One Last Post for 2021

 We had a good Christmas and our life is pretty simple now. Mixed in with that, especially the last couple of weeks, there has also been some sad news. Dee Johnston passed away right before Christmas. His kids did Facebook posts for that news. There were some bad wild fires in Colorado and Steve and Carla Downing lost their home. Carla did one brief post about that and I haven't had another other contact with them. We don't know what their plans are. On New Years Eve, Doug Watkins passed away. I called Margie to wish her a happy birthday, Jan.1. I knew that it probably wasn't a very good birthday, but I didn't realize how bad it was until I called her. Doug passed away about 7 pm on Friday night. There will be a graveside service in Medina, this next Wednesday. Wednesday would have been his birthday. 

I am also sharing a Facebook post about New Years Resolutions... it is exactly what I am needing. 😉 And sharing a very short poem. 

(I posted the pics in order that I mentioned above.) 

Happy New Year, despite the sad. The gospel of Jesus Christ is our strength.

I’m sure many of you are setting aside time today to write down your resolutions for the coming year. May I make a few suggestions?

First, resolve to strengthen your spiritual foundation. This may involve setting a specific time and place to study the scriptures, praying more often, making temple worship a bigger priority, and letting God prevail in all aspects of your life.

Second, resolve to be kind to others. When the Savior Jesus Christ visited the Americas, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, one of the first things He taught was the need to eliminate contention in our lives. So, please be compassionate, be understanding, be slow to judge, and be quick to forgive.

Third, resolve to be resolute. The Lord loves effort. The Lord loves consistency. The Lord loves steadfastness. While we surely will come up short from time to time, our persistent efforts to hear Him and follow the inspiration He gives us will help us to “wax strong in the Spirit” (Mosiah 18:26).

May God bless you, my dear friends, and may this be a wonderful year of purpose and possibilities for all of us. Russell M Nelson

Take heed my friend 

You are never alone 

For, you walk with Angels 

Everyday 

Poem by Athey Thompson 

Tales of the old forest faeries

Art by Elicia Edijanto

New Years Eve

We were originally planning to have dinner New Years Eve with one of our neighbors... but Andersons asked if we wanted to go out for dinner with them. The first plan was to meet them at the Cheesecake Factory, at La Canterra. But it was so busy, we would have had to wait 2 hours to get in and that was at 4 pm. We went to a Torchy's Tacos as plan "B". It worked out perfect. Since we arrived there about 4:30, it wasn't very busy at all. We had a great, relaxing dinner there. Then we went back to Andersons and sat out on the back porch for dessert and tree house fun. When we got back home in the middle of the evening, the neighbor let us know that most of his dinner plans got canceled, so we didn't miss anything. He had a big screen projector set up on the drive way and they were planning to make a long night of it. They did tons of fireworks all evening and especially at midnight. Ron hung out with them for while and I put all of the Christmas decorations away, and watched TV. I went to bed about 11:30... but I probably should have watched the fireworks... because it was too noisy to actually sleep. 😉😅

(I put another tree house pick here, even though most of those are in another post.)

Dec 26- Dec 31

 The week after Christmas was my "stay at home" time. After all of my crazy "to do" list before Christmas, I seriously needed a break, to regroup, unwind, and catch up on this blog. Don't pay much attention to the date on each post for the last month. I was adjusting the dates to fit into December of 2021. I did go out a couple times that week and there was serious traffic and people everywhere. Besides this blog update...another project was putting all of the Christmas decor away. I didn't want to put it back in the garage, so I decided that the back corner, of my side, of the master bedroom closet might work. Which meant cleaning out half of that closet. I went through all of my clothes and donated what didn't fit any more. And then rearranged what was left, a bit. I also had a few toys stashed there that got donated. Other people were doing the same sorting and donating, because I had to wait in a long line at the Goodwill Store to donate. I got all of the Christmas stuff into 4 red tubs and a few small boxes. I am still going to redo my Christmas tree (the lights don't work on it and I purchased a few new animal ornaments for it), then wrap it in plastic wrap and set it in the closet. (I left a space for that.) I got all of the outside lights put away. And got out "Snowmen" decor for January. That is usually hard for me to stick with here in Texas, with the mild weather that January brings. But at least this weekend, Jan 1-3, it is cold. Actually another cold freeze like last February is predicted again for Texas, but maybe in January instead of February. I didn't realize how much "Christmas clutter" I had out until it got put away and less decor replaced it. My mind is at "ease" again, instead of about to explode- lol 😉 I really am enjoying this smaller, simpler house. (I still have a painting project waiting for me in January though.) I will do more of a snowman post later in January.

Gracie and Kitty

The two cats are doing well here. Gracie has never been outside... so that is a scary place for her. 😉😆 Kitty spends time in the garage, on the back porch, and recently discovered "inside" on the sofa or the extra bed. Even though Kitty is at least 10 years old, she seems to be better here, than when we first moved. She still mostly sleeps all day and is over weight, but she knows how to purr loud and loves to sit on the sofa when we watch TV in the evenings. Gracie is a bit more spoiled... being near either Ron or I all day and sleeping on our bed at night. She has grown a lot this year. (She was 1 year old in August) Sometimes I get messages from Sadlers... Gracie's mom, now "Pearl", is also spoiled at their house. We have no doubt that she ended up at the right home. She turned from feral cat to "inside- lap" cat. The last two pics are what the cats are doing, while I am blogging 😉😺 (Kitty is not only over weight... but she is also fluffy, with long hair.)

The Anderson Magic

 Things are pretty magical at the Anderson house. Even though Covid threw a wrench in the works. Andersons also had a new family photo taken this fall. They did a super cute skit at their ward Christmas breakfast activity... only one pic from that 😉😎

The Best of the Petes

 I forgot to mention sooner that the Petes had some family photos taken the end of November. Here are a few of those and a couple of other random photos. We love the time that we get to spend with this family and the Andersons, while we miss the Christiansens, the Simms, and the Thompsons.

Simms Christmas

 Here are a few pics from the Simms. Alex loves to take the boys out hiking and camping. Annie is faithful about doing the candle lite Christmas Eve with the family. They no longer have a "little kid" Christmas... that has turned into a "big kid" Christmas. I didn't grab the pic... but first breakfast on Christmas day, each kid gets their own box of cereal! 😉😀 Then later Annie makes cinnamon rolls and breakfast casserole. Great family pic at the end.