A Cookie Exchange

Today at two in the afternoon, I went to a cookie exchange party at a friend's home. I had never been to such an event and was surprised at the variety of cookies on the table. Each person brought three dozen of their favorite cookies and an empty container. After lots of conversation, eating goodies, drinking a holiday tea and seeing all the wonderful decorations in the house, everyone went around the cookie table and filled their empty container. Below are some of the scrumptious cookies.

The majority of persons in attendance were school teachers and I was there to support my friend who even though she knew many of the teachers, wanted her own friend there also!  What a great idea because instead of just what you bake there would be different cookies to set out for Christmas.

Baking friends are great to have! 

Classic Art and Modern Art

Angels on earth are sometimes rare. Today I was visited by two who came to my assistance when I cried out for help. Let me begin with what happened as I readied two packages to mail to California and to Massachusetts. Found boxes, taped, addressed, put into car trunk, and I was ready to take them to the post office.

I got into the car and backed up but when I heard a loud crash, I hit the brakes. Unbeknownst to me, the garage door had come down. How could that be, I thought, and why did I not look at my screen on the car when I backed up? I got out and surveyed the damage. Two rollers had come out of the track and the door was a bit bent. I decided to get a ladder and try to put the rollers back where they belonged as I prayed that I could fix the problem. After all, how much damage could have been done?

There was no way I could repair my garage door no matter how much I pulled and pushed. I looked in the Yellow Pages, a book I have not used in over fifteen years, and found the Arvada Garage Door, Inc. The last time I had called for help with my garage door had been over twenty years ago. At that time a father and son repaired what ever was wrong and they had done a great job but I did not have their number any more. A man answered and told me they were out on calls and would probably not make it out today but if they could they would call me. I gave him my number and hoped they would
be able to come out today.

Leaving my garage door open, I left to do some errands with the hope that no one would get into my garage. Not that there is anything of value, but I'd hate to have someone snooping in my garage.
As I was leaving the post office, my phone rang and the garage door person informed me that they would be to my house in about thirty minutes. I hurried home and before long my doorbell rang. There stood the two fellows that had repaired my garage door years before. "Hey, I am glad it is you two again, father and son, right?" I said. They nodded and told me they were not sure if the garage door could be repaired and that a new door would be about $750 and up. "We will look and see what can be done."

The father is about six feet four inches tall, carries an oxygen tank, and he told me he doesn't do much of the work but let's his son do the work. The son surveyed the problem and together they came up with a solution that if it worked I would have my garage door working, but if not, it would be pricey.

In a matter of a few minutes, the son had put the rollers back after pulling the metal apart. He screwed a metal that was flapping, together they straightened the bottom of the door, he oiled the runners, and did a few practice runs and the door went up and down. While the son worked, the father and I talked and he told me about how he hates getting old, his many health problems, and how he and his son have had the company for about thirty years. He made me feel better when he said, "You are one of many who has backed up into a closed garage door. I bet we do two a week!"

When he told me it would cost me $85 I was shocked and thrilled. I had $65 cash and told him I would write him a check for the remainder. "No, give me the cash and you can owe me the rest." I insisted I could write him a check and he said the $65 would do. I could not hold back my tears, because whenever I have called for work to be done around the house I feel as if I am being taken advantage of because I am a woman and because of my age.  As I thanked them, the son asked me about the garage opener on the wall and I told him I only used the automatic opener because it had been over  twenty years that I had used the one on the wall. "Let's see what we can do about that," he said. The father was already headed for the truck and brought a 12V battery. These two men seem to know what the other one is thinking. Once the battery was replaced my garage door could now be opened and closed two ways. I got the impression that they just wanted to help and was thankful they were so kind.

As they left I kept thanking them and the Dad said, "Well, you can bake me a chocolate cake and that will take care of everything." I really believe that these were two angels who believe in honesty and helping people. God bless them and if anyone needs help with a garage door contact Art Jensen at Arvada Garage Door, Inc at 303-424-6349.

They are both named Art and they told me someone had coined the saying that the father is Classic Art and the son is Modern Art!

"Kindness is a language

which the deaf can hear

and the blind can see."

Mark Twain

And I would add,

and the old appreciate.

Cold Feet

Most of my life I have never had cold feet. I can remember thinking how lucky I was because some of my friends told me they had ice-cold feet. Some had to wear socks to bed to try to keep their feet warm.  Lately, I've noticed, that the older I get, my feet are getting colder. I even purchased an electric throw to help warm up my feet because if my feet are cold my whole body is cold.

One day at Costco I saw a slipper that looked like it would be warm. The box let me know it was a Ladies Shearling Slipper and the genuine shearling sock lining offered cushioning and warmth. I liked the word warmth! The slippers sounded like they might do the trick and keep my feet cozy and warm. They were genuine sheep skin in the color of Chestnut and the only thing I did not like was that they were made in China --but I bought them anyway.

Ever since I have been wearing the slippers, I have not used my electric throw. My feet stay warm so when I get into bed my feet are not cold and consequently I am not cold. My suggestion to anyone with cold feet is that they try sheep skin slippers before buying blankets or wearing socks to bed!

"It is impossible to

comfort men's hearts with 

the love of God when their 

feet are perishing with cold."

William Booth

Roses For Our Mother

Yesterday was the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Spirit of Christ Catholic Community celebrated her day by having a rosary said in five different languages; English, Asian, Russian, Spanish and African-American. After the rosary, the people in the chapel carried roses to be placed around the picture of Our Lady in front of the altar. It did not take long for the large vases to be filled with the red, pink and white roses.

Mass was celebrated by two priests and a deacon and everyone joined in singing a Spanish hymn, Las Mañanitas A La Virgen de Guadalupe.  The recessional song was also in Spanish; Buenos Dias, Paloma Blanca which means Good Morning White Dove.

After mass everyone gathered in the church patio where two bonfires were burning and hot chocolate and cookies were ready for all to enjoy! It was nice seeing friends huddled around the fires trying to keep warm while enjoying the refreshments.

It was nice seeing some of my travelers to Chimayo, some of my book club friends, our priest, and a friend and pictures were taken to make it into my blog. The last picture I took was the beautiful court yard outside the chapel decorated in blue lights and candelarias. Our Lady of Guadalupe would have been pleased to see her celebration on December 12, 2017.

A Horror Story

Our book club will be discussing a scary book at our next meeting. I remember reading the book sometime in the seventies. In fact, I found the copy on my book shelf and it is so old that the pages are turning yellow. When I read it, way back then, I do not remember thinking too much about it. It almost seemed like science fiction and I did not believe it pertained to me. The facts were so ugly that I never believed that such things could happen in my future. I suppose being young when I read the book, I thought I was invincible and nothing could harm me.

I did write something in 1978 and believe, because I am not sure when or why I wrote it, that it may have been after reading Silent Spring.  

Pollution

The brown ball spins in space,

rotating its face to meet the sun.

I see the chocolate slime

spreading, smearing

covering

    every crevice,

       choking every stream

           killing all that's green.

A brown cloud

floats over towns

and before long

      our world drowns.

E. Moscoso  

January 5, 1978

I finished re-reading Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, and it scared me because now I know that what she wrote about, using information from the fifties, has and is coming true. One thing that is frightening is that sprays that are were used to control insects or weeds in the past can still be hanging around right now in this day and age. I remember as a teen killing flies by spraying them with DDT, which luckily was prohibited from use in 1972. But who knows what harm I could have done to myself or to the environment.

The Internet describes DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroe) as a pesticide used to kill insects who carry diseases. The scary thing is that it not only killed the insects but anything or anyone who came in contact with it. Birds, fish, water, animals and landscapes all suffered with the deadly spray. The science fiction part comes into play, in my thoughts, when bugs mutate and become resistent to the poison, somehow able to survive in a different form, causing scientist to come up with a stronger and more potent poison!

Makes me wonder if now, in 2017, has anything changed? I purchased some weed killer and decided to read the instructions and what is sold today is pretty potent and dangerous stuff. Maybe I will try the Epsom salt, Dawn dish water soap and vinegar as a more natural weed killer instead of using what is sold. Supposedly, the large variety of weed killers are safe, but how do we know for sure. In the future we might get a report that what we are using today is as bad as DDT!

After reading the book, I wrote:

A Horror Story

I hate horror stories and scary movies
yet, in reading Silent Spring
I realize that we are living in a
frightening world every day.
Breathing, drinking and eating
are no longer okay.
To be rid of pesky weeds
or unwanted insects
airplanes flew over the land
at any farmer's demand.
Spraying without a care
all the poison was there to share
leaving birds unable to fly
fish to die
cattle or sheep getting ill
and humans eating tainted meals
loaded with what had been sprayed.
Fruits and vegetables were not safe
and to this day, who knows what
entered our body to cause havoc
deep inside our unsuspecting organs.
At that time it was not known
that making poisons to kill unwanted things
would also kill animals with hoofs, paws or wings.
Making money
seemed to be more important
than health, because chemists were
making potions fighting against nature.
Not all facts were presented
giving the impression that all was safe.
 I was reminded of a child's verse;
A horse ate a cow
the cow ate a dog
the dog ate a cat,
the cat ate a mouse,
the mouse ate a bug
the bug ate a fly
(full of DDT)
and then it died!
After reading the book of information of the 1950's
I hope that in this day and age
things are different and more in control.
I am surprised that so many of us are still alive;
that we have been able to survive
with the many poisons floating around,
it's surprising that any kind of health can be found.
It is even a greater miracle than I thought
that I am still walking and talking
yet, who knows what secrets lurk inside my body
from my head to my toe
that may have snuck in a long time ago?
There it rests quietly waiting to make its mark
living in a world that has turned scary and dark!
E. Moscoso
December 6, 2017

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

An invitation to dinner at a friend's home turned out to be one beautiful evening in a beautifully decorated home. She had every corner in her home decorated in Christmas trees, twinkling lights, angels (even in the bathroom), a manger, plus every room had some holiday item! Her décor was all holiday, even the pear salad. She served cinnamon tea in Santa Claus cups. A lasagna dinner was tasty and dessert of a non-carb yogurt and raspberries hit the spot! For each one of her guests, she gave a small bag of Peppermint Bark.

We then drove to the Arvada United Methodist Church for a delightful evening of singing by the Arvada Chorale. Joy and Delight! A Celebration of Christmas Past and Present. A tremendous program with voices that can be made to sound like musical instruments. Many of the selections I had never heard yet that did not keep me from enjoying the singing. The piano accompanist, Chappell Kingsland, played Christmas music on the piano before the Chorale entered the stage and took their positions. They were all in black with a corsage of sparkling evergreen branches with and red flowers. Very festive! This is the third year that I have attended these concerts directed by Marla Wasson and she is an energetic conductor that makes the singing exciting and fun!

I enjoyed all the selections, but I did have two favorites. One was Betelehemu, an African folk tune, that featured drums along with the peppy singing. The other was the Hallelujah Chorus made up of robed monks who held up signs and three cherubs dancing around. A funny piece was I'm a mean One, I'm the Grinch by a character in costume. Another group (Safonia), consisting of all women, entertained the audience with holiday music.

The ending of the program was a sing-a-long ending with Silent Night. It was an evening full of Christmas joy and I saw about twelve persons in the audience from Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. We come to hear the chorale and to see the one member from our church who sings with the Chorale.

Sunday completed the trilogy of Christmas fun. I joined about seventy Young At Heart members to enjoy the musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at the Arvada Center.

Coat of many colors!

What a creative mind to take a Bible story and make it into an entertaining musical spanning many eras! The music was spectacular and not a one line was spoken. It was one song after another by the talented actors. That in itself was amazing but when the colorful sets were added, it was an extravaganza of color, lights, sparkles, and dancing! Joseph's coat was of many colors that turned into a rainbow when he spun around. Shepherds, cellular phones, Elvis Presley, a camel on wheels,  country dancing, French singers in black berets and striped shirts, and a calypso samba-like dance under palm trees were all in the musical and helped convey the interesting and humorous story.

The first act went by so fast with all the action that I was surprised it was intermission time. I took the time to take pictures of some of the persons from The Young At Heart group of Spirit of Christ Catholic Community.

After the exciting performance a few of us went to eat at Pho 64 and enjoyed conversing about DNA, ethnic groups, the Silent Spring book, Vietnam War, food and other topics of interest. All I can say is that the weekend was full of wonderful friendships, great music and holiday cheer!

"Enjoy life. There's plenty

of time to be dead."

Hans Christian Andersen

House of Aragon

Today I received the book I ordered, written by my cousin, and what a surprise I got! It is a book but not at all what I thought it would be; a book I would read. It is a journal. Pages of lined paper so that I can journal about my life. It does have positive words throughout the book and the book is a pretty pale green but I will probably never write in it and mess up those beautiful pages! The book is self-published and copyrighted in 2017. A great book to put your thoughts about where you are and where you are going! The quotations in the book are up-lifting, joyful and insightful.

"Life is short...

spend it with those that

fall in love with your mind,

respect your body,

and make your soul sing!"

House of Aragon