More Snow

Here is a shot of our front porch. I have never seen snow hang off the eaves like this or a two foot drift. People are going to have trouble getting to the door.

Blizzard Conditions

It is now noon on Saturday the 22nd of December. I went out at 8:15 to workout and get my hair cut. Between 9:30 and 10:15 it had snowed over 2 inches. The weather forecast say we will have snow until around six tonight. If that is true, we will have one of our rare white Christmases. I took the picture because the snow is blowing sideways. There are no big white fat flakes here. It is very fine and dry. We had planned to go out and finish our Christmas Shopping today, but it looks like it will be waiting till tomorrow.

Christmastime is here!

Last night my friends and I all gathered at Olive Garden for our annual Christmas dinner. We ask to sit in the corner because spirits are imbibed and we tend to get a tad rowdy. Actually this year we were verywell behaved. We exchange gifts and the part I enjoy more than anything else is when we put all the gifts on the table to divide up. There is something about the mass of bags and boxes and just makes me feel like the holidays are really here.





Merry Christmas Everyone!

I am in love....with IKEA

I just got back from a week in Portland, Oregon. I was attending training on Foreclosure Intervention and Loss Mitigation which is a post in itself, but too depressing to actually write about. The training was really good, and will be very helpful in my work. I didn't get to enjoy the joys of Portland because I got the flu on Monday evening, and spent the rest of the week dragging through the classes and then going to bed. This pretty much shatters any dreams of a glamorous business trip to a hip city.

However, by the last day of class on Friday, I was finally feeling chipper enough to venture out to shop. Portland has a fantastic public transportation system, a good portion of it is free and the rest extremely reasonably priced. When I had come in from the airport, I had seen the Ikea sign from the train window, so I went out Friday afternoon. As you can see, it is big as a Walmart, but so much better. Ray and I have always loved Scandinavian furniture, but after leaving Houston, it was difficult to find at all, let alone be affordable. Now I know, it is all at the Ikea store. I spent hours in the store looking at furniture and accessories. Everything is boxed up unassembled, so I was able to buy stuff to put in my suitcase and take home for gifts. I even called Ray from the store and told him about my new passion. Wyatt needs big boy bedroom furniture. There is an Ikea store in the Dallas area. We are going down there after the first of the year and get him set up.

I also went to Nordstrom Rack and got some great clothing for Nicole and myself. I found a great Greek Restaurant too. I had Dolmathes, orzo and steamed vegetables and Baklava for dessert. There was a poster of an old Greek man smoking a cigarette in front of me and I decided he was as good a dinner partner as any.

One afternoon and evening saved me from thinking Portland was no fun. I just want to go back when I am healthy. I only took about eight photos there, and these two were about the best. Gives you the idea of how it was for me.

Friendship is a gift in itself

Today I went to another one of our Christmas Traditions. Each year, my friends I worked with at Bank IV go to Riverside Cup of Tea for high Tea. This group of friends is a little different. Husbands are welcome to come along. Ray went last year and was of the opinion that one high tea was enough for him, but Diane's husband Ron came along and enjoyed the tea, scones, clotted cream, cucumber sandwiches and toffee bars with the ladies. Sandy brought along her niece who enjoyed the afternoon outing with the adults. Karen, Sharon and I came by ourselves, but all of us had a wonderful time.

Dubious Grandparenting Behavior

The picture above shows an addictive behavior we visited upon our innocent two year old grandson. He loves to watch a Youtube video of the Muppets singing "Menah Menah". He is even at the point where he will sing parts of it with us now. When Wyatt comes to visit, the demand to see the video comes right after the request for a cookie and chockie (chocolate milk) Of course, being the obedient servants to this child that we are, we do his wishes. When he tires of this video, we watch another muppet video of Beaker singing "Feelings" also known as Mi Mi. Secretly, I am waiting until Wyatt figures out how to use the mouse to hit replay. I am up restarting the video every 2.28 minutes, until he finally loses interest and goes to play with his toys.

Oh, Christmas Tree

We finished off decorating for Christmas yesterday. I got the Christmas dishes out today. We are officially in the Christmas Season now. It was the first Sunday of Advent at church this morning. Every week a different family lights the advent candles. We did that a few times when the kids were at home. We start singing Christmas hymns as well. My goal this year is to enjoy the meaning of the season and not just the busyness.