Merry Christmas

If I keep posting pictures of my Charlie Brown Christmas tree I am liable to get a new tree as a present, but I like it just fine. The stockings were hung in time for our usual Christmas day brunch.

Kay came feeling a little puny and took to the sofa to wait for the others.

Mary was prepared as she would soon be hopping a plane to Wisconsin and did not want to catch a germ. Or was it because she had recently had a cold and did not want to share a germ. She even got Jeff a little worried. Have we become paranoid or what?

I was glad I felt great. I cooked ham, peppered bacon, cheese grits, fried potatoes, egg souffle, scrambled eggs, sausage gravy, vegan gravy, biscuits, apple butter, and sugared cranberries. All that was missing were a few cousins.

Kay, Jeff, and Will opening gifts. Yes, Will got some also before he headed back to Fayetteville to beat the snow and freezing temperatures. He did hit some icy spots but made it fine. Mary took off to Wisconsin to finish her Christmas visit with her daughter Kelly, son-in-law Sean and Sean's family.

And Leon scurried to the kitchen for his favorite job - pots 'n pans.

We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas also. It is so nice to visit family and friends and a big meal doesn't hurt a thing until you step on the scale again!

Christmas downtown

A cold clear winter's night was a good time to visit downtown with my daughter. The Christmas trees in Arlington Park sparkled and twinkled as their lights flashed for all to see.  We parked beside them and ventured into the Arlington for Deleen Davidson's Christmas program.

The lobby of the Arlington Hotel was filled with people enjoying the holidays and dancing to the band. The gingerbread house was in its usual place in the lobby. It always reminds me of the wonderment I would have had seeing such as a small child.

We met my sister and her friends and enjoyed an evening of exquisite music and delicious food. I arrived home just in time to watch the end of the New Orleans/Dallas game with Leon. It was his choice for the evening and indeed a great game.

BEWARE!

This is the screen that popped up on my Macintosh last night. Another small window opened that tried to get me to run an executable file to get rid of my viruses. Panic! What to do? Nothing!!! I couldn't get it to cancel but eventually could close the window and all was gone away. Who knows what would have happened had I run that file?!
Leon got a similar window one day and wound up with a virus. Beware.

Mystery solved

I am so impressed with Splosion Man, the zany character on the XBox 360 game by the same name. Could he really be someone I might meet on the street? He was in the running for the best independent game sponsored by Spike but was beat out by a flower! Still for his creators to be called Game Gods is amazing.

Oh no! It is my nephew, Sean. I am not sure my niece needs to live with a Game God. He is just nice enough in his own right. Play on, fellow gamers.

And now I learn that Twisted Pixel and Splosion Man did win the IGN award for the best platform game! Sweet!

Holiday brunch

Cissy tried the mimosas while Chris served some bloody Marys. We enjoy going to Chris' for Christmas gatherings as nobody does it better!

What a brunch Chris did fix. She could have fed an army but I think we ate like one!

Mel, Darla, Chris, Kay and I sat at one table. That pile of food on a plate is mine!

Patty, Cissy, Mary and Joy visited at another table.

Kay and Joy chatted with Henry who got to come inside after we ate.

Chris' new remodel is delightful and we enjoyed the warmth of the morning sun while relaxing and visiting.

Hey, Hey, the gangs all here. For 18 years we have gathered to spread good cheer.

Whatever Lola wants...

Meet our new granddog, Lola! She is a corgi that Kay adopted from a shelter. We can't imagine why she was in the shelter although she has a couple of medical problems, but they can be fixed. She is a sweet, well-behaved dog as long as there is no competition when it comes to food. She is a bossy little thing and took over on day one. Whatever Lola wants, Lola thinks she is going to get but she is learning. She is a welcome addition.

Over the river and thru the woods

Kelly drove up from Austin while her brother Will drove down from Fayetteville.  They wasted no time skyping with their brother Brian to sing "Happy Birthday" to their nephew Hayden.

Sean enjoyed checking out the contents of the wedding present Kay brought for him and Kelly.

Soon Jeff came over the river and through the woods, bringing the turkey with him. He and Melville were met by Lola and Kay.

Melville got to meet her new cousin Lola for the first time!

Leon enjoyed carving the turkey but that was as close as he got! He had tofurkey for himself and our visiting vegetarians!

Again we gathered around the table and all ate too much. This was the first stop of a progressive buffet for Sean, Kelly, and Will as they went on to their dad's for another meal.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. May you be surrounded by friends and family and a bountiful harvest!

Playing tourist

The fall weather enticed us to town one day recently where we walked thru the towntown section, had lunch at the Cheese Cellar, and walked back to the Majestic Hotel parking lot. We were actually doing several geocaches. We stopped in the Arlington Hotel along the way. Leon observed Al Capone's car that is on display in the lobby.

Splosion Man

My nephew was part of the design team at Twisted Pixel Games for the game Splosion Man. Please take a minute to go vote for Splosion Man for the best of the year in the independent category.

BRRRRRR

I think it is fast approaching winter but the past week or so has been fantastic weatherwise and otherwise. We have been working on the slum in the city aka the rent house on Woodlawn. I have been learning by experience to reglaze the old wooden windows while Leon has been cutting down and up some shrubs and trees. The colder weather that blew into town yesterday put a stop to all of that. I think I should perhaps check on buying new insulated windows!

Yesterday was delightful as we visited with my cousin Andrew from Dallas.  Here he and Mary are visiting on Circle Drive where his grandparents lived before he was born. He was so pleased that I placed his sister's ashes on the property not so long ago. It is a beautiful location atop a hill that has had been bought by the national park service (shhhh) in order to protect more of the source  (they think) where the hot water originates deep underground. There is nothing left of the old homeplace other than the rock wall and a couple of huge oak trees.

Today our fireplace is aglow, there is a big pot of lima bean soup on the stove, and the Razorback bb game is on tv tonight. What more could one want out of a Tuesday?!

Boys and their toys

At our campout in April a couple of the guys (younger guys)  had motorcycles on the backs of their RV's. Leon could not go ride with them and the wheels started to turn. Yesterday he found what he was looking for online and today we drove 90 miles to get it!

Fall beauty

The plan was to just pick up a few geocaches on a beautiful 70 degree day and walk around Whittington Park. When we picked up the first of a multi part cache we decided to walk from the Majestic Hotel to the next cache. That took us to lunch at the Cheese Cellar before we traveled back through town to complete our two mile walk.

These Maples stopped us in our tracks as we drove down Whittington Avenue before going over the mountain and home. If only fall would last much longer!

Meet Patrick

Patrick Burbank Little, my great nephew,  was born at 9:52 this morning. Patrick weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and he and mom are doing fine.

Mary, his grandmother,  stopped by to skype with her new grandson. He was more interested in his thumb.

Fun day Sunday

Sunday was a lovely fall day and I took advantage. I began with a visit to the documentary film festival parking lot to check on the car decorated yesterday to coincide with a documentary about decorated cars that was showing.

Now this is some hood ornament!! The car will be auctioned but I think I will probably pass on that.

I strolled the busy streets among the visitors picking up a couple of caches along the way. It is always a fun place to people watch. I wore my crazy Cape Cod T shirt so I might have been the one being watched?!

A drive out to Crystal Springs was rewarding as I had a cup of tea and a nice visit with Chris while I admired her decorating/remodeling projects. Her house belongs in decorator's magazine. It is magnificent.  We went down to daughter Joy's house and had a pleasant visit with her. She has also been in remodel mode and has really made some great changes to the century old house. I offered a claw-foot tub for her guest bath!

Back in town I stopped by Kay's. She was busy preparing for another week of teaching but her painted black back door looked fine!

Leon enjoyed an afternoon of football and rest! He is starting to feel much better after his bout with shingles! Now we can focus on flu shots.We will go to a drive by tomorrow and get a shot at the mall. Don't even have to get out of the car!

Rubik's Cube Car

Thursday was a chilly day with a brisk breeze but no rain. What better to do than pick up a few geocaches around town. I found nine but there were plenty that I did not find. I did find a strange car in front of the documentary film festival. It must tie in with a movie they are showing.

Fall happenings

The weather has been on the cool side and the leaves are starting to have some color, but very little compared to what we saw on the New England Whirlwind Tour! I have spent way too much time walking in the leaves catching up on some geocaches around town. But being retired, I don't know what else I should be doing. One cache led me on a walk at the Entergy Park on Lake Hamilton. After the next cache I took advantage of my membership and walked through a portion of Garvan Gardens.

Yesterday was rainy and the perfect day to go to the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, where I met Chris, Mel, Darla and her sisters.  The Legend of Pancho Barnes was an excellent choice and most entertaining.

Looking forward to the Razorback game on Saturday. Yes, the SEC officiating team from last week's Florida/Arkansas game have been suspended temporarily! If only the players could have determined the outcome of that game! Go HOGS!

Jiggety Jog

It is nice to be home again. Leon's shingles seem to be improving. And we get to watch the Razorback's play football this afternoon ... but Florida, the number one team!? At least we won't have to go to a sports bar!

Sing, Willy, Sing

A call from my friend Kay had us out geocaching at 7 am. Someone had posted a new cache last night and she did not find it in the dark this morning or last night. Explaining to the policeman what she was doing last night makes for a funny story. When we got there the sun was up and after a few minutes of looking I found it and got to log a FTF (First to Find). Another cacher showed up and started looking while we were there. Was nice to visit with her but I'm glad I found it first. Gingerose has hidden many caches around town.

Then we went to Little Rock to pick up Hernando. His generator is purring like a kitten again! My punishment for not running it more often was a hefty bill. Now I can hear Willy singing. Thursday we will hit the dusty trail and you will find us wandering along in the right lane..the slow lane. We had planned to leave last week, but not with a malfunctioning generator! How would I dry my hair when camping in the Walmart parking lot!!! Kentucky, here we come!

I picked up a couple of geocaches on their second try this afternoon on the way home while Leon checked out the casino at Oaklawn Park. He was impressed but did not spend any money. We had a nice visit from David after we arrived back at the dead end. Then after dinner we drove out to Crystal Springs to Lewis Liquor so I could return Chris' magazine. Joy was there..perched in her pretend office on a stack of Busch beer cartons. A friend from Little Rock had been up earlier. Her office was on the boxes of Kahlua. It just isn't every local liquor store that offers wifi! But this isn't just any liquor store either!

Geocaching treasure

Geocaching can lead you to neat places which has become less and less the case as folks are just putting them anywhere and everywhere. But recently we discovered this small fantasyland of metal sculptures less than two miles from home. The recently opened child advocacy center for abused children has created a small wonderland behind the building complete with plenty of water features. For some reason the fishing pond is empty but that did not stop the elephant from squirting water out of his trunk. Catherine Anthony was the benefactor for this center in honor of her mother, Mrs. Cooper, where I just happened to go to kindergarten in the mid 1940s! Many people my age have fond memories of her large house on Prospect. I can taste tomato juice and graham crackers as I type!

Labor Day weekend

We like to take a longer than usual walk on Sunday mornings. Not that we take that many walks! Yesterday we decided to use our season passes for a change and visit Garvan Woodland Gardens. They have a new area designed for children which includes waterfalls and caves constructed from large boulders and varying passageways. The bridge from dried twigs caught my attention! Leon and I were instantly young at heart and we enjoyed exploring the area. We then walked part of the nature trail, another new area to Leon.



My friend Becky, who has recently moved to Fayetteville from Kansas City, came to town yesterday with her daughter Paula. We spent the afternoon and evening getting caught up. We dropped in on Kay who was painting cabinets and she and Paula shared some laughs. We ended the day with a late dinner at Central Park Fusion.

We are patiently waiting to sing with Willy!! We hope to get on the road again next week. We waited too long to get the generator running and Hernando is now in Little Rock getting his carburetor cleaned. So we are almost a week behind schedule and we haven't left town yet!

Geocaching success

Saturday we enjoyed lunch at one of our favorite local spots on Lake Hamilton in order to look for the geocache hidden there. The gps went crazy and we had no luck as we did not want to overdo it with a restaurant full of muggles (people watching us).


Leon went to a Saturday matinee and I couldn't resist a return to look for the cache since the restaurant is closed in the afternoon. I don't understand why people choose such a spot with a hillside of rocks used for fill to hide a cache and the key is to look under the proper rock. But look I did and there it was just as the Belle that is housed there sailed off for the sunset cruise.

Walking again

It is hard to believe it has been a month since our last gallery walk. Kay and Darla joined us for a gallery stroll down Central Avenue while the Blues Festival was gearing up in Hill Wheatley Park across the street. I had a nice visit with a high school classmate. Kay Morgan has not changed that much and was displaying her water colors at the Blue Moon Gallery. Her focus was on life in the 50's in Hot Springs which coincides with our 50 year high school reunion next month! Yes, I am that old!!! She also had a nice depiction of Lance's, the little shop across from our high school where we all headed at lunchtime. Ah, the cream puffs.

The lady in the convertible is Betty Morgan, Kay's mother. I had not realized that Kay's grandfather was Spencer of Spencer's Corner, where he had a tobacco shop.


We had a delightful dinner in a new restaurant on Malvern Avenue. Via Roma has a great menu featuring Sicilian food. The atmosphere was most pleasant and the dining area was elegant with a homey feel to it. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. One of my former students has just opened the restaurant. When I taught him they had just recently arrived from Romania.

Busy day

I took my sister to the airport in Little Rock bright and early for her trip to North Carolina. Well, actually it was 8 am before we left. Her friend Ed caught a ride for his one hour later flight to Florida. Leon drove over earlier with the van and dropped it off at a generator fixit shop! We have delayed our trip in order to get the generator going. Why did we put it off to the last minute? It is just something that I do.
The day was delightful weatherwise so when we got home we went geocaching. Somehow that led us to the Chinese buffet and we then had to come home for naps. Later in the day we were geocaching again at Leon's request! We stopped by Kay's for a short visit. One of her lights had slipped down and Leon gratiously tightened the screw. She has the most awesome new rugs.

Boat float

Each day is just delightful as summer winds down. The temperatures are in the 80s and today Chris and I enjoyed a float with Kay on her boat. We rode down Lake Hamilton to an easy geocache on what they called Goose Island. However if you had no boat there would be nothing easy about it! Then as we meandered up the Mazarn we noticed a fellow trying to paddle his seadoo. We offered to tow him home and he was most grateful. He did not live that close! We also offered him some veggies and wine but he declined so we got even and declined the money he offered.

After a fine ride we went over to daughter Kay's house for a short visit. Then as I headed home I was diverted by the fact that there were nearby geocaches and what better time to go then on a peaceful Sunday evening. Had I known I was going friend Kay and I could have gone together. She was there shortly after I.

When I got home Leon had finished the clothes, put up the dishes, bought some groceries, and eaten supper. And to think he could have been on a boat ride. What a guy!

Moving day for Kay

The new dog in Kay's life is her housewarming gift from the girls' group, also known as the Maids.

I arrived at Kay's at 7:00 am and we filled the van one last time in an hour. The real movers then showed up while I went to the new house and unloaded. I was delighted when Darla came over to help. By 12:30 all of Kay's possessions were unloaded!

Leon went to Little Rock to a gun show. He later wondered why but lunch at Pei Wei made it all worthwhile. He came to Kay's when he got back and changed the connection on her dryer, hooked up the washer, and added a ground fault receptacle for the jacuzzi that never has been used. Kay was delighted.

Darla is the door knob whiz so she and I installed the new brushed aluminum door handles. I started with dummy knobs and worked my way up! Mel joined us and brought her new great cranberry salsa recipe and fritos! Mary stopped by at 4 and we stopped for a pizza party! It was a busy day but with friends pitching in it was also an enjoyable one!

Moving weekend

Friday evening was a busy time helping Kay move to her new home. Leon and Jeff took a heavy trailer load but lost the iron patio table at one point. A nice policeman pulled Leon over and let him know. By the time he got to the table two guys were loading it into their truck, but Leon was there in the nick of time.

Speaking of Nick, he was a little confused by all the moving and I am sure he wondered why he was sitting under the flowers but there wasn't much room left. Tomorrow the movers will get the big stuff and we will finish the day with pizza at the new place.

Mary brought her garden cart and was a big help also.

Fall flight

The hummingbirds are busy getting ready for their flight south. It seems all they need to do is eat a lot. We have been trying to get ready for a flight north to enjoy the fall foliage in New England. True, we eat plenty but we have also been working on Hernando to get him ready. Yes, we are going in the van; otherwise, I would need to sell it! He has had a bubble bath, now if only the generator would run and the hot water heater would light. So much for neglecting him for so long. But most importantly, the refrigerator is working!

No shiny brass

The better part of the weekend was spent helping Kay get her home ready for it's new resident. All outlet covers and vent covers are back in place, the towel racks are up, as are most of the light fixtures. Leon got the new ceiling fan hung yesterday while I worked through the list that included replacing the house numbers. No more shiny brass in that house! I haven't even worked my way up to shiny brass at my place. Today the flooring people will arrive. How exciting! There is such a chill in the morning air that we will wait a little while before going for a walk.

Just a Wednesday

Yesterday was a busy one for sure. We went to the ex father-in-law's funeral and it was nice to run into so many people that I have not seen in a long time. Leon has no idea who was who he met so many people.
Afterwards I stopped at Weldon's meat market for some beautiful bacon wrapped filets and got giant baking potatoes to save a trip to Walmart.
Then a visit with the hygienist took an hour before a trip to get my haircut. Funny how these roots aren't dark anymore! Not a good sign for me! No, I will not gracefully go gray.
Jeff, Kay, David, Mary, and Ed joined us for a cookout. Just as the steaks were ready we heard a loud clap of thunder as if it were a dinner bell, but we got only a few drops of rain. It was a most enjoyable visit. We should do it more often and would if it were cooler.
Today it is cloudy as if we might get some rain. Leon has gone to get new tires to replace his new tires! He bought some at Walmart two weeks ago only to find out that they are out of round. Walmart has offered to replace them but all that they have in stock are also bad. So he has decided to go to Sears and get a different brand. Beware of Uniroyal tires! The Walmart guys surely knew they were bad when they put them on, but it turned out to be a blessing. When he went to an automotive shop to have the alignment checked they found a loose tie rod.

Kay's daze

Saturday was designated a "work day" to help Kay get her house ready for the painters. We began by meeting at Burgers 'n More for nourishment and an opportunity to celebrate Darla's upcoming birthday. Then we descended upon Kay's new home where the for sale sign was falling out of the way.We waisted no time in getting to work. Darla, Chris and Kay began in the kitchen. It is nice to have someone who can stand upright on kitchen cabinets!

Cissy was caught taking some solid brass knobs off the bathroom cabinets! Kay is not a fan of shiny brass and has chosen some new knobs to replace them.

Mary was a whiz at patching nail holes. She also managed to maneuver the sheetrock nails out of the wall to be replaced and patched!

Darla's expertise in all things regarding paint is most appreciated. She took care of the blemishes on the kitchen cabinets.

This was only the beginning of many times that we will gather around the kitchen counter. And hopefully the toolboxes will be replaced with low fat snacks!

Now where is that Leon? Oh, he was outside putting up new light fixtures and missed the photo shoot.

On Sunday Kay removed the kitchen cabinets as she had located and ordered new hinges online! She was pleased to finally have everything ready for the painters and felt so blessed to have friends and family to help.