Christmas, and Texas in January

Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas, for the most part. Hailey came a few days before and we made some peanut butter and birdseed coated pinecones for the birds. Here I am hanging one in the holly tree outside Amelia's door. Christmas eve, after dinner and the British "crackers" (see crowns) we opened some presents. Here is Hailey and her crystal. Here I am staring in amazement at our new record changer/CD player, while Amelia looks on. That's been fun (record player part, I mean). On Christmas Day we dropped Hailey off at the airport, and journeyed over to Rocky Point to the Kings home. Along the way, we saw a lot more snow than what we had at home (none). Speaking of the Kings, here are Dick and MaryKay in their new room. After Christmas (actually, after New Years), I planted our live Christmas tree, and we took some time to go snowshoeing near Union Creek. There was also one of me but it disappeared in a way I can't explain. Probably camera malfunction. Ha.

Texas in January

We recently flew from Sacramento to Austin, via Dallas. Often there is no benefit to flying out at 6am, but this time we had a beautiful sunrise, which also included a glimpse of Venus, about 5/6 of the way to the top and slightly to the right of center of the picture. We met Amelia's sister, Becky and husband Don in Austin, and drove on to Hempstead and Brenham, Texas earlier this month to visit Amelia's brother, Ronnie and wife Faye, in Hempstead, and her father in Brenham. On Sunday we had a gala gathering, where Amelia's father, Jewel, opened a small gift, a new ballcap. It was obtained through the auspices of daughter, Becky. Ronnie and Faye's daughter, Sheri and husband Bill posed for a picture with Amelia and Ronnie. Then I popped into the picture. Back home earlier this week. Next time out - London and many plays for a week.