A fond farewell to December

I'm not sure how yet, but I've definitely gotta find a way to incorporate this cute snowflake pasta into a meal. Though I figure I'll push it until January since we're still dealing with Christmas leftovers. But I've definitely gotta make a winter pasta dish, or maybe some soup, because they're SNOW much fun.

Though we've had a few serious cold snaps, which I've thoroughly enjoyed, it hasn't limited our hang-out time on the back porch. With it being so warm through the holidays, the dogs and I enjoyed soaking up the lake views after returning from a recent walk. I added a set of mini bells to Finn and Pepper's collars, so that was fun. But back to the porch. With the sun riding a bit further south at this time of year, I had to lower our sun screens to get a break from the direct rays. Even though I wear sunscreen and sunglasses religiously, there was no sense in sitting there with the sun beating down on me and my laptop.

As a matter of fact, it was so warm on Boxing Day that we made it into a boating day with a cruise on the lake late in the afternoon. We spied several other pontoon boats, as well as those casting a line on fishing boats. Plus some kayakers. There were even a couple people on jet skis. However, with the water temps hovering around 60, that would have been a no-go for me.

Earlier this month I attended the Christmas cantata at our church. Since I was a kid, I've always loved the seasonal hymns we sing leading up to Christmas. "O Holy Night" is definitely my favorite, though "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a close second. In terms of secular Christmas music, my personal favorites are "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "Sleigh Ride". Do you have any favorites you play on loop like I enjoy doing when I'm busy decking the halls, wrapping presents or cooking for the holidays?

And finally, the husband, younger daughter and I did the Grinch Gallop 5K in our neighborhood. I got a kick out of the three drink stations along the route including water bottles as well as gourmet mini donuts and Fireball shots. 

This will be my final post of 2025. Once the CPA daughter and her husband leave for their home tomorrow, I'll be busy putting away my Santas so we can return to our regular decor that I haven't seen since I put out my fall pretties in September. I wish all of our friends and family a wonderful end to the holiday season, and a new year filled with God's blessings. Stay safe and warm, and I'll see y'all next year!

Holiday homes tour host

The holiday homes tour this week was so much fun, y'all! I was one of seven houses hosting the almost 150 ladies who signed up to take the tour. This is a fundraiser for the women's club, and I was pleased as punch to volunteer as a showcase home. With the husband and our girls, my Santa collection is old hat. I've gotta admit it was nice to have a brand new audience, one that asked questions and enjoyed hearing the stories behind my sentimental Santa favorites. Here are some of the pictures I snapped of the house right before the ladies arrived. 

Participating in Christmas Musings

I follow blogger Joyce ( http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com ) and always enjoy her posts. Since today was all about the holidays, I decided to participate in December monthly musings because this has always been my favorite time of year. 

1. What holidays do you celebrate?

Christmas is a given. I'm always chomping at the bit for halloween to come and go. That way I won't feel too conspicuous with my Christmas decor going up around the first week or so of November. New year's eve - what's that? 

2. Scale of 1-10, how into the holidays are you this year?

I've been so excited about Christmas this year, it's gotta be a 10. It's our first Christmas in the lake house. Plus we'll all be together. For the past two years, I've deferred to our daughter's husband's parents in Pennsylvania, so we haven't all been together on Christmas Day since 2022. I don't mind sharing the holidays, though, since we got to celebrate with our girls and son-in-law the weekend before Christmas both years. Since our law school daughter is getting serious with her boyfriend, who has parents in Tennessee, I've got a feeling this holiday split will be our ongoing reality. Especially once grandkids get added to the mix.

3. Favorite things to make/bake during the holidays?

For years, the girls and I have made decorated sugar cookies. This year we won't see the husband's parents until after Christmas, so I'm picking up the pink salad torch and making it for the husband. It has been a holiday staple of his mother's for decades, and it wouldn't be the holidays for him without it. I've been thinking about picking up the torch with divinity and Texas trash, goodies my granny and mother made every year at Christmastime. I'm officially the granny generation now that they're both gone, which is a crazy thought. I just don't feel mature or smart enough for the elder stateswoman role yet, but there ya go. So I think next year I'll be giving these items a try to add these traditions back into the mix for the younger generations.

4. Favorite holiday movies?

Hands down, my favorite movie since it came out in 1989 is Christmas Vacation. I remember seeing it in the theater when it was released. No matter how many times I watch the squirrel scene, I still laugh like a loon. Other family favorites we watch annually are Elf and A Christmas Story, as well as The Holiday. The Grinch movie that was released in 2018 is a more recent favorite of ours.

5. Most random holiday tradition?

I don't know that this would qualify as random, but I think our annual Christmas Eve tradition of munching on a hodge podge of favorite appetizers and finger foods is pretty cool. This goes waaaay back to when I was in high school. The big Christmas Day lunch was typical southern holiday fare - ham, cornbread dressing, broccoli rice casserole, etc. Since my granny and mother didn't want to have to whip up yet another big meal the evening before, we enjoyed a bunch of totally random foods. Things like sausage bread, shrimp and clam dip, a cheese log... all the tasty, artery clogging items that were so yummy, and only enjoyed at this time of year. With those fun holiday shaped crackers, dontcha know. I still zip around to our local stores in search of the holiday Ritz crackers every year because it reminds me of Christmases past with my mother and granny. The good old days when I got to just enjoy favorite holiday eats rather than have to host the whole holiday production from start to finish.

6. Are you hosting for the holidays, New Year's Eve or Day?

I'm hosting our family of five plus my sister and her kids on the 24th. Christmas Day it will be just the five of us and possibly our widowed neighbor. For NYE, we'll be attending a party at the club in our lake community. Complete with dinner, a live band and champagne toast at midnight, this is absolutely something we never do. We'll be seated at a table with several of our neighbors and they're a fun group, so it will be a nice way to ring in 2026. 

7. Favorite way to ring in the new year? 

We've been old fuddy duddies for decades now, so we usually just sleep through it. Honestly, NYE is typically overpriced and the husband hates crowds. Plus who wants to be on the road getting home after midnight when there are undoubtedly sloppy drunks behind the wheel. We're thrilled to be able to zip about 1/3 of a mile over to the club in our golf cart for NYE this year.

8. Any new years resolutions or word of the year?

I have these same resolutions most years. Make healthier eating choices. Exercise more. Read my Bible and pray consistently. Surrender to the Lord so He can utilize the gifts He gave me for His glory. I accomplish each one with varying degrees of success. Thankfully, the Lord knows I'm a work in progress.

9. Favorite holiday songs?

My favorite holiday hymns are O Holy Night and Angels We Have Heard on High. As far as secular tunes, I love It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year as well as Sleigh Ride. 

10. Favorite holiday memory?

Oh gosh, I don't know that I have a favorite holiday memory. But one thing I do know is that I'd give an arm and leg to be able to celebrate Christmas with my sweet mother and granny just one more time. I've come a long way from the single-wide trailer house where I grew up. But it was an immaculately clean little place filled with amazing memories over the years, where I never doubted how much they loved and cared for me. That was the greatest gift of all, beyond anything I ever received beneath the tree, blessings I never fully appreciated until it all faded into the rearview mirror of my life's history.

A trip back in time

On a recent Saturday, my sister and I enjoyed day tripping over to Jefferson. We knew it would be decked out for Christmas, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Our mother's family comes from this part of Texas. Both of my mother's parents were born right outside of Jefferson, which was a bustling 19th century river port named after President Thomas Jefferson when it was founded in the 1840s. This now sleepy little town is covered in state historical markers all over the central district on homes, businesses and churches.

We had a good time roaming through a variety of vintage and antique shops as well as boutiques. I was happy to find a new piece of milk glass to add to my collection, as well as a large silver tray I plan to use as a base for a spring Easter arrangement to grace our large coffee table. I also stumbled across an old sled and pair of ice skates that I snatched up. Once I gave it a good dusting and added a bow, it was ready to be added to my lake house Christmas decor

We had lunch at Kitt's Kornbread Sandwich & Pie Bar, which I highly recommend. My sister and mother had eaten there the last time they visited Jefferson. Even though we had to stand around and wait for a table to open up, we didn't mind because it's not as if you get to enjoy a cornbread sandwich on the regular. We both ordered the Texan sandwich, which included a tasty homemade chili, cheese and diced purple onions. She got the side of broccoli slaw, while I couldn't resist ordering the dumplings. It was all delicious, and just the fuel we needed to continue checking out the shops we hadn't hit it. 

We asked a shopkeeper where to find the veteran's memorial so we could locate my pawpaw's name, Dolphus Homer Lowe. That's a mouthful. He was always called Slim, his nickname, because he was tall and thin as a rail his whole life. Pawpaw served during World War II. He opted to enlist early in 1942 before the draft called him up. Initially sent to North Africa, and later making the jump to Italy, he was a mechanic working on army vehicles. I can't recall the circumstances, but I remember mother telling me he was hit by shrapnel in the upper part of his leg at some point after he got to Europe. I wish I could get my hands on his service records, but they were destroyed in that 1973 fire in St. Louis where the army's national personnel records were stored.

Jefferson is a charming little place, and we hope to return in the spring to spend a bit more time exploring it. We've got a great grandmother, great aunt and uncle as well as a few cousins buried outside of Jefferson, so we hope to include a trip to the cemetery next time. Plus we'd like to take a boat tour of nearby Caddo Lake. It's a really interesting place, where the trees are covered in Spanish Moss, and I'd love to get some photographs of this really pretty natural area. 

Reindeer surgery

Goodness gracious, y'all, the Christmas decorating has been going on for weeks now! I was not-so-patiently waiting on a second set of champagne gold picks to deliver so I could finish the tree. Then there was the front porch to wrangle. After a lot of back and forth, I decided it just didn't look complete even though it's not a large space. So I ordered one of those fancy garland tension rods that practically requires an engineering degree to assemble and install. Next was the purchase of three garland swags, because I wanted a few different types of greenery to make it look realistic. And let's not forget the lights plus several different ribbon options to make layered bows. Now I recall why I've never bothered with a front porch garland in the past!

The last item to check off my Christmas decorating list was the fireplace mantel. Way back in October I ordered pretty velvet stockings in jewel tones with our names. But after leaving them hanging up for over a week, I decided it just wasn't the look I wanted. Maybe another year, or in a different space; and so they went into storage. Thankfully, I ran across these fuzzy, cream-colored stockings below, and they had the six I needed. So I snatched them up at 60% off, and then ordered custom name tags from an Etsy shop to hang on them. 

All that left was the mantel top. I was already armed with cedar and Norfolk pine garlands. A couple weeks ago I picked up some interesting looking champagne colored balls that appear as if they're covered in ice. Gotta have different textures, right. I also bought some fern-shaped picks that were flocked to give a snowy look. But what about a larger focal piece for either side of the oryx mount above the mantel? 

My sister-in-law sent me the pic above of some Christmas deer she saw in Michael's. Thinking it might be just the magic needed for that space, I ordered two of them since our local store was sold out. Unfortunately, one of the deer was poorly wrapped and arrived with both of its rear feet broken. I hauled it back to the store for a refund and placed another online order for a new one. The replacement deer arrived with a big dent in the side of the box, which had me worried. And sure enough, one of the antlers had snapped off in transit. Which was so disappointing because I wanted that mantel done yesterday. Since it was a clean break, I decided to whip out my Gorilla Glue and reattach the antler. After it cured overnight, I got the mantel completed with the help of my neighbor friend since she was already planning to come over to assist me with putting icicle lights on the boathouse. We ended up having to recruit her husband to come help us with the icicle lights, which was such a blessing since I couldn't have done it on my own. 

At this point, if it hasn't been put out or hung up somewhere, then it didn't make the cut for Christmas 2025. Put a fork in me, y'all, because I'm done with thinking about and wrestling with holiday decorations. The halls have been decked with as much time and money as I'm willing to invest in creating seasonal ambiance for family and friends. Plus the 120ish folks from the women's club roaming through my house as part of our holiday fundraiser. Stay tuned for some pics of my house now that it is FINALLY ready for the women's club Christmas showcase tour debut in a few days.

Santa's little helper

Every year, the benevolence foundation in our community hosts a big fundraiser and then uses the proceeds to lend a hand to those who are unable to care for themselves - children, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly. This plays out in a variety of ways. 

For Christmas, the foundation taps volunteers for shopping in order to provide gifts for parents to present to their children. I was asked to help this year since I've gotten involved in the women's club, and was assigned seven-year-old Oliviah. With no grandchildren to spoil yet, I had a fun time rounding up clothes and toys for her. I got it all wrapped so I could deliver my bag of gifts to the coordinator in advance of them being dropped off with the mother. Oh what fun, y'all.

Then a week later, I picked a 7 and 8-year-old girl from our church's angel tree. I once again enjoyed the opportunity to play Santa Claus for the younger set. So I made a trip into town to do some more shopping, including the purchase of a couple extra rolls of wrapping paper, to get these little ladies all set with gifts for Christmas. After wrangling rolls of decorative paper, ribbon and tape to wrap 40 boxes, I THOUGHT I had finished my seasonal volunteer projects. 

Lo and behold, I got a call to ask if I'd be able to donate new tennis shoes for two local kiddos in need. So I toodled into town once again to a sporting goods store to buy some sweet kicks I think they'll like. I got their shoe boxes looking festive as you can see below. All that leaves is for me to drop them off with my friend spearheading the shoe drive through our women's Bible study group. And that, folks, wraps up my Christmas philanthropy. I praise God for His reminder that it's always better to give than receive this holiday season when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you're all finding ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus this Christmas in your community, to bless others as God has blessed you!

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."  Acts 20:35 (NIV)

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.  Hebrews 13:16 (ESV)

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed.  Proverbs 19:17 (ESV)

Dog gone cold lately

After months of sweating my you-know-what off, it seems that winter weather has finally arrived in Texas. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure our temps may well creep back up into that gray area where we, in theory, could wear shorts even though the calendar says it's December. And yet I really hope we stay on the cooler side as we creep closer to Christmas.

With colder temps kicking in, I decided to put fleece jackets on the dogs. Finn got red, while Pepper sported pink. They looked so stinkin' cute. And honestly didn't seem to mind. The material is pretty stretchy, so I didn't have to make them do any crazy contortions to get the fleece on or off. 

Bible study presentation

I recently had the opportunity to present a lesson on Sapphira from Acts 5 to my Monday Bible study ladies group. We've been working our way through "Bad Girls of the Bible" this fall, and I've really enjoyed it. This book has been a great reminder that we've all got some bad girl in us. We may not be bad to the bone like Jezebel. But we have all weathered either bad for a season or bad for a moment times in our lives. Times when we've drifted from the Lord and gone our own way instead of walking with Him.

Fortunately, I had almost two months to prepare my 45 minute presentation. And so I felt more excited than nervous when I miked-up and got rolling with it. I continue to be amazed at what our Almighty God shows me when I slow down and really dig into His word. Honestly, I attribute this to participating in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) for years now. When you progress through the Bible line-by-line, you uncover layers of truth that are always applicable to your particular circumstances since scripture equips us to know God and understand His ways. 

God's word is eternal, and His truths are evident throughout the pages of the Bible. If you're looking for an easily understood and relatable translation, I highly recommend the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. You can find lots of NIV options on Amazon. And if you'd like to really prepare for the wonder of Christmas this year, I encourage you to commit to reading one chapter of Luke per day in December since there are 24 chapters that will get you to Christmas Eve. I've done this for several years, and I love revisiting the story of Jesus' life from Dec 1-24. 

For the word of God is alive and active.  Hebrews 4:12

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.  Isaiah 40:8