Christmas!

The week leading up to the holiday was a busy one. We entertained another visitor, fresh pies were baked, major grocery shopping was undertaken, and good food was prepared for every meal. I have several photos from the week so let’s get started.

Becky’s daughter Caitlin drove to NE Iowa from the Minneapolis area to stay overnight and spend some time with her mother. Christmas Eve day she headed out, after lunch, to the LaCrosse area where she will spend time with more family. We had a lively visit and caught up on all her activities. Being the owner of a resale clothing shop (“Cake”), Caitlin had her share of COVID-related problems in 2021 but the business survived. Hopefully it will thrive in the upcoming year.

Here is a photo of us with Caitlin (front) and Becky (mid-step) on our front porch entry.

Caitlin, Becky, with Pam and myself, Dec 24, 2021

Pam and Becky put up our second tree (the “heart” tree) and decorated it. This one is on the main floor in the parlor. The cats, particularly Elmo, love it. Elmo is now known as the “de-decorator” as he has tried re-arranging the lights and ornaments already.

The local paper published “Letters to Santa” and this one just caught my eye. We all need more rainbows and kindness. (Click on the image to open a larger, and more legible, version.)

We opened our presents on Christmas Eve. Becky, Pam, and I received several gifts but the most enchanting went to Pam; a small garden statue of Gromit (from the animated series “Wallace and Gromit”) was Pam’s gift from Santa. This Gromit features a bobbing head, mounted on a spring, and a spring mounted tail. Gromit will become garden/yard art next year.

It was an enjoyable Christmas Eve for all of us. Speaking of “all of us,” here is a photo of Becky’s cat, Vanna. I have mentioned Vanna a few times in these posts and thought I’d better include a photo so you can see what she looks like.

Pam noted how pleasant it has been to interact with young people this holiday season. A few more photos show off the lighter side of Caitlin’s and Toby’s visits.

An intense game of Scrabble at the table

In non-Christmas news, I put together two new Galleries, one with photos of mine sites around the Telluride area (Savage Basin Road) and another containing photos of the Colorado Yule Marble Quarry near Marble. There is a new feature on both of these; I have included an introductory voice clip that gives a short explanation of the gallery. Clips are located at the top of each gallery page. If these work out I may add similar voice clips to my other gallery pages.