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Year Two, Days 199 and 200: Advent

 
 I did not get a chance to post yesterday. I think I was suffering from a food hangover!

I played for the homeless luncheon at the church on Thanksgiving from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It was a "volunteer" position, but they gave me $60 and a free lunch!

In addition, I got to sit with some lovely people and visit.  And look at this lunch! (I had pie too....oh boy do I need the gym!)

After the lunch, my daughter and son-in-law picked me up and whisked me off to my brother's house for yet another Thanksgiving meal!  I did not eat lightly.  I enjoyed every morsel.

And some heated political debates. lol  But all in all a good time!

Luckily I did not have to work yesterday. My daughter was also home. Her husband went out hunting. So when she and I get a day off together, we go to lunch! But we were both moving sluggishly, so first we took Honey Dawg for a nice romp in the nearby doggie park. Then we decided we would walk for a nice cup of pho and then walk up to Walmart to get cleaning supplies and do a thorough cleaning. 

Luckily we missed the Black Friday crowds. We don't do crowds.

So we had a lovely walk. Wonderful lunch. And then on our slow, sluggish walk/crawl to Walmart, we came upon a thrift store we had not been to. We decided to stop in. They had a well stocked clothing supply! And we saw little signs everywhere that said "50 % off everything".

Most of the clothes were in really good shape. I found some lovely jeans that fit! And at 50% they would be $2.50! We kept snickering to ourselves that perhaps we were misunderstanding the 50 % off  EVERYTHING sign. When suddenly a light bulb went on. For both of us. At the same time.

The thrift store was having a Black Friday sale!

Then we discovered dresses and skirts were 75% off!!

So we went super crazy and bought about $150 worth of clothes for $50.

SCORE!!

I am so excited. The jeans I got yesterday were a nice fit, but a little snug. But today they are actually a bit loose. Because yesterday I had poofy Thanksgiving belly!  They are a size 16!! My original goal was to fit into size 14 jeans. I have several pair in my closet donated to me by my mom.

I am close!!!

Today my daughter, son-in-law and mom met for breakfast before I went to teach.  We had a lovely visit.  My daughter talked me into sharing a meal.  I am feeling quite svelte!

At the church where I teach on Saturday, they have a lovely grand piano. On my break, I decided to record "O Come, O Come Emmanuel".  This is considered an Advent hymn, although many people consider it a Christmas carol.

I am not fond of all the Christmas decorations going up before Thanksgiving, the crazy commercial and ads encouraging us to spend, spend, spend, "ho ho ho!". But I do love Advent.

Especially when I was a church pianist. There is a deep feeling of longing and expectancy. Almost like pregnancy. And of course, what the people were hoping for was a Messiah which came in the form of a baby, from the beautiful Virgin Mary.

If you are not familiar with the term "Advent", here is a nice synopsis from our good friend Wikipedia:

"Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The term is a version of the Latin word meaning "coming".
Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from three different perspectives. "Since the time of Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153) Christians have spoken of the three comings of Christ: in the flesh in Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and ini glory at the end of time."[1] The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming."


And here is my youtube video:
And on that note, I am off to meet a fish from Plenty of Fish. I am feeling surprisingly calm and serene about this. Finally. I put it into perspective. I am just meeting someone for a drink.  I will be polite and kind whether we "click" or not. I am not shopping for a car. I am meeting a new person. No
expectations.

I wish I would have had this insight many moons ago!

Happy Saturday!

And Happy First Day of Advent!

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