December 6, 2015

Carols of Joy

December 6, 2015

Today was the day for our church Christmas musical.  It was many of the old familiar carols and seemed to be very well received.  I loved it.  In the bulletin, there was a printed list of various carols and the congregations could select from that list.  The choir was prepared to do any of the songs, but did not know which ones would be used until the congregation selected them.  Some had skits to go along with them, or narrations about the origin of the songs.  Some were just the choir and many included congregational singing.

The fist one chosen was O Holy Night and it was a violin solo by one of the young women in the church, Renata.  She did a wonderful job and it was lovely. 

Following the service, we had our class Sunday School party and it is a time of filling bags with goodies for about 300 children who have very little in Mexico.  All year long our class collects money for this project as well as several others projects.

Many hands make light work.  That is so true.  It only took about 45 minutes to fill the 300 bags with assorted toys, crayons, candy and apples.

There is a lady in our class who along with her husband spent many years working in Mexico on various mission projects.  He passed away a couple of years ago and she continues to work in the city just across the border from our town, going into some of the poorest neighborhoods to share the gospel and encourage believers, helping with their basic needs.

 We all always enjoy working together on this project. 

Ron and I came home and after a light lunch we both slept away the afternoon.  My evening was spent doing laundry, loading the dishwasher, reading, and catching up on writing blogs. 

December 5, 2015

The McAllen Christmas/Holiday

 Parade With the Grandchildren

December 5, 2015

This giant Santa balloon led off the McAllen Holiday Parade

Our daughter-in-law in McAllen visited her father lives in Kansas this weekend.  He has had some health problems during the last few years, so she and her sister try to visit him several times a year.  Her sister has a little boy and decided to take him, so our daughter-in-law took one of her little boys along.  Normally when she goes, our son takes care of the children, but this weekend was the big McAllen Christmas Parade and that was going to keep him very busy on Saturday.

Granddaughter working on a nine patch quilt square

Ron and I got up early on Saturday morning and went to McAllen so our son could spend the day helping in a variety of ways with the parade.  He is an Assistant City Manager in McAllen and this is a really big event for the city.  The oldest of the boys was taking his SAT test Saturday and when he finished just after noon, he picked up his next youngest brother and they headed to Camp Perry for the day for Boy Scout activities.  That left us with 4 children for most of the day instead of the 7 children in the family.

Completed nine patch square hand pieced

 

We did a variety of activities during the morning.  The youngest of the boys has been asking me to let him do some hand sewing and I have not had time, so I took supplies to let him sew a Christmas ornament.  The middle one of the girls got out her sewing kit and a set of small squares of Christmas fabrics that I had given her recently, and she worked on hand piecing a nine patch quilt square while my grandson and I worked on his Christmas ornament.  He got bored before long, but stuck with it long enough to make the basic piece and I finished it for him.  

Grandson's Christmas ornament that he sewed

 

About the time we put up the sewing things Ron returned from getting gas in our son's van and brought Kentucky Fried Chicken for our lunch.  I had warmed vegetables and had frozen some pears for dessert.  We had a delicious meal and fun conversations around the table.  

Backyard activities

 

We had just put the two youngest down for naps when our son called and said we should come to the parade area soon because crowds were starting to gather (this was about 2:45).  We gathered a variety of things we might need: snacks, books, jackets, cameras, etc.  We were VERY blessed to have VIP parking and excellent seats for the parade.  

The carnival next to the stadium with a beautiful sunset in the background

 

When we followed our son's instructions, we were able to easily access the close-in parking and had some things to occupy the children in the van for a while before going into the stadium.  Last year the parade ended in the stadium, but this year it started there.  That was much better for us.  

Enrique Iglesias in the baseball cap, during his concert

 

Preceding the parade was a concert by Enrique Iglesias, an internationally known singer.  He has won many awards and has over 70 singles #1 hit songs.  He was well received by the audience.  I have to explain a few things about the concert.  It was not our kind of music.  It was just prior to the parade, so we were there.  He is a good singer and his showmanship is outstanding.  He really interacted well with the crowd and I can see why he is so loved around the world.

One of our granddaughters trying 

to keep some of the sound out.

Just past her in the red sweater is her 

other grandmother who enjoyed the concert 

To those of us who do not attend LOUD concerts, this was a first.  The children quickly covered their ears from the blasting sounds.  I teased them that I could just remove my Cochlear sound processor and all was quiet.  They said that was not fair.  Seriously, the sound level really bothered them and they wrapped knitted scarves around their ears, pulled up the hoods on their hoodies, and covered their ears.  Later I told Ron that it was loud, but didn't bother me as much as it did the kids.  He reminded me that my sound processor brings down the sound when it is too loud so that my ears won't be damaged.  That is what had happened.  The sounds to me were loud, but not uncomfortable.  They were uncomfortable to the children and Ron.  

Special effects during concert

 

The concert was an experience.  The star was impressive.  He really knew how to work his audience and they loved every minute of the event.  There were lots of special effects and they were interesting.  The security for this international star was impressive and you could see the police were on high alert.  Iglesias is the all time best selling Spanish recording artist.  One of his songs has had over 1 billion hits on YouTube.  

 Special effects during the concert

The crowds were respectful of the security and all went well.  In the sky, there was a helicopter and a fixed wing plane doing patrols as well as drones watching all activities around the star and around the parade in general.

 Confetti falling on the concert crowd

 

Following the concert, the parade started.  Last year was a first for McAllen as they sought to make their Christmas parade the best in the valley.  They brought in several balloons from the Macy's Christmas parade.  This year the parade had more balloons (about 50) and a new name - McAllen Holiday Parade.  The balloons were a great draw for those of us who will never get to New York City for the Macy's Christmas Parade.

 The parade theme was Hollywood Movies

This was a BIG balloon!

 

Our son loves working these events and spent time meeting and talking to the lady in charge of the Macy's Christmas Parade.  He gets to meet a lot of interesting people in his job.  This lady who is in charge of the parade in New York City has been doing it for 23 years and came to supervise the balloons and see how they were received in McAllen.  Most our son's day was obviously outside because when he got home late that night he was sporting a new sunburn.

 Our son at home following the parade

 

The parade was a hit with the children and the weather could not have been better.  It was cool with only a light breeze which is good for the balloons.  The previous year a cold front blew in during the parade was was a challenge for the handlers and was a misty mess for all watching. 

 Balloons came in all sizes and all were great

 

When things were over, we loaded up our precious cargo of grandchildren and headed back to their home.  Their dad arrived about an hour later after a couple of them had taken baths and were ready for bed.  We visited with our son for a while before coming home to our home, arriving a little after midnight, tired but happy.

I will continue to share parade photos some this coming week.  There was so much to see.  It was an outstanding parade. 

H.E.B. grocery stores was a huge sponsor of the

 events and had their own H.E.Buddy balloon

December 4, 2015

Another Afternoon in the Dental Chair

December 4, 2015

Here I am running behind again.  I have continued to have days overstuffed with activities.  Friday I got to the office mid-morning and did assorted paper work until time to go to the dentist to try again on the new crowns.  It took about an hour and two of the three are fine, but one has me very displeased.  So I will need to go back this week and see what can be done - if anything. 

Back at the office, I prepared a bank deposit and went to the bank.  The rest of the afternoon was filled with things like cleaning off my desk.  I know that sounds boring, but sometimes that is the way my day is.

A friend stopped by and visited for a while and it is always good to see a friend during my day at the office.  We had a good visit and it brightened my day.


We went to supper with my mom and brother-in-law.  We ate at Jason's Deli and had a good meal.  When Ron and I arrived it was crowded and noisy.  It was about 15 minutes before Mom and Jim arrived and once they came the crowd had thinned out and the noise level had decreased.  In fact, I think the three of them asked for things to be repeated as often as I did.  It was a good time together. 

From there I went to Michael's to shop for a bit.  There were several items I picked up and it was nice just to get out and wander around in a store.  I am far behind on my Christmas shopping.  I need to get going on it.

December 3, 2015

Magnificently Beautiful Day

December 3, 2015

Miniature rose bud

 

What an amazing day!  God outdid Himself!  Ron let me sleep late and I am almost sorry because it caused me to miss a couple of hours of a gorgeous Fall day.  The sky was a vivid blue, the breeze was crisp and the humidity was 65% instead of the usual 95%.  I rolled the window in the car down to enjoy the day before I went into my windowless office at the shop.

A flock of the Green Parakeets were flying over as I drove to work, chattering away.  They are noisy birds.  Later in the day I spotted two flocks of the Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks and they were making their loud noises.  It was good to be able to hear them and enjoy their beauty.

At the office, I worked on balancing my personal checkbook and paying a couple of shop bills.  Then I went to Sears to pay the Discover bill.  While there I picked up a couple of items and waited way too long in a short line to be helped.  On the way back to the office, I picked up lunch for Ron and me.  I had a funny conversation with the manager at Burger King, where I had stopped to pick up our lunch, when he asked if I was a school teacher. 

Butterfly see pods on the Butterfly vine

 

Back at the office, Ron and I had our lunch and chatted.  He ran some errands and I had several customers while he was gone.  I worked up a bank deposit and when he returned, I took it to the bank. 

About 4:30 I headed home and spent about 30 minutes working in the backyard, trimming some shrubs and a palm tree.  They were blocking my views.  My flower bed with the rose bushes is doing well and so is the one with the ferns.  I wished I had been able to spend the entire day working in the yard - the weather was perfect for that.

When Ron got to the house, we went to meet our friends for supper.  We went the Mexican food place we have been going to lately.  The food was pretty good - a little spicier than I like, but after I ate half of mine, Ron finished it for me.  It was just right for him.  They were working on a portion of the floor while we were there and it was very noisy.  The noise was loud enough that my Cochlear sound processor would take the sound way down, keeping the loud noise from damaging my hearing, but also cutting down the conversation sounds.  They finally finished and it got better.

Pink miniature rose bud. 

 

This afternoon I did find out why the machine noises have been so loud lately with my Cochlear Implant. The audiologist had left it on a different setting than I normally use.  I switched the setting but can't find one of the control features that has always been there.  I will send the audiologist an email and ask her about it.  She had updated the programs but the missing one is one I use a lot and would miss if they have removed it. 

After supper, I came home and spent a little time trying to put away some of the storage boxes that had the Christmas things in them.  I still have work to do on that but have been making progress.  At supper my friend reminded me that she wanted to borrow a couple of patterns I have for doll clothes.  I looked for a long time before I found them, but in the meantime I found a couple of other things I needed to locate and cleaned out the sewing room cabinets.  They are a little better organized at this time!

As I have mentioned, I love the Christmas movies, but I also love some books I have recently downloaded and it is always a toss up which I will do: read a book or watch a movie.  The reading usually wins out. 

Flower bed with newly planted fern.  It is doing well.

December 2, 2015

An Excellent Decorating Crew

December 2, 2015

The completed tree

This morning I was up early to get ready for the grandchildren to arrive at 8:30.  I had my breakfast, baked cupcakes, started "fluffing" out the bows I use on the Christmas tree.  They arrived on time, a little sleepy from getting up so early.

Just getting started

The two oldest children did not come, but the five little ones did and they were eager to get started on the tree decorating.  They got to work right away, going layer by layer through the boxes and doing an amazing job.

A perfectionist at work

In about 1 1/2 hours, they had the majority of the work on the tree done, so we adjourned to the kitchen where I frosted the cupcakes and one by one, they decorated theirs and went to the table which had been set by the two oldest girls.  We all enjoyed our cupcakes and eventually returned to the tree to do a few more ornaments.  I still have lots of ornaments but the tree is past loaded, so they stopped.

The youngest of the group seems to have candy cane antlers

The older of the two little boys wanted me to get out the village and so I finally got it out and he and the two older girls set it up.  I still need to work out the lighting, but they again did a great job.

The Christmas Village

While they were working on the village, their mom arrived and she stayed and visited while they continued working.  Especially the younger children wanted not only for their mom to see the tree but to see which decorations they had added.

The middle child with candy cane earrings

Once they left, I gathered my lunch and went to the office where it was a quiet day.  Ron had some good sales before I arrived, but the afternoon was quiet.  I ended up with my head on my desk and an hour of napping.  I was tired.

My decorating crew

It was a very good, productive day.  Once I got to the house, after a stop for milk, I worked on the tree a while looking to see that breakable ornaments were securely hung.  Ron had gone on a job before coming home.  He needed to help secure a place after they had a break-in.  We ate leftovers for supper and he spent the rest of the evening reading.

Yummy cupcake

December 1, 2015

Early Day at the Office

December 1, 2015

Monday and Tuesday were gray drippy, drizzly days.  That is not what had been predicted.  It was chilly and the drizzle was so light that it did not show up on weather radar photos that I saw.  Ron had an early morning doctor's appointment, so I had to open the office.  I got a lot done early in the office, since it was mostly quiet.  Being the first of the month, I had plenty to do.

I worked on the invoices and receipts from the month, finishing my posting and balancing the books.  Things went quickly and I got it all done before Ron got to the office and I think I had the statements for our customers printed by noon.  Ron checked them and I had them ready for the mailman.

During the afternoon I worked on our Christmas letter.  I now have the letter written and just need to design the arrangement of photos for the front.  We have had such an amazing year that I am just overflowing with joy and thankfulness for all of God's blessings.

Ron had some errands to run in the afternoon and I prepared a bank deposit which I took when I left the office.  I also stopped to pay a couple of utility bills and got home about 4:45 to get ready for quilting group. 

Three ladies joined me to spend a couple of hours working on our quilt projects.  We each have a lot going on in our lives right now and it was good to get to relax with these friends.  We honored one of the group for her birthday later this month. 

After the group left, Ron and I got all the Christmas decorations down from the shelves to have them ready for the grandchildren the following morning.  He had me take photos of how they were on the shelves so he cold put them back in the same place when the Christmas season is over.

Late in the evening, I talked to our son and daughter-in-law in Albuquerque.  Our son is fighting this terrible cold that is going around this season. 

November 30, 2015

The End of November -

Where Did it Go?

November 30, 2015

My turkey pot pie

 

Sometimes I feel like a broken record that skips and plays the same line over and over.  The current oft repeated line is basically any of a number of versions of "Time sure is flying."  Or in this case, "How can November already be gone?"   From our trip to Albuquerque the end of September through the end of November, Ron and I have been on the go a lot. 

My day at the office was spent helping customers, working on paying some bills, and doing an assortment of jobs to restock some merchandise.  Recently I have been repeating almost everything I say to my husband.  He doesn't hear me.  I feel as though I am yelling when I get to a volume where he can hear me.  When we went to Houston a couple of weeks ago, the audiologist increased the volume that I hear from my sound processor, so I thought maybe that was making me speak more softly and that was the reason he could not hear me.  He finally said no, his hearing has decreased.  That is a shame.  I hope he won't wait long to get it checked.  At this point, I often think I hear better then he does.

Another adjustment made on the trip to Houston has to do with the pitch.  I think the lower tones must have been increased in the adjustment because I am picking up a lot of machine noises, such as the air-conditioner, etc.  I continue adjusting to the changes.  In general they are good, because I hear more, but the machine noises are annoying.

I left the office a little early and came home to fix supper.  I do not experiment in cooking.  I stick to a recipe most of the time with only minor changes in seasonings or amounts of one or more ingredients.  I had heard someone mention making turkey pot pie with the leftovers from their turkey and decided that sounded like a good idea.  At home I checked my cookbooks, but none of the recipes I found were appealing to me and many called for things I did not have on hand. 

The only solution to the supper turkey pot pie was to make up my own recipe.  I kept in mind some things I had read in the cookbooks and just started cooking.  The pot pie turned out to be GREAT!  It was a hit with both of us.  I must get it written down before I forget what I did.

Sunday night I had talked to Ron about things I needed to get done and the limited time I have to do them.  I told him I wished the grandchildren were in town so that they could decorate our large Christmas tree.  That evening I prayed that God would show me how to get the job done and if there was anyway possible, that I could arrange for Jeff's children to come help.

Monday around noon, I had a text from our daughter-in-law asking if I could keep the five youngest of the children at our house Wednesday while she went somewhere with her mom.  An answered prayer and a fun day in store.

During the evening I spent some time cleaning house and trying to bring some order to my sewing room after the weekend with the girls making Christmas ornaments.  Ron brought the Christmas tree platform and the tree home from the storage at the office so that we would be ready for our work crew.  I needed to recover the base platform for the tree and Ron helped me do that - I was very pleased with the results.  I put away the boxes from the ornaments for the sewing room tree.