Kindergarten Lunchroom

Last Wednesday, Kash, our 5 yr. old grandson, invited us to his kindergarten for Thanksgiving lunch.  Walter and I worked it out to be there before his class went into the lunchroom.  He was both happy and surprised that we were there.

He sat next to Walter and I sat across from him.  A girl named McKenzie sat next to me.  While Kash and his Grandpoppie talked, I talked to the girl classmate.  "I am Kash's Grandmother," I told her.  "I thought you were his Me Ma," she said.  "Well, I guess I am his Me Ma, but I am called Grandmother, " I told her.

"I thought you were a Me Ma because your hair is the same color as my Me Ma's."  I thought I would laugh out loud but I composed myself enough to say, "Yes.  When you become a Me Ma is about the time your hair turns this color."  We went on to have a nice conversation.



Kash is Wearing an Orange Tie at his Preschool Graduation Earlier This Year

Our conversation stayed with me all day and even until now.  Although true what the girl had said, I still wandered how much evidence will I have to gather before I can admit to myself that I am aging.  You see, it didn't feel much different to me to be sitting on the stools in that lunchroom as when I did it over 55 years ago!

Strange and Beautiful Thanksgiving Cactus

Several years ago, my daughter, Patricia, gave me a Thanksgiving cactus.  I have repotted it once and moved it from location to location in the house, trying to find an ideal spot for it to grow and flower.  Well I finally found a good spot in the middle of the living room.   It gets good indirect light and has started to flourish.  About mid-November it started setting buds and has produced several nice flowers.  It is shown here next to another cactus I received from my friend Kathy for my birthday a few years back.  My photography is fuzzy for some reason but the flowers are continuing to bloom and set buds even today.

I did some internet research and found the following information on the care of the plant.  “The Thanksgiving cactus really is a cactus but it is far from the other typical plants of the family. Its stems are not round and spiny, but flat and smooth. Moreover, many people mistake them for leaves. The stems are divided into segments called "articles". First they grow up, and then arch up gracefully. The flowers, elongated and slightly asymmetrical, grow directly from the end of articles. Each flower may last two weeks, longer if the room is a bit cooler. There are three factors that stimulate flowering Thanksgiving cactus: short days, some drought and a slightly cool weather. So do not place your plant in a location that stays bright at night (your plant will suffer short-day) and reduce watering from September. If you lower the thermostat at night, you will make your Thanksgiving cactus very happy and it should bloom abundantly. But even if you do nothing special at all, it is not uncommon for it to flourish anyway.

Other than for short days and reduced watering and temperature in autumn, the Thanksgiving cactus is the perfect companion for indoor gardeners, because it requires no special treatment. Treat it like any houseplant, and it succeeds well. The Christmas cactus tolerates very dry air in our homes, but is not bothered if you increase the humidity. It does not particularly like transplantation. It may well grow in the same pot for 10 years or more without penalty.

It is propagated mainly by cuttings of the stems. Simply take a healthy stem comprising two to four items and insert it into a small pot of slightly moist compost. Rooting is fairly quickly." Source:http://voices.yahoo.com/how-care-thanksgiving-cactus-4514169.html

Boxes for Samarian's Purse Project

How many things can you pack into a shoebox?  How about if it is for a child who is in an under developed country?  Then you really want to become a packaging genius.

Operation Christmas Child expects to reach a significant milestone this year—the 100 millionth shoe box gift packed and distributed since they started this project 19 years ago.  Our church, plus many others, want to help them reach the 100 million boxes sent to these children all around the world this Christmas.  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php will explain the program headed up by Franklin Graham, President and CEO of Samarian's Purse.

The Packed Box is Bulging but Properly Secured

For my box to look like this what did I do? I started out with many items.

Items Gathered to Fill the Operation Christmas Child Box

These things were:

• Black T Shirt
• Coloring Book
• Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Floss Kit
• Sunglasses
• Paperback Books (2)
• Washable Markers
• Pins
• New Testament
• Wooden Cross
• Change Holder (UT)  I couldn't resist
• Smart Links Toy
• Toy Cow
• Stickers (3)
• Notepads (2)
• Slippers
• Bowl. Spoon, Cup

Three things in the picture above were not included.  I just couldn't get them all in.  They were the toy house, a notebook and a hardcover book.  All else were included!  Whew!

I used spray adhesive to attach a message and two pictures of us.

Box Lid Decorated with Our Pictures

The bottom of the lid has a note saying "With Love, Martha and Walter".  We had heard that many of the children like it best if they know who sent the box to them.  I hope they like seeing that some grandparents from another part of the world are concerned about them.

Box is Ready for Shipping Label

There!  I did it!  This box is stuffed to almost overflowing.  The rubber bands will keep the box intact during shipping and delivery.  I will turn it in tomorrow at my church and a sticker added to the front will indicate whether it is intended for a girl or a boy.  Since most of our grandchildren are boys, I decided I wanted to shop for a girl.

I come from a legacy of people who helped when they could.  I remember as a child our school was asked to pack a shoebox for far away and needy children, (not this program).  My mother helped me fill the box each time.  We always included toothbrushes and other practical things.  We never seemed to have much money but we always packed these boxes.  Most times a small toy or fancy item was found by my mother and lovingly slipped in at the last moment.  I was always proud of those boxes we packed in our small kitchen.  That joy returned as I placed each item into this Operation Christmas Child box.

God is good.