What do you want for Christmas?

I found this poll in a December 1946 Companion Magazine.

(click on the picture for a bigger picture)

The Companion Poll asked What three wishes would you want for the world, your family, yourself. I'll highlight below some of the article.

The response was nearly unanimous:

For the World: "Everywhere peace, with decent food, clothing, shelter, and education."

I guess after World War 2 all these things would be first in every one's mind!

For their family: "Health and happiness in the things we have ;ambition without dissatisfaction."

I don't think you would hear that last part nowadays.

And for themselves: "Health, grace, humor and tact."

Tact? I don't think that word is used much anymore! Too bad! Some grace and humor might be achieved if it was.

Then they asked for the readers to pick material things just for fun. Here are some of the responses:

"A car as long as from here to the corner."

"A station wagon for fishing, camping, hauling, and riding around."

"A place of our own."

"A perfect new house, but if that is too much, dear Santa, please bring a new furnace for this one."

A furnace? I've never heard someone ask Santa for that before! Have you?

Here's a cute one:

"......a new country house, nicely furnished, with space for a landing field and many pets."

A landing field? For an airplane do you think?

Some asked for smaller things:

a photographic enlarger, a canoe, a three quarter ton truck, a power boat large enough to sleep five, electric blankets, and electric train.

And some are not politically correct NOW!:

"A mink coat."

"A Persian coat."

"A three piece red suit trimmed with Persian lamb and matching hat."

Lucy Ricardo would love that!

And here is a good one:

"An original dress by a very well-known designer, with accessories to match."

Another one Lucy would love!

Some wanted labor saving devices:

washing machine, refrigerators, stoves, mixers, sewing machines, mangles, vacuum pressure cookers, dishwashers, and more.

Mangles? What is that? I didn't know they had dishwashers in 1946 either!

And don't forget the jewelry:

A string of real pearls, a new wrist watch with a few diamonds in the sides, or a diamond bracelet that wide and a star sapphire ring. And one asked for a five-carat diamond.

Some wanted to improve themselves:

a beauty course

And then some just wanted ordinary everyday useful items:

a pair of field glasses, a buttonhole attachment for the sewing machine, a valve for an air brush, the complete novels of Jane Austin.

And I like this one best:

"A trip alone for two or three days to shop, to go to the theater and sleep uninterruptedly"

A mother's dream!

What do you want for Christmas?

Meet Craig and Andy!

While my company was exhibiting at the trade show in DC we met a very nice couple exhibiting in the booth next to ours, Craig & Andrea. Craig is wheelchair bound after a skiing accident and Andy is his wife. They live in Colorado. They have written two books on traveling with a disability. I was impressed with them both. As I watched them at their booth talking with other disabled men and women I was very impressed with their attitude on life. Craig is a motivational speaker and sometime I'd love to hear his talk. I'm sure it would be inspiring for anyone disabled or able bodied. You can find out more about Craig & Andy, their upcoming schedule, and their travel books at their websites. Their company is Access Anything and their blog is located here. They have several websites and you can find the links to these sites on their blog.

Craig made the cover of Sports and Spokes March 2007 magazine. Inside there is an article about skiing in Colordo written by Andy. Craig said "You can't see it but I have the biggest smile on my face in the photo."

Someone has a Birthday today!

Happy Birthday to my husband, the Camera Totin Idiot! We've been together since 1978. Married since 1979. I love him dearly. He's my partner for life, my friend, my lover, the father of my children. He is a dear man. He's stubborn and doesn't always show his soft side but it's there. He has the greatest sense of humor and keeps me laughing. I love you sweetie!

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesday participants click here.

It is beginning to look like Christmas in our neighborhood!

The lights are going up around our neighborhood so I thought I'd get you in the Christmas mood. Perry Como was one of my mother's favorites and over the years I've grown to appreciate him. This is one of my favorites of his. Enjoy!

Are you listening to Christmas music yet? I am! I've downloaded some celtic Christmas music and bought The Carpenter's Christmas CD. I recommend it!

Enjoy Perry's song!

Amazing Grace - The movie!

Amazing Grace is the story of William Wilburforce. He was a member of the British Parliament during the late 1700's and early 1800's. He was instrumental in bringing the end of slavery to the British empire. His friend, former preacher,and mentor was John Newton. John Newton was a former slave trader. He repented of this life and became a preacher. He later wrote many great hymns the greatest being Amazing Grace. This movie spans about 20 years in the life of Wilburforce and his fight to end slavery in Britain.

I loved the movie. It was very moving and spiritual. There were many parts of the movie that moved me very much. Here are several.

Wilburforce talking with his butler in the garden:

Butler: "You've found God, sir?"
Wilbur: "I think he found me!"
Butler: "It is a sad fate for a man to die too well known to everybody else and still unknown to himself. Francis Bacon. I don't just dust your books, sir."

Wilburforce talking with John Newton:

Newton: "So what do you want with your old preacher?"
Wilbur: "I'm here to seek your advice."
Newton: "When you were a child you used to ask God for advice."
Wilbur: "Then I grew up and grew foolish."
Newton: "And now?"
Wilbur: "Now, slowly, my faith is returning."
Newton: "How slowly?"
Wilbur: "No bolts of lighting"
Newton: "God sometimes does his work with gentle drizzle, not storms. drip, drip,
drip."

Wibur talking with Newton after he has lost his sight and is writing his memoirs:

Wilbur: "They only told me your sight was fading."
Newton: "Well, now its faded altogether. I never did things by halves. God decided
I'd seen enough."

further in the conversation:

Newton: "Although my memory is fading, I remember two things very clearly. I'm a
great sinner and Christ is a great Savior."

I know this is just a movie and these are just lines written by a writer somewhere but they are so true. We all are sinners and Christ is a GREAT Savior. It is so nice to see this truth in a movie. I have never had a bolt of lighting jolt me into salvation but over the years God has continued to "drip, drip, drip" on me and opened my eyes to my sins and His great plan for my salvation. I never quite heard it put in a way that I could relate too until this line in this movie. I've always known about Jesus but until my 30's I never really gave religion much thought. Now I think of it daily. I pray that many will see this movie and be as moved as I was and maybe it will help someone to see "the light".

It's Christmas in Downtown Cumberland

UPDATE!

Here is a picture of the tree lighting ceremony on our downtown mall. Picture from the Cumberland Times News


Christmastime is here! Our hometown of Cumberland celebrated our annual tree lighting tonight. It's a tradition that we are on hand to watch. It's a fun time! But boy was it cold tonight. 36 degrees! Our town also hasn't caved into the anti-Christmas crowd. The event is filled with references to the reason for the season, Jesus! There was prayer before and after the tree lights came on and O Holy Night was sung among other carols! We went with our daughter, our good friends, and our cousins. A good time was had by all. Now give me some hot chocolate! I'm still cold!




Here is our little cousin with Santa.

I can't believe I'm doing this!

UPDATE!

We did it! And we had a great time! We only did a walk through of Walmart. The crowds there were crazy! I only spent $10 on two DVD's at FYE! There just wasn't anything else I saw that I "NEEDED" to buy today! Sara & Lori did some shopping JCP. The lines there weren't too bad. We ended up with breakfast at Bob Evans. All in all a very nice time!

Tonight is the annual tree lighting on our downtown mall. I had a nap so I'm good to go! Lori will go see her school's football game tonight. They are playing Ft. Hill again and this time the winner is the Regional Champ! Go Allegany!







We are up at 4:30 and we are going to meet the crowds head on and we are going to SHOP! Well try and shop. Wish us luck!

Please note the time I'm posting this! P.S. I'm waiting on my daughter to get ready.

We are going to Bob Evans for breakfast. I love their Strawberry Crapes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this Thanksgiving Day I thank God for all my blessings which are many. I am so thankful for my loving family. My husband, my son, my daughter's, my soon to be son in law, my sister, my mother in law and step father in law, my brother Tom & his family, my friends, and my soon to be grand baby. I pray for each and everyone and ask that God bless them all.

I am thankful for all my Internet friends and hope you all Have a Blessed Thanksgiving! Don't eat to much turkey!

I also give thanks to all the soldiers away from their families this Thanksgiving and pray to God they come home soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Congratulations Jimmie Johnson! #48

Back to Back Champion Jimmie Johnson! Hurrah!

I'm Home!

Well, I'm back from the big metropolis of Washington DC. My company, TRIAID Rehabilition Products, exhibited our tricycles at the Washington Convention Center. The exhibit was from 11 am to 5 pm each day.


Here is a picture of one of the trikes. These are for kids with Cerebral Palsy or other special needs. The trikes enable them to get out and ride with other kids or their families when they may not be able to ride a two wheel trike. It is really great to see a child on one of our trikes. They get such a big smiles on their faces.

The Convention Center:


Our hotel, The Hampton Inn. Very nice place. Very big King size bed. The hotel was 2 blocks from the Convention Center so we walked everyday.



This is the lobby of the hotel. There was a room with 2 computers where visitors could access the internet.



We went to the Chinatown - 7th Street area everynight. This is the entrance to Chinatown. This place was really busy but it is also where all the resturants were. It was about 2 blocks from our hotel.




Wednesday night we ate at Fuddruckers. They make really big hamburgers! I had a bacon cheeseburger with mayo, lettuce, & tomato. Very good.


Thursday night we rode the metro to Pentagon City.


We ate at the food court there. This mall is 4 stories high. The shops were too expensive for my pocketbook. All I bought for myself was a strawberry smoothie! Yummy!


On Friday night we had Chinese in Chinatown. I had the cashew chicken. It was very good but I couldn't eat it all. Then we went to the movies. The Regal Cinama on 7th Street has 14 screens.


We saw the movie Beowulf in 3D. I really liked it. If you like movies such as Lord of the Rings you will like it. The 3d effects were really neat. It was my first 3d movie. It was awkard putting the 3d glasses on over my glasses but once the movie got going I forgot about it. I have never read the story but Sara & Lori both have read it in school and like it.



It turned cold on Thursday. Cold and very windy. I sure was glad for my new LL Bean Barn coat!


I sure was glad to get home to Cumberland on Saturday night! DC is nice but too big for me. There was too much noise. Too many sirens and horns all the time even during the night.

I'm away for a few days!

I'll be away for a few days. I'm going on a business trip to Washington DC.

My company, TRIAID, will be exhibiting our tricycles at the World Congress and Expo on Disabilities November 14th to the 17th at The Washington Convention Center.

The Convention Center in Washington DC.


Our hotel - The Hampton Inn - Looks like it will be a nice place! But it doesn't have hair dryers in the rooms! Strange!



I'll be back online Sunday the 18th with I'm sure lots of pictures of Washington DC. So please come back later!

See ya!

A thing called Homecoming!

Saturday, November 10th was the annual Homecoming Game between the two high schools in the city where I live. The Fort Hill Sentinals hosted the Allegany Campers. I'm not a alumni of either school but two of our children have graduated from there - John in 2000 and Sara in 2004. Lori is a senior this year! Graduation is May 27, 2008 Wooh! So of course we want the Big Blue to win. Homecoming is a big thing to our town. The fans talk about it all year long and can't wait until fall and football season. Those of us who graduated from the smaller schools in the county we just don't quite understand all the hoopla over homecoming! Until you go to the game! We don't usually attend but since this is our youngest child's last year in high school, we felt we should make an appearance. Here is what we found:

School spirit is everything to those who attend the game! Over 10,000 people in a town of around 21,000 show up in their BLUE & White or



RED & White!




This game is the biggest game of the year and whether the teams go on to win the State Championship doesn't really matter. It matters who wins homecoming.


To the delight of our daughter, Allegany WON this year 33 to 14! Go BIG Blue!





This year there was an added treat for our area! NFL Films came to town for a week to film our homecoming game. It is scheduled to be broadcast on national television over the Thanksgiving holiday! They will showcase several high schools across the nation and will talk about the rivalries between neighboring schools. Our schools are across town from each other and have been playing a Homecoming Game for 78 years! I guess I can understand a little why the fans get so excited!



Coverage of the game in our local newspaper can be found at The Cumberland Times News website.

My NEW Camera!

My birthday came yearly this year and this is what I received!



My other digital camera died this week and I was feeling kind of sad so my hubby decided not to wait until December to give me my birthday present. He's a real sweetie! Thanks honey. I LOVE IT!

Here I am trying out the new play toy. Do you like the new hair color?


Here's what I saw in my view finder. The hubby!


We took a road trip today to try out the new camera. Here are a few of the sites along the way:



West Virginia is on the left side of the river and Maryland is on the right side.