C O L D W I N T E R

If I could find my "SNO-BIRD" wings and some extra cash I would be "Southbound and Down"! The forecast calls for some good "Old Fashioned Winter" temperatures. Tomorrow is OK but then its going to drop down into the BELOW ZERO Range.

We arrived Friday night at the "Promised Land", it was a nice drive back into the woods, all fresh new snow, and cold. Unpacked and settled in, we had a great time, I played the Ole Guitar that evening and we sang, ate and had several prayer services. We split up into 2 teams, and we played "Buzz-Word" which was a lot of fun, we ate, snacked and stayed up till midnight!! We slept great, our room had a window and you could see a big old shiny moon lighting up the woods, the temp was about 10 BELOW Zero, all was well BUT at 5:30AM the power went out.

In the north country nights get cold, at 5:30AM it was 23 BELOW zero, when you go outside, breathe thru your nose and it will freeze shut, stand outside and you can hear trees CRACK, some sound like rifle shots, this is caused by the sap in the tree freezing and the tree splits. The power stayed off from 5:30am till about noon, we were fortunate as the Minister has a large gas generator which was fired up so we could make coffee, lucky for us daylight in the swamp comes early in the North Country. The main living room had a big old Gas Fireplace where we sat around and gabbed and spent the morning and watched the birds at the feeder, some of us took turns "nodding off" and had to be poked to wake up!!!! I bundled up and took a walk as it was sunny and bright and warmed up to about 5 degrees.

We gathered snow in buckets and melted it on the stove, a 5 gallon pail of snow makes 3 inches of water, We had coffee, juice,bagels, doughnuts, cereal and bacon and eggs to start the morning, the biggest thrill was bundeling up, treking thru the 2 feet of snow, and going to the "Out-House"!!! Needless to say one does not take a magazine or newspaper with them to sit on the throne at 6AM with temps at 24 below zero!!!!!

Power came back on about noon, temps shot up to about 10 above zero, lunch was turkey & ham/cheeze sandwiches, fruits, snacks, we spent the afternoon enjoying ourselves, singing and talking and dinner was "Shepard's Pie" and homemade bisquits which was delicious with the cupcakes for desert. We packed up and headed home saturday night with temps about 10 above.

Sunday was Church and then off to the Nursing Home for a short service and some song and singing with the residents who were former church members and some were relatives and friends of ours and then we went visiting to the rooms of patients who could not come down.

Monday I got caught up on my paperwork and book-keeping at the legion and Honey worked at church setting up a new computer system. The temps are going be "Frigid" for awhile!!! We have Coffee Hour & Donuts tomorrow here for the Tenants, Wednesday is our Monthly Birthday dinner and this month we are having a pizza party.

News from Dallas is that my friend Mark is making slow progress!! Please keep him in your prayers!!!!!!!

It looks like a week from today History will be made, A New President, I can hardly wait, With the way things are going in New York State with politics, scandal and corruption, Taxes so high business is leaving, I can only ask the last person who leaves New York State to turn out the light........

Never forget, Remember the Vet!!