Christmas Season 2010

This is the extent of holiday decorations on the outside of my house. There was a time when the house would have been covered with lights from top to bottom, but for some reason when we moved to Carroll County in 1986 that tradition stayed with the old house. I was a little sad to see this tradition fade away, but things change as we each get older and over the years we put up fewer and fewer decorations. We still celebrate the season though, with as much gusto as we have ever done.

They (the weathermen of the area) were originally calling for snow on the 25th, but I do believe that has changed. Our little "mole hill" mountains (The Appalachians) are doing their job and so far the worst of the weather has gone either to the north or south of us. I used to "dis" those little "mole hill" mountains, but have learned over the years to greatly appreciate the job that they do.

I learned not long ago, that my friend in New Zealand has been reading my blog - hooray, someone else other than my nieces have read my writings. I enjoy what little writing that I do and am always glad to get feedback. Thank you my friend.

To anyone who may read this I want to wish a Happy Holiday Season (Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza etc. - don't want to leave anyone out) and my the new year bring the best of everything to you.

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

I woke up this morning with "shoulda, woulda, coulda" running through my brain. I came up with all sorts of scenarios. I "should have" done this, which "would have" led to this, so that I "could have" done that. I think that we all suffer from this malady every now and then. Especially when confronted with questions from old friends that you don't know how to answer.

I was sent the line "roses are red, violets are blue" for me to complete. I really did not know how to react to this. I am not really the poetic type - even on such an elementary level as this. I know that this person is looking for a certain response, but I am not really sure that I am going come through as expected. I am going to have to cogitate on this dilemma for awhile.

Unusual Frost by Dory Schreuder

These are photographs taken by my cousin Dory at his home in Bozman, Montana, on Dec. 5, 2010, and if you click on them and open you can see all the detail and the sparkle. Mother Nature outdid herself when she created this wonder.

My cousins words: "We had a very heavy fog/frost at about 0 degrees. I took some photos this morning at about 10 degrees. The frost had grown crystals which stood vertically on most surfaces. The crystals were quite large.....big enough to photograph. When the sun shown on them, they were like thousands of mirrors reflecting light from everywhere. The photos only hint of the spectacle because the camera captured just the brightest."

I told my niece that I would tell her the story of how I met my cousin. So here goes.....

I was at work one day and taking dictation from a co-worker. We stopped for awhile so that he could gather his thought and I could rest my hand (that's right it was dictation done the old fashioned way with a pen, a steno notebook and Mr. Gregg's shorthand). We started talking about our families. He mentioned that he was from Montana and I told him that I had a great-uncle living in Billings. He asked me his name. "Harry Winfrey" I replied and that is when I found out that he was a great-nephew of Harry. (My Grandmother Hemping and Harry were siblings. I just realized that great-uncle Harry may have been my dad's namesake.)

As we talked more I realized that we had met many years before when my family had taken a trip to Montana when I was five years old. I remember him a little bit, but only because I knew him as the cousin that had been "stomped" by a horse. It only goes to show just how small the world was even back then. It is even smaller today.

Since then we have kept in touch. I moved back to Maryland and he moved to Washington State for awhile, eventually ending up back in Montana - his home state. He built his house himself. It sits on a a mountain top overlooking the town. He has sent some really nice pictures over the years and one day I hope to visit him there. Of course, it is going to have to be when the weather is warm as I am not a "cold weather" person.

Things happen in strange ways when they are meant to happen. Dory and I were destined to be reunited in San Diego, California, all those years later (approximately 25 by my count) and we have kept in touch ever since. This is not much of my dad's family left and I am grateful to having Dory in my life.