I’m a masochist!!  I spent the entire day working on my new website Frantz Families — Kith & Kin.  My neck and shoulders ache; my eyes are tired; my posterior is weary!!  I’ve been cold most of the day.  We still have very low temperatures (and I wasn’t going to set the thermostat above 72).  But I am obsessive compulsive when I start a project!! Learning a new software program is always challenging!! ~~  I just fixed air-popped corn because it was the fastest and easiest!!  ~~ My back was turned so I didn’t see the birds (no bird watch today).

Postscript, Sunday, Jan. 27th, 6:30 PM: Add insanity to masochism!!! Today, many hours were spent on Ancestry.  Decades ago, I did my research “the old-fashioned way.”  A neophyte will find a bonanza of information on the Internet.  I’m still skeptical about the accuracy of records on the ‘net. I’ve definitely been bitten (again) by the genealogy “bug”!!!

Postscript, Saturday, Feb. 2nd, 2013, 12 noon: Some things seldom change!!  I’m in my pajamas; it’s cold outside; I’m hungry, and I’ve been obsessive about searching family history on Ancestry. OMG, the information is unending and fascinating!!  ~~  The backyard bird feeders, and squirrel feeders, are empty.  I’ve totally turned my back (physically and figuratively) on my backyard friends.  Oh, woe is me; so few hours in the day!!  Picture this: Genealogy books scattered on the floor and unmade bed (reference material).  Instead of “downsizing,” the “clutter” has multiplied!!

I subscribed to a bird watch project a couple of months ago. With my back yard full of birds, and no less than ten feeders, I thought it would be fun to watch–and document–for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Ithaca, New York).  The large envelope of information arrived day before yesterday. Conveniently, I read the material this morning.

“Conveniently” because we are having extremely unpleasant weather, and the JAARS Center was closed today.  I didn’t have to go to work this afternoon.  So-o-o-o I’ve stayed in my warm pajamas, wearing a sweater, covered with a light-weight blanket, and studied the information.  Had I been prepared, today would have been an excellent day to start counting. About 8 o’clock, I sprinkled approximately two quarts of bird seed on the lawn in the backyard and dozens of birds have been feasting all day.  From past observation, the birds come in the morning and evening (to feed on the grass). I think the frigid temperature and overcast sky has kept the birds here all day.  ~~  It is 27 degrees as I write this (3:00 PM).  We have had “freezing rain” (according to the weather forecasters) and may experience snow by 5:30.  Furthermore, weather forecasters say the thermometer hasn’t budged off 27 all day!! A perfect day to curl up with reading material!!  I’ve kept my eye on the birds, too!!  ~~  A major annual event, JAARS Has Talent, was cancelled for tonight.  A pancake breakfast, tomorrow morning, was cancelled.

I rarely consider the cost of feeders, or feed (see the five containers of feed and seed in picture #3).  If I like it, I buy it.  A recent Christmas present for myself–and the birds–was an $85.00 Squirrel Buster Plus.  The birds were slow to adopt the new feeder but the squirrels were not bashful about exploring the new addition to the myriad of objects in my yard.  (Trellis, planters, baskets, birdhouses… are climbed, investigated and [in the case of planters] a place to bury whole peanuts.)  I tried to imagine what the squirrel was thinking as s/he walked around and around the circular base but couldn’t get to the seed.  I found it amusing!! I have seven squirrel “baffles” but the squirrels inevitably find their way past the baffle to a bird feeder.  For once (with the Squirrel Buster), I had the “upper hand.”

Postscript, 5:00 PM: While my back was turned, while I was on the computer, a sprinkling of snow on the lawn and icicles on the baffle!!

Do you remember Donny and Marie Osmond singing “I’m a little bit country; I’m a little bit rock-‘n-roll”?  (“I love my country with all my heart and soul.”) Today I am a little bit “patriotic” and a little bit unpatriotic!!  I hung my flag–because it is a holiday–but I will not watch the Washington DC events on TV. I’m going shopping (for the first time) at the major new health facility–in Charlotte–called Whole Foods.  I’ve heard it is a “destination” location.  So much to see, it takes all day!!  For me, it will be a great way to enjoy an indoor adventure on a cold winter day.

What has America become?

Click the links embedded in a reprint of What has America become?.

Cold!!  Hungry!!  But I couldn’t tear myself away from the computer!!  I got sidetracked from a “downsizing” project and ended up creating a new website.  I may never, in good conscience, complete the “downsizing” until I finish documenting my family history and publish it (to the web?). Then I can toss all the accumulated paperwork!!  I haven’t counted them, but probably ten or twelve (or more?) boxes of genealogy!!

Six o’clock PM and I must go out and cover the plants.  Freezing temperatures again tonight.  I’m enjoying hot tea and a quickly prepared peanut butter and jam sandwich.

God’s Little Sticky Notes gets a large number of visits.  So on this one year anniversary of the original post, I’ll publish it again.  Enjoy!!

Less than one week ago, we were enjoying 73 and 75 degree days!!  I don’t mind the snow; I’m not leaving the JAARS Center today.

Can you see the snow on the fabric that covered the Phlox in the planter?  The fog in the woods was beautiful!

Picture three and four would have been much better if I had a tripod!!  They were “night scene” (without a flash) so required a steady hand.  Obviously, I don’t have a steady hand!!  Furthermore, I went outside in my pajamas without a coat!!  Burr-r-r!!

When I lived in Shelby, North Carolina (approximately sixty miles from my current home), we had a significant snow storm.  I rarely go camping now (and I miss it).  My backyard projects–and my birds and squirrels–require a lot of attention.

Are you aware of the statistics regarding rural hunger?  The numbers are alarming.  ~~  Counting my blessings!!