Another Eventful Friday

I had woken up, not having slept well the night before..

I had a sore throat that had kept me up, as well as acid reflux, so I was not in the best of moods when I got up to get ready for Bible Class at Denecia's, but after a hot shower and some Ibuprofen, things got better. Here's a recap of the day. Lotsa pictures were taken yesterday, and there are links to the individual pages because I did not want to bog down the page loading time with lots of pictures on here.

We never had gingerbread houses in Malaysia, except for in the Hansel and Gretel story, Grimm ( pun very much intended ) story though that may be. So, click on the little Graham Cracker House for some pictures of houses made by Denecia's precious little granddaughters.

Maria, also from Bible Class, had an open house and Christmas Sale of items that she had handcrafted and hand painted. Cindy and I have been to her house several times, and it is a beautifully restored old house with so many quaint and warm nooks. She also serves warm apple cider and it's just magical as you walk around her house, enveloped by smells of cinnamon and spices and with soft Tingstad and Rumbel music in the background. Click on the little whip cream snow man for more pictures from Maria's house.

When I got home, David whisked me off to visit our neighbor, Mr. Clemmer, who owns a masonry business here in Abilene. He is about 80 years old, still strong and feisty, and has quite a number of land lots scattered around the few neighboring counties. We followed him to 2 of his farms out where the windmills were, and even helped him feed his cows!

Click on the windmill for more windmill pictures.
Click on David scattering feed for more cow-feeding pictures.
Click on the little tombstone for more pictures of memories of days long past.

Tonight was a welcome break

from Taco Tuesday.

I just don't know if I can do Mexican fast food once a week much longer without tearing some hair out. And I don't have that much hair to spare.

Which was why I jumped right into "instigating" everyone to go to the free H.E.B. "Feast for Sharing Holiday Dinner" when I found out it was on a Tuesday. Well, not really, but that it fell on a Tuesday was pretty nifty, for my purposes.

H.E.B. is a grocery chain in Texas, which has since expanded to Mexico. The first annual "Feast for Sharing" dinner in Abilene was held last year, ( which we also went to ), even though it had been serving free holiday dinners annually in various cities in Texas since 1989. It was initially started to target the needy and has since turned into a huge community event, with live music, exhibition stalls by community service organizations, and a children's area with activities and visiting with Santa.

Last year in Abilene, 5250 people were fed and tonight's projection is 7500. From what we could see, they certainly did not underestimate the number of people who would attend.

Good food, good family and community time, happy memories and thoughts of Thanksgiving on how blessed we truly are.

And with weeks to spare!

We finally got ALL our Christmas shopping done

and the presents for those of us in Abilene are wrapped and most of them are under Walter's Christmas Tree.

Presents for my family in Malaysia were sent off a couple of weeks ago, and we're going to send my brother and his family in Richmond their package today, hopefully without another fiasco.

Phew. Now to tackle the Christmas CARDS!

Hanging in Abilene

Just catching up on stuff I've been up to


Single Seniors' Christmas Dinner
Dec 2nd, 2006

Walter invited us to go along with him, Cindy & Johnny to the Single Seniors' Christmas Dinner, sponsored by Hillcrest Church of Christ. There were about 10 - 15 tables of 10, I think, and each table had been decorated by a church member with a specific motif, so it was all very grand and 'banquet'y. And the icing on the cake, literally, was the dessert : Molten Lava Chocolate Cake. Simply scrumplicious.

Silver Spurs Gun and Blade Show
Dec 3rd, 2006

I was just thinking yesterday, as I was walking around so many cowboy-and-cowgirl types, that being in Texas has allowed me to experience the SouthWest up close and personal, southern hospitality and warmth, the very unique southern accent, and all that southern comfort food.

Soaking in the Local Culture

It's good for me to take the time ..

to experience the culture of wherever I may be at, because I believe it can only enrich my life and senses. ( David would add "plus it would be good blogging material" - bleh! )

We went to 2 concerts recently - one in October and one yesterday, both from the country music scene, and both at the Paramount. Gary Morris is also active on the stage among other things, having been the lead in Les Miserables, La Boheme and others. Gary P. Nunn himself is pretty legendary in Texas, and those who follow the country music scene will definitely know who these two excellent musicians are. I have to admit, though, that I had absolutely NO idea who they were before this. *grin*

Gary P. Nunn in Concert
Oct 26th 2006

Yes, David is once again shielded from the "blog limelight" on purpose.

Read more about Gary P. Nunn HERE and HERE.

Gary Morris Christmas Show
Dec 1 2006

The photos are a little blurry/grainy coz we were sitting in the back, taking in the full view of the auditorium, and I had to use digital zoom and hold my camera steady against the seat in front of me, not to mention manipulate ISO and all that good goop.

Read more about Gary Morris HERE and HERE

p/s: I wish the snow could have stayed on a little longer. Bye Bye Snowflakes.