Happy New Year!

As you can see I have changed the looks of the blog for another year.  I always like to change things on January 1, because it just seems like the thing to do for a new year.   A fresh new look for a fresh new year!  A very Happy New Year to everyone!   Hard to believe that it is 2017.   Back in the 1950's, this seemed like so far into the future that nobody could even visualize such a year.   And now here it is.  I always wonder what new things, what new challenges, and what new blessings will come into play.   I know there will be tough times, good times, sad times and happy times.   The Lord is in charge, not me. 
     Speaking of the Lord, you might recall that last January 1st,  I signed up for the "read the Bible in a year" challenge at our church.   If I read through the Bible in a year I would get a new Bible, personalized with my name in gold on the cover.   Well, I did indeed meet the challenge and today at church I received my new Bible.   It is very nice, and the pastor even wrote a short message on the inside cover.   One of my favorite passages is Psalm 37 - look it up!  This passage deals with not worrying about how some folks seem to get away with wrongdoing, or how some seem to never have 'problems'.   This has been especially meaningful in 2016 when it seemed like celebrities, politicians, criminals and world figures "got away" with wrongdoings.   It is very frustrating when it seems like justice never happens, and yet most folks follow the rules and get nowhere.  But the Bible teaches us not to worry, that God is in charge and He will deal with things.   All those who seem to get away with crimes and bad living habits will have to answer to the Lord someday.  Someday there will be justice, but it might not be in my lifetime.  I think this has been a difficult year for many Americans, and day to day living has often been very stressful.   I have tried hard to turn off the news and withdraw from all the craziness, and live my own simple life.   But I like to keep up with what's happening in the world, and trying to find a good balance between "keeping up with the world" and "staying away from it all" has been a challenge.  I never want this blog to be political, but sometimes I just need to vent a little!   I look forward to warm spring weather when I can get outside and dig in the soil and get my "garden therapy"!

A page view from my new Bible.  I urge you to read Psalm 37, and tell me what you think!

Harold has been busy bringing in more firewood for heating the house.  He has a new system for cutting wood.  He cuts down a tree in our woods, then hauls it into the yard with his tractor/loader  and a chain.  Then he cuts it up right there by the stove!  This saves a whole step of having to cut the tree up into firewood chunks, then load it onto the pickup, maneuver the truck through the woods, then unload the pickup and stack it.   All that extra loading and unloading can be a bit much, especially as we get older!  Like the old saying goes:  We get too soon old and too late smart.

Harold brings in a tree to the yard to cut up for firewood.   This one is about 30 feet long, but the other day, he brought in one that was 60 feet long!  He had to put chains on the tractor to get through the snowy woods.

He stacks all the logs he brought in by the woodstove to cut up into chunks.  

Tomorrow I will begin taking down all the Christmas decorations and trees.  This is always a sad chore, as it seems like such a loooooong time until next Christmas will come.  I do so enjoy the lights and music and decorations and everything about Christmas, and I always hate to put the holiday away.   But really, the spirit of Christmas, the celebration of our Lord's birth, should be in our hearts all year long.
     I never make any resolutions for New Years.  I know I will never keep those resolutions.   Instead, I think about what didn't work, what did work, and try to improve everything about my little world.   I have plenty of new garden plans, loads of new recipes to try (I recently bought a huge box of 22 hard cover cookbooks at an auction for $2 total!), and of course there is always the need to live healthier and lose weight.    And I wonder what articles I will be writing about here on my blog!  I don't get many comments - why is that?  I welcome comments! 
    So - here we go!!  The new year 2017 is off and running!!