Random and occasional thoughts on

After a couple of Tuesdays without a dedicated Good News Tuesday, it is about time for another edition. I ran across the first one today, but the story is from last week. It is a story of how people from all over the world heard about a family in need of financial help to keep their house. They needed $10,000 (US Dollars) in 2 weeks to keep their house from foreclosure. That was their financial situation after mechanical problems, health problems, job loss and an unexpected pregnancy. A friend posted an entry on her blog about the families situation and word spread. Read the story for a great tale of Christmas spirit. I read another story about some folks that anonymously paid off layaway items for some Sears customers before Christmas. I think this another great story because the donors are not doing this for publicity, but just to help some people have a little better Christmas. They chose to payoff necessities like children's clothes, shoes and even some toys. Read the ...

OK, I saw this on someone else's blog so I thought I would use it once in a while. Except she said things she loves whereas I am setting the bar a bit lower. They only need to be things I like to be included in my TILT. Rainy Days Living in a desert, we don't get a lot of them, so we tend to enjoy them more when we do get them. One of the things I like about them is when you get a rainbow the rain. Since this is Christmas Day (Thursday), I would be remiss if I did not wish you a Merry Christmas. That does not mean that you need to be a Christian (much of a typical modern Christmas celebration has nothing to do with church, religion or Christ) and I wish you an equally Merry Christmas if you are Jewish, agnostic or a follower of any other religion. We can discuss the merits and flaws of different religions another time. For today, lets keep Peace on Earth and Goodwill on the Internet.

Copied this from some friends blogs. If you play along, mention it in a comment here. 1 Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer wrapping paper unless I need to wrap it. 2 Real tree or Artificial? Fake 3 When do you put up the tree? Usually a day or two after Thanksgiving. 4 When do you take the tree down? New Years Day usually. 5 Do you like eggnog? Yup. Sometimes with a bit of Rum if I'm not driving. 6 Favorite gift received as a child? I got so many great gifts, it is hard to pick. Probably the Atari video game system the year we got that. 7 Hardest person to buy for? My oldest son. 8 Easiest person to buy for? My sister. 9 Do you have a nativity scene? A nice wooden one we got when the boys were little and they could play with it. 10 Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. (I don't read ANY email cards unless I am expecting them and they are attachments I can download and scan. I can't stand getting eCard links and that will earn you a spot on my naughty list. 11 Worst Chri...