As I write this it is Christmas Eve day. Pam and I are at home relaxing, although Pam is going to bake a rhubarb pie later today. Yesterday she made a batch of oatmeal-raisin cookies using a new recipe and adding less sugar than specified. The cookies turned out great, possible the best batch ever. After all, it would not be Christmas without fresh baked goodies! (Even with no sugar/medical issues, always moderation…)
Christmas will be quite low-key this year for us. We have no travel plans and what little shopping needing to be done has been done. There are the after-holiday sales, to see what we might want to add to our outdoor decorations for next year, but if we don’t go out it would not be a big loss. (Pam checks a few on-line vendors for sales now through January.) Mostly the season is a break from work, something we both need.
The main news about this Christmas is lack of snow in the high desert. We had around 1/2 inch this past Thursday morning but it has since mostly melted, giving us a snow-less Christmas for the first time in awhile. This helps with commuting and fewer icy sidewalks, but it doesn’t make the time seem very Christmas-y. Still, I enjoy coming home to our holiday lights (on timers) that we put up after Thanksgiving and not having to worry about sliding around on slick patches.
Some of my vacation time has been spent in finishing the re-coding of my web pages. All should now have the ’rounded corner’ navigation links at the top and bottom of each page and updated links that will allow the pages to load faster. Content has not changed much although there are a few new pages concerning the OC-3; these can be found on my OC-3 Repairs page and our 2017 Christmas E-card has been added to my E-cards page. During the process I re-coded pages going back to my UW-Whitewater days (which ended in 2001!) and had a chuckle looking at those early attempts to create web pages. Times and techniques have changed a lot since then.
My next post will probably be my “year in review” for my last post of 2017. Until then, Pam and I hope everyone who reads this has an enjoyable Christmas. I’ll close this post with a few around-the-house photos.
Our holiday welcome figures
Bare yard this Christmas, no snow.
Christmas tree detail
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
Fields and I are having a “conversation” regarding what is a gift and what is a purchase. Buying oil and filter for a vehicle around Christmas does not make that a gift for Himself, just as buying a rug cleaning appliance around Christmas does not make that a gift for me. (I do believe this whole “need vs. want” dichotomy was muddied by “gifts” of socks and underwear during Midwest childhood Christmases past.)
In any case, we are of an age where items we need are purchased as required (and in Fields’ case — this year in particular — buying what he wants from on-line auctions).
Happy Trails.
Update: Surprise!
A fast moving storm that was supposed to affect only higher elevations dropped several inches of snow on our place giving us a white Christmas after all!
White Christmas Day, 2017, something of a surprise.