Guilty of people watching ...

I'm a firm believer of  having a will.  Many people shy away from them because they think that they are giving permission to die early.  Not so!  Pastor Hilley says that the mortality rate for the human race is 100%.  So a will tells your family and the court who gets what.  Uncle Louie wants Grandma's old chair even though it is rickety and no one can sit on it.  Another wants the keys to your kingdom.  You may want to share things way ahead of time to reduce your "clutter" and be able to give to whomever you please.
(My solution:  if more than one person wants something, have them write their name on a paper and have a drawing.  That would be fair and square.)

There is a big fear of probate.  It only means that the court must legally change the ownership if you haven't designated. Probate costs money (probably the real fear).  Although you may not be able to totally avoid probate it is possible to set up a trust.  A trust also costs money $2000+ so that your property just passes on to those you designate.

The "people watching" part happened the other day.  I was coming out of a building near a bank and saw a parked ambulance.  A closer look showed a person propped up on a hospital bed being rolled into the bank.  I guess he waited a little too long to make some adjustments!

Where did I put the glasses?

We have moved over 40 times and I made a few decisions in setting up a new house.
1.  Put the everyday dishes all around the dishwasher - not across the room.  It is quicker and easier to unload dishwasher when you don't have to run all over the kitchen.

2.  When you first move in and don't have all the boxes unpacked (and it will be a little while before you have time to do it), stack them up in a vacant corner, put a sheet over them and place a vase of flowers on the top.  It looks as presentable as possible and you don't have to look at the clutter.

3.  If you have a mar, chip or crack on your tile floor and it will be a while before you can replace it, match up the color with paint, clean up the place and put a little paint in it.  It won't be so noticeable.  You may have to do this every so often, but it saves you money while you "get it together".

4.  In like manner, if your grout around your toilet is discolored, buy some "Wite Out" and paint it - especially if company's coming.

I know you have found suitable cover ups for problems,  let me know for my benefit too.

Money, money, money!

Every December I set the budget for the coming year.  It makes it easier after the decision is made, incorporated and it then runs on auto pilot (so to speak).  This year was colossal in setting it in place.  A long story longer:

We had a few savings accounts on auto pilot for Emergencies, Car Fund, Christmas, and extra savings.  I had wanted to edit the amounts on two accounts back in October and was advised wrongly to close the auto and reset them up.  OK, I thought.  Meanwhile we got a letter from our out of state Savings bank that they had been sold to another institution (actually a good deal as it went from .5% to 1.%).  The two remaining accounts was transferred without my doing anything.  Then came up the setting up of the new accounts.  We had to start from scratch on an application to use their bank.  Then we had to wait until the account was verified by depositing a small amount into our account to verify that it was connected to our checking account for auto transfers.  I waited and waited...finally checked and it had been accomplished two weeks ago.  Whew!  All done ( I thought).  In checking the balances, one of the accounts was low because a deposit hadn't made it through.  I finally realized that I had written the transfer in my checkbook, BUT had never executed it.

This was a steep learning curve for me as I haven't had to do this for a long time.  I wrote this to encourage you.  Do not fear the unknown.  There will always be a voice on the other end of the line to straighten you out.  We are finally back on auto transfers to our out of state savings accounts and it's only January 22!

Money, money, money!

I wrote a long post about the perils of changing banks for your auto savings.  It took a while, and then I accidently pressed the wrong button and it went to Mars.  However, I do want to encourage you to not be concerned about the paper work involved.  You will make it, and you will have your savings accounts on auto transfer.  It is so much easier to just record the amount each month rather than have to go through the motions from the bottom upAND you won't save nearly as much.  Auto keeps you saving.  You can transfer it back to your checking account if you need it, but you will do about anything to keep from tapping it.  My best to you!

Candle wax on tablecloth

I have had candle wax drip on just about every tablecloth in the house.  I used to freak out about it, but heard you could get it out.  The process?  Scrape off as much as possible and then put tablecloth face down over the sink and pour boiling water through it.  It melts the wax and it drips away.  I've used this method over the years and it works great.  Enjoy the candles ... just be sure to never leave them burning when you leave a room.

Grandma's letter to the grandchildren

January 20, 2014

Letter to my Grandchildren:

I asked JESUS into my heart when I was 9 years old and began reading the Bible.  I have pretty much read it every day since then.  It is a wonderful book, but it always seemed that it was mixed up.  It made sense, but the time line was confusing.  Was Noah and the Ark  before Joshua and the Battle of Jericho or after?  Over the years, I discovered that God has told us in
 II Timothy 2:15 to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (and that He hides things in plain sight so we can have the thrill of finding them.

I have learned a lot and although you will have to read every day and learn yourself, I thought I would give you a simple outline so you could find what you were looking for.   When JESUS lives in your heart, God begins to open His treasure house of information. 

The Bible is the master plan for all of humanity:  rich, poor, old, or young.  The thread of
His-story unfolds in its pages.  Simple outline:  God made everything good, the devil tempted Adam and Eve to do wrong.  When they disobeyed, they were locked out of the Garden of Eden and that’s where we find ourselves.  When sin came on them, it was passed down through every generation.  No one was born without sin.  (Only JESUS was because He is God’s Son.)

Because of everyone’s sin nature, mankind is cruel, hateful and unloving.  That explains why wars are fought and people are mean to one another. 

God’s great love for the people He created could only be realized if that sin could be cancelled.  JESUS, God’s Only Son, left Heaven and was born of Mary.  Remember Christmas?  That was God’s beginning of buying us back from the devil.  The most famous Bible verse John 3:16:  “For God SO loved the world (people) that He gave His Only Begotten Son (JESUS) that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life (live in Heaven with God when we die).  You are  precious to God as every person is.  God wants everyone to come to Heaven, but if you still have your old sin nature, you can’t enter because God will not allow sin to mess up Heaven.

When you ask JESUS to forgive your sin and come to live in your heart, you are SAVED.  Saved means that you have received JESUS’s payment for your sin and you get to go free.  Because someone has to pay for sin, what a wonderful gift JESUS gave us.  If you don’t ask JESUS to forgive your sin and turn away from it, then you will have to pay for your own sin.  Remember no sin can come into Heaven.  God did not make Hell for people.  It was made for the devil and the fallen angels.  Since there’s only Heaven or Hell and you can’t get into Heaven, you would have to be eternally separated from God – the One who really loves you.

I think that most of you children have already asked JESUS to come and live in your heart.  I am so glad.  Each generation must pass the baton to the next generation or no one will know God’s plan to buy us back.  It’s called “The Gospel”.

The Gospel can be explained in five simple facts:

            In the beginning, God created Heaven and Earth and IT WAS GOOD!

            Because of Adam’s disobedience, sin entered the whole world

            JESUS died in our place to pay for our sin so we would be washed from sin.

            We are required to ask for our sins to be forgiven and must turn away from them.  It
            is not automatic. 

            It is our responsibility to grow up in Christ:  Read our Bible, pray and get to know
            God the Father, JESUS the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God since they all come to live
            inside of us to help us understand what He wants us to do and not do.

Pretty soon I will send you more information on where to find the Bible stories you are learning in Sunday School so you can read them for yourself.  God is so powerful that He did great miracles and they are recorded in the Bible.  Start in I Samuel 17 and read about David and Goliath – he was really scary and mean but God used a young boy to rescue His people.  There were good kings and bad kings – godly prophets who told the truth about was going to happen and lying prophets who just said words but they weren’t true.

It’s an exciting journey and I hope that you dig deep and enjoy the ride.

I love you,

Grandma 

Chip on your favorite glassware?

I have a favorite bowl that Sally gave me for my birthday.  It is unusually shaped and just asks to be chipped.  I accomplished that!  It was a little chip, but could cut you like a paper cut.  I bought very fine sandpaper and gently rubbed it until the sharp edge was gone.  Couldn't tell the difference and I can still enjoy my beautiful bowl.  Now I'm going to try to sand off the sharp edges of my teaspoons that surprisingly got put in the garbage disposal.  What a frightful sound and produced a ragged edge.  Hope it works!