Sunday, February 10, 2013

I found my Christmas Stocking!!!!


I knew I had my Christmas stocking - I thought I knew exactly where it was - I was close, it WAS in the basement, but not where I thought. Anyway, I found it, and put it up on the fireplace. Will Santa still come, even though it is February?

I saw Clellie's stocking in her New Year's letter, and Gus posted a photo of his stocking, and here's mine - Betsy, it's 2013, do you know where your stocking is?

I have been meaning to do this for a long time, but was motivated by a chain of e-mails between Dan and Clellie.  Clellie made stocking for my three children when they were small. When Dan saw Clellie's New Year's letter he was reminded of his stocking, and asked Linda to look for it. She found it and sent it to him, and he imagined how nice it would be for his three children to each have one - and sent Clel an e-mail.  She replied that she was booked up solid, making a scrapbook for a great granddaughter and a quilt for Brian's wedding.

I was extremely pleased that Dan and Diana wanted their children to have "Philpott Stockings" for Angela, James and Peter - I think he will be able to find someone to make them using his as a pattern - if not I will look for someone here.

I was at Russ and Mandy's over Christmas, and Russ had his original stocking hung by the chimney with care, and Mandy, Alison, Alexandra and Aiden had very similar stockings - it just looked right!

So, what I'm getting to, is to say a great big Thank You to Clellie, for making stockings for my children, and I don't know how many more (she said she has made 50 stockings!) - what a nice, long-lasting tradition - and it never would have been possible if Clel had not made all the stocking for the next generations.

Philpotts & guns

I've been thinking about guns a lot lately, since I have helped resurrect a local not-for-profit association that worked on getting the right-to-carry in Illinois. It was about to go under for lack of care and feeding by the Board and officers. In January a bunch of us shouted, "Whoa!" and we rescued it.

Check out www.mcr2ca.org

I remember how we kids managed never to kill anyone with our BB guns or .22 rifles, or with Pop's shotgun. Didn't Dad have a scabbard for one of the saddles? I'm pretty sure there was one.

I think Greer gave me a 4-gauge flintlock elephant gun. I recall stopped at Centaur on the road along the railroad tracks to shoot it. Just scraped up a little gravel off the road and poured it down the barrel. Then a little black powder in the flash pan. Pulled back the flint, and Ka-Pow!

Ah, those were the days...  We can shoot on property in our county, but you'd better have the owner's permission to be there. There is no such thing as just pulling over and doing a little plinking. Not in Illinois.

We don't even have a concealed carry law here. Yet. But it looks like we will, come June. In December a Federal Court ruled that Illinois' prohibition against concealed carry is unconstitutional. If legislators don't come up with a law in 180 days, then we become a Constitutional Carry state.

Well, that guarantees they'll come up with a law. They'll do anything to avoid our being a CC state!

When I moved here in 1996, I called the sheriff's department to ask how to apply for a concealed carry permit. The deputy laughed out loud and told me that I'd never get a permit in Illinois. Sure wish I had his name now.