“Always something,” Dear Husband’s grandma used to say.

On December 18, I was baking treats for my party on the 19th.  Everything else was ready, and I was just making an orange torte with ground almonds instead of flour, and some no flour brownies.  It was fairly late in the evening.  That torte needed to bake 55 to 65 minutes, so I set the timer for the 55 minutes and checked.  The outer edges seemed done, but the middle was still liquid.  I set the timer for 15 more minutes and checked again.  Not only was the middle not done, it was actually cold.  The oven had stopped working.

I used my electric roaster pan to finish baking that, followed by the brownies.  The next day the party was great fun for all the 15 ladies who attended and the treats were much appreciated.

The next Monday we tried to figure out if the oven could be repaired, but learned that it would be best to get a new stove.  So on the 23rd, we shopped online, and then went to a local store and purchased a new stove, which will not be delivered until this week, January 6.

Then we celebrated Christmas with our daughter who borrowed the roaster pan and still has it.  I didn’t realize how much I rely on the oven, and how much I enjoy baking muffins, cakes, pies, brownies, and roasting vegetables and meat.  My sister said I avoided the holiday weight gain.

On December 31the clothes dryer quit working, and the washing machine control knob broke.  These machines are at least 20 years old, and possibly 30—we don’t remember exactly when we bought them.  Parts are no longer available.   So we have shopped for new ones, and today ordered them.  They will be delivered on the same truck with the stove.  If we think of our daily pay as substitute teachers, we can say that these three appliances cost about 22 days’ work.

So, we are grateful that we are able to work, and are able to live in our own house and have all these modern appliances for daily life.

We’ll be ready for the next challenge, because we know, there’s always something.

Today the sky is cloudy and grey and the temperature is hovering below freezing.  Not a pleasant day to be outdoors.

I started the day by going to church as is my habit, where I heard an inspiring message that included the Scripture, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.”  We must always be ready to die, and thus be ready to live.  The speaker focused on fire: the fires of the judgment of God, the fires of persecution of the faithful, the fire of God himself who inspires us to live courageously in service to God.  The speaker proclaimed that we can all be saved from the fires by trusting in God.

After lunch I wanted to take a walk, but not outside, so I drove to the mall and walked and walked around and around, stopping sometimes in stores, just looking at things, then walking briskly again. It’s a relatively safe place to walk, the lights are bright, and there is music.  My dear husband prefers to watch football on tv for his Sunday afternoon pastime.

I stopped by the library after the walk and picked out several books to read in the next weeks.  I don’t have a reading plan these days, but my choices are not entirely random either.  I prefer mysteries, and I go for authors I trust.

It is already dark and time for supper, after which we hope to watch Downton Abbey.   And that will conclude our Sunday.  Tomorrow’s another day in which I will ponder how to apply my heart to wisdom.

Last night I read a list of 100 jokes by 100 comedians.  I got to number 20 before I laughed at one.  I don’t remember what that one was.  Of the whole 100, I laughed at maybe 6 jokes.  In this list were some jokes that were 50 years old.  Maybe they were funny then, but not now?  What makes something funny?  Are jokes culture bound?  Is there any humor that is universal?

I think that humor requires the highest level of language learning.  You have to understand the various meanings of the words to know why this particular play of words is funny.  But, you also have to be aware of current events and social norms to “get” the joke.  Then, whether you think the joke is funny or not depends on your own moral standards, which are somewhat dependent on your own culture.

Here is the best joke from that whole list, and I don’t remember the comedian who told it.

“In past decades, we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope, and Steve Jobs.  Now we have no cash, no hope, and no jobs.  Please don’t let Kevin Bacon die.”

Funny to you, or not?  What are your thoughts?

No one knows what the new year will bring, but we always wish for happiness.  The Romans named the month “January” after the god Janus, who looked both forward and back.  I don’t remember, did he have two heads?  I think so.  It’s the time to evaluate the past year and make plans, hopes, dreams, resolutions, for the next year.  I hope to have a peaceful, quiet year staying home.  Perhaps others will travel to visit us this year.  I hope to have a productive garden.  I hope to improve my life by getting hearing aids, but they are quite expensive.  I’ve seen that we could make another trip to China just for tourism and stay a few weeks, for less than the cost of these hearing instruments.  It’s a perspective that invites the question, so popular in our ESL texts, “Would you rather…?”  I also hope to improve my life by having cataract surgery.  This will not cost much, since insurance will pay for it.  I hope to write more, more often, and I hope to finish a writing project and attempt to sell it.

Those are my thoughts for today, January 1, 2016.  What are yours?