Category: Glimpses of Life

What is fatwood? That’s a good question.

I had never heard of it until I started trying to think of creative gifts for my husband for Christmas. He’s more of a tech guy but since we moved to our new house he’s become more of a fire-making, flannel wearing, wood chopping kind’ve a guy.

So, what does one get a man to help him transition from urban to rural life? Fatwood!

Fatwood is a type of kindling that comes from pine trees. It makes starting a fireplace fire real easy.

The kindling contains a natural compound called Terpene (normally produced by plants, particularly confiers).

We have been using 1-2 small pieces of fatwood instead of newspaper to start our fires. It works very quick and helps to spark the larger pieces of wood.

I purchased a 25 lb box from LL Bean as they had free shipping and I had read good reviews regarding the use of it. But you can get it from many places (click the picture below to check on one example of where else to purchase it although I had very good service with LL Bean).

Since fatwood is so combustible, it must be kept away from the house. That’s understandable as one should do that even with “regular” wood.

[amazon_link id=”B005I7LH48″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]

We finally received enough snow so that we could try out our new Greenworks Electric Snow Blower. Normally our snow plow man comes when there is 3 inches or more on the ground. This time he didn’t come which was kind’ve strange. He’s only been to our house one time — in December.

The snow blower worked fairly well. My husband was a little more proficient at using it than I was. One has to give it a good nudge to get it moving. Other than that, it worked just fine.

Most people use a gas snow blower so they don’t have to worry about the electric cord. I can see where that might be more convenient. However, I’ve read that with the gas snow blowers you have to be careful to balance the amount of gas and oil. So — either way there is something to worry about. It’s all a matter of preference.

I prefer the electric snow blower. Just plug it in, push and away you go. Interested in purchasing one? Click the picture below to check out costs.

[amazon_link id=”B0030BG1L8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce

People make such a fuss about the start of a new year. In reality, we open a page of our “book” every day. Each day we start with blank pages. We write what goes into this book  with our words and actions.

Resolved: To live each day as if it were my first.

“A little lie is like a little pregnancy: it doesn’t take long before everyone knows.” CS Lewis

As a little girl, I used to come up with the most extravagant lies. But if someone lied to me I was infuriated! How hypocritical of me.  (laughing)

We do funny things in life. I guess the old adage “don’t point your finger at me because when you do there are three pointing back at you” is true sometimes. Uh, most of the time.

As an adult, I detest the very thing I was so good at as a child. Honesty is so important to me now. I would rather someone hurt me with the truth than try to protect me with a lie.

“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” Proverbs 12:19

It must be hard for people to “read” my face to know whether I like a gift that has been given to me. I’ve never been one to overly gush over gifts. Most times I find it uncomfortable to receive a gift. But I sure like giving them!

This year I received quite a few very thoughtful gifts, ie, the giver actually gave some thought to what they were giving  me instead of just buying what was on sale some place.

One of these types of gifts that my husband and I received this year came from his mother. It came in an envelope in the mail with no note. The only reason we knew it was from her was because she always asks us if we have been to a concert in Minnesota.

With all the house “stuff” that we’ve been having to do, we just haven’t had time to head over to Minnesota for an evening of relaxation yet.

But look at this!

This packet includes a voucher for 2 concerts, a voucher for 2 beverages and a parking ticket along with a calendar that shows when all the concerts are. And we get to choose the one we go to! It is one of the most absolute complete gifts I have ever seen! Everything is included.

I’m hoping to use these around our anniversary in March sometime.

There were many other gifts I received that rise to the level of thoughtful gifts. My husband and I are blessed to have both family and friends who continue to lavish their love on us.

“What can you ever really know of other people’s souls? In the whole of creation only one soul’s fate is placed in your hands.” CS Lewis

It’s true, isn’t it? We only know our own soul and sometimes not even that. In certain situations our inhibitions may come down, our sensibility is lost, our decisions lack good judgment and we wonder, “Why did I do that?”

Only me. I can only answer for me. That is enough responsibility for a life time.

(Image courtesy of Microsoft Images)

I enjoy Christmas. And sometimes it brings nice unexpected surprises in the mail.

Today we received a box from Harry and David Gifts. The gifts inside the large box come in pretty individual boxes with a pretty red bow holding them together.

My sister and I were once talking about how we like to give things to people that we like to get back in return. Harry and David’s is one of those types of gifts.

Notice the blemish on one of the pears? I hadn’t noticed it until I sent an email to the friend who sent me the package with the picture above. She pointed it out right away. When I took the rest of the pears out they too were blemished.

I hadn’t planned on telling my friend about it because I didn’t want her to stress but what she told me is true “Anything from Harry & David should be perfect—that’s why they can command top dollar.”

So, we’ll see what Harry and David has to say.

Update: Harry and David is sending out some more pears. How quickly they responded. Hope the pears look better than the first batch.