No partridge but other birds, Merry Christmas from Dixie

Annual posting of Christmas tidings and best to all....for those who do not celebrate Christmas, season's best as well....

This year we tried to do something different, be on the road south before Christmas heading for the sunnier south; we  barely did so.  I was too busy with too many activities yet again including a hair appointment December 16th which I could not miss.  Well, so then we could leave the 17th?  Nope, again, I was too hectic.  I thought not decorating  our home  as we would not be there would add all sorts of time, but not so.  I tried to set up small decor to travel along, such as our small tinsel tree, but left hose behind in my skeltered readying. I did miss getting out some decor that I only see once a year, a and although I do far less than the displays I used to put out in the past. If the  2nd market ever returns I have a massive collection of exquisite and pricey decor to sell, but for now  they reside in the closet until this time of year.  I found that the limited shopping I do, gift wrapping, mailing with all those 80 some Christmas cards we send consumes lots of time and continuing my physical activities all morning at the Y consumes hours in  my day. 

Cardinal in a pear tree this morning  a red
splash on  my walk  toward the beach.  

   Nevertheless we got on the road on December 20 and send this from  Bay St Louis, where we will stay until January 2 then proceed on to Florida. We'd have liked to stay 3 weeks, but in the holiday tradition there is no room at Bay Hideaway,  this RV inn.  Fortunately I am neither pregnant nor riding on a donkey and so we will go to Pensacola where we will spend a week  before moving on to Tallahassee, then to Tampa for the Fleetwood RV Rally.  At least we have a home over holidays.  We arrived here on Monday, December 22 ahead of the torrential rains that swept across the Gulf. There was another tornado near Hattiesburg devastating the holiday for  many. 

This holiday on the road enhances my independent perspective, and gratitude for what we do have, health and comfort to travel and reason to do so--curiosity. So far, we have driven 1209 miles in 19 hours and 45 minutes driving time, spent $627.26 for diesel fuel.  

The local Christmas stork at the conservancy marsh

Our  coach tree and reindeer
Thanks to good friend Carlie
I left the tinsel tree and intended
decorations at home.  Proves good friends
come through and sense what's
needed, they care and are aware. 

Sepia Saturday December 6 Horse rides

This weeks theme evoked many possibilities, but truth be told, where ever else can I share a photo of my first horse rides and where else would people would look at the photos?

So here I am with my first horsey rides; my grandpap, Teofil was not a woodworker but somehow somewhere with help from his friends he made this rocking horse for me.  It doesn't look like much  today but it was really all I needed to keep myself entertained and then some.   My Uncle Carl who was the artist of the family painted it.  

In this first photo I am on my premier ride, the year is early 1946, flowers  in bloom  to the side in this very Sepia small  print that  my grandparents and later my aunt kept framed over the years, though much is faded on it. They said I had just begun walking all about and this was my next challenge.  They said I had a grand time but they had to put the horse away into a corral else I would climb on it when someone wasn't around and they did not want me to hurt myself.    I was about 16-17 months old in this first photo.  It must have been a cool spring day because I was dressed in bonnet and coat. 

Funny thing is I remember having this wooden rocking horse, I wonder what  ever became of it?    It was quite rudimentary but no one could have convinced me of that.  

Me about 2 1/2 years old...1947, same horse
This  girl loved the ride  There were no
fancy get ups yet, no hats, no chaps.

1947 same as above, better view of the horse

Happy to have Sepia for my  own Sepian memories.  To see what others  have taken to theme from this weeks's prompt, go here to the primary site.  
http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2014/12/sepia-saturday-257-6-december-2014.html

Sepia Saturday 256 A parade from 1975

Prompt of a parade drew me  back to last week's album of our 1975 trip to the Calgary Alberta Stampede, Canada. 

 These photos are fading taken pre-digital era. While  there are no Swans dancing, there are plenty of horses, clowns, Scots,buckskin riders  and others of the wild west  parade shots we took from our bleacher seats.  I found the old program too and a poster. Sadly the list of parade participants is faded and did not scan  but I notice it was the centennial celebration for Calgary that year.

Stampede program

 I share some of our July 7, 1975 Calgary Stampede parade as we watched from our bleacher seats across the street from a multi story parking garage where folks  hung from the sides to watch.   I noticed I did not caption the photos, so now 39 years later, I try. 

Unidentified tribe Indian Buckskin rider, notice the parking garage observers across the street

  

more unidentified natives

Well it was a western days event, this bull float was a hit

Calgary Stampede poster of the event

Horsewomen with flags

..

Cowgirls  on the hood

Horse drawn wagon with dignitary

Scots bagpipers

This giant size clown shows the stories of folks across the street
in the parking  structure and those on the rooftop

This was my Sepia Saturday contribution to see others go to this link  there are sure to be many surprises and stunning photos from the international community
http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2014/11/sepia-saturday-256-29-november-2014.html

First smattering of the voyage

While I promised further October cruise postings on the marvelous voayge we had with Celebrity Lines, two weeks North Atlantic sailing from Bayonne, New Jersey to mostly Canadian ports, I have been neglectful on posting, so finally have downloaded photos from phone and tablet and here we go for a few,,,many more to come...

Taken by ship photographer as we boarded
Our ports are listed and we are ready

October 5, 2014 we set sail and say adieu to New York Skyline,
Lady Liberty and World Trade Center..

Under the NY Verrazono Bridge  

This was our welcome aboard , lovely
Notice the bottle of Champagne,... well
 see the last photo of this post where Jerry
rescues me he claims to save me from myself.

And here he is... imbibing on the champagne...he is a dedicated beer drinker.
He cannot abide the bubbly so I was surprised when he poured a glass.
He claimed to be saving me from myself first day out, o I would NOT drink the entire bottle alone...
Our veranda was lovely, two chairs and table and a respite from crowds.
Our cruise had the best venue a day in port a day at sea....

Our sailing found me deck top with the band...there were no photos but the ship videod me  and there after showed me enjoying....I am a dancer and saw no reason why I could not get out there on deck and dance to the beat....at first it was only me and the band a few a of the ship crew, but soon, I coaxed others, all women onto the floor and we had a blast.  I believe we need to celebrate and dance all the time and this was my time to cut loose and I did.  Jerry is an observer  but he did not have the phone to photo his wife in action and so no photos to share of  my premiere.  For the next two weeks  many would stop me and  comment on , "oh you were the dancer..."  "Oh you looked like you were having fun," I was folks and you should have joined me.  Some said they could never, well if not now when??

 

Life gives us little enough music take it and shake it while it lasts...tomorrow is too late.   

Sepia Saturday 254 Wading the waters 1975

Back after a long absence with a couple 1975 photos, from which  color is fading.  We took many camping trips over the years, especially while Steve was growing up because we wanted him to see a lot of the country.  In 1975, living in California,  we were on our way to the Calgary Stampede in Canada to meet friends who had gone a week ahead of us.  One of our stops was at Flathead Lake Montana where there had been overly abundant rain and lots of flooding.  However, this made for good swimming weather and as I recall it was mighty hot so we welcomed the chance to dip in and cool off. 

 I must have been quenching my thirst as well because you will see, I merely stepped in with glass in hand, ice clinking.  Steve was all of 11 years old at the time and  helped me wade out before he swam off.  Not sure where Jerry was while this happened, likely he was taking the photos from back onshore.  I don't know whose dog observed nor who the tube floater in the upper left corner was...nor what Steve found to  maneuver with later in the water after helping Mom

OK Mom, I've got ya

One of my chubbier times, drink in hand

Now what's this?

This is my  return to Sepia where we can share our photos to match the prompt or not.  I will enjoy reconnecting with everyone...it's been awhile but we have been travelling. To see what others have matched or not to this week's prompt, go here
http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2014/11/sepia-saturday-254-15-november-2014.html

Different days different views and first snowfall

Dinah Washington sang it 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhaBIlWPxfo

I just learned while googling that this was originally a Mexican folk song,  Who knew that?  The most successful early recording with English lyrics was in 1934 by the Dorsey Brothers. Dinah Washington won a Grammy Award in 1959 for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance with this song. Her version was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and earned her first top ten Pop hit, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Just yesterday a rose in bloom faded but still blooming

This morning from the front window

What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours....you may know the song that suits  today..because yesterday while grey and cold at 44 some degrees I was outside shivering while pruning and pulling out geraniums and marigolds...today, I have stayed in mostly because overnight Mama Nature, that elusive old bag who rejoices when she rolls up her sleeves and releases various tricks onto the likes of us, dusted our area with white, about an inch or so of the stuff, just as we had been warned. Just what I did not want and I know sure it could'a been worse and more of it, but this is just too darned early for snow for me!  It's not yet my birthday and even growing up in Pennsylvania I never remember snow before my annual celebration. This is just why I was hesitant to move to Minnesota although I thank our lucky stars and  saints daily that we escaped from California, where we always thought we would stay the rest of our days. Not to be as with so many plans we thought we had made, but then there have been many mighty better turns too.  

Jerry grinding leaves to mulch rosebeds

I've spent today  on domestic chores and at the computer catching up on lots of information and financial work instead of my Y yoga class and the body building strength weight class I had planned to add today.. more weight bearing interval training...But no kidding, yesterday Jerry was grinding leaves to mulch the rose garden.  I said not to bother surely the weather prediction would be wrong!  Bah!  I was wrong and it is a good thing he persisted.  So the rose bed went from a coating of brown leaf mulch to a bed of white blanket overnight...with the pink ballerina bush protesting, "hey, what's with the mulch, can't you see I've still got my blooms going here?" 

Rose garden mulching

Rose garden view from our front window about 7:30 this AM

Some day soon I will share here some photos from our two week cruise to the North Atlantic Canadian ports, most of which  has already been on Facebook in real time.  It was a great trip, gorgeous weather, beautiful fall colors and more.  But for nowa big pot of chili is calling to  have cornbread accompany it and so off the keyboard again after a long absence.  

The other day I was hungry after zumba class while out and about on shopping errands; there was a time I'd have driven straight to the nearest Culver's for a frozen custard, but that habit is long gone as I keep myself slimmed and trim.  My snck of choice is always pretzels but the Shopko had none, lots of other chips but I  prefer pretzels which are low to no fat.   I  was really feeling like I needed something to eat and spoted a bag of chocolate Cracker Jack.  I loved Cracker Jack as a kid and  amassed quit a collection of those little prizes that came inside the box.  The back of the bag said, "You loved Cracker Jack as a kid! ...There's always a prize unside... So open a bag and you'll feel like a kid again." I looked and was pleased to see only .5 fat grams in 1/2 cup and only 110 calories, so that was my hunger appeasement.  I don't know how many years it has been since I  last ate Cracker Jack.  

It satisfied my  hunger pangs but somehow it's not the same, well nothing tastes the same as it did when I was a kid but this was not all that bad.  However, remember Cracker Jacks came with peanuts, no more or at least not this bag of chocolate Jack.  I don't know it that's to keep the price which give me a break was $1.49 for this  4 ounce bag, but considering  that all other snack foods are just as much or more, so it went.  Maybe they leave out peanuts  because some folks today have allergies?  

After I got home and no I had not eaten the entire bag, just a few bites likely  that 1/2 cup, I couldn't wait to see the prize.  My anticipation was quashed when I found this tiny  1" + piece of paper with a sticker!  A sticker with red socks!  What kind of prize is that?  Now I did not feel like a kid again at all, where is my plastic trinket?  Ptooey!  Well I suppose kids today would not care, they are too busy on their pods, pads, swiping and would consider plastic gizmo a dud, or an insult.  But for  crying out loud,Frito Lay could surely spring for something more than a sticker.  Well maybe not.  But for a quick lower fat snack it was not bad, despite the false advertising.  It did not make me feel like a kid.  No way no how.   No nuts, no toy!

This is most minor in line with all the not so good news we've had nearly continuously  over the last couple weeks.  The passing of dear friend Geoff back home in Oregon, the cancer diagnosis of another local friend, MS diagnosis of that friend's wife (the dearest couple around town), and now hospitalization of my PA pal.   Surely good news will come about soon.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  This is why I know I am going to live to be  a very old lady, God does not want to answer my "Why this?  Why?  What were you thinking?"   I was in the Dollar Store yesterday and a woman stopped to talk to me, I have decided I must have a magnet across my face that says, "hit me with your bad news, why not?"  She wanted to talk and there I was, she shared that she was on her way to her best friend's funeral, her friend had battled and been cancer free for  6 sears but it returned with an aggressive fatal vengeance and death came within a month, her friend was only 53.  She said with tears that they usually went to lunch on Fridays and then stopped at the Dollar Store and Goodwill and so here she was on the way to bury her friend.  I gave her my condolences and told her to keep the good memories.  What more to say?. 

We depart Monday for PA where my friend is going to be fine, with her new pacemaker, totally unexpected but isn't life that way.....we never know. This is why I have no tolerance for the Facebook whiners; recently a cousin and another friend  have  removed themselves from FB.  They said, "too much BS drama."  So true.  And so looking forward  to a  great time back home visiting with friends.  That means I must get off this computer and get clothes out to the coach.  We roll out eastward Monday,   When we return we will have only a week to get ready for our  October cruise.  

BLOG on hiatus for busy times

4th of July rose blooms beneath cleome

We have not been on vacation but the blog has to be.  I have so little time to sit at keyboard and right now outside activities predominate with daily weeding, hauling, etc.  It has been a lovely summer of weather than cannot be beat.  Here in MN people say we have two seasons, winter and road construction and indeed this year it is an orange cone world as many highways and by ways are under repair, replacement or major disruptive reconstructive surgery.   

A couple weeks ago it came right  to our neighborhood as our main access street from this cul de sac was pulverized.  A new pipeline, sidewalk and new road are imminent and we are to believe it will be accomplished by  the start of school, but I am of the seeing is believing perspective on that.   Again  more info and daily progress are on Facebook which is easy to do from my phone and does not take  butt in chair time at keyboard. 

at the bottom of our So. 14th access street

 It all contributes to major time spent getting around and about so that my morning trips to the Y for my continuing physical activities consume the full morning.  If I plan errands I pack a change of clothes, shower there and then be on my way...sometimes I even take along my snack lunch because I will not be coming home in between.   I spend a lot of time driving cross town and around the "long way" to avoid the primary construction sites when I can.  The interstate I 90  nearby is under reconstruction across the Mississippi and will take two years to complete.  That said, I have been very nervous about where lanes merge and ever thankful to my guardian angels  whenever I drove there.  About a month ago a fatal accident confirmed my fears about construction zones and to avoid them..  A young man on his way to work was killed on the interstate that morning  as someone stopped to allow cars to access the interstate....what kind of idiot stops on the interstate?  Apparently some person thinking they were being kind to oncoming traffic, but none the less an idiot  who does not comprehend the meaning of "yield."  A tragedy occurred as traffic tried to stop and a construction dump truck loaded could not but ran over the last car which burst into flames.  Tragedy for all involved including the truck driver who now must live with that memory...the accident kept the interstate closed most of that day.  So I now avoid it altogether and go the extra 5 miles or so through La Crosse; actually I am astonished we have not had more accidents through that area with summer traffic and people who are either ignorant or illiterate or both and pay no attention to slower speeds or signs.  But I did not mean to get on that soapbox because I would continue a diatribe--why post speed limit signs when no one pays attention?  And why  not enforce speed limits, it certainly would generate revenue if enforced but again no consequences to refusal to comply means no change in behavior. 

Glory of sunset, doesn't it look like the
tree is smiling?

But what I checked in to say is business continues busily here....and the little time I have at keyboard is spent on trying to maintain our financial info as well as planning and pondering our October two week cruise  from Newark, NJ up around Maine, to ports there, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Quebec n return.    So far I have avoided being pulled into the county jury but am under a 4 month "notice."  Fortunately they have excused me and blocked out our travels,  the weeks in September when we will be in PA and who knows where else, our October cruise and our November departure for parts south, we hope.  But August so far I have not been chosen to appear.  I find this a major intrusion into life and will not be an amenable juror at the inconvenience. 

So this is all GLW&CDR (good Lord willing and creek don't rise) because as we are reminded life holds no promises, surprises can happen and well we plan and something changes it.  Meantime, see ya' on Facebook which continues to be my keep in touch mode these days.