Ice event

The day began with rain that was sticking to everything but the streets. Icicles adorned the woods and made it look like a winter wonderland.

I am glad I fed the birds yesterday so I did not have to venture out in the rain. This tufted titmouse was glad also.

The rain stopped and we wandered out into the yard. The pines are gracefully reaching for the ground but should be fine when they thaw!

The ground is slick. Now where is the snow. It was supposed to follow the rain. I don't get that feeling of excitement that I used to get when a day like this meant I did not have to go to school.

Surprisingly, all schools are closed today as well as the city offices. There is very little traffic and yet the roads are fine.
It is amazing what a forecast can do to a town. But who can complain about a three day weekend?  Oh yes, the parents.

Leon points out that it is only 1684 miles to Bakersfield, California and maybe this would be a good time to be there!

The week that was

This has been a pleasant week as the temperatures soared to 70 one day. I have been busy out geocaching and have even set a few out. It is as much fun as finding them. I get an email each time someone finds one and can read what they posted to the website. Most of them have been placed along the Hot Springs Creek Greenway that begins in town and parallels Hot Springs Creek. When finished it will extend 4.2 miles to Lake Hamilton but it will probably be after my time. So we have gotten in a little exercise to boot.
Leon has spent much of the week getting ready for his motorcycle class in Texas. They somehow messed up when writing the law and he can't get a motorcycle license without the class. Of course he did this 40 years ago but has admitted the refresher has been good. So he is in Texarkana, Texas riding a motorcycle in the rain. But that's the way it is when you choose to be a Texan!

For Mary

I did not have an address as you are traveling. Now isn't that a switch! So where to send your card? Well I know eventually you will check here.

A Happy Belated Birthday to you!!

Caching at Cedar Glades Park

December has been the coldest one we have had in decades. After days of lows in the single digits and highs in the twenties we had a 57 degree day! What a fine time to go for a hike at Cedar Glades Park and pick up some geocaches along the way!
 I suggested that Leon get this one since his arms are longer than mine!

Ok, so it took more than long arms, but his torso is longer than mine!

"Is this what you are looking for?" he asks. "Why yes, it is!" I reply.

We went along our merry way picking up several more caches. He even learned what a Sycamore tree looks like. And I realized that I can walk on water! It was a very refreshing afternoon!

Let it Snow!

Leon was quite happy to see a snowfall, even if it was only a dusting! By noon it had stopped and shortly thereafter the road was clear.

It wasn't long before Jeff came down the hill looking for some air for his tire.

It's mine, no it's mine!! Just joking. Off Jeff and Melville went down to the lake. Leon returned to the warmth of the house.

Sunrise

As I sit in my "office" each morning I catch some nice winter sunrises out of the corner of my eye.

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.