Monday, November 30, 2009
LIGHTS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Tonight we went to the zoo for the lights. They really do an amazing job. The temperature was in the low 40's with very little wind and just an exceptional evening. The only animals we saw on display were the artic wolves. I captured a picture of one fairly close. Usually we are there in the summer and the wolves are not near the edges of their enclosure. It had been several years since we were at the zoo for the lights. They have a display that is set to music. It is near cheetah valley and it was wonderful to watch. In this day and age I suppose that it is not an unusual display but I really enjoyed it. If you get a chance to see the "Lights Before Christmas" please do so.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
INTERRIM
The kids left today and even though they were here for a very short time, it was chaos - a nice chaos but chaos nevertheless. Now is that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. December 1 is Tuesday and it is nice if all decorations can be up but chances are that they will not be. However most likely everything but the trees will be in place. I do love the Christmas season. The outside lights as you drive at night are welcoming in the dark December evening. Inside the house are lights and colors and again, it is very welcoming during those long chilly evenings. The pastor at my "former" church (I have not as yet switched membership and still receive correspondence)wrote an interesting piece on the term "Happy Holidays". In her mind the term happy holidays was used in connection with the secular celebration part of Christmas. The store sales, buying of gifts, parties etc. It was separate from the actual celebration of Christmas - the birth of the Saviour. These are basically two separate entities. I found it interesting that she did not necessarily have a problem with the two - Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. I hope that everyone enjoys this week and the beginning of the "holiday" season.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
I know this is lame but I did not know what pictures to post. This is the year when the kids are with my daughter-in-law's family for Thanksgiving. Luckily we have very good friends who are willing to have us join their family for dinner. It was a great dinner too! My friend brined the turkey and it was so moist. The dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cranberry salad, cranberry bread, crescent rolls were all fantastic (as well as my bean casserole - not the traditional one). The pumpkin pie was great also. We watched the football game and some other friends dropped by for a quick visit and then we left to come home. JR claims that he is going out early tomorrow morning but he will not tell me where. Then he will pick me up and (believe this or not) we are going to Bass Pro. I have not yet been there and thought I might as well go tomorrow. The kids are coming up on Saturday so that will be a lot of fun. I hope everyone had as great a day as we did. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
ANOTHER FALL DAY
It is a beautiful fall day. The sun is out in full and the temperature is supposed to be in the mid to high 50's. Many will play golf but I am on to other things. I received a new pocket size camera for my birthday and look forward to taking pictures with it. It has several settings: auto; action; video; blurred (do not yet know what that setting does) and close-up. It also has a 2x zoom. While that is not the greatest zoom it will help enhance the pictures. As you can tell in previous pictures, my other camera had lots of focus issues. With the holiday season coming up I am hoping to write a continuing "saga" about the Five Bears. No this is not the Three Bears plus two minus Goldilocks. We have 5 Christmas bears and I am going to try to write little stories (emphasis on little) about them every day (hopefully) and include pictures. It should be fun and the grandkids and my grand nephews will hopefully like it. I am currently in the process of collecting all the goodies for the grandkids' advent calendars. I will get it to them this weekend.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
WORTH BEING AWAKE FOR
The picture above was a few days ago. It was about 6:45 am and the sunrise was awesome. The lake was completely flat and the reflection from the other side was fantastic. However it was short lived. By the time I went from the porch to the kitchen to the porch the intensity of the colors had already waned. I did take a few pictures though. My cough is still around and becoming very annoying not only for me but for the poor souls who have to listen to me. I am now well immersed in "Skills" classes for the upcoming tax season. I have 10 sessions at 3 hours each. I did test out of the city theory class so that gives me one free morning. Right now I am working in December but I only put down two days of availability. The office will only be open 3 days but I cannot do more especially in December. I cannot believe that Christmas is just a mere 5 weeks away. Yikes!!!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
ITS TOO EARLY
I must be starting to feel better since I was up by 6:30am. I put a load of laundry in and looked out the window while passing through the bedroom. When lo to my wandering eyes should appear a deer breakfasting on our plants. The blinds obscured a good picture but she then moved to the family room window. It was still quite dark but I was able to take two passable pictures. I was surprised that they were out this late in the night/early morning and in the season. I would have thought that there was still plenty of food in their habitat. However, I do realize that the habitat is diminishing. We usually see them only in the winter. The really sad part is that JR and I watched her as she trimmed the rose plant for us and did not shoo her away. A young buck came over shortly after we saw her but by then it was lighter and they could sense us in the window and bolted. I am fascinated that they come this close to the house. In past winters they have bedded down for the night next to our bedroom window (apparently our collective snoring does not bother them). I am hoping today to actually accomplish something other than coughing all day. Oh well, time will tell.
Monday, November 9, 2009
TOUGH WEEK
This is one of those postings that has me somewhat whining. I got the bug last week and spent the better part of the week coughing and feeling miserable. I went to the doctor on Friday knowing that I had a big weekend coming up and just checking in to make sure I was on target and that my lungs were relatively clear. He said drink lots of fluids, "rest"! and prescribed an inhaler. Saturday we were gone from 9am to midnight (so much for rest) and Sunday we played golf. On Saturday my daughter-in-law took both her mother and me to lunch and to a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert for our birthdays. The first part of the performance was Christmas oriented and to be honest I was not able to follow the storyline and the music was ok but felt long. At the intermission (I thought the performance was over) they introduced the members and then said enjoy the second half of the show. Well! I was not looking forward to it but the second half was absolutely awesome. They combined classical pieces with incredible lasers and lights to create an almost heavy metal concert feeling. Granted, I never went to a heavy metal show but it must be similar. Two pieces that were fabulous were Canon in D and Carmina Burana. I was awe-struck. On Sunday we were supposed to play a scramble with three other couples with mixing up the couples (this is where the whining comes in). I had agreed to play only because it was going to be a scramble and I knew that I would not have to play every shot. Well unfortunately someone decided to do a 2 best ball with one score from the men and one from the women. I had a dilemma. We were playing with a couple that I did not know well. I felt that I could not just go home so I played. It was incredibly ugly golf (we did not use my score on any holes), very depressing and physically more that I could manage. I felt terrible that I was not able to be more cheerful and peppy. The good news is that all three teams tied!! So at least I did not cost my partners any money. We then met at one of the houses for chili (two kinds), cornbread and wine, I brought my own Pepsi One. It was JR's birthday and I know he enjoyed being out and not having to cook his own dinner. I am going to hang up the clubs for the year. The golf has ceased to be fun and if we get nice days I will find another way to get fresh air and exercise. My small camera is not very good but you can admire the colors, the red in the berries and the incredibly blue sky. Not bad for November.
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