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I am a member of the American Legion Auxiliary.  I have been a member for10 years.  The position I hold in the Ralph Gracie Unit #14 is Home service.  This is the person that helps vets in any way that I can have a better life.  Now you realize I don't have to do this single handed. There is a group of Veitnam vets that meet every Wednesday to talk and help control some of the horror that they remember.  Well, I bake cookies twice a month and deliver them to their meeting site.  I have not met any of them, but they have sent word how much they enjoy the cookies, but moreover they are just pleased that someone remembers them.  I also thank them for their service on a note that identifies that they come from me and the Auxiliary.   I am always on the look out for a vet that has needs.

Animal Crackers

Can vegans eat animal crackers?  BEETS me.

How many different animals are there in a box of animal crackers? Most people would not believe that 17 different animals are created for the animal cracker zoo, but there are.
Of course, not that many different types of animal crackers would ever appear in any box. You do get a variety of animal crackers in every box, and they seem to have been a part of everyone's childhood at some point. They celebrated their 100^th birthday in 2002, and the popularity of these little cracker is not about to let up any time soon.
Can you name the 17 types of animals that used for crackers? The answer will appear at the end of this post giving you the opportunity to think about it, before the answer is revealed.
Do you know why there is a string on the box of Barnum's animal crackers? Many people might say it is to pull the circus train around, but it is not. Barnum's animal crackers have been around since 1902 and that string was used to hang the box as a Christmas decoration! Yes, imagine a Christmas Tree decorated with boxes of animal crackers inside a circus train box!
Animal crackers are great as a snack even when you are an adult and they are still very popular with kids today. Grab a box today and relieve some cherished childhood memories.
The animal crackers are still quite popular today and more then 40 million little circus train boxes are sold each year. United States companies make them and then export them to seventeen different countries around the world. It is a little part of American history in every box.
How many of these animal crackers can be made in minute in any factory around the United States? Twelve hundred a minute would be the correct answer, and each 1 taste the same, which is delicious!
How many animal crackers are in a box? There are approximately twenty-two animal crackers in a box of Barnum's animal crackers.
What is your favorite way to eat an animal cracker? Some people nibble off the head and then devour the body, while some people just pop it into their mouth and chew. Some people love to dunk them into chocolate icing or melted chocolate. I just love these little crackers any way I can get them!
Here are the 17 different types of animals that can be found in a box of animal crackers; tigers, cougars, camels, rhinoceros, kangaroos, hippopotami, bison, lions, hyenas, zebras, elephants, sheep, bears, gorillas, monkeys, seals, and giraffes.

I didn't think I could write very much about the American icon the Animal Cracker, but I was wrong -- again.

Christmas Concert

The Thirty Third Annual Christmas Concert of the Bemidji Chorale was Sunday at the First Lutheran Church.  The music was exhilarating.  They sang a variety of music from Harvest, Fall pieces to Celebrate the season - favorite Christmas music.  Kathy Callagan pictured above graduated in the class of 64ever. I know she has sang a long time in the chorale.  I saw at least three other of that class in attendance.  Of course there were cookies and coffee afterwards.  This writer is featuring the best pan of brownie I have ever seen.  I didn't make them I wimped out and brought the best that Leukens could make to donate to the treats after the concert.   

Celebrating Christmas

After so many years of working in the public schools system where you must be politically correct, it is so wonderful to be able to proclaim the meaning of Christmas.   I remember once I had a girl sent to my office that used Christ's name as a profanity.  Of course she was immediately sent to the office.  It was our policy to suspend any student using profanity from school.  The girl asked me to explain why saying Christ was so terrible.  So I did just that.  Of course, it angered the parent and I had to apologize to her and they wanted my head on a platter. (Kind of a John the Baptist kind of thing) I got no other punishment for answering that question.  God said it would not be easy to follow in the foot steps of Jesus.  But anyway it is so great to be able to proclaim my personal beliefs without any threat.

With that said, I attended FLCW Christmas Gathering on Friday.  What a beautiful and meaningful afternoon.  We had a great holiday dessert.  I always know how to spell dessert.  If the word has two S's then it has an abundance of calories.  Only one S and it has an abundance of sand.  I take the two S's anytime.  And of course we had coffee.  Remember which church this is. 

Our musical entertainment was Jon Romer and Sarah Carlson.  Flutes, violins, guitar, and keyboard.  What a lovely sound.  We were treated to two original scores which just mesmerized the audience.

Well, I just want to say Merry Christmas and not have to say Happy Holiday to you all.

GPS

I folded to new technology  My old phone was the newest,the best and I loved it.  But...    I just up graded to a smart phone. I can't imagine the hours that I will spend to learn to do all the things that the phone can do.  I understand that it has a speech feature where I can ask it to find a recipe for snickerdoodle cookies or the directions to a certain address.  Maybe the directions, but I have a great snickerdoodle recipe.   It will find all the options.  I have been looking for one that I could download apps and use google earth.  But this one comes with a GPS feature.  I have also thought about the possibility of getting a Garmen or Tom Tom for that very reason.  From what I have discovered I will not need to do that.  My phone will be my angel on my shoulder with a very good sense of direction. Oh, by the way it can even make a phone call.

Hands

Grandma's Hands

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She
didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the
longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at
the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked
at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a
clear voice strong....

'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here
staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained
to her.

'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at
your hands?'

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over,
palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my
hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have
served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled
shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach
out and grab and embrace life...

'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor..

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother
taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my
boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.

'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were
uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my
wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone
special

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my
parents and spouse.

'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and
shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the
rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and
raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well
these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in
prayer.

'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and
take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side
and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.'

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached
out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt
or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of
grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of
God.

I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.


Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you
-- not because they are nice, But because you are.

Heaven or hell

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
...
But the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'

They then went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, "I don’t understand."

"It is simple" said the Lord, "In this place the people have learned to feed one another."

This is the toughest time of year for people of low or no income.  We need to mindful of this and help at the red pots, or give to the food shelf.  Grocrey store have feed the hungury programs also.  Help out if you can.