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Well, here's the weekend report from beautiful downtown Bel Nor. We didn't get ice beyond 1/4 inch last weekend, and we didn't lose power. But this weekend (Saturday the 15th and Saturday night) we had almost 7 inches of snow that fell in two waves.
But first, The Amaryllis is Blooming! This is the first plant to bloom but another has a stalk almost a foot high and it should bloom by Christmas. After I posted the photo of this one in bud, brother Don in Garden City sent photos of their amarylli in bloom at the same time.
So while Mom Linville's legacy bloomed on inside the house, The Juncos, who had arrived a couple of weeks ago, were testing the thistle feeder. Our wintering gold finches seem to have taken a short vacation, and haven't been around, so these guys had to hop up and perch to get their dinner. This photo was about noon, when only 2 inches of snow was on the ground. I'll put up some shots of the aftermath of the storm in another post.
Although the weather outside was frightful, a small group of determined students from the school newspaper showed up at our house for their holiday party, anyway. And they all made it home safely, although one didn't call me about his arrival until 1 a.m. Here are Matt, Elizabeth, Carrie, Paul, Justi and Thomas (kneeling) after dinner and just after we opened white elephant gifts. They love to play a game called Apples and Oranges. It helps to know an adjective from a noun to play this game.
My relatives in Tulsa had a bad time in the ice storm down there; six days without power for Debi and Mike, and their daughter and other family were still waiting yesterday to get reconnected. Debi has posted pictures of their storm damage on her blog, Debide's View (link in the box of Blogs at right.) Norm's brother Don said Garden City escaped the ice. We hope all the other sibs did, too. Norm's niece Debbie Berndsen in Hutchinson, Kansas, has ice storm news on her blog, Creative Reflections, as well. (Link also at right.)
Oh my, here we go again. Deja Vu and all that. No, this photo isn't from December 2006. I took it this afternoon, looking south toward my neighbor's trees. It's about a 1/4-inch coating right now, but two more days of freezing rain are forecast. We know a lot of friends and family might already be in the dark, and we are concerned about our neighbor (who stores the generator in her garage) because she went to Kansas City this weekend. An icy drive back for her. The odd thing is, when we went to church this morning, there was no ice at all on the trees a mere two miles south of here. That's how fine the line is in this storm.
But inside, the annual miracle of the Amaryllis is taking shape. This is one of our older bulbs that has been stretching up since we discovered it right after Thanksgiving. Today it is showing color and by tomorrow it will surely be in bloom. Another bulb in the south window upstairs has a bud shoot about two inches high; it is actually Doug's plant and it should be ready to greet him in bloom when he arrives in town for the Holidays. Ah, if the Amaryllis is blooming, surely all will be well.
Thanksgiving is my cousin Mike's grand holiday. I think he would go out in the street and compel people to come in and share the feast if not enough family showed up. He and Debi continue the tradition of Mike's parents, who always invited us to their house for this feast. This year the dinner itself was held on Friday, because of work schedules. But there were plenty of appetites there. Their daughter and son in law and two grandsons; Deb's sister and her husband, their grandson; assorted friends and that couple from Missouri. Yes, there were a few left overs, but not many. Norm and I contributed pecans for one of the pies, and we tried to help put things away.
I titled this post A Centennial Thanksgiving because Nov. 16 was the 100th anniversary of Oklahoma becoming a state. There had been a big state-wide celebration all year long, with the finale on the Saturday that we were driving through the state on the way to Texas.
If you live in Sperry, you are a pirate. That's the mascot of the school where Deb teaches. Our visit included playing with two babies and one 4-year old, meeting a relative of Deb's we hadn't met before, and watching Arkansas prevail against LSU on national television. It was a very satisfying day. Our stay in Oklahoma ended on the 24th and Gracie brought us back to St. Louis. We covered 1609 miles over the 8 days, and Gracie got close to 26 MPG on the highway. Not bad considering the higher speed limits in Texas and on the Oklahoma turnpikes!
On Nov. 17, we set out in Gracie to visit Norm's sister Maxine and her husband Roy in Texas. We overnighted in Muskogee, Okla. and arrived at their place in Mineral Wells, Texas, before dark the next day. The 19th was Roy and Maxine's 52nd Wedding Anniversary. Congratulations, y'all.
Our last visit to Mineral Wells was exactly two years ago for their Golden Anniversary party. This time we wanted to see how Maxine is coming along following a fall that injured her arm and knee. She wasn't showing either in these pictures, but we can attest to the fact that she is doing her therapy and getting along really well, all things considered. We all attended the Methodist Church on Sunday and people were really glad to see Maxine out and about.
One additional voice that drew us toward Texas at this time of year was the lure of Roy's home grown pecans. We had heard that there was a good crop this year. Many were still on the trees, so Roy and Norm went out to shake some down. We picked up about 3 or 4 gallons from just an hour's prodding. Thanks for the pecans! They will be shelled and frozen and appear in all kinds of delicacies for the next couple of years. (Some went to my cousin's for Thanksgiving--see next story.)
A cold front was due in on Wednesday, so Roy was working hard to bring in the rest of his garden. He was digging sweet potatoes, some as big as small watermelons. We were lucky enough to bring a few of those north, too. They are keeping well in our former coal room in the basement, which is cool.
Since our tomato vines gave up a couple of months ago, it was amazing to see vines still full of delicious fruit. We picked these for Roy while he dug potatoes, and we got to bring part of them North with us to share with family. Bacon and tomato sandwiches have been on our menu several times since we returned home.
Apparently, the long growing season extends to Okra, which had many large pods... they were a little too tough to eat. But the plants were still in bloom, waiting for the blast from the north to finish them off. Sometimes the 10 acres at their place is a little much to keep up with, but Roy and Maxine have a wonderful variety of produce and they were very generous in what they shared with us. This was a great visit, full of stories, reminiscences, and laughter. We left on Tuesday for Oklahoma and a Thanksgiving visit with my cousin Mike and his family.
Our snowfall on Saturday the 15th measured just about 6 inches, although some of it may have settled by the time Norm took a yardstick to various parts of the yard on Sunday morning. He also shoveled the double driveway but we still didn't get to church on time! We did get out later in the day for our pastor's open house.
The garage is something we really appreciate in a snow storm, after spending more than 30
At the front steps, the festive bows on the garland that Norm put out to welcome our visitors was covered in white. By afternoon, streets were quite passable although Saturday night was tricky for drivers. We stayed in until Sunday evening.
