Rose's Holiday Newsletter

December 24. 2009

2009-12-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

Your Warm, Christian Family at the Beach

Well, I thought I'd wrap up this holiday newsletter with my church's candlelight Christmas eve service. It is indeed special with a chrismon tree, musicians and lots of singing. I took some photos for you to see.
I really enjoy my warm, Christian family at the beach and I hope that if you ever visit the area, aside from visiting with me, you also visit with my church family.

May God bless you as you enjoy family, friends and may you experience joy knowing that Christ is with us, here and now.

December 23, 2009

2009-12-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

Getting Ready for the Post Holiday Rush

I'm down to two packages today--what a relief that Christmas day will soon be here. But I need to be busy listing more items that will close next week. It seems like every year, I get a post holiday surge of orders. My theory is that those lucky folks who got cash for Christmas are busy spending it on what they really wanted.

Whatever the reason, sales remain strong right after Christmas every year. And I don't post after Christmas sale items. Though it is a thought to reduce some inventory that I'd otherwise just donate to thrift stores. Hmmmm....

December 22, 2009

2009-12-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

Posting on Amazon

I just posted some more books on my Amazon storefront And realized that I've not mentioned that I list books on Amazon. It's not a huge income, and certainly not as big as it was just a couple of years ago. Amazon doesn't restrict pricing for books and the tendency for sellers is to compete by lowering prices to the point of ridiculousness. So about a year ago, I decided to price my books above the lowest common denominator. My overall sales went down, but I'm getting decent prices for the books that I do sell.

December 21, 2009

2009-12-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

Community Table

Photo by Bob Lindberg

I continue to serve on a team for Community Table. This is a community service project of our church and we serve a take-out lunch to those in need every Monday.

Photo by Bob Lindberg

Volunteer drivers distribute the meals.

View A Video on Community Table

December 20, 2009

2009-12-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

Advent Wreath

The Advent wreath is made of evergreen boughs, symbolizing everlasting life. The circle represents the continuous love of God, with no beginning and no end, as well as the soul's immortality.

This year again, I made the advent wreath for Ocean Park Lutheran and from clippings from my yard. I'd originally planned to use just holly boughs as I did last year, but then...

Someone cut down the leaning pine tree in my neighbors yard. And left the remains all over my deck and back yard. So I had a great time cutting myself a path to my garage door and I used the clippings interspersed with holly clippings to make the wreath.

When someone gives you lemons, make lemonade [or in this case, an advent wreath].

December 19, 2009

2009-12-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

Estate Sale Setup

I still organize estate sales for Ocean Park Lutheran Church. And I'm in the process of setting one up now that will occur the second weekend in January. Today I met two ladies from the church at the site and we spent a couple of pleasant hours organizing items for the pricers.

This sale is for a couple from our church who have moved to a retirement home, and at the same time a party contacted the church and wanted to donate a truckload of items to Community Table. We decided to combine the sales. So I have to figure out how to set up a system to keep the two sale income streams separate so that both get the proper amount of income from the sale.

BTW, if you want to learn more about the estate sale service, our church has distributed a brochure to the local realtors and has some available at the church as well.

December 18, 2009

2009-12-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Job complete!

I've done it. I finished the job of converting my eBay RosesSundries and RosesButtons stores into my Grandmastree ebay store. It took a month, but the job is now complete. I think I'll need to contract with a graphic artist to design me a storefront that incorporates all three logos, but since that's quite an expense, it will have to wait until I can afford it.

December 17,2009

2009-12-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

Singing with the Methodists

Today at choir practice we welcomed the Ocean Park United Methodist church choir and their director, Barbara Poulshock. We plan a joint offering of anthems next Sunday, first at our church and then at theirs. We started with our director, Bud Runyan and ran through the Lutheran service to the point of our departure and then Barbara took over and rehearsed us on the two anthems.

Let me tell you, we were in the hands of a master. In a few short minutes, she gave us the feeling and joy of the two pieces as well as whipped us into shape focusing on those areas where we weren't quite getting the notes without sacrificing the feeling of the piece. I'm in awe and looking forward to the experience next Sunday,

December 16, 2009

2009-12-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

Joy and Happiness

Are they the same thing? Not according to Pastor Rene' Devantier, of OPUMC. Happiness comes from the events of this world that evoke the feeling. But Joy comes from knowing God.

It seems true to me that even when you are unhappy and sad, the joy of knowing God can fill your heart. The holidays are a sad time for some people, missing loved ones who have passed on or become estranged or having unpleasantness happen between people who should love each other. Whatever the reason for unhappiness, it rings true to me that knowing God is both comfort and joy, knowing that the unhappiness will pass but the joy will remain forever.

December 15, 2009

2009-12-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Peninsula Players

This is also my second year on the board of Peninsula Players. On that board, I'm the membership chair, which means I keep a database of membership donations, send out membership cards, thank you notes, etc. I've also been instrumental in getting the players online with two blogs-one for general information and the other for members only. We recently have converted our general blog into a bona-fide website, as one of our members has donated web design services. I also am responsible for putting out 5-6 newsletters per year, and we've also started doing this both online (using Constant Contact) and on paper. Our blog and website accumulated over 3,000 hits over two years, so I'm pretty satisfied with that effort. So if you want to know what is happening with Peninsula Players, check the website and also sign up for our newsletter!

December 14, 2009

2009-12-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

I'm completing my second year on my church council this year. For two years I've been in charge of evangelism, and next year (my final year of my term) will be church support. That entails a busy schedule of events and organizing them.

On the topic of evangelism, I believe that the heart of the evangelism process is personal contact, and giving time and opportunity for the Spirit to work in a person's heart. What we do, how we act and our willingness to talk about our faith are all important parts of evangelism. Lutherans believe that all members are "ministers" because we all participate in evangelism. This past year I focused on providing supportive tools for our "ministers" to use as they do evangelism work in their everyday lives. We've printed business cards with the church's contact information on it so we can hand them out as we talk about an upcoming event or about our faith. We participate in the http://www.inlinebehindme.com/ program. This program allows our "ministers" to surprise the person in line behind them with a free product and we give a card to the server to give to the recipient of our gift. And we're planning a followup program for visitors to start in the new year.

December 13, 2009

2009-12-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Joy

Third Sunday of Advent, we focus on the Joy at the soon Advent of the Christ. It marks a shift from the more solemn tone of the first two Sundays of Advent that focus on Preparation and Hope, to a more joyous atmosphere of anticipation and expectancy.

I look forward each Sunday to the lighting of the advent candles. Joy is something I feel now like I never felt before. This whole season is filled with it, busy as I become. It's nice to pause and bask in the glow.

December 12, 2009

2009-12-12T23:48:00.000-08:00

Well, Rose is off this afternoon attending a Christmas Concert by the Bayside Singers at the historic Oysterville Church, so I have full access to the computer. I want you to know that I'm still on the job patrolling and inspecting everything that Rose does. Here I am inspecting her product photo shoot. Her lights are sure bright. It interrupts my nap whenever she does this.

But generally she does interesting things and it's worthwhile to wake up and see what she's doing. She bought me a new toy last year. It's a long "snake" with feathers and a bell on one end and a plastic wand for her to hold on the other end. This is fun, especially when she dangles it over the edge of the bed and I can chase it over the edge. But I still like my peacock feathers. Birds are prey of choice really. They're such fun to carry into the house and let loose. They fly all over and provide a great chase. And Rose's reaction trying to catch the bird or shoo it out of the house is very entertaining, if not a little bit distressing. I mean, does she really understand how hard it is to catch those things in the first place?

But my favorite new thing that Rose does is give me massages. Who doesn't love a massage? I even let her hold me close to her when she does this. You know that I'm not really a lap cat, but I can tolerate it for a massage. But wait a minute, who is training who here? I may have to rethink this.

I do have to maintain my independence and catly ways. For the most part I keep my routines and incursions by other cats have been relatively few. Not many more scars this year. May you have a scar-free, independent and catly new year.

Regards,

December 11, 2009

2009-12-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

Blog Post Day

I find that I have to make up some routines in order to keep up with everything, so on Friday's I reserve time for "sourcing"--i.e. garage & estate saling, Friday night auction, or thrift store prowling. I don't plan to post anything online, so I'm free to write article posts on my three blogs. You might want to check them out:

December 10, 2009

2009-12-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

Yep, it had to be food poisoning. No fever and I feel fine.

Lots of packing, shipping, and online work to catch up on. I'm only a few days away from closing 2 of my eBay stores.

December 9, 2009

2009-12-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

Busy day... and a strange day.

The morning started out with my DSL service being down. And I needed to pack and ship several packages. A not-so-quick call to my provider got me a recorded message that shed no light on when service might be restored. So, I decided to get my Christmas cards prepared for mailing. I left early for my first meeting to borrow the church's address list as I've misplaced mine.

I had 3 different events on my calendar for today... a church Women's group Cookie Exchange, a Peninsula Players board meeting and Advent dinner and vespers service. I ran home between the board meeting and dinner to discover that DSL was up again, and I got a few of my relistings done, but no time for anything else. So it was a blessing to have the peace descend at vespers.

But then at bedtime, I started feeling queasy. Now, I'm almost never sick anymore. [I figure that I got most of the childhood diseases when a child and had the flu just about every year in my 20s to mid 30s. So I must have some immunities built up. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.] So it was quite a surprise to have diahhrea and then forcibly empty my stomach. But I felt much better afterwards and was able to get a good night's sleep. I figure it was food poisoning and I'm not going to even try to guess what caused it. My diet was from too many sources with a cookie exchange and potluck thrown in on top of a McDonalds quick lunch.

December 8, 2009

2009-12-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

Until recently (the last month or so) this has been my least productive eBay store. But with the advent of the holiday season, sales have picked up. And I'm consolidating my other identities under this one. Why did I choose this one? Simple, it's the one I've had the longest and I have the highest feedback ratings on it. I think that inspires confidence from buyers, so I decided not to give up this eBay identity.

I currently have this domain and website hosted with eBay's ProStores. But, of course, I'm planning to change that also. I find the storefront program a bit difficult to navigate and I don't have the control I'd like over the way the store looks. I'm planning to have a website built for this store as well, probably by the same website designer. That won't happen till next year, when I can afford the costs. This is a "pay as you go" enterprise. I don't step into an new obligation until I can pay for it upfront.

December 7, 2009

2009-12-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

Don't Miss...

FrUiTCaKeS

This latest production by Peninsula Players is funny, heartwarming and wacky. I laughed and laughed.

No, I'm not in this one, but it does feature lots of newcomers and a whole crowd of children. But then I'm particularly fond of Christmas plays and of children. What's not to like about that?

December 6, 2009

2009-12-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

Advent Candles

My church lights advent candles each Sunday in Advent. In this week bulletin was an explanation of the meaning of each candle.

Candle of Hope. Symbolizes faith in God keeping his promises to humanity.
Candle of Preparation. Reminds us to "get ready" to receive God.
Candle of Joy. Recalls the angels joyfully singing about the birth of Christ
Candle of Love. Reminds us that God loves us enough to send his only son to Earth.
Christ Candle, the white candle in the center. Stands for Jesus Christ himself.

December 5, 2009

2009-12-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

Rose's Sundriesis the other website that I had created by a web developer this year. I used the same strategy with the landing page-linking to my eCrater stores for each category. I continue to post photos of new listings and weekly articles on my blog.

I'm in the process right now of closing out my eBay store associated with this logo. I think I deserve to have a "Top Rated Seller" logo next to my eBay listings, and despite trying very hard to list and sell enough to achieve that rating for 3 different identities, I've failed to do so. However, if I consolidate into one eBay identity, I believe that I'll be able to achieve it in the new year. So I've created a store category for Roses Sundries in my grandmastree eBay store and have been shifting listings there as they close in the Roses Sundries store. When this process is complete, I'll close the store and give up the eBay identity.

M

December 4, 2009

2009-12-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a video I found about Hope

December 3, 2009

2009-12-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

Last night was our first advent dinner and Holden Vespers service. This is the week for Hope.

Hope for the Messiah
hope for grace
hope for forgiveness
hope for healing
hope for love

There is something about a sung service that touches me deep in the soul. The cadence of leader and sung response touches me when I'm feeling at my lowest and brings me upward. The beauty of singing a round while listening to the others sing their part is almost more than one can bear. The words are important, but the feeling overrides all and leaves one feeling refreshed and well, hopeful.

December 2, 2009

2009-12-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

On my Rose's Buttons website I created a home page that has links to my existing eCrater stores. One link per category. And, of course, I had to create some more eCrater stores to cover all my categories.

So the page looks like a typical eCommerce storefront with links to categories of products, but actually saves me the cost of purchasing a storefront or catalog program to handle the sales.

eCrater stores can utilize either paypal or a google payments method of payment already so I didn't have to worry about establishing a credit card account.

There are pros and cons to this approach, but for me, right now, cost of doing business in the form of credit card accounts and storefront programs is more than I can afford and still make a decent profit.

December 1, 2009

2009-12-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start by talking about my business. This year I established two new websites and actually had a designer develop each. She moved my existing blogs to the websites and designed them so that I have complete control over what is in each site. That was really important to me as I wanted both a professional look and to be able to update frequently without it costing me an arm and a leg in website design fees.

You can check each out at
www.rosesbuttons.com
www.rosessundries.com

More on this topic another day.

I Can't Wait...

2009-11-30T07:12:00.000-08:00

to get started on my 2009 Holiday Blog posts. But I will.

That's what Advent is all about....Waiting...

This year my church is celebrating the three comings of Jesus

His first coming in a humble birth
His weekly presence in the word and supper
His second coming to reign

So...What Have You Been Up To Lately?

2008-12-17T11:46:00.000-08:00

Here's how I answer that question. Aside from my work activities, I was elected to two boards this year--my church council and peninsula players. Both are working board member positions, which means that you have tasks and responsibilities to accomplish.

For my church, I was in charge of evangelism projects. Which is difficult because when you are a Christian, everything that you do 24-7 attests to how you live your life--and your beliefs. If you walk the walk, you end up showing that you are a Christian in so many ways...in your compassion, in your patience, in your works, in your approach to others. Based on that belief, I thought about how might we as Christians give opportunities to others to learn about our beliefs. First is being willing to talk about our church and it's activities as we walk our walk and not being shy about it. But not being pushy about it either. In our church we have many activities t0 which we invite the public and we encourage our members to invite acquaintances and neighbors to these events. This year I printed business cards with basic information about our church-location, phone number, blog address, etc, on the front and our mission statement on the back. We encourage members to tuck a few of these into their wallet or purse and hand them out as we talk about upcoming activities. It's not pushy, but gives the Spirit a chance to work as that person decides whether or not to attend. I include similar information on our "about me" pages on our web presences including eBay, etsy.com and of course, our blog. These are no cost ways to let folks know about us.

For Peninsula Players, I was elected as the Membership Chair. And what a busy year it has been. I proposed that we sign up with Constant Contact and begin to send our newsletters via email and use email marketing to update members on our activities. I've managed to do 4 newsletters this year, each just shortly before an upcoming performance. We also began two blogs, a public one and a private blog for paying members only. I maintain these sites and monitor the email address for Peninsula Players. We entered into a lease agreement for our own space and ran into a long list of ups and downs to get the space refurbished and approved for occupancy. But we had our first performances there this month and we are happy to be in our own space. We have fundraising to do to pay for all the expense, including both events and grant applications. I drafted the first grant application which we should hear about sometime in the next couple of months. I've very much enjoyed this experience. I acted in only the One Act Festival this year, and limited my involvement with plays to just doing backstage and props for Fiddler on the Roof last spring.

2008 Business Recap

2008-12-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

This year I did more to diversify my sales with some sales starting to come from my other venues.

I beefed up my etsy store
I established an ecrater store for postcards
I beefed up my ecrater store for buttons
I established an ecrater store for patterns
I established an ecrater store for sundries

I also got into squidoo lenses and added one each for my online selling identities. And some informational ones.

And I've entered the social networking arena. Just a toe in, mind you.

And who could forget the blogs?

There's more, but this is enough for one post. I'll add more of my activities in another post.

Christmas Quote

2008-12-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

"For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is 'hurry'. And yet, eventually, the hour comes when the rushing ends and the race against the calendar mercifully comes to a close. It is only now perhaps that we truly recognize the spirit of Christmas. It is not a matter of days or weeks, but of centuries-nearly twenty of them now since that holy night in Bethlehem. Regarded in this manner, the pre-Christmas rush may do us greater service than we realize. With all its temporal confusion, it may just help us to see that by contrast, Christmas itself is eternal." - Burton Hills

Wish Lists

2008-12-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

Today's post is about wishing (something quite close to hope). I know that many of us compose a wish list at this time of year to let our loved ones know what gifts we are hoping to receive. But I've always been a little shy about including a list in my holiday messages, that is until I discovered the two options in today's post. In today's cyber age there are a couple of ways that one can publish a wish list so that all of our far flung friends and relatives can utilize it with a click of a mouse.

First, there is Amazon.com. There you can add books that you'd like to a wish list that is public for all to see. And you can add any other goods that you desire that are carried on Amazon. Here's a link to mine. I noticed that they also have a feature where you can add items from other websites. Just sign into your account on Amazon and look for the button that says "lists"

Second, is Wists. This is a wish list and social networking site that lets you collect images of things that you find anywhere on the web. Just create an account which places a toolbar on your browser. Whenever you see something you like, just click on the Wists button and it will be added to your wish list. You have the option of selecting size of image and adding tags and a short description. You can enter in the description what you like about the item or how much of the item you'd like to have. You can add eBay or etsy items easily. Here's a link to mine.

Advent Begins

2008-12-04T23:32:00.000-08:00

Last night was the first of my church's advent dinner events. We all gathered at 5:30 for dinner, followed by Holden Vespers service at 6:30. I do love the Holden Vespers service--such beautiful music that creates a reverent, waiting, hopeful mood. It seems to me that that is exactly what advent is about

waiting for our Messiah
reverence for the majesty of God
hopeful that we will be saved from our sinful nature

The Top Ten Things I Learned in 2007 are...

2007-12-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Number 10 (drum roll)

I learned that I can sing.

Number 9

I learned how to file an insurance claim.

Number 8

I learned how to give blood for the first time

Number 7

I learned how to take blood for the first time

moar funny pictures

Number 6

I learned how to SQUIDOO
Quick Guide to Collecting Christmas by Decade
How to Test Fabric for Fiber Content

Number 5

I learned how to use Niche Markets on eBay
FromGrandmasTree
RosesButtons
RosesSundries

Number 4

I learned how to organize an estate sale for Community Table

Number 3

I learned how to relive my days as a food server

Number 2

I learned how to be LOUD!

moar funny pictures

Number 1

I learned what this cat body language means:

moar funny pictures

Love

2007-12-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
1 John 4:7-9 (NRSV)

I think that this is a good way to end this blog for the Christmas season. A reminder that God's love is reflected through us. We can only love one another by His grace. But when we live day by day in communion with him. We know him. We love him. And he knows us. And he always, never fails to love us. Christmas is all about the story of God sending his Son into the world. As the pastor said last night after hearing the Gospel story of the birth of Jesus--there's no topping that story.

1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Luke 2:1-20 (NRSV)

**Check back on New Year's for another post!

4th Sunday in Advent-Candle of Love

2007-12-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

Today was the day the combined choirs sang our cantata in worship service. And all those Latin phrases were used, and also the English ones. I was one of the narrators as well as singing with the tenors. It is always amazing to me that we can work on the bits and pieces. Get them wrong, and work on them some more. Only to pretty much get it right during a performance. It must be something about the adrenaline that we get going during a performance that gives us that extra focus.

It was very nice to sing with the Methodist choir. It makes the myth that the different denominations can't get along, a bit of a lie. I'm sure that we do have our differences, but when it came to praise and worship today--we sang as one. And I believe that our voices and our eyes were shining with God's love.

And for me, that we can reflect God's love is all that we needed.

Latin Translated

2007-12-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Glory to God in the Highest

Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
And peace on earth to men of good will

Laudamus te.
We praise you

Benedicimus te.
We bless you

Adoramus te.
We worship you

Glorificamus te.
We glorify you

Joy

2007-12-23T04:14:00.000-08:00

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Gal 5:22-23 (NRSV)

I did an online Bible search for the word "Joy". I noted several verses that struck me about joy, but none so much as this one. It was the only one where three of the four (hope, peace, joy, love) themes of advent are included in the same verse. Here the Apostle is talking about the gifts that the Spirit brings us when we abide in Christ and resist the temptations of this world.

These are the virtues that we all strive to achieve as Christians. We know that when we practice these in our actions and in our thoughts, we do reflect the light of Christ into the world. Even when the recipient "doesn't deserve" it. After all, I don't deserve the grace given to me. How can I make the judgment that someone else doesn't deserve to be treated with love, with joy, with peace, with patience, with kindness, with generosity, with faithfulness, with gentleness and with self-control. So I try to treat others as I am being treated by Christ.

We serve the God that we cannot see, by loving as He would love and serving others. May your journey toward that goal be filled with the Spirit.

Latin Lesson

2007-12-23T04:07:00.000-08:00

From the cantata that the joint choir of Ocean Park Lutheran and Ocean Park United Methodist are preparing...

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te.
Benedicimus te.
Adoramus te.
Glorificamus te.

Translations to follow in a future post.

Advent Vespers

2007-12-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

I just returned from our church's Advent Vespers service. It began with a lovely meal of seafood manicotti and salad, and ended with sincere praise.

Along the way, we learned about how the Holden Vespers service was written back in 1985. We had a comradely supper and I was pleased to act as the server for my table. It brought back memories of my days as a waitress. Short, tho they were, the images of those days are still there stuck in my brain. The Vespers service is beautiful, easy to sing and short. For me, the service swept away all the thoughts of the day and brought in the spiritual world of praise and communion with God and each other. Just the thing I needed today.

Joy to you on this advent day.

It's a Secret

2007-12-18T19:26:00.001-08:00

Don't tell, but.......

Oscar loves yogurt.

Here's proof. He can't deny it.

Holiday Preparations

2007-12-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

I spent some time this morning helping to break down the set of The Christmas Spirit, the latest Peninsula Players production. I loaned my artificial Christmas tree and some wrapped boxes for the duration of the production. It was a very funny play and the lead, Marsha, was perfectly cast. I know that she had wanted a role in Arsenic and was very disappointed to not land a part. But trying out for a part is such an iffy thing. There are at least 3 times the number of female actors trying out as there are parts. So when you don't land a part, you just have to chalk it up to experience and the knowledge that your time will eventually come. I'm glad that Marsha's time came in this production. Bravo!

And then I picked up a message from an long time friend that I'd lost track of. And have emailed her. Hopefully, we'll be in touch more frequently. What a great day!

3rd Sunday in Advent-Candle of Joy

2007-12-16T20:30:00.001-08:00

Enter our hearts and show us your way.
Promise of God, Heaven's pure light.

This prayer appeared in today's bulletin as a meditation for our thoughts and prayers for this coming week. This week's candle is the Candle of Joy. I did feel joy today. After church, we had choir practice at the Methodist church. Our director encouraged us to show JOY on our faces as we sing. I'm not sure whether the Advent theme inspired this comment or whether she is encouraging us to smile as we sing so our voices sound their best.

I do know that when I smile as I sing, my voice does sound sweeter. And my heart does fill with joy.

And that's a gift of the Spirit, isn't it?

More Pancake

2007-12-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

Backyard Gossipers was followed by Arsenic and Old Lace. Landing the part of Martha Brewster was a complete surprise to me. So much so, that I missed the first rehearsal because I hadn't checked my phone messages in time to learn that I had a part to play.

I still struggle with memorization of lines, but my newest memorization aid is my iPod. I record the lines on my computer and then download them to my iPod so I can repeat them over and over again while listening to the cue lines. I'm still slow to learn them and this will be a goal for me to get better at this.

This is the poster photo used by Peninsula Players to identify the cast in the lobby at performances.

Backyard Gossipers

2007-12-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

Last year at this time I was busy with my first acting role since high school. Let me tell you, that was just the beginning. This has been a busy year for the Peninsula Players. I served as prop mistress for several plays this year, but put on the pancake makeup again in August for the One Act Festival.

"Backyard Gossipers" was written by one of the actors, Wilma V. and directed by a first time director Diane C.

I played the lead role of Gladys and have forever gained the reputation as being "loud". Very loud--make-the-audience-jump-in-their-seats-loud. But it was fun to bring the words on paper to life.

Music, Singing and Growth

2007-12-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year I began to take voice lessons in an attempt to improve my ability to sing parts better. This has led to some amazing discoveries.

First, of all that I can sing. That was after years of believing that I couldn't carry a tune in a basket.

Second, that my voice can get better. Practice and patient tutelage on the part of my teacher have shown that.

Third, that I can aspire to doing more than singing in the choir. I actually sang a solo during our summer special music Sundays. I recorded it for you to hear. Just click here Amazing Grace. I also sang in a gospel band, the country gospel song "Me and God" by Josh Turner.

You are welcome to use the comments to give your reaction.

Catch-Up

2007-12-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

Here I find myself doing "catch-up" again. You'd think I'd learn.

I set goals for myself and then miss them.
I think about doing something that needs doing and then say to myself "It would be better if I tackled that later".
I play that game of solitaire or LineUp instead of doing the work that needs doing.
I think about what to write about on this blog and draw a blank. And say, "It will come to me" and of course it doesn't.

So here I am writing a blog entry for yesterday, when today's activities are facing me square on. I don't know why it is so human to procrastinate. But I'll bet you have your favorite ways to do this too. So, what have I procrastinated about this year?

Getting that ebook project written and published online
Reading the ebooks on online business that I've bought this year.
Getting my exercise routine established.
Getting my house decluttered and organized.
Getting my plans for rebuilding my garage done.
Reposting my "From Grandma's Tree" inventory on the new website.
Meeting my goal of posting more auctions on eBay.

Well, you get the idea. Always more to do than I get done.

Peace

2007-12-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

noun

A state of tranquility, quiet, and harmony, e.g., a state free from civil disturbance.
A state free of oppressive and unpleasant thoughts and emotions.
That will give me some 'peace' of mind.
Harmony in personal relations.
A state free of war, in particular war between different countries.

I looked up the dictionary definition of peace. I find it interesting that two of the dictionary definitions given have to do with relationships at a national scale and two have to do with relationships on a personal scale. I think that Jesus was talking about the personal ones when he said "My peace I give you" (John 14:27). But he also says "I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." I think that He is talking about something quite different than what is described in the dictionary definitions. He's talking about something that is a gift, something that we humans cannot achieve by ourselves.

We can work very, very hard to bring about harmony or "peace", only to have it slip away from us in a moment. We have only to remember an insult or injury from the past to have our "peace of mind" slip away. Nations have only to act greedy or selfishly to find peace slip away from them. A careless word can destroy harmony between us and those we hold dear. We can work very hard to repair damages made by our carelessness, only to have that peace slip away again. And again.

What Jesus is talking about is that His peace will give us the ability to forgive those things that destroy our peace of mind and that cause us to damage our relationships with others. He gives us the ability to look to him for that gift of peace when all our efforts fail. And he gives it freely. I know because I ask for it often, and repeatedly.

BFF

2007-12-10T03:47:00.000-08:00

Best Friend Forever--that's what the internet slang "BFF" stands for. When it comes to "best friends", this is mostly a story of friendship lost along the way.

It starts with my childhood friend Linda. We were best friends during a few of my elementary school years. I moved schools every 2 or 3 years, so this was to be a short term relationship. I moved to a different school and we lost touch.

Then there is Barbara. We were very close during my last year of high school. Lots of time spent together. She was the first friend to think that I was cool. I will always treasure that. Then we both went off to college. I, to one away from home and she to the local community college. I hated that first college and refused to go back, enrolling instead at the local community college when my parents refused to pay expenses to my college of choice. We renewed our friendship, but drifted apart when I acquired a boyfriend who was quite possessive of my time. We kept in touch for a short time after. She moved to California where I lost track of her.

After that was a friend who will remain nameless here. We were neighbors--and became couple friends as well. We became very close and the friendship continued over 4 years or so. It ended abruptly when she had an affair with my husband and my marriage ended.

And my latest best friend was also named Barbara. This friendship endured over nearly 20 years. She was a friend of my second husband Pat. She and husband-to-be were neighbors. Then Pat died and she was very helpful and supportive. She invited me to the "orphans Christmas and Thanksgiving" celebrations for years, as I moved from place to place with job opportunities. That friendship was sporadic to start with and has now drifted to Christmas card exchanges. I miss that connection. But I also realize that we all grow and change. This seems natural and it's probably time to let this one go as well.

So I currently don't have a Best Friend. And I'm OK with that as my Christian walk has become deeper. I find that I turn to God in prayer when I need to talk something over, and He walks with me everyday. I need no better companion.

2nd Sunday in Advent-Candle of Peace

2007-12-10T03:15:00.000-08:00

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
John 14:27 (NRSV)

On this Sunday, my life was anything but peaceful.

It started out with waking up late to get ready for worship. I was late to choir practice. But it was a wonderful service--no bulletin because the church didn't have power restored until Friday (afternoon I think). So we listened more intently and followed along the liturgy in our songbooks. Then everything broke loose.
I drove home to pick up my cantata music for practice at 12:30. I saw that my neighbor was there and stopped over to chat about the tree limbs. They told me that the Red Cross had just been there and volunteered to remove the tree limbs. So I stayed a few minutes and the Red Cross volunteer arborist and a crew of Eagle Scout volunteers arrived.
I left for cantata practice at the Methodist church. I returned to find the tree limb gone and my neighbor on my roof sweeping off the debris. Thank you Lord for providing this blessing.
I spent time online finishing up some listings I'd started yesterday. I ended up spending all afternoon online right up till listing time. I do tend to "get lost" in a task and lose all track of time. I took a break to fix some supper and then returned to send invoices.
I watched some TV and was feeling cold. So I went to bed early. And now here I am at 2 a.m., not able to sleep.

And I'm wondering where does PEACE fit in all of this? But then I remembered the words of Jesus in John 14. I realize that my heart is not troubled and I am not afraid. I have received peace as promised. I just got too busy to relax and enjoy it.

Peace to you, this Advent day.

Oscar's Followup Report

2007-12-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

I am so disappointed. I thought I had Rose trained. Here she is back to being awake during the day.

I sat on my chair and watched as she played in the kitchen with boxes. She was putting stuff inside and putting those fun white things (packing peanuts) around, and then taping it closed without letting me play. And I was hoping to either play or that she'd get her breakfast and I could beg some of that from her. I got so irritated that I tried to bite her when she tried to soothe me.

She sat at her computer with this paper in her hand, muttering to herself about how much the bank service fees are and how much she had to pay for shipping. (Balancing the business books)

Then she took her shower and went off to the post office without inviting me outside to play with her. (Mailing the day's sales)

I finally took refuge in my upstairs sleeping spot, as she clearly wasn't going to nap with me on the bed or let me have some of her breakfast. Then she came upstairs to play around with the lights and her camera (Taking photos for eBay listings). Disturbing MY sleep. The nerve!

When she finally decided to take a nap, I considered not joining her. But since I obviously need to keep up the training regime, I did join her and we started over.

Mrrrr.... (cat sigh)

Catching Up on My Online Venues

2007-12-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

I spent most of my day today on the computer completing various tasks for my online ventures.

I opened an eBay store for my latest eBay ID-Rose's Sundries. And spent a good part of my morning hours relisting items that hadn't sold at auction as store items, doing the store set-up and revising my current auction listings to be compatible with the store. I established this ID to cover all the items that I sell that are NOT Christmas or sewing supplies. I did this fairly late in the year and hadn't acquired enough feedback before now to make the store feasible.
I did some revisions on my Rose's Buttons website. The website is looking better. I designed a new logo for it and tried to make the site cleaner and simpler. Now if I can just drive some more traffic to it....
I continued listing items on my From Grandma's Tree website. I migrated this site to an eBay ProStores location and am still working on getting the inventory listed and the basic design tweaked.
I updated my prices on Amazon.com. Amazon sales remain steady, but the revenue has dropped by at least half of what it was previously. This is due to what I call the "penny creep". As sellers list books, many of them price their book a penny or so below everyone else's price. Naturally, as "everyone else" revises their prices, they match the current price, so the price slowly (or sometimes dramatically) drops toward the infamous 1 penny price that so many used books are now priced at on Amazon. This is great for buyers, but not so great for sellers. It has drastically altered my book buying patterns and I have decided that at the price of $2.00, my profit margin drops too low to countenance. So I pull the book and add it to the donation pile.
I updated my Roses Buttons blog. I post photos of my eBay listings for Rose's Buttons before they list on eBay-a sneak peek at what's coming up.
I added Google AdSense to this blog and the Rose's Buttons website. This program provides me revenue whenever anyone clicks on one of the ads. So feel free to visit any of the ad sites that interest you.
I checked on my links from the Rose's Buttons website to my new store on Etsy.com. This is a wonderful and fairly new website that sells ONLY handcrafted items (and supplies for handcrafted items). I've just started this venture and intend to list supplies for crafters and some of my own handcrafted items.

OMG, it looks like I've given you an update on what I've been doing with my business this year. Well, more or less. I'll probably add some more in another post.

HOPE

2007-12-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

It seems appropriate to write about HOPE this week. Aside from it being the Advent theme of the week, in the midst of a disaster, hope is what we cling to. Hope that the power will go on soon. Hope that it will stay warm enough to survive. Hope that the losses we suffer will be only physical ones and not the loss of a friend or loved one. And hope that our prayers will be answered.

I started reading the book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" during my period of enforced quietness. One of the chapters is about worry. The point of the chapter is that worry drains us of hope, of energy, of the ability to live our lives in peace. The advice given is to ask God to handle those things that we can do nothing about and not to fret about them. We can't change these things. We can't find a way to solve them. We can't stop the wind. We can't stop the damage once it is set in motion. We can take our fears to God and ask him to handle these things for our good. And then we can hope confidently.

God will answer our prayers. It may not be in the way we expect him to answer. But it will be in His time and according to His will.
We can hope for him to handle those things that we cannot handle. And we can hope for the day when the short term peace that he give us in this life will turn into eternal peace. His Time. His Way.

May you have the gift of HOPE most abundantly this day.

Oscar's Progress Report

2007-12-05T22:13:00.001-08:00

Last year, I reported to you that I was training Rose to be more like a cat in her habits. I'm pleased to report that I've finally done it. She's finally mastered the art of being active at dusk and dawn and sleeping the rest of the time. The last 2 days were the final phase. Take yesterday for example, she was up doing her patrol at dawn--she was picking up garbage and I was marking territory. And she was busy making my dinner at dusk. Then she did some knitting while I chased the movement of the needles and the yarn--it's great fun. During the day, and all night long, we napped on the bed together. She was under her down comforter--poor thing, she doesn't have fur to keep her warm. And I was just curled up in my usual sleeping spot.

And we didn't have any distractions like TV or the computer going on. Just the two of us curled up. Now, I will just have to work on maintaining this pattern once the computer and TV start up again. The lights came on at 5 this morning and it definitely got warmer in the house. Then the computer came on at about 5 this afternoon, and there she is spending time on it again. When she's on the computer or watching TV my favorite spot is on the top of her chair. She even put a nice new quilt on it just for me to sleep on. Here's a picture of me playing with some of her yarn when she isn't looking.

Still Windy

2007-12-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

This is the second day without power. This morning I was awakened by the sound of the garbage collection truck and ran outside to make sure that my overflowing container was upright and ready to be picked up. It wasn't upright and I had some early morning exercise picking up the scattered debris and getting it into the can. But, mission accomplished! I really was getting tired of picking up the same garbage over and over.
I mailed off my Christmas cards this morning (and afternoon) and found out that the power connection to the source (Bonneville) is down so we may be 1-4 days more without power. I'm most heartily praying for only one more day. The temperature has remained in the 50s. It hasn't been too hard to keep warm, but if the temperature drops, I'm in trouble. I visited the insurance office to file the claim for fixing my roof. I'm supposed to call a tree service and roof service to get on their lengthening lists of clients. But with no phone, I'm stymied. I'm sure that I'll be farther down on the priorities anyway so I can work on this tomorrow. Meanwhile, Oscar and I will cuddle together to keep warm tonight.

Wintery Winds...STRONG Wintery Winds

2007-12-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

As I write this entry, the wind storm continues. I've been without electric power for 24 hours now. This is unusual for Long Beach. Previous outages have lasted less than a day. We had very high winds. I suppose that I'll hear a miles per hour figure when the power comes on again. Sometime during last night a part of my neighbor's tree came down on my roof.

I kept hearing something moving up there and imagined that it was the sound of shingles being blown off my roof. Needless to say, my frequent and urgent prayers for safety were answered. It doesn't look like anything on my roof is broken.

I had enough hot water for a shower and have been eating prepackaged meals. I'm a bit bored, but I'm not hungry or cold. At least it is not freezing and I'm comfy in my layers and under the down comforter.

Candle of Hope-1st Advent Sunday

2007-12-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. It was marked in services this morning with lighting the first candle on the Advent Wreath. For those of you who might not know, one candle is lit on the first Sunday. Two candles on the Second Sunday, until Christmas Day when all 5 candles are lit. The symbolism is marking the progress of our journey toward the Messiah. I find it a meaningful way to mark the anticipation before Christmas.

When I was a child, that anticipation had a lot to do with recieving presents. And as I grew, I learned to also anticipate the reaction of the recipient of my presents. It also meant family gatherings. Usually before Christmas, all of the family of my mother gathered for a Christmas party. Since there were 8 siblings, this meant a large group of brothers, sisters and children. We came from all over the Midwest for this one visit together. We always had a "program" before we actually opened presents. Each family was to put together a performance for the pleasure of all. I remember playing my clarinet for one of these parties. I also remember that my grandmother was careful to put together a gift bag for each of the grandchildren. It always contained oranges, whole nuts in the shell and lots of little goodies that delighted and surprised us each year. These were not the high-priced gifts common now, but simple small toys, games and puzzles that were probably obtained as premiums or on my grandparent's travels. Usually this came in a mesh orange bag. My grandmother was an educator and she was always careful to select gifts that would stimulate our minds and encourage us to learn. This was a family that was knit together by the love of our grandparents, but also by a love of the Lord. We always sang Christian carols and read the story of the birth of Jesus. My grandfather did these honors. As the family grew, year by year, we began to "draw names" for gift giving and it was always fun to see who had whose name and what was selected for a gift. Several of the brothers and sisters have passed on to glory, my mother included in that number. But the family still remains connected. I get cards and newsy letters from all of the aunts and uncles. I treasure and look forward to receiving these each year. It is part of my advent anticipation.

Countdown to Christmas 2007-An Advent Journey

2007-12-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

This past week I used my handy-dandy computer to create an advent journal for our church. I sent it to Pastor Linda and she liked it. So I spent Wednesday morning with her printing several copies to distribute to the congregation. The idea is that we each record our journey toward advent this year, with opportunities to share excerpts during each Advent Sunday. If we have folks willing to do so, we may collect the journals for producing an advent devotional for Advent 2008. So this is my first advent entry.

I do so get excited about the Advent season, but today we had a blustery wind. Rain, hail and snow fell alternately throughout the day. I ended up feeling miserable about having to make the short walk to the post office to post my eBay packages. I've felt like crawling back under the covers all day. I wasn't able to stick with anything today.

I cleaned out one of the spots that tends to accumulate paper on my desk and discovered Christmas cards from 2005.
I finished printing the envelopes for my Christmas Cards.
I took photos for eBay listings, then did my research on them and discover that half of them weren't worth listing on eBay. I just deleted the photos before I processed them to upload to the Internet.
I read for a while.

I've ended up feeling discouraged and like this was a wasted day. But perhaps what I need is to just accept the fact that I need a day of rest and actually TAKE it. So that is how I'm ending the day--taking a rest to prepare for the first Sunday of Advent.

Candle of Love

2006-12-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

I've just returned from our Candlelight Christmas Eve service. The message talked about how the Christmas story is really a love story--that of Mary and Joseph, AND that of God to humanity. The message is twofold--God loves us and God is with us. He came into the world so we know that he experienced joy, love,sorrow, betrayal, abandonment, torture and death. All of the many states of being that humans experience--Jesus experienced. And he still loves us today. Today's candle of advent is the candle of love. Share the light as we shared the light in lighting candles row by row tonight. God bless you!
Merry Christmas!

Mushrooms

2006-12-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of a glass German mushroom ornament. This is a fairly typical shape and paint style for these glass ornaments. I've always thought that the coloring was atypical for the mushrooms that I see in the woods here in the Pacific Northwest. Yes, yes...I've seen the photos in magazines and books of fantasticly colored mushrooms, but I'd never actually seen one that looked like those. Until this year.

This is a photo that I took of a mushroom growing in my back yard this fall. We had an unusually rainy spell a few weeks back and I had a plethora of mushrooms that I hadn't seen before growing there. And there was this beautiful red capped mushroom. I just had to take a photo of it to share.

Candle of Joy

2006-12-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

The third candle of advent is the candle of JOY. I have been trying to live in this state all year long. Many things about my life bring me JOY:

Having control of my own schedule and making my own priorities
Spending time helping on the painting crew for the church sanctuary
Singing in the choir
Finally learning my lines for the play
Having the chance to have new experiences-like being in my first play since high school.
Leading the women's group--a challenge that I wasn't sure that I was up for
Seeing the Community Table transition from dream to reality under the capable hands of Mary Ellen.
Serving as assistant minister and helping to plan worship
Attending a praise worship workshop that introduced our new hymnal--such wonderful new music!
Learning how to improve my auction listings by using research tools
And today, placing the Chrismons on our church tree.

Singing Praise

2006-12-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy few days since I last posted. We've had a week of terrible windstorms that have taken down many trees and ripped part of the roof off of my garage. Power was out and my internet service interrupted. So much for excuses. Here's the latest in a nutshell:

While we were practicing for our cantata which occurred last Sunday, a reporter from the local newspaper took lots of photos and sound recordings for a web movie that is now posted on their website. Here's the link: http://movies.dailyastorian.biz/cantata06/
The play is going well and I finally learned my lines. Low attendance and the last two performances are today.
I'm posting the last of the Ocean Park Lutheran eBay items over this weekend. So on to my own items again next.

Candle of Peace

2006-12-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

Today's Advent Candle is the candle of PEACE. Here comes Sunday bringing a message of peace, when I've had nothing but busy-ness all week long. I've longed for some peace and quiet to restore my soul all week long. Today was also the day of our cantata, which was beautiful with an artfully created, yet simple decor and of course, the beautiful music selected by our choir director. But with needing to be an hour early for pre-worship choir practice and an hour early for pre-cantata warmup and review, it fekt like another day of rushing around. I was so exhausted by having had choir practice, followed by two performances of the play on Saturday, that I awoke late and needed a nap between service and time for the cantata. Yet this evening, I'm beginning to feel that peace descend. Thank you Lord, for providing that peace when I need it most.

Memorizing & Knowing

2006-12-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

I've been having trouble memorizing my lines for the play. It seems I have them at one moment and can perform them perfectly and the next moment they're gone. This is a new phenomenon for me. I haven't had to memorize anything since my school days. This got me to thinking about how easy it is to give talks about something that you have written yourself. It seems I have no problem with that.

So what is it that makes it so hard to do this for something that someone else has written? And then the words "He will write them on their hearts" from scripture pops into my head.

When it comes from me and my thoughts, I'm speaking what is on my heart. When I'm trying to make someone else's thoughts "written into my heart", it's not yet written on my heart.

How I long for the day when I will have God's words written onto my heart so that I will always know what kind of performance to give, and to be able to give it generously--from my own heart.

Candle of Hope

2006-12-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I like about the Lutheran tradition is how the season of advent is observed. An Advent Wreath is placed in the sanctuary with 4 blue candles and 1 white candle in the center. On each of the four Sundays in advent an additional blue candle is lit until all 4 are lit. Each of these candles has a different emotion attached to it. The first candle is the candle of HOPE.
Today's message focused on our Christian hope in the second coming of the Messiah. I'd always thought of HOPE during Advent to be a remembrance of the hope that the people of Israel had that the Messiah would come and a way to share in that hope ourselves. It would be like recreating the hope that we experienced when we were children, that someone would understand what we really wanted for Christmas gifts, and it would appear at Christmas. Today's message expanded my understanding and broadened the horizon for me. Our hope today is about that looking forward and trying to be ready for the coming of our King, knowing that the next time He comes, it will not be in a manger quietly. The Bible tells us that it will be in glory as the conquering King in the battle against evil. What a glorious HOPE that is!

Why I Go to Church

2006-12-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

I read a short blurb in the March 2006 "The Lutheran" about a church that put together a book based on "Why I Go to Church". This was as an alternative to a Lenten or Advent devotional book. What a good idea!

As so many churches are searching for ways to increase membership, the simple act of sharing why you belong and worship in church can be so powerful. For me, it is an act of connecting--both with God and with my fellow Christians. God commands us to serve Him and each other. By reaching out to God, I also am reaching out to his Mission and looking for ways to serve humanity. I haven't missed a Sunday of attending church since I rejoined the church. It is that important to me. I come away filled with gratitude for being forgiven and with new resolve to live my life every day by extending the grace I've received to others. Kind of like an electrical conduit allowing the current to pass through me and to it's ultimate destination, not really knowing where that is, but trusting that it will go where God intends.

Mary Pondered All These Things

2006-12-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about Mary today. The Bible tells us really very little about her other than she was blessed and that she accepted the role that God gave her. We surmise that she was in her teens, as women in that day were fairly young when they were bethrothed. She was betrothed to Joseph when we first meet her. She is visited by an angel who announces her as God's choice of the mother of the Messiah. She accepts this, probably never dreaming of what the true implications were. But she had to know that she'd be pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. This was a sin of major proportions in that day and age, one that may well have lost her status as betrothed. Yet God arranged for that consequence to be averted. And then there was a long journey away from her home to Bethlehem. She then experienced a birth in a stall, most likely in a cave. And then the unusual visitors--angels, shepherds and ultimately kings bearing gifts. And then having to flee to Egypt on the say-so of her husband who had a dream. She is said to have "pondered these things in her heart". I would hope so. What a set of experiences!

Oscar's Page

2006-11-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

Hi, Oscar here. Rose is away tonight at play practice so I'm here alone and can do anything that I want. You may not know that educating a human who thinks she owns you is a daunting task. So I want to tell you about what I've been working on this year. Since she's home most of the time now, I can finally work on getting her daily schedule to be more compatible with mine.

We cats are diurnal, which means we're active at dusk and dawn and sleep during the day and during the night. Now Rose has always had that sleeping during the night pretty much down, but she needs training on sleeping during the day. So here's my method:

I lead her into the bedroom and ask for some petting.

I do some grooming myself.

I get comfy and start to nap.

Before she gets up to do something else, I move on top of her hip and settle in for my midday nap.

It works every time. She won't get up and falls asleep herself. I'm working on her to take longer naps. But it's a work in progress...

Making a Joyful Noise

2006-11-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

Something wonderful happened this year. Our church choir is renowned on our small peninsula for producing beautiful music. Well, actually we were struggling. You see, about the time that I joined the choir, we lost our accompanist. And we struggled for more than a year with our choir director entering the music on a computer program, which then played the accompaniment for the choir. It meant the choir had to be more exact because the accompaniment would be played exactly as entered. We all were praying for an accompanist to be found, and soon.

Two of our choir members were practicing madly just to be able to play the hymns each Sunday and the first question asked at worship planning meetings was "Can you play this?". Then Vivian showed up. She 'd been called to the ministry of the nursing homes for many years and she plays old time gospel to beat the band. She was quickly added to the roster of musicians playing hymns. Well, this woman's spirit is not to be denied. She was soon ferreting out other musicians in the congregation and by this spring had a gospel band performing with her.

Then the Spirit moved and we decided to try to have special music each Sunday this summer while the choir took it's customary break. I called a meeting after church one Sunday in May and asked for volunteers to provide their special talents. We signed them up for each available Sunday right then and there. Vivian was instrumental in taking this idea into reality. Her band took a Sunday or two and made it very special.

Then, the Spirit moved again and Barbara joined us as an accompanist. She started sometime during the summer and we had double blessings as the talents of people who'd not been expressed came forth and Barbara kept the accompaniment of hyms lively. Vivian has fallen away and we'd like her to come back. We discovered that Vivian not only plays piano, but also guitar and violin. [And maybe more?] Pray for us that we'll be able to continue the ministry of special music with a contemporary and gospel focus.

Fundraising for OPLuth

2006-11-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

eBay Sales: This year I've offered my services as an eBay seller to my church, Ocean Park Lutheran Church. I donate my time and list items that have been donated to the church on eBay. It was a bit of an involved process to get a separate eBay and PayPal account established for the church, but we are finally up and running and have sold some Fostoria donated by a former member.
Estate Sales: I also organized an estate sale for Jerry M., a church member who passed on to glory. He donated all of the contents of his home to the church. We held an estate sale, brought some items to the Kelso Sale Barn and pulled a few choice items for sale on eBay. I hope to have all of these items listed before Christmas. The estate sale process was very successful and we now have an infrastructure to hold more such sales. We've composed a brochure giving advice on liquidating assets, which also highlights our services. We're offering these with the profits to go directly to the Community Table (which I'll write about in another post).

Business Basics

2006-11-25T20:30:00.001-08:00

I usually bring you up to date on what I've been doing with my business ventures in the past year.

If you recall, I've been operating under the eBay ID "gmastree" since 1999. This year I divided my efforts between vintage Christmas and vintage sewing supplies. I established a second identity on eBay as "rosesbuttons" and opened a second eBay store. I also launched a website www.rosesbuttons.com to sell a line of vintage buttons, fabric, patterns and sewing supplies. This site is pretty basic, but reflects my html programming skills at present--also pretty basic.
Next year I'll be sprucing up the button site and migrating the Christmas site (www.fromgrandmastree.com) to a location that I'll control completely and not be reliant on an outside programmer to keep it updated.
I've started to restrict my purchases of other types of items and trying to only purchase more upscale items that will bring larger sale prices. But, I have a fairly decent stockpile of such items and it will take me awhile to clear them out. I either donate unsold items or bring them to a local auction house to sell at a bargain basement price.
I also started a blog at http://vintagechristmassellers.blogspot.com on which I post a weekly listing of the most popular searches on eBay in three categories of Christmas items.
I continue to sell books on Amazon.com. Midyear, Amazon decided to up the selling prices on the collectible category of books to a minimum of $10 or the Amazon selling price, whichever is lower. Since most of my listings were in the collectible category, I decided to let them ride and raise the price on items that were below the minimum. The result was that I lost a month of income as sales dropped to nearly nothing. I relisted most of my books as "used" and pulled books that wouldn't sell for an amount above my price point. So the local thrift shops got a bonanza of nice books as I decided to donate them rather than throw them in the trash.

The bottom line remains in the black overall, so I consider it a successful year, if not highly profitable.

On Being STILL

2006-11-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

This year I've decided to take a year off from the holiday frenzy of shopping and commercialism. I'm acting in Robert Fulghum's "Uh Oh, Here Comes Christmas" play and one of my stories is about a couple who take a year off to celebrate the true spirit of the season by being STILL. That's what I'll be doing this year. This is my way to touch bases with all of you and you can follow my holiday journey via posts on this blog.