It's Christmas

Today was the official start for Pa and I. Bubba and RP come over so Bubba could give us his gifts. I just now realized that not only did we give Bubba his but RP hers.

Now what will I do come the 27Th?

Bubba is going to try once again to get to grandparents for Christmas. That is suppose to be a surprise to grandparents, so no telling, what you know. He has tried for several years now and the car brakes down along the way making him late. This year he will make it.

Now that Christmas has started for us. I should tell you how lovely my house is, all decked out for the season. I would be lying but I could make it sound grand. Truth is I have 1 Christmas decoration up, a candle wreath that is hanging on the door. Our place looks kinda sad when you look up and down the street.

But really how many Santa's do you need on a street? We have at least 7, sitting, standing even riding in a airplane. As it turns out all these Santa's seem to be stealing my joy instead of adding to it. They seem to loom over everything.

I love the lights and the trees picking through the windows, each seem to be sending cheer to anyone who wishes to take a look.
We just haven't put any out this year or put up a tree. I have been back and forth about all this, I want it, I don't, I do and in the end I don't think I will bother.
Christmas is here, we will give gifts, play games, laugh and enjoy each other.

I do have a strand of star lights that I think I will put up to remind us that once there was a great star that lead wise men to the greatest gift of all time.

I Forgot to Tell You Something

I left out the highlight of our party.
Pa and I have had one or two encounters with famous people, when we have been up around Nashville. Until Thursday night we have never had one in our home.

I was busy getting supper ready and during that time Indiana Jones came for a visit. You heard me right, the man himself, that famous teacher of archaeology, Mr. Jones.

Guess what? He is shorter in real life. His famous Feodor looks more like a black Derby. That coat is just a wee bit big but his pants are "JUST" like the movies.

Here is a little insider secret, his initials aren't not really H.F. they are C.A. and now you know.

Party

Tonight AO's rapscallions came over and we partied.

There was all the box fruit drinks they could hold, sausage links, scrambled eggs, cheese, bananas and little oranges.
Two hours of none stop munching, unless they were providing music to relax by, on their recorders.

Did you know that Hot Cross Buns has become a Christmas favorite? Well tonight it was the number 1 hit on the top 10, along with slots 3 thru 10. Number 2 was thumpdy thump thump- thumpdy thump thump.

I got the low down on which girls put a twinkle in a certain boys eyes. The "I use to but don't anymore" of the another little boy. I don't remember sister saying anything about a boy, she had to be busy talking about her brothers loves.

Now I need my rest because HT is coming over tomorrow for another day of adventures.

How about a guest blogger for a change. This is The Queen Mother's faithful companion Pa.
I have something on my heart and mind that I need to share. I work for one of the big three automakers and have for 36 years. I have been through some very difficult times in my years with GM. The current economic environment is the toughest we have ever seen.
Our government has seen fit to aid the financial sector but is balking severely at assisting the automotive industry. We are not asking for a handout, we are asking for a LOAN. We are not asking for a loan without restriction. We are being asked to allow the government to oversee how we spend the money and if we do not meet their expectations, they have the right to recall the loan. We have agreed to this.

Has the industry made some bad decisions? Absolutely!

Have we been too generous to our employees? Sure!

Do they make as much as the talk show hosts and media are reporting? No. Those figures are misrepresented. Most of you would be amazed at what the "total cost" of your employment is reported at.

Have we been working hard to correct these issues? More than I think most of you know.

It pains me to hear about how the American auto industry has poor quality. That simply is not true. Our quality is on a par with or exceeds that of the foreign car companies. Check out the JD Power surveys.
We have been through a major restructuring over the past few years. We have renegotiated a difficult contract with the UAW who made concessions because they knew it was for the survival of the corporation. They have also agreed to reopen the current contract. We have reduced employment levels through attrition, retirement packages, and even the dreaded "involuntary separation" (spelled fired). We are requiring our suppliers to reduce costs and improve quality. We are closing manufacturing facilities to reduce excess capacity. We have changed our model mix to reflect what the current demand is requiring. By the way, we were not the only car company building full size trucks or SUV's. The Armada SUV and the Titan pick up for example.
We have been an industry leader in technology and alternative fuels. Flex fuels, hybrids, even the EV-1 (yes that's right an electric vehicle). I guess we were at fault for being ahead of our time.
For some reason we have become the whipping boy of Congress and the media. There are (in my opinion) no longer any true news reporters, only news comentators. We cannot receive the news in an unbiased manor. This true of both liberal and conservative news stations. Polls are fashioned to show what the media wants them to show. For example: Ther are two different options to show support for the loan but ony one to support not giving it. Split the numbers and make it look even more biased.
This could go on, but I need to get ready to go to work (which is a privelege I do not take lightly).
What I am asking is for your consideration about the necessity of this loan.
Thank You for your time and patience. I will try to answer any questions this might generate.

On the Road

Got my wheels back. It looked so nice, all clean and shining on the outside, then I opened the door and they had even cleaned the inside. It was like new again. I was so happy. Pa and I were going to get some food and then a little shopping done but I turned on the radio and nothing happened. Pa and the repairman tried a few things and still nothing. It will have to go back up to the dealer and they will fix it but until then no music. I don't know how I'm going to survive with no music. I will miss it very much.

Pick up and return

I haven't even finished shopping and I'm all ready taking things back. I'm not sure what to think about this, most years I do well in the "just what I wanted dept." This year is not one of those.
Pa and I have very seldom bought lots and lots of gifts for the children, so when you get one thing wrong it can cause me trouble.

On the bright side, today we picked up the lap-top and tomorrow we will pick up the HHR. That will be so very nice, I have missed my car. HHR's are great. I love mine.

Wonder and What

This past few weeks have been full. Pa and I are now home again. I am forgetting what all has been going on, that is nothing new for me. I can forget what I was doing in the morning by the time night comes around.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We got to babysit FarmWifes little ones for the first time. Now I have stayed with them and babysat some of them but Saturday night we had all of them and it was wonderful.
I thought it was so neat that FarmBoy was taking her out on a date. As it turned out I wasn't the only one, the children got a gleam in their eyes and a giggle when they spoke about it.