The week in review.

The political jokes are writing themselves at this point. We are watching this presidency unravel in real time. For the love of all good things, let's talk about something else. 

The toy drive is picking up steam. We have got a pretty nice selection of stuff, and I get a rush of joy every time I walk into that storage area. We had a little work bee last week, sorting and cleaning, and I really have to say that the five people there are a perfect team. Once again, this is something that seems to be taking on a life of its own. I love that.

My cousin, Father Tim is out of the hospital but staying at a guest house. He looks great and is walking a mile and more. He is pushing himself. I told him that he would be home for Christmas. He is determined to be home for Thanksgiving. The first time he is back in the pulpit, we will be there to celebrate that with him and Noreen.

All those pre-midterm jitters have wrought good things. I am nearly done with Christmas shopping. I mean seriously done. I have Tim's gift to order. A couple sets of pajamas. A gift certificate. A bottle of vodka. I have even got quite a lot of wrapping done. 

The Amish Christmas is done as well. I have a joke box to put together and I am still picking up books as I see them for the tote. But, other than that, they are done. They all love to read, and they are all over that tote to see what books are inside. None of their things are wrapped yet. The kids are already getting excited. It is such a fun night. Last year, there was a major snowstorm. We made our way there but we were late enough that the kids thought we were not coming. Boy, were they pleased to see us pulling in!

There was a barn fire in the community on Tuesday. The barn burned to the ground, and set brush and trees on fire, but the house was saved. Levi has a huge order for the saw mill. He said, "They'll clean up the site. They will pour concrete on Saturday. The frame will go up Monday. The roof on Tuesday. They will finish it all up on Wednesday." Harder to replace will be the winter's worth of hay that was stored inside. We have been invited to watch.

We had quite a mystery here, one that we still have not managed to solve. Tim had an early bit of work. I had a meeting later in the morning. When he backed out, he heard a little 'thu-thump' at the back wheel. He stopped the car to see what he hit, but saw nothing. He continued on.

Much to his shock, when he got to town, he saw a spray of blood at the back fender. He called me to say he thought he must have hit a cat. 'No,' I said. 'Houdi and Fred are inside.' He worried about the outdoor cats. "I just gave Possum breakfast. We still have six chickens." We decided it must have been Phantom, but we would not know until when/if he showed up on the porch for supper. 

That night, we waited, filled with dread. We were gratified to see him  trotting up on the porch that evening just as usual. It looks like we will never know what Tim hit in the driveway. 

I went to a murder mystery dinner with my sister tonight which was a lot of fun. Our tablemates were great fun.

Her granddaughter had her first accident. A deer jumped out in front of her car. The car is likely totaled, but the important thing is that she and her brother were not injured.

So...that is life since election day. I will get around to all your blogs. I have some major catching up to do.