Miss Buncle's Book by D.E.Stevenson

Miss Buncle's Book

Miss Buncle who lives in the quiet English village of Silverstream needs money. It is 1934 and her dividends are simply not coming in adequate to pay her meager bills. She considers her options and decides to write a book.  She thinks she lacks imagination and must write about what she knows. And what does she know?  Her neighbors and the people of Silverstream.  So she writes a thinly disguised novel about the people of her village.  A veritable tempest in a teapot is set off in the village. Its a pleasant story which nourished my love of English village life. 

Finished!

Finished!

This morning I finished reading the Bible in a year chronologically. Our church had challenged us to do this. I have read the Bible in a year before but never chronologically. It was a real blessing and I learned so much! I especially appreciated the emails from others sharing their struggles and blessings as we all read on together. As we read on this last morning, " 'Surely I am coming soon.' Amen. Come Lord Jesus. The grace of Lord Jesus be with all. Amen."

Goals for Week Ending 1/5/13

1. Complete Read  the Bible Chronologically in a Year--done!!

2. Continue cutting out next quilt top using leftover fabric--done

3. Continue Weight Watchers 26 points per day--done

4. Finish Block #15 on quilt--done

 5. J.C.Penney's--done

6. Reading

     Miss Buncle's Book by D.E.Stevenson--finished

     The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 by Robert Middlekauff

     The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker--finished

7. Cook 4 dinners--done

10. Order JMM's birthday present--done. I hope it gets here by the 10th.

12/27/2012 Three Things that Made Me Happy Today

★ Three things that made me happy today★ 

Hot baked potato with butter and cheese for lunch. 

Didn't have to go anywhere!

Cold weather makes my cats soooo affectionate

Going over the fiscal cliff--Good.

The fiscal cliff

It looks like there will be no grand bargain. Perhaps, there will be some minor deals that will allow things to muddle along for a while. Perhaps there will be no deal at all and the economic ball will start rolling downhill, gathering speed as it goes. 

If we do "go over the cliff," JMM and I will pay more income tax. I'm not thrilled with the idea but the fact is that we can afford it. We won't miss any meals or go without heat. We'll do some economizing but we will be just fine. This is certainly not the case with many, many people. We could end up right back in recession with its attendant increase in unemployment. 

That being said, perhaps going over the cliff is not such a bad thing. We are deeply in debt and by going over the cliff, we will increase revenues and decrease expenditures. Yes, I know, everyone will be screaming about the increase in their taxes and the cuts in services.  But what I wonder is: Where were these people when we started a totally useless and totally unfunded war in Iraq and proceeded to dilly dally with nation building in Afghanistan?? Because we have no draft and because we borrowed the money, the idea that war costs nothing and doesn't have anything to do with them seems to have been the prevailing sentiment.  Well, here's news, folks: War is expensive and we are about to start paying, every last one of us. And even if our tax rates double or triple, we won't be paying near what the men and women who will spend the rest of their lives without their arms or legs or with their minds forever damaged. 

I'm truly sorry that so many people will be hurt by the coming economic cliff and I am under no illusion that we have learned anything. We are about to start paying for our silence about Iraq and Afghanistan. Let us hope, pray, and vote so that our leaders will never again march us into another war. 

Christmas

"When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flocks,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart."

 

 

The words are by Howard Thurman, an African-American minister, civil rights activist and author, who in his time met Gandhi and influenced Martin Luther King Jr and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

Goals for the week ending December 29, 2012

1. Continue Read the Bible Chronologically in a Year--done

2. Continue cutting out next quilt top using leftover fabric--done

3. Continue Weight Watchers 26 points per day--done (mostly)

4. Finish Block #14 on quilt--done

 5. Take van in for CV boot replacement--done

6. Reading--done

     Miss Buncle's Book by D.E.Stevenson

     The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 by Robert Middlekauff

     The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker

7. Cook 4 dinners--done

10. Finish January budget--done