Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
There was a light dusting of snow on the ground on Christmas Eve morning. That was the extent of our White Christmas, as the temperature for both Christmas Eve and Christmas were well above freezing. It also rained on Christmas Eve for most of the day.
Sometime after I took this picture the pre-lit lights on the top half of our 4-foot Christmas tree stopped working. There didn’t appear to be any reason for the bulbs not to work. The fuse was good. Bob checked individual bulbs, as best as he could, for any bad bulbs or bulbs not seated properly. On Christmas Eve day we took off the ornaments on the top half of our Christmas tree, and Bob pulled the top half of the tree from the base. He still wasn’t able to figure out why the bulbs wouldn’t light on the top half of the tree. We removed the light string completely from the top of the tree. He inserted a bulb contained in a plastic bag fastened to the string of lights. That bulb blew out immediately! It was then that Bob decided to remove the bottom string of lights as well. Afterward we put the ornaments on the Christmas tree and placed it back on the end table in front of the living room windows. So, on Christmas Eve, the only light on the Christmas tree was the star at the very top of the tree. We will buy strings of lights, or possibly a new Christmas tree, next year.
We spent a few daytime hours on Christmas Eve with Stacey and our granddaughters at their home in Oil City, PA.
Harper and Juniper had spent the previous night at “Big Grandma” Chris and Jay’s house. We picked up the girls there at 1:00 pm. The four of us arrived in Oil City around 2:00 pm. We kept the visit casual. For food we snacked on pizza, chicken wing dip and chips, breaded mozzarella cheese sticks, and beef franks in a blanket. We exchanged gifts with each other.
and giggle when they are touched.
Sometime after our gift exchange, Juniper asked if I wanted to go outside and watch her hit a ball. That activity allowed us to talk about sports. I asked Juniper if she would be interested in playing ball at school. Juniper said no, that she likes to come home from school immediately.
Stacey and the girls baked Peanut Butter Kiss cookies. We took home a dozen cookies, which we ate in their entirety before the end of the day. It is a good thing we opted to take only a dozen cookies! We left for home around 4:30 pm. We enjoyed our visit with Stacey and our granddaughters very much.
Bob and I spent Christmas, just the two of us. We liked the Christmas gifts that we got from each other. I gave Bob a golf club and a gift card for a local golf course, baking utensils for his pizza oven, and a Type C Micro SD card reader. Bob gave me a hardback copy of The Bowser Family History, a Ninja smoothie maker, USB flash drives with a carrying case, and a battery backup for my electronic devices.
For Christmas dinner Bob prepared a spatchcocked turkey that he grilled on the pellet grill.
The turkey was delicious! Accompanying the turkey was mashed potatoes, stuffing, broccoli and cauliflower, and cranberry sauce.
“Big Grandma” Chris had brought to us the other day.
It was a quiet, but nice, Christmas. We didn’t mind spending the day just the two of us.
I hope all of my readers had as good a Christmas as we did.
The beginning of our granddaughters’ Head Start Halloween Parade
Juniper, as Batman
Harper, as Scooby-Doo
Another Halloween is in the books!
Budweiser Clydesdales
The Clydesdale horses pulled the Budweiser wagon through the parking lot a few times.
This is Jasper, an Eastern Screech-Owl. Jasper was found injured in the middle of a country road near Albion, PA and brought to the Center for medical care. With damage to one eye and ear, he was not able to be released and required surgical removal of an eye.
This is Willow, an Eastern Screech-Owl. Willow and her family of three owlets were rescued from a city park in Erie, PA when the tree limb holding their nest was cut down. Her story received coverage in local newspapers and television. The owlets survived with no permanent damage and were released on Presque Isle once grown; their mother, however, suffered a wing fracture that would prevent her return to the wild.
This is “Spirit” the white Red-tailed Hawk.
This is Sophia, a Barred Owl. After being hit by a car, Sophia was brought to Tamarack to be treated for a broken wing. She healed well enough to have limited flight. However, because the break occurred near Sophia’s elbow, she is now unable to fully extend her wing, and cannot fly well enough to survive in the wild.
This is Alice, a Cooper’s Hawk.
Harper and June tuckered out just before reaching the Hickory Street Bridge. They rode their tricycles a long, long way.
Harper and June rode rest of the way in the parade in the back of the Lather Salon van.
Bob and I on one of the trails at the Audubon Center and Sanctuary
(top row) l-r: Lois and her great granddaughter; Michael and his family
A highlight of Warren’s 4th of July parade is the candy that is tossed (and handed) to the children. The older children in this picture went out of their way to make sure Harper and June got candy.
Neither Harper nor June like loud noises. June is even more sensitive to loud noise. The fire trucks hit their sirens in the parade. You could count on June holding her hands to her ears, whenever that happened.
The Beauty Around Us 