I Heard The Bells

Not until today, did I know the story behind this Christmas Carol. It has as much meaning today as it did the day it was written. With thanks to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Historical Note: This hymn was writ­ten dur­ing the Amer­i­can civil war, as re­flect­ed by the sense of des­pair in the next to last stan­za. Stan­zas 4-5 speak of the bat­tle, and are usual­ly omit­ted from hymn­als:

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

To our troops across the continent, thank you and God Bless you this Christmas.

As Promised...

Keep in mind - a week ago it was in the 60s and the ground was bare!



And it's STILL snowing.

Time to do dishes, finish laundry and start packing. 48 hours from now ~ hopefully ~ I'll be in O'Fallon. I hope I'm not supposed to keep this trip a secret from anybody!

See you all soon.

Shennie

Let It Snow...

just not on Tuesday!

The weather folks here in Massachusetts have been predicting this storm for a week. Although I hate driving in snow, I really don't mind it. ...as long as I'm home snug and warm. The closer it got the more we were hoping that it would come and we wouldn't have to go to work.

This morning when the alarm went off, I listened intently to the school closings and any other indication that our governor would tell us state workers to stay home. I felt like a school girl praying for a day off while listening to WTIC and Bob Steele 50 years ago. FINALLY ~ I heard it. "Except for essential personnel, all state employees are asked to stay home today." Oh the joys of being non-essential! I rolled over and went back to sleep for 2 hours.

When I finally woke up, I mentally planned out my day which included running some errands. I got moving so that I could be done and home by the time of the first snowflake. I didn't quite make it, but I did get home before it began to accumulate.

I picked up three Christmas presents, treat bags for all the baking I plan on doing tomorrow, and enough groceries to do the baking. Of course, I was maneuvering the aisles of Stop & Shop with 200 of my closest friends! I couldn't believe it when I went past the meat section ~ there were actually three-foot sections that were EMPTY. It looked like something out of a news article on Moscow or Leningrad. Thank goodness I was only looking for baking items and ice cream! My last stop after the pharmacy was the transfer station to get rid of all my recyclables.

I finally arrived home just as the flakes were beginning to fly. Of course, once I got everything in from the car and was ~ I thought ~ in for the duration, the mailman came. So, acting on a guilt trip, I dressed warmly and put a suet cake in the wire feeder, added seed to the feeder by my kitchen window and got the mail from my mailbox. I also threw some ice melt on the stoop to help clean up for tomorrow. NOW I'm in for the duration. I can't go out - I'm in my robe and slippers. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Tomorrow I don't have to go anywhere so I plan on baking and baking and baking. Tonight I'll cut cherries and dates; I'll chop some walnuts; and I've already got 2 lbs. of butter (think Paula Deen) coming to room temperature on my counter.

So, Frosty, welcome to S'boro 2008. It's finally beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

Shennie

David Andrew is On US Sail

He came back on Thursday night after a long trip from Kalsu to Baghdad to Germany to Hunter Army Base. Suffice it to say that we had a terrific reunion.

I was in Georgia to greet him as he came home I shed tears along with Susie and Jessie and Chelsey. It's amazing home much he has grown up; yet, it's amazing how much he's still the little boy I remember.

I'll post tomorrow; but suffice it to say that he is home safe and sound!

We love you, Scoots! Welcome home, Soldier!!!!!!!

Love

Shennie