Decorations of Red....

On a green Christmas tree..ahh, ahh, ahh, ooooo. Sorry! I couldn't help myself! HAHA

That pretty much sums up my weekend. My mom, dad, and I decorated the house for Christmas! Of course, Mom used mostly gold and white with a touch of red. But other than that, the lyric fits! The only thing left is the mantle. The lighted garland has quit working since last year and Mom has to come up with something else for the mantle. I have no worries since she is Queen Decorator!

This weekend was gray, dismal, and rainy all weekend long! But we still had the Christmas music playing while decorating. The wet weather seemed to bring more birds to my feeders. I was glad about that situation. I was beginning to wonder if they had all flown South for the winter!

That's about it for the end of November. Can you believe it's December already?? Where does the time go??? (I used to roll my eyes when adults asked me that question when I was a kid. Now I ask it all the time!!)

Have a blessed day!!

75 Thanks

Yesterday, my pastor was preaching on Thanksgiving and asked if anyone could list 75 things for which he is thankful. He then said that most people can’t even come up with 15, let alone 75. So I began thinking and my list (in no particular order) is below. For what are you thankful?

1) My salvation
2) A God who loves me
3) Heaven
4) The Bible
5) My church
6) Being an American
7) The love of family
8) My crazy Dad
9) My selfless Mom
10) My determined sister
11) My steady brother-in-law
12) My farmer nephew
13) My chatty niece
14) Noel
15) Good friends
16) Fresh air
17) Countryside
18) A full pantry
19) A house
20) A loving home
21) A warm bed
22) A hot shower
23) A garden to till
24) Beautiful trees that supply oxygen and color
25) Diversity in nature
26) Pets
27) Chocolate
28) The ability to love
29) Love
30) Grace
31) Hope
32) Faith
33) Both natural and man-made music
34) A job
35) Creation as a whole
36) Laughter
37) The opportunity to travel
38) A reliable car
39) Sight
40) Hearing
41) Taste
42) Touch
43) Smell
44) Humor
45) Extended family
46) The ability to get out of bed and move
47) The ability to think and reason
48) The sun
49) The stars
50) The moon
51) Animals
52) Rain
53) Growing up on a farm
54) Good health
55) Wetlands
56) Carrion/refuse/dung recyclers
57) The ability to play the piano
58) Closet full of clothes
59) Snow
60) Memories
61) Sunrises/sunsets
62) Being a Southerner
63) The ability to read
64) The ability to learn
65) Prayer
66) Answers to prayer--Yes, no, or wait
67) A godly pastor
68) An exuberant youth pastor
69) Medicinal drugs when needed
70) A good doctor
71) Rainbows
72) Trials and tribulations
73) The Constitution
74) The US Flag
75) American veterans and servicemen/women

Have a thankful day!

Phone Etiquette

A lot of my job centers on the telephone making calls or answering it when it rings. Over the years, I have noticed a trend in phone etiquette that baffles me. It seems to me that people in customer service are being required to be overly proper when speaking to a customer. Below are several examples that I have experienced during my daily work.

1) When I am calling a certain place and I ask to speak to a certain someone, the person that has answered the phone asks “Can you hold?” or “May I place you on hold?”. Aren’t those questions absolutely silly??? How can I speak to the person I am calling if I am not placed on hold for them to be able to pick up the phone? I think that the statement “Certainly. Hold one moment, please” is sufficient.

2) Another question I get when I ask to speak to someone other than the person that answered the phone is “Who, may I ask, is calling?” or something similar. To me, that comes across as a bit arrogant. Who does he think he is? The President?? It smacks of call-screening, and in my opinion, a person in customer service should never have his calls screened. He just needs to come to the phone as quickly as he can when the call is for him.

3) The overuse of “I’m sorry you are experiencing problems” makes me cringe. The whole statement screams “FAKE!!” Usually, the person with whom I’m speaking isn’t really sorry because he is not responsible for the problem. Naturally, the mistake needs to be corrected to make the customer happy and to keep his business, but in my opinion, the simple act of correcting the problem in a timely, efficient manner and with a pleasant attitude is good enough without all the meaningless apologizing.

4) The frowning upon on the use of certain words and phrases like “OK,” “all right,” “uh-huh,” etc. seems a bit excessive. Why would these words offend anyone? They are a normal part of the English vernacular. When they are used with me, I certainly do not care.

To sum up my opinion on customer service phone etiquette, if a person is courteous, professional, and takes care of the customer, he is doing what should be expected of him. He shouldn’t need to ask silly questions, offer excessive apologies, or use so-called “professional” words. Based on my experience, the customer does not really care about all the “niceties” (especially when he’s upset). All he wants is for his needs to be met.

Have a blessed day!

Chocolate

You have given me so much splendid bliss;
A day without you would certainly be amiss.

You provide me with so much guilty pleasure
And delight my senses beyond all measure.

You lure me into your presence at first sight
So that I dare not even put up a fight.

You caress my nose with your heady aroma.
Come to me now, O Theobroma!

Your velvety darkness inspires my palate;
It slams my tongue with the force of a mallet.

You vibrate my nerves straight to my brain
Which causes sensations through my body to rain.

You complete my upward journey to the sky
When my ears receive a most contented sigh.

Thank you, oh, thank you for your glorious enchantment.
See you tomorrow for more wondrous entrancement.

Veterans

Growing up, I never had any interest or inclination to join the armed services. Kevin and the military are like oil and water. There would need to be “a whole lotta shakin’ going on” to produce a final product and I was never interested in the shaking process. Can anyone really picture me running in midday heat with a hundred-pound pack on my back or practicing maneuvers for battle preparation or actually being in the middle of an armed conflict? No, I don’t think so! With that being said, however, I am extremely thankful for the men and women that voluntarily enter into military service for our country. Without their self-sacrificing service, our country wouldn’t be where it is today. From the time of the Minutemen to today’s armed forces, they have fought for our freedom and the freedoms of others, secured our borders, protected and defended our interests here and abroad, and have generally been there for us whenever called upon.

Military families also deserve a rousing standing ovation for their sacrifices as well. Making frequent moves, being separated from loved ones for extended periods of time, living with the fear of a soldier returning from conflict less than when he/she left or not returning at all are some of the issues they face every day. My thankfulness goes out to them for their sacrifices in the support of our country.

Being in the military is usually a thankless job. Most of the time, the military is taken for granted and expected to serve at a moment’s notice. On this Veterans Day, let’s give a rousing cheer for all of our men and women in uniform who have sacrificed so much for us and for the United States of America and extend the thankfulness throughout the whole year.

Thank you, Veterans, for all that you do in service for our country!!!! God bless each and everyone of you!

Project Feeder Watch

This weekend started my latest season of Project Feeder Watch. I joined the project not long after it's beginning and have been doing it every year. It is a citizen-based scientific research project started by Cornell University 22 years ago. Basically, the people from Cornell invite average-Joe citizens to collect data from their backyards and send the data back to them to study population changes in bird species over the years. It has also become important in finding out new information about the individual bird species. Some populations have decreased in an area, while other species have expanded their range in the last 22 years. Without the gathering of this data, none of this knowledge would have been possible.

The basic concept is to count the highest numbers of any species of bird that you see at your feeders at one time. For example, if you see two Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) at the feeder at the same time, you would put down a count of "2" on your list. If another cardinal comes later, you don't add that one to the count and don't change the count because it's not higher than the original "2". But if the third cardinal arrives while the other two are still feeding, then your count changes to "3". It's not hard for the average person without a science degree to acomplish. All ones needs to know is how to identify a particular bird species and be able to count them. Once you have counted for two consecutive days, you are finished until your next count period.

I really enjoy collecting the data each year because it gives me a chance to contribute to science since my job has nothing at all to do with my degree. Besides, I just like watching birds! I had a pretty good start for this season. Two Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cistata) and two Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) visited my feeders during the course of the weekend. Based on my past observations, these two species don't visit in pairs until later in the season. What does this bode for this year's season? Stay tuned!

This weekend also saw the cleaning out of the garden debris. Dad pulled up the okra stalks Friday evening (It took a shovel to pry them out!), and I pulled out the peppers and cut down the beans on Saturday afternoon. Mom helped me with the tangle of bean vines that had amassed on the trellis we had built. The only items left in the beds are cabbage and collards. After they are gone, we will put lime in the beds and start to prepare them for the next growing season.

Have a blessed day!

Celebrityville

Have you ever wondered why some people want to be celebrities? I have. All of the glitz, glamor, money, and status acts like a magnet for some people and bids them to live into Celebrityville. But as my grandmother used to say, “All that glitters ain’t gold”. In fact, most of the time, the glitter is emanating from iron pyrite (fool’s gold) and isn’t worth the time or effort it took to reach it.

One aspect of living in Celebrityville is the fact that the media is following their every move. Paparazzi, gossip rags, and TV newshounds are all out to get the latest gossip and pictures of all residents living in this coveted town. I certainly wouldn’t want my picture taken every time I ventured out in public and nor would I want to be stalked in my own home just for being famous and because “the people deserve to know about their favorite celebrities”. Life can be stressful enough without some two-bit Walter Cronkite wanna-be/Maury Povich, Jr. chasing someone down the street with camera in tow.

Naturally, the “news people” wouldn’t be so obsessed with their prey if the primary user of their bird-cage-liner would quit being obsessed with finding out the latest gossip on the residents of the town. Who cares if a certain movie hunk wears “mandals”, carries a “murse”, or has left his wife for another pretty face? Who cares if the latest ingénue has blown her lips (or anything else for that matter!) up to twice their size, what country the starlet-of-the-week is adopting a child from, or why either one of them went out in public without makeup and dressed in something not even close to the glamorous Versace outfit she just wore on the red carpet last week? Who says that they aren’t entitled to a little down time? And we all know that the residents are usually devoid of any moral standards. Why try to imitate someone of such low character? As my momma says, “They put on their pants just the same as you do...one leg at a time.”

Yes, the money is nice and the perks would make a coffee pot boil over, but life isn’t all about money and perks. Life is about loving and enjoying your family and friends, a quiet night under the stars listening to crickets sing and Spring Peepers trill, and worshipping and serving the Lord above with a thankful heart. The next time you are tempted to tune into the latest gossip on TV or in the papers, think twice about what your habit ultimately does for the residents of Celebrityville and how it can undermine your moral fiber when you dream of being in their place. Instead, try a heart-felt conversation with your family or friends and leave the glitter to your diamond ring or children’s artwork. I think you will see how good you already have it.

Have a blessed day!

Government

Romans 13:1
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

I Timothy 2:1-2
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.