The internet in my mailbox, Betty Crocker lives and a tale of car window irritation.

Hello friends! So kind of you to drop in and read my drivel. I usually post earlier than this, but my people were asleep by the time I got home from Festival Choir practice last night at 10:15 PM. Have I forgotten to mention that it was 14 F? Add a wind chill factor to that and it spells C-O-L-D. I'm good with cold, but having a little difficult adjustment to the stinkin' cold all of a sudden. Apparently, my winter ache will be my right hip again. I told Hubs that I have money down that that will be the first part I have to replace. Last year was my tendinitis affected thumb. That has been begging to differ a little to. Oh well.

Onto the good stuff. Thursday was Internet in my Mailbox Day! First, I found a lovely box. I opened it and this came out:What could it be? Why, it is a set of handcrafted cards made by my lovely friend Rachael in Virginia! That is one talented girl. Keep in mind that she not only made my set, but sets as gifts and some as donations for an auction. She also made the gift tag and her whole set of Christmas cards. She is also 5 1/2 months pregnant, works full time as a teacher, keeps house, cooks, cleans and mothers a nearly 4 year old Lily. She makes the non-pregnant of us tired with all she manages to do! In another envelope was a card and photo from my friend Jamie in Pittsburgh. (Browns just won last night against Pittsburgh and I have no idea what happened as clearly Pittsburgh should have just spanked the death out of them, but again, it was frosty cold on the lake. Maybe the weather threw them.) She managed to get an absolutely gorgeous picture of her family while on vacation, despite some vacationary unpleasantness that was going on. Her newsletter online? No wonder why someone asked her to write! She is quite talented with photography and the written word. As for me, I embraced the weather and decided to set a little TV tray out on the back step to use as a cooling area. I felt very Ma Ingalls about it, as my cheesecake was covered in a tea towel, while sitting in the brisk wind to cool. Snow swirled about and the air was crisp. It cooled my baked goods in no time! I told you I baked. Peanut Butter/Peanut Butter Chip, Butter Crisp and Red Hot Sugar Cookies. And baked some more. Almost Candy Bars. And after that, I baked some more! Ginger kisses. (Recipes to come on WFMW.)

My sister and Leland met up with me this morning to help me set up my tea table at church. We have an annual Christmas Tea, where women in the church volunteer to set up themed tables, you come to eat, drink tea and be merry. We have the most wonderful homemade broccoli noodle soup and wrap sandwiches. A lady in the church makes cookies by the hundreds to provide to each table. This year will be the first year that K- and her cousins will be attending. I've made them tea goodie bags with Fun Pads, crayons, a journal and a mechanical pencil to keep them happy. I also found some fun red and white striped ornaments. For the ladies, I have cardinal ornaments, a nature-themed journal pad and some simmering spices. And yes, you'll see the pictures come Monday for the Christmas Tour of Homes.

After setting the tea table, LeAnne, Leland and I went over to my 92 year old grandmother's house to set up her Christmas decorations. Everything was set, we went to leave and I noticed that when I came up to my car, my back passenger window was down. It was not broken out. Nothing in my car was missing. (There was nothing of value in there then anyhow.) I pulled on the window and heard CLUNK! The freakin' track fell off the bottom of the window again. I called the glass guy, was polite, but obviously irritated that it was 20 degrees and my window was down with no way to get back up. He told me to come up. I called my mother, using the few choice words that I refrained from using with Rick and mom said that she would call my dad. (My dad knows the glass guy.) I'm pleased to say that my window is repaired with no charge and should not be a problem any longer as they urethaned the seal to the glass. See, what happened was that K- tried to roll her window down to wave to Jim the crossing guard. She said that the window was stuck. She stopped trying, but I put the window lock on just in case. I explained that we didn't want to jimmy with the frozen window, as that is the window that gives us fits anyhow. Apparently, the motor pulled the track off the window at that point and I didn't know it. I went on about my business and the world was fine. The temperature went up to a warm and toasty 25 degrees. When it did, it warmed the seal that was keeping the glass in place, melted the water that was frozen between and let go of the glass.

So that leaves me to now. It is 5:07 PM. I should really be warming taco dinner leftovers and clearing K-'s school trappings from the table. Hubs will be home in a half hour and I suppose that I should quickly find the table top so that we can sit and eat as a family.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful weekend. May the weather be kind to you and may your automotive windows behave as they should.

Smiles in my day:
- Getting the tea table busted out with my sister. We divide and conquer as our mama taught us to.
- Getting grandma's Christmas things put up without any complaint from grandma. Usually, she has some decorative issues, but we did it in half the time that I'm usually able to. LeAnne and I did it tornadically, so I think that the speed made grandma's head spin.
- The laundry is all clean, on the line and awaiting deposit in their proper creature drawers.
- Leftovers.
- Hubs and his cookie baking support as clean-up crew.
- K- and her willingness to put her taste buds on the line to test drive the cookies for me. :)