Christian Photographers Community

Happy thanksgiving!  And I pray that each of us does just that--give thanks!

Larry, I would be so frustrated by this time that I don't think I would EVER consider purchasing a Lenovo brand of anything, ever again!  I do hope you finally reach an amicable solution to this problem.  Yes, I think that little car made Jeff realize he is no longer a kid!    I have only ridden in it twice, and what a pain!  Ugh.  Give me my "old people" car (Mercury) any day!!  Or another PT Cruiser! 

Smoky, good to have you here today!  Hope your day is wonderful!

John, good to see you here, and hope you and Judy have a great day, too.

I have most of the food at least started:  Darrel put the turkey in the roaster and started it; I have the stuffing partially made, onions and celery chopped and in it, along with the spices; pie crusts baked; eggs boiled for deviled eggs; relish plated out and part of the stuff to go in them.  Now I need to make the pie fillings--I think coconut and lemon meringue this time, peel the potatoes, and whatever else I can do ahead of time.  Lots of work, and am glad it isn't very often!  Else we would all weigh 200 pounds each! 

Today I am so thankful for so many things:  Darrel, our family, a warm home, plenty of food and clothing, a church to attend, friends, music, and most of all Jesus, who loved me so much he died for me!  Hallelujah!!



The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.
                                                          Zig Ziglar

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Ronda L. Menzies's photo

This has been a sweet week for me.  John was home half day Friday, Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday evening Wednesday and today.  We don't know if he is going to be working tomorrow.  However on the down side, those are days he won't get paid for.  It will impact his next pay.  Thankfully he has most of his pension coming in so we will be short but we will make it. 

We have funny animals.  Zeke is in his kennel (i'm knitting don't need him taking off with my yarn) and Tommy is laying on top of his kennel playing with him.  Tommy is definitely the Alpha among the animals, Zeke is afraid of Tommy when the are loose in the house together.

Have a good day folks.

"Offer unto God thanksgiving:  and pay thy vows, unto the most High:  And call upon me in the day of trouble:  I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."  Psalm 50:14-15

Today is a day that was set aside to express our heart-felt appreciation to God for His bounty and blessing on our Land.  It has devolved into food, football and a first-in-line mad dash to a seasonal shopping spree!  It was once a great time of family gathering, but as our nation's homes have become so fragmented and fractured it sometimes features familial fiascos!

As I run away from the negative as fast as a scat-back to the goal line or an over-weight uncle to the dessert table, let's look at our verses.  Thanksgiving is something we ought to offer to God and the opportunity to daily turn to Him in our troubles.  To not recognize that all of us have daily circumstances that require God's deliverance is o observe life through rose-colored glasses, parading around like some positive "Polly-Anna", and is not obedience to, dependence on, and confidence in God is that all that we do can and will glorify God.  Remember this Thanksgiving Day, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God."  (I Cor. 10:31)


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Good afternoon this cold end of November day.

I like Canada's Thanksgiving which is in October if we have the turkey with all the fixings it is well digested by the time Christmas Day arrives, two big dinners so close together would be to much for me.  Regardless the month of celebration we should be oh so very thankful each and every day.

I have been told by my chiropractor doctor that perhaps I need more magnesium and less calcium. I truly trust he is right.

Now I have a little job to get done, then  and lunch.  before heading out to the grocery store.

   

Just stopping by to wish everyone a wonderful day of giving thanks!  It is a beautiful day here on the Oregon Coast ... sunny and chilly but just right for this time of year. 

I am enjoying the traditional Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and anticipating dinner with my neighbors.  I was all set to be alone today, and have a pizza I planned for my dinner, but yesterday evening my neighbor stopped by and invited me to join their family for dinner.  He said "we're having chicken, not turkey, tho"  Doesn't make any difference ... we will be together around the table and sharing the blessings for which we all are thankful. 

I'm grateful for all my friends here at  and for the sharing and caring from you all.  Sorry that I don't often share, but I do always care.   

Have a blessed day.

Well, I wasnt able to go and be with family this Thanksgiving, but they had turkey, etc, in the dining room here, snd it was good.  My son and famlly took the trip up to NY city to see the parade, etc.  I was glad to see that the weather cooperated.  Hopefiully I'll hear all about it when they get back.

Hi, friends,

It's good to have a nice family centered day and then to come home fully relaxed.

What a wonderful day to be grateful for the love of our Lord and family and friends.

Much love to all,
Ruth Ann

Good Thanksgiving on this day.  I pray all of you are safe and feeling well for this very special day.  We were with half of the family.  One grandson is in a hockey program in Canada for the winter and his parents and sister are spending this week with him.  They bought a pre-cooked turkey at a store this side of the border and set up a good meal with him.  It is amazing that we talked with him and all as we were in the car and the Bluetooth rang - since this is all new to us, we barely knew what to do but we had a clear conversation while driving. 

Other grandson is in Texas - Fort Worth with the grandmother and they will drive home this weekend. 

For you knitters:  I am so lame at knitting but sewing the seam on this sweater/coat has been slow but promising.  Promising myself to do only really small projects from now on or only squares. 

Hello Al!  I hope that your turkey meal was very good and that you enjoyed your companions. Blessings to you. 

Well, I did not shop on Thanksgiving.  I was just trying to buy a birthday sweater for Don online and that didn't even go well.  He wants to go to the woodshop sometime today for a few things on sale.  That should not be the crazies in line. 

Breakfast was cooked oatmeal with cranberries and walnuts. Same thing for years.  But I sure wish that I had leftover turkey.  It is very sunny and dry here.  Our calendar for December is totally full with appointments and meetings at our home.  It just happened that way and there are two bible study days with our table furnishing breakfasts. 

Grateful that the roads are clear.   

Hi everyone.  It is a delightful day here with sun, no wind and will get to around 60 degrees this afternoon.  Pat has gone and will eat lunch out so I will have a quiet rest of the morning and early afternoon.  Latest on the computer situation is that through a process of elimination I determined that Pat's monitor was bad.  I won't bore you all with details.  I Fed Ex'ed the one that was replaced back to Lenovo this morning.  I just finished ordering a replacement monitor for Pat.  I put my large monitor on her new computer but she things it is bigger than she wants so ordered and 18.5 inch Samsung monitor from Office Depot and it will be here by Dec. 9 (although I expect it will be delivered earlier as they have a big warehouse here in the Atlanta area.  In the meantime I will be using my laptop until I get my big monitor back.  I got Pat's new computer pretty well set up yesterday and have a few tweaks to make later today like getting the printers connected but will have to wait until I get the monitor back to get her files off the old computer other than what she stores on Google Drive.  We had a very nice time yesterday with Stacey, with a very good Thanksgiving Day meal at the Shepard's Center and just as we finished a storyteller, whose husband has been a patient at Shepard's for three months, told the people in the cafeteria four short stores.  That was very enjoyable.  We went back to Stacey's apartment and visited some more.  Nothing else planned for today.

Jeanne, this replacement computer was OK as it was the monitor.  The truth is the one that was replaced may have been OK but the tech was here and it was also sent to the repair depot.  I decided to keep the replacement for all the hassle I have gone through and none of their technical people mentioned the possibility of the problem being the monitor since when I loaded windows 8 it had shown the desktop ok one time.  I certainly wasn't trying to deceive them but felt if I tried to return the last one things would probably really get fouled up. 

Janet, I am doing better driving the 5 speed in the PT Cruiser each day. 

Judy, what a pretty Thanksgiving graphic.  It was nice to see John's posting. 

Ruth, you are right about the holidays coming so close together this time of the year.  I think any Christmas shopping we do will by online and most of the giving will be cash as that always is a welcome gift in our family.

Jane, I know you had a much more enjoyable time at the neighbor's table than eating along.  Glad they invited you. 

Al, your family sure took a long trip to see a parade but I guess the Christmas lights in NY city are really something. 

Carol, nice you could speak to your grandson.  I also bet you aren't the only folks who haven't had much experience using the blue tooth in the car. 

Our car has the bluetooth connection (SYNC) but it has stopped working, for the second or third time.  So.....Not using it at the resent.  Carol, glad yours works well and you could talk to grandson.

I got to talk to grandson Mark yesterday.  A friend invited him along to his Aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner, so he wasn't alone.  He will be home in three weeks!    Then he has only a few more weeks until the end of the college work he is doing now. 

Beth was able to stay here until after 8 last night.  She did quite a bit of sleeping during the day, though.  She said she was hungry again, so I fed her another plate of turkey and fixings, and a slice of lemon pie, then she want home happy. 

Al, thank you for stopping by to greet us, and I hope you enjoyed your day, and will enjoy the NY report!

I may go downtown after while to check on a few things.  Not any serious black Friday shopping, though.  I am not up for that!

Early to bed and early to rise
Until you make enough money to do otherwise!

Larry, I'm very glad you found it wasn't the new computer and that everything will be fine with a new monitor.

I spent a good bit of time this morning on connections.  My main surge protector bit the dust and nothing would turn on.  I had to untangle wires and disconnect everything from the old desktop computer that hasn't been working for a long time so I could get everything else hooked back up to another one.  I had three strips daisy chained and now I'm down to only two, but both of these are older than the one that quit.  So I'm holding my breath. 

Yahoo mail is having problems again and I can't get to it - they are blaming an anti-virus while Yahoo was the site to change everything in October.  Oh, these brilliant geeks - leave well enough alone!

Larry:  It will be a good day when you get the set up for Pat in place with everything working.  All of that stuff takes so long. 

Janet:  Great that Beth was able to visit.  Save some turkey for me - I don't have leftovers and need a turkey sandwich. 

We went to a woodshop sale and bought a stick of special wood.  That is the extent of our shopping - well, I did find a super lightweight shopping bag for granddaughter to pack & keep in her purse.  It may come in handy - $5 and the thing was on sale.   It must cost a dime to manufacture.  Lunch time here and no turkey leftovers, did I say that earlier? 

Here is what I look like after losing 40 lbs using Sensa.

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 I just lost part of my reply so here goes again.

At noon I had lunch with some friends then I took the longer way home to a Hallmark store in Bolton to purchase a calander and pick up a couple of purse size ones as well.   

I just finished a research on magnesium it sure is interesting, I have been taking calcium for restless knees and the site suggests that Magnesium might do the same job. regardless how  interesting when I took the time to do some research.

I have just looked at the time and it is time to get dinner ready I am sure that Mel is getting hungry.

Marilyn, WOW!  You're doing great!   

Hi, friends,

This has been a quiet day, but it was good to be with my trucker son for dinner this evening. He's heading out before the day breaks tomorrow for a 3,000 mile run. Sure hope he will be safe - part of it will be on snow and ice.

Also it was good to talk with other family members today.

Now, it's time to rest and relax a bit.

Y'all have a wonderful day.

Ruth Ann

Ruth Anne how is your son doing with the trucking. Hope all is well. Tell him to be careful in this winter season. Never sacrifice safety for schedules. better to deliver late than to not deliver at all. Please let him know that I often think of him.

Lookin' good, Marilyn! 

Ruth, do you take other vitamins/minerals as well?  I take Vitamins C, D, E, Calcium with Magnesium, folic acid, and a few others, every day.  I am almost never sick, and I credit first of all God, then the vitamins and exercise.  Good to have you posting today!

Ruth Ann, so nice to read your posts and learn your sons are doing well.  Hope that foot is healing quickly.

John, if you head out on the road again, please stay safe!

The guys are coming today to install our new hot tub/therapy pool!l

I had another real "J" night last night, am feeling draggy, but---God's in his heaven, all's right with the world!

It's not what a teenager knows that worries his parents---it's how he found out!

Hi everyone on a lovely, sunny and chilly morning here in Georgia.  Yesterday afternoon was in the 60s and sure a great day for this time of year.  Not much new since I wrote yesterday.  I stayed home all day yesterday and plan to do so for the rest of today, unless we go out to eat later.  Pat has gone to a grocery store as the ad runs out today.  I will watch some football this afternoon.  I have my laptop in my office and hooked up a pair of speakers I haven't used in a long time so I can listen to music as I work this morning.  I like spending morning in my office.

Janet, I had a good night's sleep last night after two nights where I woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep.  I guess my mind was working on computer problems. 

Jeanne, I hate to deal with the wires back of my computer. 

Marilyn, it looks like the Sensa worked well for you.  I just heard from my granddaughter this morning that she has now lost 100 pounds.  She sent a before and after picture.  I hope she will want to take off a few more for her health's situation. 

Ruth, there is so much information available on the Internet.

Ruth Ann, it must be a challenge to handle the big trucks on ice and snow but sure they have received the proper training.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n543eKIdbUI

Thank you Janet. Yes i will be heading out again on Mon Dec 2. yes i will do my best to stay safe out there. If the roads become impassable I just simply find a place to park till it blows over.

Good evening we are waiting for a call and at time we will be meeting friends for dinner.

Yes I do take vitamins but with the issue of to much calcium I have set that one aside. but am taking liquid magnesium . It does seem to be working and like Janet said all credit goes to God.

I had another short trip over to Bolton, all is well there.Then I stopped at a little grocery store that is loved by so many.
 
I understand that we are to be blessed with some wet snow starting around midnight. I am glad that tomorrow is not big traffic day.

I just finished typing up this story for our paper, so thought I would share it with you here, as well:


                                       DONALD HICKOK


Donald Hickok was born on July 21, 1925, in Ulysses, Kansas.  He had one brother, Charles Edward, and one sister, Mary Annabell (Ann). Both are now deceased.

Don's dad was a civil engineer who did surveying, platting, etc.  He did a lot of work for the Railroad and for natural gas companies.  He was also a Postmaster and later a rural carrier for the postal service.  His mother worked for 34 years at the Post Office, and later at the court house.

Don attended the Ulysses schools from first through twelfth grades, graduating in 1943 in a class of 26 students.  In the lower grades he had a teacher named Mrs. Hoechel for two years.  She was really a dedicated teacher and made a lasting impression on young Don.  He always enjoyed school.  In high school he enjoyed having Kathleen Wheeler as his English and Drama teacher.

The Hickoks lived in town, but it was like country living, in that they had a windmill, a coal shed, an outhouse and a chicken coop.  Don spent a lot of time playing on the windmill.  Depending on his imagination, that windmill could be anything from a pirate ship to a fire station—whatever his fancy desired.  He said that was one of the original windmills that had been located on Main Street (in the middle of the street!) in the early days of Ulysses, to supply the town's water needs.  His grandfather had purchased it from the town and relocated it.

He said he went to lots of movies, and tickets cost 10c each.  Other things he enjoyed doing were playing jacks and board games when the weather was bad.  He liked making airplanes with his mom's wooden clothespins.  Boys played marbles outdoors, and did a lot of skating.  They made scooters out of beer boxes, which were also used to make milking stools and rabbit hutches.  He was good with his sling shot, and enjoyed riding his bike everywhere.  As a family, they listened to radio programs, and made model airplanes.

When kids began dating, they went to movies, box suppers, church events, school dances, proms and sports events.

Don began working as a young boy.  Some of the jobs he did were delivering papers, selling candy and home made potato chips, washing store windows and sweeping out stores.  He worked for Phillips Furniture and Mortuary for nine years.

In 1958, he and Ruth Ann opened the Gamble's store at 121 S. Main, and operated it until their retirement in 1992.  They later changed the name to Hickok Home Center, featuring furniture and appliances.  He always enjoyed the customers, who were treated as friends.  They had a good business and appreciated the support and loyalty of the community.

Don joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17.  He was sent to school in Maryville, Missouri, and from there to California, and then to Iowa University.  He was taking the pre-flight program, and then was to enter flight training.  But World War II ended and changed his plans.  After his separation from the Navy, he attended Colorado University at Boulder, graduating in 1949 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Don met his future wife, Ruth Ann Reese during his time at Boulder.  She was teaching school at Wheatridge, Colorado.  One of Don's navy roommates was married and his wife taught with Ruth Ann, so this couple introduced them.  They married in 1948, and both attended CU until Don's graduation.  Don was attending on the GI Bill, a real life-saver for him, and they allowed Ruth Ann to pay in-state tuition, even though she was originally from Kansas.

Don and Ruth Ann had a double wedding ceremony, with Ruth Ann's sister and her fiancé.  It was held June 14, 1948 in the Christian Church in Logan, Kansas.  Her dad gave her away, and their grandpa gave away her sister.

Don and Ruth Ann recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary!  That is really something to celebrate!  The Hickoks have two children; Susan (Goulding) who was born in 1958, and Bill, born in 1961.  Bill is married to Bobbie Jo (Hartman) and they reside in Ulysses.  Susan and family live in Prairie Village, Kansas.  There are now eight wonderful grandchildren to enjoy, and one great grandson, as well.  They did experience the heartbreak of losing one precious grandson a few years ago.

Discussing the differences he sees in our world now from when he was young, Don said, "Things seem to be in such a rush.  We want things NOW, and sometimes we aren't ready to have those things."  He sees a huge change in moral values and respect.  "Kids grow up too fast now.  People talk so coarse, and tattoos and piercings are seen everywhere."

Some of the things Don enjoys as hobbies are painting, drawing, listening to music, playing bridge, cooking, and he is the family's "Mr. Fix-it."  Ruth Ann says Don can fix anything!

Don and Ruth Ann got to travel a lot during the years they had the store.  Most of the longer (overseas) trips were company sponsored, by companies from whom they bought merchandise to sell.  They traveled around the US a lot with friends, had a time share for a while.  They have also taken a lot of cruises.  Now they spend their summers in Colorado, to escape the heat, visit with friends there, and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Don recalled a tough experience on one trip:  They went to Yugoslavia, a 36 hour flight, encountered many delays, and then were quarantined for 8 hours in the airport in Amsterdam.  That's one he wouldn't want to repeat!

Having run a successful business, making many friends, raising a family, enjoying church, Eastern Star, and Masons and serving on the school board are all things that give Don a sense of achievement when he thinks back on them.

A valuable lesson he has learned from life and would like to pass along to younger folks is:  Take care of yourself physically and morally.  Be responsible for your choices and actions.

Don says the best time period of his life has been the years of marriage to Ruth Ann.

The first thing he saved up his money to buy was a 1950 Ford car, green, and it had overdrive!

The strangest thing he did to earn money was pounding stakes in the ground in the alleys, looking for leaks, for the gas company.  When they pulled the stake back out, they used a "sniffer" to detect any leaks.

The wildest thing he did as a teenager was climbing the water tower—and getting caught halfway up by the Marshall!

When he was a kid, Don's mother had a gasoline stove for cooking.  Not natural gas, not propane—gasoline.  They had to be very careful when using it.  He said they always ate three meals a day at the table as a family.

For doing the laundry, his mom heated water on a coal burning stove in the basement, and if out of coal, then cow chips were used.  She washed the clothes using a wringer washer, singing "Oh, My Darling Clementine" the whole time she worked.  Then the clothes were carried up from the basement and hung outdoors on the line.  He remembers that ice, coal, and alfalfa for the cow, used to be delivered to their house.

Don was in several plays while in high school and always enjoyed that.

His favorite holiday song is I'll be Home for Christmas.  When I asked what his favorite food is, he said, "I never met a food I didn't like!"  Some of his favorite movies are Lawrence of Arabia, The Sound of Music, and Forrest Gump.

The only regret Don has is not getting all of his mom's and dad's stories recorded.  If he could do anything over, he would be a farmer and rancher.

Don's first car was a 1932 Model B Coupe, for which he paid $75.00.  The rumble seat had been removed and replaced with a wooden box, making a sort of pickup out of it.  He got that car in 1949.

Don recalls an incident in fourth grade as the scariest of his life.  His teacher fainted, hit her head on the blackboard, cutting her temple, and blood flew everywhere!  The kids all thought she was dead!

Don says our leaders should stick to the Constitution and remember that this country was founded on faith.  Government is supposed to be by and for the people.  He hopes to see people of faith turn our country around and get us back on the right track.  Yes, sacrifices will be necessary, but they (leaders) and we should be willing to make the necessary sacrifices to get the job done.

The person who most inspired and influenced Don was his mother.  "She cared," he said.  "She was a loving, hard-working person who raised three of her own sisters."

The two people he most admires are his wife Ruth Ann, "for putting up with me," and Verlan Phillips, one Don admired as being a good influence and a true gentleman.

The biggest change he has seen during his lifetime is the continual increase in the fast pace of living.

Something he can no longer buy:  Merthiolate.  First man he voted for as President:  Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Worst crime:  Bombing of twin towers resulting in the murders of thousands of people.  Don's favorite author is Mark Twain.

He considers the greatest achievement of the USA to be gaining our freedom from England and forming a new Republic.

Don's current favorite comic strip is Pickles.  He says he never took any kind of music lessons but does love music.  "I just can't make music," he added.   He did play sports:  Football, basketball, track, and tennis in high school.  Football in Maryville, where he lettered, but the navy prevented his presence at the award ceremony to get his letter.  But he got it—fifty years later, at his 50 year class reunion!

On his class' senior trip, they visited Camp Amache, the internment camp near Lamar, Colo.) where the Japanese people were kept during the war.  They were given a guided tour of the camp, and Don was impressed by the stoicism of the people there.  Eventually some of the young men were allowed to serve in the US Military, in Italy, where they served with valor.

Some of the changes that have come to our area of SW Kansas during his life are: Diversity of population; very few 'suitcase farmers' any more; much more local ownership of the farm land by knowledgeable farmers, using better equipment and relying on better advice from the Ag department.  It seems more people have become dependent on 'big box' type stores, causing locally owned stores to struggle to meet their competition.

Remembering the years of the great Dust Bowl, Don said, "About every 25-30 years we get a big blizzard.  From '32 to '39 we had a terrible drought, which caused dirt storms, dust pneumonia, loss of crops, etc.  At times the tumbleweeds looked like a herd of buffalo going down the streets of Ulysses.  Then in the '50s we had more dirt storms.

Don attended Sunday school and church at the Methodist church as a young person, and joined that church after his marriage.  He and Ruth Ann still attend.

The worst thing ever to happen to Don was the loss of a grandchild.  The best thing is Ruth Ann.  From these things, he has learned to just keep going.

Don would like to be remembered as a man who loved his family.  He feels he is leaving a legacy of proving that hard work pays.

His favorite poets are Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson.  His long-term favorite TV show is Wheel of Fortune.  He loves the 23rd Psalm.

He recalls a practical joke he played on a friend once.  It was the first of May, so Don got a big basket, went and filled it full of cow chips, put it outside the friend's door, knocked and yelled, "May basket!"  The friend yanked the door open to run out, fell over the basket and into its contents.  I asked, "Were they dry cow chips?" and Don answered with a grin, "Some of them were."  Oh, my.

I asked how he was punished as a child, at home and at school.  He said his parents believed in "Spare the rod and spoil the child!"

Nicknames Don has had include Wild Bill, and since his full name is Don Ulysses Hickok, DUH.  (I didn't realize that had been around so long!)

The best pet he ever had was a little black puppy named Buttons.  A little girl came into the store carrying the tiny puppy, and asked him if he would like to have it.  He said he couldn't take her puppy, and she said, "Oh, please take him.  My daddy said if I can't get anybody to take him, he's going to drown him!"  So Buttons became a member of the Hickok family.

Don loves roses, all colors of them.  He says he never gets depressed.  And the most important decision he feels he ever made was to get married.

Don's advice to 18-year-olds:  Now that you are driving, remember it is the most dangerous thing you will ever do!  You must drive for yourself and for the other guy.  Wear your seatbelt, and DON'T TEXT WHILE DRIVING!!

Don feels the smartest thing his parents ever did was to teach their kids to be self reliant.

I am always amazed at the lives our Grant County residents have lived, their resilience and their wisdom.  I love doing these stories!
                                                                                      www.JanetDamon.com

Today we start a new month - and what a wonderful month!  Time to move.  Find us HERE