amazon rainforest for the past 26 years.

    “For the children of the rivers, the people of the countryside, nothing new happens,” said Raimunda Ferrera Vieira a community leader in the village of Catalao, which received Santa on Saturday. “This here for us was a gift from God.”

    As it turns out, it wasn’t Santa himself who made the trip, but rather a dedicated and charitable person who my parents, back when I was a little kid, would have explained was one of “Santa’s Helpers.”

    More than 600 children from different villages gathered in Catalao to receive presents from Santa, who dressed in his traditional nightcap, white gloves, and red suit, while enduring the stifling jungle heat.

    To get to the kids, the Brazilian Santa sailed on a large boat down the Amazon river, then paddled a canoe along a swampy tributary.

    Dozens of volunteers formed a line to Santa’s boat to help him unload his holiday cargo of stuffed animals, dolls and soccer balls. And two of the helper even had to carry Santa off his boat to prevent his boots from getting wet, due to the lack of a pier.

    This probably isn’t that unusual for these folks; they probably have to similarly help everybody off the boat, including (hah) the Amazon delivery guy. 

    But isn’t this a great demonstration of the Christmas spirit? Here in hot, muggy Brazil, in the depths of the Amazon, people are making sure that Christmas gifts get to kids in some pretty hostile country, all in the name of Christmas. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

    Liked by 1 person

  15. SMH – Fox at it again, spouting the BS that Musk is to blame for the budget battle in the House. No, he isn’t to blame – he simply made the American people aware and THEY were the instrument that stopped it, as it should be. All he did was INFORM us of their shenanigans!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. cool pictures!!!!

      we haven’t hung our seed feeder. we have it sitting on a tray on the table outside where i can see it from my chair. and we bring it in every night because of the raccoons. correction, HUBBY brings it in every night. last night i brought it in and knocked it accidentally against the table. seed everywhere…what a mess!

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh, and those pics were straight from the camera – I made no adjustments. Pretty good for a tiny, relatively old (2008) digital camera!

        Liked by 1 person

  17. OK, I had to look out front. This is interesting – a week or so ago, I was awaiting my latest BF delivery and was concerned about her slipping on my front porch. I mixed up half & half epsom salts and sugar and scattered it on the porch. That section of my porch is STILL clear of ice!!! Who knew?!?! Anyway, tell me which of these pics you like best – the Weeping Willow tree in front – I took the first one thru the exterior glass door, which was fogged up – gives it kind of a cool, eerie appearance, I think. I’m living in an almost monochrome world this morning!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. talking with the kids this morning…my daughter and her family had 6 more goat babies overnight! they had 70 !!! pregnant female goats last week and they are giving birth in groups. they think one had quadruplets in this batch. and these are so small they need to be bottle fed–so that’s work intensive for my SIL. luckily my daughter and granddaughter are out of school for almost 2 weeks so they can help.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. they sell a lot. these bottle fed ones they sell earlier–it’s expensive to bottle feed that many at a time. they’ll go to auction.

        the 4 h people are starting to reserve theirs now, so they’ll get a feel for how many will be gone in a few months.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Seriously? How can you not?!?! They are adorable! But, then, you don’t like horses either so…..pffttt….shows how much YOU know!!!🤣😂😁😉😏

          Liked by 1 person

  23. “Can’t Thank YOU Enough! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Trumpian New Year”

    Peter Navarro, Dec 25, 2024

    Dear Substack Team,

    I can’t thank you enough for all your support during what was one of the most challenging years of my life.

    It’s not often that a senior White House advisor is convicted of contempt of Congress. Actually, I’m the only one who ever has been so convicted in the entire history of our Republic – and I would do it all over again in defense of our Constitution.

    It’s not often that a White House official convicted of a misdemeanor is sent to prison before his appeal is even heard. Yep, I’m the only one that has ever happened to as well and it was an unconscionable act by unconscionable people.

    It’s also not often a former White House official leaves prison a few minutes past minutes and delivers a speech that night before the Republican National Committee. But I’m the only one to have ever done that as well. It’s worth watching if you haven’t seen it as it sums up the whole story.

    You get my point. The Democrats engaged in unconscionable lawfare seeking to punish Donald Trump’s closest advisors – and the president himself. And it backfired at the ballot box in spectacular fashion.

    Come January 20, I will be honored to return to the White House as Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing. There is much to be done after the four years of Woke Carnage a somnambulant Joe Biden led around by the nose by an Ultra Left Deep Democrat State has inflicted upon us.

    A border to secure. An inflation to cure. A return to a Trumpian peace around the world. Safety in our streets. And the woke out of our government, universities, corporations, and, let’s not forget, women’s sports.

    I will endeavor to keep you up to date as events unfold. You are the backbone of this country, and it is folks like you who will have President Trump’s back as he will have yours.

    And I can’t thank you enough for having my back in a roller coaster of a 2024. So please have a joyous holiday and a happy new year. We have the greatest country in the world. We just have to make it great and greater again.

    Bless you,

    Peter Navarro

    Liked by 1 person

  29. “Dodge Kahuna Concept, 2003. A pillarless, woody minivan with a roll-back roof and a rack for 2 surfboards that was obviously far too cool to get anywhere near a production line.”

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Just The News: “Both outgoing President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump sent out a holiday greeting on Wednesday to wish the country a merry Christmas. 

    Trump, who will be moving back into the White House on Jan. 20, posted a message on his social media platform Truth Social, “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!” He sent out a second “MERRY CHRISTMAS” post that included a picture of himself along with his wife Melania. 

    In a post on the @POTUS presidential X account, Biden said: “For the last time as your president, it’s my honor to wish all of America a very Merry Christmas. My hope for our nation, today and always, is that we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency. May God bless you all.”

    Compared to the last two periods between the presidential election and the inauguration, this one has been a relatively smooth ride. The shock to the nation when Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 led to massive protests and hostility, and the contesting of the election after the 2020 voting in November, leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, was a traumatic and tense period for the country. 

    While the country remains deeply divided, at least there is acceptance all around of the outcome of the 2024 election. 

    “While the new year will mark a new chapter in Trump’s political career, it also marks the end of Biden’s decades-long stint at the top levels of Washington politics,” according to Fox News.”

    Liked by 1 person

  32. EXCERPT: “….When it became evident in September that the federal government was failing to adequately respond, President-elect Donald Trump launched a GoFundMe page for hurricane victims. 

    “President Trump announced over $8 million in donations for victims of Hurricane Helene raised through his dedicated GoFundMe. As reported by Fox Business, President Trump’s Hurricane Helene relief was the top fundraiser on GoFundMe in 2024, and supported nearly 50,000 people across all 50 states and more than 50 countries. These funds were distributed to charities including Samaritan’s Purse, Water Mission, Mtn2Sea, the Clinch Foundation, and Sweetwater Mission to uplift impacted families and communities,” the Trump transition team released in a statement….”

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2024/12/25/heres-the-final-tally-on-how-much-money-trump-raised-for-hurricane-victims-n2649472

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Clarion

    December 25, 2024 4:41 pm

    This report confirms what my own Congressional sources have said: Johnson blocked a subpoena for Cassidy Hutchinson, who appears to have committed perjury and perhaps at the direction of Liz Cheney.

    Johnson denied this is true. So the best way to come clean is to publicly demand a congressional subpoena for Hutchinson and perhaps Liz Cheney herself.

    The lies manufactured by Hutchinson–and likely with help from Cheney—created real life damage.

    They tried to destroy Hutchinson’s first attorney, Stefan Passantino, by first luring him into what he suspected was a criminal obstruction trap. Cheney publicly smeared Passantino…

    — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) December 24, 2024

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Sakurajima Dirty (Volcanic) Thunderstorms, Japan

    Lake Hillier, Australia: This vivid natural phenomenon in Australia is caused by the high salt content of the water and the energy released by the microalgae “Dunaliella Salina.”

    Danxia Landform, China: “Minerals are magic, and so are their colors. Just look at this place!”

    Sandstone Waves, Arizona

    Giant’s Causeway, Ireland

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Socotra Dragon Tree, Yemen

    “It’s not entirely natural, a little waterfall in upstate New York, close to the Canadian border, conceals a significant surprise: an eight-inch-tall jet of fire. There is a natural gas leak that fuels the flame behind the waterfall. Although hikers do re-light it if they notice it has been blown out, it is protected enough by the waterfall to remain lighted quite consistently.”

    Spotted Lake, Canada

    Forest of Knives, Madagascar

    Sailing Stones, US

    Liked by 1 person

  37. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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