Ho, Ho, Huh?

 Our normal Santa backed out of his planned appearance this year (He must be a union man after all), leaving us with a need to find a new Santa Clause in a hurry.  We eventually decided to let the church choose between our two "full-figured" staff - Michael and Sterling.  We put it to a vote and Sterling won hands-down.  I think the novelty of a black Santa was just too good to pass up.  Sterling was a good sport through it all, and I noticed him quietly practicing his "ho, ho ho's" when he thought nobody was looking.  It's really too bad he couldn't wear his red "gangsta" Christmas hat;  somehow, with Sterling that would have been the perfect touch.  After the service the kids started lining up to talk to Santa, and I can't help but wonder if any of them thought it strange to see that black face peeking out between the fake hair and beard.  I think Sterling can relax, as he now has job security as the official character actor for The Journey Church. 

 We were hit with our first humdinger of a winter storm last week - we got somewhere between 18-24 inches in about 18 hours.  I went out around 1a.m. the first night to start plowing, because the deeper the snow gets, the harder it is to push. There was already 14 inches on the ground when I started plowing the driveway at the Journey Ranch, and I narrowly escaped getting seriously stuck when I inadvertently backed into the creek that runs along the front of the ranch property.  I had chains on the rear tires, so I put it into low 4WD and hit the gas . . .  and the truck jumped back up onto the road.  Whew!  I bought a set of chains a couple of weeks ago after I slid into and demolished a friend's front stairs, and the guy at O'Reilly Auto Parts assured me that these were the best chains for the money.  However, after plowing only two properties I heard a thumping noise coming from my rear tires, and upon investigation discovered that some of the chain links had broken and the loose ends of chain were hitting the inside of the wheel well.  Best chains for the money, eh?  I made a stop at the hardware store and bought a handfull of "Quick links" to re-attach the chain lengths.  My ingenius solution worked for maybe 30 minutes, and then the chains broke somewhere else.  By mid-day I gave up and went back to O'Reilly's for a refund, and I  bought the heavy-duty kind that take twice as long to put on, but will hopefully stay in one piece.

Our Driveway after the big snow

With what I'm spending on extra gas, chains and minor repairs on the truck, I may just be breaking even.  The Jury's still out as to whether this is a money-making endeavor, or a money pit.

I heard a great story two weeks ago at church.  My friend Leslie (who's stairs I demolished) told me that one of her neighbors came over to see her because she'd noticed me repairing the stairs, and she needs someone to help her with some projects.  As they talked, Leslie found out that this woman has not found a church up here where she feels comfortable, and she invited her to the Christmas Eve service (and she came).  "Coincidences" like this one bring home the truth from the Bible that says: "All things work together for good, to those who love God and who are called according to His purposes."