Christmas in Los Alamos

We braved the friendly skies and are in Los Alamos for the holidays. The snow started falling gently on Tuesday and then began to rain down in white sheets by the middle of the day. We got the drive cleared by 3PM or so and headed out to put some food in Dad's interesting fridge. He had frozen french bread pizza singles, tamalies, some ancient ice cream and a few brontosaraus steaks from a hunt in the early prehistoric years. We bought pork chops, roasts, beans, canned goods, veggies, juice and a host of cheezes. It was a trip to the store that was a lifesaver.
Today, Ded is down in White Rock and Lavonne and I have celebrated a great Christmas morning by listening to Choir music, eating beans we made yesterday (which should provide hours of entertainment later), and counting our blessings.
We will head down to Phylis's house in an hour or so for dinner and some good visiting, and a good game of cards.
I wish Sharon, Judy,Mark and the kids were here along with Dot and a large crew to make the cards more interesting and share the feast. Merry Christmas!

Aunt Betty

I miss my Mom like crazy but I always had Aunt Betty even after Mom passed. Now Betty has passed too and there seems to be a huge hole in the world. I know it will be filled with memories and family but when you lose someone like Betsy it is ceartinly a big loss. She was 88 years old and still sharp and funny. She was one of the most amazing learners, interested in everything. She cooked like Martha Stewart and looked like a million every morning. I called her and had a great long chat at least once a week. Now I will talk to her and Mom each morning and each evening in my dreams.
Everyone needs an Aunt Betty in their lives. Someone who by their faith and their sheer determination is solid as a rock. You always knew what to expect from her. Gracious and graceful she was the embodiment of dedicated Mom. She loved her children with a passion that defies description. I heard proud stories about each one and never ever heard her utter a word of dissapointment about any of them. She told funny stores about them but always with a sense of ..."aren't my kids funny and creative"?
My favorite recent story was when one of Tiffany's friends was saying she was giving Tiffany some advice, harshly. Tiff's friend said "I ripped her a new one". Betty asked me what that meant. I told her it meant that she chewed her out or verbally tore into her. At Breakfast Betty was listening to a story about some conflict between two folks and I asked her what on of the conflictees did. She raised her fist and said in a louder tone. "ripped her a new one". I laughed so hard I was incontinent. Lavonne still gets the church giggles when I mention any part of the story. Betty, looked at me after the laughter and said sternly..."that isn't anything dirty is it"? I told her no...but it was so out of character it made us laugh. I never heard her swear...ever.
So, here is to a gentle lady who had so many wonderful layers and never forgot how to have fun...who loved her kids...was loyal to her family and friends and taught us all how to live with more grace.

Thanksgiving

Just back from a week in Steamboat Rock. We ate more than was sane and played cards until the wee hours. I stink at that card game but the snacks are great. We had a little snow. They predicted a half inch and we got 5 or 6. We did have fun but the cold weather was a wake up call for me to get out the warmner clothes. The photo is the view from the cabin deck.
A wonderful pair of students sent me a link through their blog to a site called Free Rice. You all should check it out.