Saturday, December 25

Ice Sculpture
White Spikes
Snowmobile Route?!? It was supposed to be a joke!
Shimmering and shivering palm
Fantastic Display
Iced Oranges
First time there has been snow in deep south Texas since 1897! 100 miles north in Victoria TX they are enjoying nearly a foot of snow.
Icy south Texas
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
Our winter home...summer home too!
Bananas anyone?
White banana tree
Bill & Jo Brooker's winter home!

White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
Shuffleboard Anyone?
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
White Christmas in Deep South Texas!
Snowy Grapefruit

Friday, December 24

Icicles! Yes, Icicles in deep south Texas! Folks we have ourselves an ice storm.
I know the sympathy level is about zero for us down here in DEEP SOUTH Texas but we are shivering in our little residential vehicles. The usual parade of early morning walkers are conspicuosly missing. The furnace is humming away frequently...and we are grateful for all we are blessed with in this life we are living. I can't help but wonder, hope and pray for the local people I have seen who live in homes without windows and doors. Last night on the news they said a hard freeze has happened 4 times in recorded history. This all adds so much to the danger for those who are homeless or live in inadequate housing. I hope for a quick warm up, more for their benefit than ours.

Wednesday, December 22

Smile!

The Christmas Envelope

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription.
It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband, Mike, hated Christmas.
Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it . . .
overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike.
The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son, Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.

As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class.
And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them."

Mike loved kids, all kids, and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed an envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up.
But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.

Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

~ Anonymous ~

May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.

May God bless you and yours this holiday season with the true spirit of Christmas.


Yesterday we met friends from Carthage Mo at Fat Daddy's for burgers. Harold and Nancy weren't camera shy. I didn't get a shot of Mary and Allen or Bill and Jo. Maybe next time.
Fancy, the fancy cat that lives down the street gave me these roses as a Thank You for taking her picture.
Zoe sent me this adorable picture. Had to share.
The little brown puppy that has eluded capture was caught by my camera this morning. I had to zoom quite a bit just to get this shot.


The Pup

Tuesday, December 21

The weather man here usually doesn't have much to say. I think the report usually lasts about 30 seconds. But last night he was telling us that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will definitely feel like Christmas. It may get into the twenties and there is a chance of FREEZING precipitation! Can you believe it?! I know it has happened here in the past but we have never seen it. It still remains to be seen and then it is to be in the 80's again next week. Now thats a contrast!
Marlene and Bernard made it to Harlingen Sunday afternoon. Marlene uses AOL instant messaging so when I see her name signed on I know she is at her computer in Texas. And then Bill, Jo and Maggie arrived yesterday.

Monday, December 20

My cousin Pauline stopped in yesterday. I usually only see her at family funerals so it was great to see her on a pleasant occasion. Pauline and Clark still farm near Farnhamville Iowa but they winter in Mission Texas and have for many years. It was a very nice surprise for a Sunday afternoon.