Christmas Week

Papa and I attended Christmas Eve service in Tucson.  On Christmas morning, we got up early and drove to Phoenix for lunch with Mary, and her friends Pam and Stepan.  By 2 p.m., we were on our way to the airport for our flight to Austin.  All flights were running on time and we arrived in Austin by 7 p.m.  We were happy to see Whitney on Christmas evening!

After opening a few gifts with Toby and Greta, and having French toast for breakfast, we got to work, packing boxes for Whitney's impending move to Princeton, NJ.  Over the course of the next four days, we helped organize and pack most of Whitney's stuff.  Papa and I mowed, edged, and blew the yard.  We trimmed all the bushes and trees in the front yard and then stuffed 40 bags with leaves.  We helped Whitney get things together for a garage sale on December 29.  Papa went with her to her office to finish packing it up.

Brian and his family arrived the afternoon of the 29th.  Brian put a coat of finish on the deck, gazebo floor, and back porch of Whitney's home, while Amy and I kept a watchful eye on "missed spots."  Emily, Sarah, Toby, and Greta made leather projects with Papa, bracelets and a jingle bell pull.  They also put together luminarias for the night.  Whitney made chicken pot pie for dinner and Papa helped the kids light the luminarias before dessert.  They were pretty lining the front walkway.

Papa and I flew back to Arizona late last night, quite tired after a busy week, but grateful to have helped Whitney's family as they prepare to move to Princeton in a few days.  One of my best moments of the week was helping Greta get to sleep one afternoon for her nap.  I held her and swayed for 15-20 minutes until she gave in to slumber.  Special!  Whitney will become the Director of Capital Planning and Budgeting at Princeton University in January.  We are proud of Whitney!

Past Christmas Photos

I have posted in years past about Christmas 2009, 2010, and 2011.  These are a few photos from Christmases in the 1980's.  I still have that red sparkly jacket!  I wore it every Christmas for years!  Enjoy the moments with family and friends.  Merry Christmas!

Favorite Christmas Traditions

Papa and I are at the ranch preparing to fly to Austin on Tuesday, to celebrate Christmas with Whitney and her family.  With Christmas only two days away, I've been thinking of Christmas traditions and memories through the years that always bring smiles to my face. 

Christmas Eve Services... Claire and Whitney's second, when they crawled under the pews and got away from us... the first year we let Audrey carry a candle as we walked out of church singing Silent Night and she held the candle right at the tip of Dale's jacket... singing Oh Holy Night, my all time favorite carol

Christmas Eve Dinner... hors d'oeuvres that include Grammer's meatballs, smoked salmon, cheeses, veggies with dip

Christmas Eve Dessert... always chocolate fondue with fruits for dipping, YUM!

Christmas stockings... mostly homemade, it took me 8 years to finish the girls embroidered stockings, my stocking was a gift from Aunt Rhea and Uncle Wayne for my first Christmas and has my name "Lulu"

Christmas Mother-Daughter Tea... we hosted a tea for several years, always with a live pianist, and always with honey baked ham on hot rolls, lots of cookies, and cranberry punch

Gifts in our Christmas stockings... often our favorite with one of the most memorable being Claire's gift to Dan with directions to the gift written on a tiny scrap of torn wrapping paper

Gift wrapping... after learning about the amount of money wasted on wrapping paper back in 1985, I've tried to be creative with wrapping paper using brown or white craft paper (sometimes painted), newspaper or magazine pages... all have made for colorful and unusually wrapped gifts

Decorating our tree with ornaments gathered through the years

Watching Ralphie in A Christmas Story 

Christmas 1987... Great Papa, Joan, and Mary joined us for Christmas in Dallas.  We hosted a Christmas Party for friends and neighbors and Great Papa transformed into Santa.  So much fun!

Mary's gift of a Big Bird puppet to the girls and she got a sore throat from being Big Bird for hours and days on end.

Christmas lights in Highland Park... always the most beautiful imaginable and completely over the top!  Gathering with the whole community for the tree lighting on Armstrong Parkway and singing carols together.

Starting a new tradition in Cherokee Park, Sarasota... luminarias in the medians and singing carols in the neighborhood 

Christmastime in Paris and driving south to Monaco...1992

Christmas in Spain and New Year's in Portugal... 1993

Christmas week at our Patagonia house... 1995

Selby by Candlelight... luminarias and music in the Gardens, first was in 1997

Trip to NYC to see Christmas lights and window displays... 1998

Christmas Eve service in the Vatican... 2005, with Pope Benedict officiating and Papa snoozing

Christmas in Morocco... 2007, with a memorable week following

Christmas in Tucson with little ones... 2009-2011, lots more stockings, meals together, making and lighting luminarias the first time with Toby, making a gingerbread house

We are so blessed!  Merry Christmas!

Granola

Our Christmas gift to neighbors this year was a bag of homemade granola, scones or sour cream muffins, and a jar of French jam.  I have used the same granola recipe for years.  Homemade granola is a treat at our house!  It's good with milk or yogurt, and sprinkled on top of ice cream.  

Papa and I are enjoying Christmas 2012 granola too.

More Snow

We had more snow on the ranch yesterday.  Papa and I were in Tucson for a couple of days, so much of the snow melted before we got back this afternoon.  There is still plenty of snow on the mountains, on north facing slopes, and in shady places. We are loving this winter moisture!

Life of Pi

Papa and I stayed an extra day in Tucson this week.  As it was rather cool outside, we decided to go see the acclaimed movie, Life of Pi.  We were not disappointed.  A young man, Pi, survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery.  While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor... a Bengal tiger.  We recommend Life of Pi!

The Cow Palace

Papa and I had lunch today at the Cow Palace Restaurant in Amado, Arizona.  The Cow Palace has been around for close to a century and serves hearty beef chili, burgers, and lots more.  Maybe it says something about Papa and me that we seek out places called the Cow Palace?  We're having fun! 

Rainbow in Rattlesnake Canyon

This rainbow appeared for just a few minutes yesterday afternoon, in Rattlesnake Canyon, after a day of light rain on the hills and snow on the mountains.  Such a beautiful arc!

Winter's First Dusting of Snow

Yesterday, we recorded our first snowfall of the 2012-2013 winter season.  We are grateful for the moisture.  Snow dusting the mountains is a beautiful sight! 

Craft Day

 

Carly brought Madilyn over at 9 this morning.  I had planned several craft projects and we got right to work.  We made book angels, spray painted gold.  We looked through pages and pages of old Arizona Highways magazines and pulled out those that Madilyn wanted to use for a "hand" wreath and a loop garland.  We were happy with our crafting efforts.  We also baked Madilyn's favorite peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies.

That is Christmas

Every time a hand reaches out

To help another … That is Christmas.

Every time someone puts anger aside

And strives for understanding

That is Christmas.

Every time people forget their differences

And realize their love for each other

That is Christmas.

May this Christmas bring us

Closer to the spirit of human understanding

Closer to the blessing of peace.

We received this Christmas greeting from long time friends, Katharina and Daniel, of
Nussbaumen, Switzerland.  May the message of this greeting be in our lives.

Rain on the Roof

There's rain on the roof tonight for the first time since mid September.  Our house has a 

metal roof which seems to magnify the sound of rain.  We're loving it! 

One of the most memorable rains of 2012, happened a week before our branding, while Colter, Papa, and several helpers were working on the Rock House corral.  I wrote about it on July 13.   I loved the spontaneous running about and the look of simple joy on Madilyn's face that day. 

"Bump" in the Road

A few months ago, I noticed a "bump" on the bottom of my foot.  I went to a podiatrist and she said I could have it removed then or just wait and see what happens.  Unfortunately, the bump grew, so I went in this morning to have it checked.  The podiatrist numbed most of my foot and drained the bump, which she believes was a cyst.  Papa held my hand during the procedure.  I'm not a brave patient!  I'm hanging out this afternoon, with my foot propped up and plenty of reading material. 

Early Christmas Dinner

We had an early Christmas Dinner with Carly, Colter, Madilyn, Colter Lee, Traven, and new neighbors Ashley and Dallin.  I prepared a traditional menu of Moroccan salad, honey baked ham, gratin potatoes, sweet potato souffle, broccoli with garlic and raisins, hot rolls, and chocolate cake.  Between dinner and dessert, we watched slide shows of our summer branding and other photos taken during the year.  We enjoyed every moment!

Oh Christmas Tree

 Papa and I decorated our Christmas tree, remembering Christmases past and ornaments picked up on travels.  We reminisced about Christmases spent in Dallas, Sarasota, Tucson, France, Spain, in Rome for Christmas Eve service at the Vatican, Morocco,  and the lights of Highland Park.  Our ornaments range from a gift of ten tin ornaments from a neighbor in Dallas, Mrs. Brunner, for our 10th wedding anniversary, to miniature paintings picked up in Ecuador, to homemade calico birds and stars I made before Papa and I got married, to sand dollars found on Upper Captiva when the girls were in preschool.  No matter where we are, we are very blessed and thankful for this life we live.

Getting our Christmas Tree

Papa and I found our Christmas tree a couple of years ago by Fairchild Dam.  We've commented every time we hike near to Fairchild Dam, that it would be a nice Christmas tree.  Today was the day to get our Christmas tree, so off we went on Bob, as close to the tree as we could get.  It was waiting for us!  Papa chopped down the tree, a pinon pine.  He tied it up on to Bob, then off he drove, while I walked back home.  We'll decorate our tree tomorrow.

Happy Holidays 2012

Happy Holidays 20212,
We began 2012 at the ranch with Claire, David, and Emerson visiting for a few days.  Emerson loved riding horses and playing on our tractor and ATV.  They left on January 3, our 31st wedding anniversary.  I raced back to the ranch from the airport that day, to take lunch to the cowboys working our winter roundup.


Colter is about to begin his fifth year of managing the ranch.  We thank God every day for him, Carly, and their children.  We enjoyed dinners with them throughout the year and frequent visists as Colter checks water with the boys.  Our branding on July 21, was our biggest yet, with over 185 calves branded, 38 cowboys and other helpers on hand, with perfect weather and big smiles.  Brian, Amy, Emily, and Sarah came from Dallas for branding weekend, and Mary came from Phoenix.  


We welcomed one new baby to the family this year, Colby Douglas, on April 26, in Amman, Jordan.  I flew over in early May to meet Colby and spend time with Emerson, Claire, and David.  Mary joined me for a second week in Jordan with a memorable trip of riding camels in Petra.  Claire and David will complete their two year assignment in Jordan in February 2013 and will return to the states for a few months before their next move to Tbilisi, Georgia.


Mary and I flew from Jordan to Florida in late May for a girls' weekend on Longboat Key, and to celebrate my Mom's 75th birthday.  I worked for a couple of months on a surprise gift and enjoyed giving it that weekend.  Audrey and Lauren joined us.  Papa flew to Florida for a few days the following week.  We also enjoyed several visits with Aunt Rhea in Tampa over that week.  We drove to Ocala for Aunt Margaret's 80th birthday party on June 2 and an overnight with Mom and Sonny.

Audrey and Dan have enjoyed their first year of parenthood with Lauren, turning 1 on December 5.  They live in Chicago.  Dan stays busy with his work and Audrey continues to enjoy her PR work as well as lots of time with Lauren.  

Whitney and Corey are enjoying Austin, with Toby, 3, and Greta, 18 months.  They bought a renovated 1940's home in Austin in February.  We flew over the first weekend of March and did a whirlwind weekend of decorating and home projects.  We drove to Colorado in August for a few days with them at Beaver Creek.  We enjoyed stops along the way, lunch with Peggy and Charlie in Miami, AZ, an overnight with long time friend, Dick in Durango, and a stop at White Sands National Monument on our way home.

On October 8, Aunt Rhea passed away in North Carolina.  We gathered along with my Dad, Whitney and Greta, Audrey, Dan, and Lauren, and Mom and Sonny, in Tampa, the first weekend of November, for her memorial service.  We enjoyed time with family, cousins Renee and Russ, Jane, and Debbie.  Aunt Rhea has had a significant influence on my life and she is missed.  

We've made other memories this year, with a trip to Canyon de Chelly in February with Mary, an overnight at the Sierra Grande Hotel in NM on a visit to Bosque del Apache to see thousands of migrating Canadian geese, and a three week trip in September, when we cruised from Seattle to Alaska and back to Vancouver with a stop in Victoria, and a visit to Butchart Gardens.  We flew from Vancouver to Calgary and spent five nights in Lake Louise and Banff, then on to Montreal for two nights before boarding another cruise to Boston, with stops in Quebec City, Prince Edward Island, Halifax, and Bar Harbor, Maine.  The leaves were turning, the air was cool, and we enjoyed beautiful drives through the countryside at each port.  

We continue to enjoy the ranch but are grateful to have our city getaway in Tucson.  Papa suffered a broken ankle in late August when Oscar stumbled and fell on him.  His ankle is healed and he is back for joining me for most daily hikes.  He has worked on various leather and wood projects this year, as well as ranch projects - fence, road, water...  I took pottery classes and water aerobics classes in Tucson over the summer.  I take lots of photos every day and write on my blog several times a week.  We take in museum exhibits, concerts, and ethnic restaurant experiences a couple of times/month.  We are spending Christmas with Whitney's family in Austin.  We are constantly reminded that life is short and we want to have no regrets.

Have a wonderful holiday season!
Love,
Lulu and Papa