Christmas Day 2012

Merry 

Christmas 

everyone!

*****Today started out with hard, cold rain and then switched to ice and snow. The beauty of  Dallas winter precipitation is it disappears in about two days.
******In the meantime, I am headed under a quilt and the TV remote.  Positive a cat will join me. Just hope there is no fighting over which program to watch. :)
*******I pray everyone had beautiful, joyous Christmas Day. Always remember the reason for the season!
You are blessed. 

Tuesday Too Hot

Dallas' temperature was 104 degrees F
I think.
Once the mercury goes over 100 does it really matter?
Already endured a few triple digit days in a row-
However, the weather folks say we should not repeat 
70 (or was it 71?) 100 degree days this year like in 2011--
Yea, check me about mid October and we'll
Know for sure.  In the meantime, here's a backyard photo 
February 4, 2011.  We had the worst weather Dallas had
Seen in about  50 years and that was Super Bowl week 
Which was to be played here in Dallas, too.
Record snow fall. Record temps, record just about everything...
The beauty was the snow melted in just a matter of days-
Not so to say about the oven Dallas bakes in will get turned off
Any time soon. Where IS my iced coffee? 

Saturday Stuff

Feel good 'bout the postcards I sent out. They are arriving to their destinations, including England--at least one of them did. The comments have been positive. I like that a whole lot! Also plan to send postcards to friends across the country. Am I rid of all of them? Not quite--yet almost. I told you, I printed a ton of these suckers. :)

Met up with a chum today and chatted over coffee. I told of her my idea to make one cat sweatshirt/t-shirt well. Not a bunch just average. We brainstormed. Which proves once again I'm not as crafty as I think I am. The picture I see in my head changes about every minute. Sorta kinda know what I want to look like--not sure how I'll get it there. Pretty cool to think of it tho. Stay tuned.

Was a gorgeous day in Dallas. I even washed my car. What a difference a clean car makes...Rain was suppose to fall this afternoon. It didn't. After midnite now said. Perhaps some snow tomorrow in the afternoon. Uh-huh. That may mean none or a foot. Like this picture from February 2010:

..when we did get a foot of snow and the weather folks said we wouldn't....

Easy On

Dallas' record snow fall of 12.5 inches is all but melted. Birds are happy, since they have to hop around on the snow anymore to get to food--for now. See, the weather Folk say we might get a snow flurry or two tomorrow.

No matter. That's tomorrow.

On this day, spent a good chunk of it with a long time chum. Overdue us for a together, hence gobs to catch up on. Lotsa girl gab, coffee, laughs and homemade chocolate meringue pie. .YUM!

Good chums make it easy on to be a Good day.

Don't get any better than this.

Friday Snow Update

The official snow tally in the DFW area: 12.5 inches. Most snow EVER in the history of weather keeping...

And I have to go to work. Yep. The entire city, including my former company,is shut down, --my work is not. Even tho I play the IOWA card every chance I get when it comes to Wintry weather and just GO-I do draw the line at a foot of snow. Especially, when the city has never experienced such a sight--so I have no desire to be a warrior to rush to get to my desk.

Hence, I delayed myself, as I know alot of other folks did.

The snow is already beginning to melt. Yet, I gotta admit, the snow has been pretty. All in all, it should be gone by weekend's end---and my Blue Bell Ice Cream remains to ease the Winter Woes. :)

12.5 inches of SNOW.

What state do I live in?

Winter Wonderland

As I script this, 7.3 inches of SNOW has fallen in the DFW area. Yep. 7.3 inches and snow remains to FALL! Just a half inch away from the record which I think was in the 1970's--way before I moved here-because I don't even remember getting this MUCH snow in Dallas!

7.3 inch snowfall--that's IOWA talk. Didn't I move from there? As night falls, the list of schools to close or delay tomorrow is a mile long-at least.

My Midwest and Northeast chums laugh and say, 'Oh, I'll show you a list."

The pictures posted were snapped this morning before I headed to work. I'll take more in the morning--especially if my steps in the ankle high snow, from tonight, have been filled in.

Regardless, the snow is pretty. And prettier still since it'll be all gone by Saturday's end.

***UPDATE...Weather Guy says we now have 8.7 of snow, with 2-3 more HOURS to go. Plus this is the snowiest EVER. I need a spoonful of ice cream to ease these winter woes...****

Winter Still

Granted my Dallas weather has not been as harsh as for my Midwest and Northeastern chums, yet I'm ready for winter to exit, With the warm days, Dallas has had, parts of my lawn started to turn green. Hence, I caught myself checking at starts of blueberry and blackberry trees for my back yard, plus different bulbs withstand the Texas heat and the shade of my front yard--I shock my head to clear it and remembered it was still February. I realized I had a green thumb about 2000. Shocked even me I actually LIKED plants and the green thumb to boot. Chums who have known me awhile will say, "Hmm, I thought the only plant you ever liked was plastic." Times change.

OK, the weather folks say Ol Man Winter isn't thru with Dallas yet. We are to receive rain, sleet--and maybe some snow late tonight. However, it's suppose to do this ALL DAY tomorrow and rush hour is to be horrible. Sure, the temp will be a smidgen below freezing--but folks in Texas only know how to drive in wintry conditions when they ain't from round these parts---like me.

So in the meantime, as I wait to see what Mother Nature has in store--if she's ticked at Ol Man Winter enough, so he dumps his cold mess on Dallas, I gotta heat up pasta and get ready for the rest of Hollywood Week on American Idol.

Oh yes, I AM addicted to American Idol and I like Ellen, so far, as a judge.

Thank goodness Blue Bell Cookies n Cream Ice Cream will ease my wintertime woes...*

January 20, 1990 was Saturday

And I went to Dog Races on a chartered Greyhound (coincidence?) Bus. A bus I'd actually chartered for a friend of mine, TZ. At the time I was charter travel sales rep for Greyhound, where I reserved, mapped, booked and collected money. In fact, this was the job that brought me to Texas in the first place.

Anyway, this charter was in Iowa and I had no plans to be there. Yet, I'd returned for a family funeral, so TZ said I needed to come along, with the other 30 folks, since I actually set up the trip. Honestly, I was a bit antsy, it was January in Iowa afterall. Snow and ice had made themselves known on this day. No matter, TZ said, we were still going the approx 130 miles to the Dog Races.

As we waited for the folks to show at the meeting place, TZ and I made sandwiches, all while I cringed at the howl of the Winter wind.

No need to mind. We made it there and back in one piece. All the folks were happy, even tho TZ kept saying he wish he could do more the folks. On the drive back, TZ did stay up front with the bus driver to keep him company, while everyone, including myself, snoozed.

Twenty years ago today, that charter was. At the time we knew Teddy Kennedy would have his Massachusettes seat forever, while the 1st George Bush was in the White House, and now I lived in Dallas, while the tv show "Dallas" was still in its first run. Where did the time fly to? Twenty years.

It's bittersweet, because I can't even remember the last time I saw TZ. I heard he's well. The sweet part was when I was 12 I told Mom I thought TZ pretty cute. She just smiled. You see, TZ's family owned a little ice cream shop, and for me nobody made better vanilla or chocolate ice cream-however they ONLY made vanilla and chocolate ice cream!

As for the Dog Races of 1990, I won eight bucks.

Christmas Day Still

Made it church this morning. A bit late, due to the still slick spots on highways and byways of Dallas. Passed a ravine with 6 cars resting it, plus a wreck with 3 cars, not including the police car and an ambulance passed me. Oh, and there was the pick-up that got caught on my ice and tried to slide into my lane. Got back in control tho. All in all, Pastor Rickie Rush, of Inspiring Body of Christ Church, held the 10am service at 10:45, just to give folks more time to get there. My usual 20 minute or so drive, took me about 45, so I was grateful. Pastor Rush didn't keep us long because he said folks wanted to get on with their own celebrations. I can admire him for that.

Pastor Rush said there were people there, who needed explanation why their Christmases and other parts of life are what they are and not what they want (which is like me.). Pastor Rush used John 14:6. All things must go thru Jesus. And maybe where you're at now is where you need to be before you get to the place He has for you. He gave you a gift. And to learn how to use that gift for His Glory needs to some attention. Made me ponder.

I also followed my Christmas Tradition of going to a movie. This year: "It's Complicated" with Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Just have to love those three. What can Meryl NOT do? Can Alec be anymore smarmy, yet lovable? And Steve--just wanted to take him home for chocolate croissants. Sure, there were some parts made the movie longer than it shoulda been, although I still believe "It's Complicated" is in the "It's Marvelous" category! Loved to see a movie with my demographic in the lead and not so Lifetime Movie where somebody dies. I give it three and a half croissants, plus a cup of coffee.

I later sat on park bench swing, feed ducks--some greedy ones took the bread right from my hand, swung back and forth, and pondered a time of year, I still so good about--Even tho I wish some things were different. I remember all this is temporary and 2010 is 'round the corner. New adventures do await and that excites me! He's brought me so far, in situations I never thought I'd ever have listed on my life's resume and He has yet to leave me.

In the meantime, it is Christmas Day Still and more I need to enjoy.

Merry Christmas and You are blessed.

Christmas Eve 2009

And this picture is the view from my front door here in Dallas. Just like Iowa--almost. :)

On this day of all days, as I always do, I recall the spirit of Christmas Eve Past. Especially when I was a kid and didn't know my parents 'helped' Santa out during this night. Just could never get why they seemed to be so tired on Christmas Morn and why sometimes the milk I left out for Santa would smell like that funny stuff my dad drank: SCOTCH.

Or that first Christmas after my mom's death three months prior. It was iffy Dad and I would have any kind of celebration. Both weren't feeling it. Then I remember one day, Dad pulled the King Edward Cigar from his mouth and said, "Dammit, we're having Christmas." The next thing I knew, we had a tree and goodies under it. It wasn't the same, yet it was. The next Christmas Eve, I woke up to a beautiful piano in my house. Dad was shining it up. I hadn't heard anything, when it was delivered that morning. I still have it with me on this Eve.

Or the Christmas Eve, my boyfriend at the time--we'll call him Comic Book, due to his love for them, especially Superman, and Thor--and etc. Anyway, it was our first Christmas and we'd dated pretty much all year. Since his family, which we was not that close to, was in Louisiana, I invited him to my parents house. Our relationship was shakier than the Titanic when it met that iceberg, however on this night, Comic Book was a true little boy as he realized some of the presents under the tree--for HIM. He'd never really had such a thing. Considering my dad could NOT stand Comic Book, the gesture was grand.

Or the Christmas Eve I drove to Iowa from Dallas when I had sinus stuff, plus pain from my sciatic nerve. I'd already put off the trip a couple of days because I was miserable. Dad called me the night of Dec. 23, to check on me. I was stuffy and lie flat on my back to ease the sciatic nerve pain. Dad suggested--quite firmly-maybe I shouldn't come and plus the weather, blah, blah, blah. Of course, I blurted out, "It's Christmas!" Dad tried to sugar coat it how I could come back later in the year--when it was nicer. Then Dad, being the man he was said, "Well, you're gonna do whatever you want to do anyway." So on Christmas Eve morn, I didn't leave as early as I wanted to-still ached and sneezed. However I piled my stuff, desktop computer, two cats and me and up I-35 for a 750 mile trip, I went. Arrived around 9pm Christmas Eve night. Dad said I was his best Christmas present. And he mine. That was our last Christmas Eve together.

So on Christmas Eve 2009. I'm not back in Iowa, eventho friends opened their homes to me in Iowa and in Dallas. Earlier this morning, a chum was at the airport to fly to his parents' home. He'd text'd how there was a delay, so he sat. I called him at 7:15am and coughed and sneezed from sinus stuff and frog voice. We chatted until he got on the plane. Later he text'd his arrival was safe and sound.

Although both my parents are gone, I realize on Christmas Eve 2009. their spirits warm this house.

Some things aren't the same, yet they still are.

I am blessed.

Thursday Thought

A chum from Iowa sent me photos of her yard-well, really of all the snow they have. The windchill earlier there was 35 below zero. I just shook my head--and shivered. All are safe and warm.

And to think I use to live there. Born and raised. Been gone from the Midwest since 1988--when I moved to Dallas over the 4th of July holiday. My first intro to Dallas heat. I got use to it tho. Drink lots of water and wear light clothes.

Folk have asked me which I is better--the heat or the cold. Well, with the heat, you're not layered and covered head to to stay warm, like you need to be in the Midwest winter, because you ARE warm. Now, snow does need to happen for Christmas. That was the beauty when I journeyed back to the Midwest for the yuletide. It felt like Christmas.

Then the snow can melt and Spring can hurry up and get here. That's how I felt when I'd get back to Dallas, from the Midwest, and toss my winter coat aside. Not to see again, until the next winter journey to my home state.

So all in all, I'm glad everyone is safe and warm.

And I'm also glad because my cup o' hot chocolate renders of memories of how it was and now how it is...

Two Tuesday

Today is Donny Osmond's 51st birthday. And the picture here is me and Donny Osmond -again-around 2002 or so (wow--even I think I look different now!). Outside a local Dallas radio station Kiss-FM 106.1, while Donny waited for his driver to take him to the next radio station interview. It was also right before Donny asked me if I could TAKE him to that next radio station! His driver was late, which made Donny even later, and my car was parked just across the street. Panic flowed thru my veins. See, on the way to see Donny, I'd dropped a pretty much filled bag of Doritos chips in my car--and well, they were still there. Sure, Donny had five sons, but I really didn't think of that then! Within seconds, his driver showed up, passed up Donny (and his assistant or manager--a guy was with him)and did a U turn to come back for them. After that, I drove straight to the car wash and vacuumed out my car. I mean, you never know when Terrance Howard or Brad Pitt may need a ride.

Second. We may have a snow flurry or three tonight. The wind chill is 27 degrees with a north wind of about 30 mph. That wind zipped to the bone and reminded me of Iowa all right. Wasn't it just yesterday I had my window open as I typed on my PC? Yes...yes...it was.

Hmm. If Donny is 51 today, that means in 120 days, I'll be....uh...well. I won't worry about that now. I have a bowl of soup to get from my crock pot, a blanket to get under and a remote to use to FF thru the not so exciting parts of the Young and the Restless.