On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we proceeded with the ritual of putting little green lights on the outdoor evergreens (notice Autumn, I did not attempt to distinguish between pines, firs, balsams, spruces, etc.) Every year it gets a little harder and takes more strands of lights since you can’t keep the darn things from growing. We were
SOOOOO happy that Autumn and Leslie called and volunteered to help. (Thanks very much!) In a few hours we were able to get 5 of the 6 big trees decked out…with only the new little replacement Bosnian and
Mugho and a few bushes for the next weekend. The real fun (cough) of it all was that it started snowing just before the Provo helpers arrived! Actually the snow added a
Christmasy atmosphere to the event and prompted yummy hot chocolate (in Autumn & Leslie’s
Cocomotion Machine) to go with lunch. Some neighbors commented at church that they were happy to see the green-lighted trees and look forward to them every year. That makes it worthwhile or perpetuates the peer pressure! It sure is fun to drive up the street on our way home from work and be greeted by a soft green glow.
Autumn attempting the jump rope technique.
Leslie
attempting the leaf rake technique.
Dad, the man with the power.
Two good hats on two good people.
The really fun hat!
Mom attempting the step ladder technique.
I was asked to be in charge of the live Nativity enactment at this year's Ward Christmas Party. I arranged for 15 actors, picked up the costumes, and had a short rehearsal for the 4 to 5 minute
pre-recorded Luke passage. It was balmy in the early morning, but not quite "April with sandals" by evening. In fact it was bitter cold. Despite a few blips, like one of the
wise men's cell phone going off as he walked to the stable and 4
people cancelling on the day of the
performance (thanks, Dad for being a good sport) it was short and sweet and meaningful. The audience sang 1 verse of Joy to the World at the conclusion. The soup and chili, hot chocolate and scones were the biggest hit, as always.
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we proceeded with the ritual of putting little green lights on the outdoor evergreens (notice Autumn, I did not attempt to distinguish between pines, firs, balsams, spruces, etc.) Every year it gets a little harder and takes more strands of lights since you can’t keep the darn things from growing. We were SOOOOO happy that Autumn and Leslie called and volunteered to help. (Thanks very much!) In a few hours we were able to get 5 of the 6 big trees decked out…with only the new little replacement Bosnian and Mugho and a few bushes for the next weekend. The real fun (cough) of it all was that it started snowing just before the Provo helpers arrived! Actually the snow added a Christmasy atmosphere to the event and prompted yummy hot chocolate (in Autumn & Leslie’s Cocomotion Machine) to go with lunch. Some neighbors commented at church that they were happy to see the green-lighted trees and look forward to them every year. That makes it worthwhile or perpetuates the peer pressure! It sure is fun to drive up the street on our way home from work and be greeted by a soft green glow.
Autumn attempting the jump rope technique.
Leslie attempting the leaf rake technique. 
Dad, the man with the power.
Two good hats on two good people. 
The really fun hat!
Mom attempting the step ladder technique.
I was asked to be in charge of the live Nativity enactment at this year's Ward Christmas Party. I arranged for 15 actors, picked up the costumes, and had a short rehearsal for the 4 to 5 minute pre-recorded Luke passage. It was balmy in the early morning, but not quite "April with sandals" by evening. In fact it was bitter cold. Despite a few blips, like one of the wise men's cell phone going off as he walked to the stable and 4 people cancelling on the day of the performance (thanks, Dad for being a good sport) it was short and sweet and meaningful. The audience sang 1 verse of Joy to the World at the conclusion. The soup and chili, hot chocolate and scones were the biggest hit, as always. 
Here's a beautiful, large sharp-shinned hawk, probably an adult female (notice the talons) on the deck...next to the bird feeder, of course. The weather has been so cold with lots of snow on the ground (we've had 3 or 4 storms, each dumping about 4" at our house and none of it is melting) that we are spending at least $3 a day trying to keep the feeder full of seeds (yes, gourmet shelled sunflower seeds, the expensive kind and nuts for the scrub jays and flickers.) That's about the same amount we paid to buy groceries for ourselves when we first got married! We've seen about 30 quail (half in the feeder tray and half on the ground by the patio below) feeding at the same time. However, this raptor occasionally keeps the feasting/gorging in check.
3 comments:
"Do your chickens have large talons?" What an impressive bird. No kidding those trees get bigger every year. Sheesh!! And Dad had the best headdress by far. Hooray!! :)
Wow what a good idea to do a live Nativity. Our ward should do something like that but I won't suggest it or they might put me in charge! That was nice of Autumn and Leslie to volunteer to help with the lights. It's always so nice to come home to Christmas lights on your house at night. I thinks that's why Baron risks his life every year to have the festive lights on our house.
What a beautiful bird! It was a lot of fun and quite the adventure to come and put up the lights...the triumphs and the mishaps! I'm glad they ended up looking good.
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