Christmas Cheer

On Friday before we had even finished our coffee it began to rain and when we went to bed Friday night it was still raining.  Three quarters of an inch by the time it stopped–unusual for this time of year but awfully nice!  A friend made this statement, “So much for your tumbleweeds! You will have a new crop!”–With friends like Louanne who needs enemies!  🙂 🙂

I braved the rain and went to yoga, the Cowboy drilled some more holes in concrete, knocked out walls–mostly demolition.  I’ve been baking–cookies for shipping off to here and there–and we’ve been sampling too much!

Saturday I tangled with the tumbleweeds again–I only dig for about a hour every morning after walking Emmi and I’m making a dent in the dang things.  Now if we can just keep them from coming back!

When we stayed in Montana for the Christmas season one of our favorite holiday season events was the lighted Christmas parade in Big Timber.  When a friend and I owned Cinnabar Creek, a small shop in Big Timber, we were responsible for starting several of the holiday traditions still celebrated in our little home town.  The first year of the lighted parade (maybe 1999) I was responsible for meeting all the floats at the high school parking lot and getting the vehicles arranged in some sort of order.  I wore insulated Carhart coveralls, wool hat, and snow boots–a blizzard was happening and it was so dang cold and windy out there in that parking lot.

In Willcox, AZ last night it was chilly but at least it wasn’t below zero!!  And no wind.  We enjoyed dinner at our favorite Mexican food restaurant before heading over to Railroad Avenue to watch the parade.  People were so friendly, stopping to talk to us, introducing us.  Someone with a fantastic voice was singing Christmas carols from an open trailer near the judging stand.  This woman with the fantastic voice also nailed the Star Spangled Banner a cappella! It was a special evening and we enjoyed ourselves so much!  This is a very short video–

Getting ready for the parade–with all the rain it’s been damp and foggy–strange weather for Arizona!

Big tractor from the Coronado Dairy near Willcox.

The Willcox fire engine was last in the parade. Remember I stated we were on Railroad Avenue–see the train lights to the right of the fire engine? Willcox is a train quiet zone–trains don’t blow their horns when coming through Willcox but last night they did–all part of the Christmas celebration.

Today dawned clear but cold–a low hanging fog shrouded the mountains–

The steam from the coal fired electrical generating plant rising above the fog.

The Cowboy made it to the toilet so to speak-:)

He drilled and dug all the concrete from a trench for the toilet drain–today he reached the spot where the toilet will be located.  That was a LOT of work and he’s glad it’s done!See the smoke coming from the chimney!

Merry Christmas!