Dallas, Texas does not get snow frequently and it is usually in the early months of the year rather than December. So - it was cause for celebration and picture taking when it snowed yesterday! Enjoy the slide show of the dusting of the white stuff!
My Christmases have always been full of family and food and gift exchanges. This year is no exception but the tenor of the holiday is different. After spending weeks where every spare moment was at a hospital - the family scurried to get gifts bought and wrapped in the few days between the release from the hospital and Christmas. It will be a low key celebration instead of the usual big dinners with the whole family. We are aiming for smaller groups and simpler foods. And we all don’t need to count to know that we have been truly blessed this year.
Merry Christmas to all!
The last of the tomatoes have been harvested from my parents’ garden near Dallas, Texas. Some of them will make it to ripeness laying out on a paper towel in the garden room of the house….little remnants of summer in December. There is a poinsettia on the table beside them.
Today I am celebrating tomatoes as part of our Christmas decorations!
This is the second post in a series with thoughts about my recent experience having an elderly family member in the hospital - focusing on how life continues on with that disruption.
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Modern medicine is full of specialists and it is not always clear which - if any - are caring for the whole patient. There is a “who’s on first” confusion that occurs for the patient and the family as each specialist comes by to assess the patient. Our family eventually started keeping a log to track it all so that we could ask questions rather than simply accept everything that was going on. The family was thus able to point out to the doctors that one medication intended to be calming - was causing heightened anxiety and agitation instead.
The food in this particular hospital is upscale - presented more like a hotel room service than institutional fare: a menu from which to order via phone (the kitchen knows the dietary restrictions as soon as they are told the patient’s name, black trays and plate covers….delivered by people in black uniforms. It is quite an upgrade from the stereotypical hospital food.
On the ‘life goes on’ front - we have finally finished decorating the Christmas tree. Enjoy the photographic show below.
I’ll write about the experience of our family member moving from ICU to a regular room….a move in the right direction.
Rather than shopping on Black Friday, my family unpacks Christmas. We have plastic bins and aging boxes of decorations. Last year I did some cleaning out so this year my strategy was to get out everything - enjoy it or donate/trash it. The unpacking is taking several days. The traditional arrangements from years past are not adequate to display everything in the boxes! Here are some examples of items from the boxes used in new ways this year:
The collection of small boxes from jewelry purchases and gifts (I always save them thinking I will need them for something) and small pieces of wrapping paper became a ‘decoration’ - as they filled baskets and a sleigh used in the past for a floral arrangement (and still containing pine cones and chili pepper lights).
A collection of Christmas cookie cutters used 20 years ago for play dough was hung on the tree.
Several extra strands of lights were bundled up and put in large bowl to light up a coffee table.
Packages of glittery blue and green pipe cleaners purchased years ago at a $1 store were transformed into spirals to hang on the tree by wrapping them around a wooden spoon handle.
And the mantle is loaded up with garlands of 20 year old tinsel that has not been out of the boxes in 10 years. It fills in all the gaps between the snow globe, ceramic figures, and clown music box. I'll have to put the Christmas cards that arrive in the mail somewhere else this year.
Unpacking Christmas has been uite a creative experience this year!
The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:
To those who are lonely at Christmas - a poem from Joanna Paterson....it applies to other special holidays as well.
Birding in the National Parks - National Parks Traveler summary of articles on this topic during 2011
eBird - A site hosted by the Cornell Ornithology Department and National Audubon Society. I found it via a ‘Birding in the National Parks’ article. The site is well organized and useful for serious birders as well as more casual observers.
Holiday Guide to Ruse and Recycling - Now that the holiday is waning….time to clean up.
Was 2011 the Year of the Mega-Fire? - A retrospective the large fires of 2011 and a look at the future potential for mega-fires
7 Actions for Becoming More Like Yourself in 2012 - Food for thought as you plan your 2012
Visualizing Asian Energy Consumption - Good graphics showing worldwide energy consumption.
Traveler’s Checklists for 11 National Parks - If you are planning a trip to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Kings Mountain National Military Park, Crater Lake National Park, Fort Sumter National Monument, Zion National Park, Wright Brothers National Memorial, Gettysburg National Military Park, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Petersburg National Battlefield or Jefferson National Expansion Memorial…these can help you get the most from you visit.
Circumnavigating the Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic Circle - Longish post with lots of pictures and associated commentary
Celebrating the whole of life....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Enjoy the photo picks from last month:
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