Christmas Lights

I put my Christmas lights up over the weekend, actually, Sunday afternoon.  I had many strands of lights, and many no longer worked. I had almost enough for what little I do.  However, I wanted a couple of strands more. 

I was not up to shopping Monday night after work, so Tuesday I went to Home Depot, and could not find what I wanted.  So Wednesday night, I went to Wal Mart and found what I wanted.  I toyed with doing some extra shopping, and did pick up a box of kitty litter, but decided I really wanted to get home and put up the lights.  I was really disappointed because one strand only lit up half way reliably.  So, I used the other strand and just bunched up the half strand and threw it in the middle of the Nandina bush.

I am glad I put up the lights Wednesday. 

Viewing Christmas Lights

This evening I went out looking at Christmas lights.  There are various places in town that are good spots.  A few blocks west of my house, on 59th Street, there is  house that has a light show that is coordinated with music.  I saw that a couple of weeks ago.  Tonight, I went to Ransom Canyon, which is a small community to the east of Lubbock, in the Yellowhouse Canyon.  This was formed by the North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River. 

Christmas Lights

So, today, I put out Christmas lights.  They are sort of "Charlie Brown" Christmas lights because they are not pretty or fantastic, or even organized.  But they are Christmas lights


.  

The lights on the left sort of look like a shoe.  That was not my intent. I just wanted lights on the Nandina bush and the ivy.  

Merry Christmas.

A Christmas Moon

This is not the thing I would normally pay attention to, but I became curious.  It seemed to me I could not remember remarking when the full moon was on Christmas.  And, really that is because it does not occur all that often:  http://www.space.com/31471-rare-christmas-full-moon-guide.html. 

I was out last night, and the moon looked full to me.  I will have to be sure to step out to night and watch it.  Or at least look out the east facing window, as I usually have a good view of the moon rising through that window.  

New Traditions

Some friends of mine are in transition and decided to start a new tradition for Christmas Eve.  Their grown children may or may not be around; the extended family they usually spend Christmas Eve with have changed.  They had a small party for friends and neighbors, and I was invited.  In years past, I might have declined. I do not do well in social situations.  My house is not well kept these days, so I cannot reciprocate.  But I went anyway.  I had planned to stay an hour. I stayed 3. The hosts are people I enjoy.  There were people I knew, and people I had met before.  It was a nice outing.

Thank you for this blessing.

Things on My Facebook I Want to Share in My Blog

 

Just lightly browsing in Facebook, and came across some things to share:  The USAF Band of the West is performing tonight and Monday night in San Antonio, Texas http://www.bandofthewest.af.mil/index.asp.  There was a video clip on Facebook about this band, but I cannot get the link to copy, just the picture.

 

 I also want to share something from my niece, which is very sad and very telling: 





Her comment is regarding making this her crèche this year.  Another Facebook friend has added it as her updated photo.  I am not sure how I feel about this. 

And now for cute  http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-reindeer-cookies.html 
Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies!  Wow!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas! For my non-Christian friends and acquaintances, Happy Holidays! Remember whatever your faith, there is a Reason for the Season.

 

 

 

 



 



 

Ooooh, It's Cold

It snowed overnight Christmas Eve.  I had not been paying close attention to the weather, but a newspaper story confirmed the thought that I had that the weather predictions were for the snow to stay further north.  But, a white Christmas was nice.

But with the snow came freezing temperatures. Actually, on Christmas day, the temperatures were above freezing, and we had some melting of the snow.

The morning of December 26th was again below freezing, and cold. Again, it was suppose to be above freezing during the day. I know it was: the snow melted, and when I got home about 5:55 PM, it was 35°.  But it felt COLD.

When I got home, the girls were not happy.  Of course not.  I was late.  I set about feeding and taking care of chores.  While I was doing that, Sake decided she wanted to go out into the garage. She stepped into the garage, and stopped. As if to say "Oh, it's cold!" But she went into the garage anyway.  Less than 5 minutes later, I checked on her. She was at the door, ready to go back into the house.

It was cold. But, Sake could not be deterred, if only briefly.  She is a stubborn little cuss.

Mariachi Christmas

One of my coworkers, a correctional officer, is in a mariachi band: Mariaichi Mi Tierra.  This is evidently a popular title for mariachi bands, because if you google it, you will find several.  This one is based in Lubbock, Texas.

I made a point to go to listen to them play at a local Mexican food restaurant, once.  I would have gone back more often, but they stopped playing there after a while. (That is a lot to do regularly after you finish your day job.  And mariachi music requires LOTS of energy.)

A few weeks ago, the coworker told me he wanted to give me a CD of their Christmas music.  Working in a prison, it is difficult to bring things into the prison, sometimes.  Depending upon who is guarding the gate, a CD might be allowed in, might not.  So the coworker said he would get the CD to me, someday.

Today was our unit wide Christmas party. I went for dinner and stayed a while, visiting and listening to the karaoke.  One of our coworkers sang with the polish of someone who has performed on stage before.  The kids did great with Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer.  As I was leaving, a coworker called my name. It was mariachi band member.  He had a CD in his truck for me.

That was perfect. I had been listening to Christmas music, specificially James Taylor, a CD of Christmas music from my best friend, before I went to the party.  I had started on writing out Christmas cards, and my plan was to finish tonight.

So, I listened to Mariachi Me Tierra and loved it.  The strident brass of a mariachi band is a perfect fit for Christmas songs.  In fact, Christmas songs are often played with a lot of brass.

What a thoughtful gift. 

Merry Mariachi Christmas!

Nativities in Lubbock

The Temple of the Latter Day Saints in Lubbock hosted a Nativity Scenes http://lubbocknativity.com/ display.  It was really very beautiful and artistically set display of multiple nativity scenes.  There were very few duplicates. There were stories about the displays.  There were scenes from around the world and other cultures. 

They had ongoing music, and while I was there,  men's chorus was singing.

The hosts and hostesses were graciousnes themselves. 

This was a wonderful gift to the community.  I did not promote it as I had no idea what I was going to, but I was invited back for next year.  I will certainly promote it.

Christmas Decorations

I would love to have indoor Christmas decorations, but I am not sure I want to risk it this year: when I got out the lights to string outside, they became instant playthings for my cats, especially the baby, who was bent on chewing on cords and light bulbs. So much so, that as I had a string ready to bring outside, and left the others inside on the living room floor, I put Taki in the computer room, so she could not chew on light strings.

I am not yet brave enough to risk other l potentially dangerous decorations. Thanks to a sister, I have lots of Christmas towels and pot holders, and a brother sent a floor mat. I can set those things out. 

Maybe, next year.