ROSE'S WILD WINTER ESCAPADE (AND NOT A FUN ONE!)

On my way to work Tuesday morning (Dec. 29th) I was so enthralled by the frost glistening on every plant.  It was lovely!  When I arrived on campus I just had to stop and take a few photographs.  The frost looked like bright white spikes.

It was so amazing.  there was a berry bush with red berries that burst out from the stark white surrounding it.

Firs had white bursts like fireworks adorning them.  It was so picturesque!

I arrived at work feeling filled with child-like wonder and awe at the beauty of it all.

Late in the afternoon it started snowing and showed no signs of stopping, so I decided to leave work early and go home before the roads got bad.  You see, I do not have snow tires or studded tires.

This is what the campus looked like as I was heading out the door.

I was doing fine until the 213 came to a standstill, and when it would move it was only at 10 miles per hour.  The snow began to come down harder.  I began to get nervous.  It took me 45 minutes to go from the Beavercreek/213 intersection to the Redland/213 intersection. This is usually about a 10 minute trip at the most!

I felt relieved to get off at the Redland exit, but then discovered that the road up Holcomb to where I live was blocked by 2 cars that had slid down it and another was sliding down to collide with them!  A couple of gentlemen waved me to go up Redland.  It was okay until that traffic came to a standstill and, after an hour or so, I knew I was stuck, along with dozens of others.  I saw cars sliding into guard rails, sliding into ditches, sliding into other cars.  A couple of them came close to my van but I was very fortunate to not be hit.

The road was blocked by several cars that had slipped and slid all around.  One gentleman a couple cars behind me tried to go around on my left in the lane for traffic from the other direction, and he ended up sliding across the other lane and into the guard rail.  He emerged from the passenger side of his vehicle and did an impression of the Incredible Hulk, screaming at the top of his lungs, yelling profanities, and beating his fists against his hips, and occasionally waving them in the air.  I immediately locked my door!  He was acting very out of control.

A couple of men told him to get out of the road before he was hit by another car sliding and get back into his vehicle.  Even in his car, I could see him beating the dashboard and steering wheel and could  hear him  yelling--that's how loud he was!!  Talk about road rage!!  A couple of gentlemen came to see if I was okay, promised to get my vehicle to a safe spot and get me somewhere safe. I cuddled up in my quilt that I carry in the car, had on 2 pairs of gloves and my hat, and leaned back in the carseat.  I was fine.

I had my flashers on, and would only start my car when it got too cold because I was down to 1/4 tank after all this.  My cell phone was down to 2 bars and I was in a dead zone unless I rolled down my window and half stood out the car!

 Eventually a young man came, climbed into the driver's seat (no, he did not sit on my lap--I scooted into the passenger seat) while 4 others gave my van a nudge, and then he was able to get it moving.  It would not go far up the hill, so he decided to take it down a driveway.  He asked the owner of the home if it would be okay to park my vehicle there as it was not going to go far and it would be safer off the road.  It turned out the man who owns the house is a retired policeman named Rob.  He'd been a policeman for 30 years.

He was nice to allow my vehicle to stay there and even invited me into his home.  He said he would drive me to my home once his wife got back with the car...she had snow tires.  Hi son had his truck-also with snow tires-and was picking up relatives from the airport. He told me that he was preparing for his fathers funeral the next day.  I felt bad and wished there was something I could do for him. 

I thought of that old saying--I have always relied on the kindness of strangers.

Today I had. I finally arrived home a little after 8 p.m. 

If the snow is melted off enough to be safe for driving tomorrow, I will have my husband drive me to the house where my van is parked and then go to work.

I enjoyed the frost, NOT the snow. Maybe if I had been home before it began to fall......

CHRISTMAS EVE AND PEACOCK LANE

On Christmas eve I visited with my best friend, Sue, and her family at Christina's home (her daughter).
Of course, I whipped out my camera and took a few photographs!  You can see that Brogan certainly does enjoy his books...

You can see that grandma and mommy both enjoy a chance to sit and read to Brogan.

Brogan also has fun playing a game with grandma.  Grandma Sue hides a little ball underneath one of the half-ball shapes, then moves them around and Brogan picks the one with the ball underneath it. He is right every time!  If you notice, each half has a hole in it and Brogan cheats by peaking into them before he picks the one hiding the ball.

Brogan showed me that he definitely knows where his ears are located!

After dinner we all bundled up, hopped into my van, and headed out to see the lights of Peacock Lane in Portland.  I had not been there in years, and Christina informed me that she has been living in the Portland area since 1997 and had never gone!  It was smaller than I rmember, but still enjoyable. 

And, of course, I took pictures....and here they are, for your enjoyment!

We saw candy canes, angels, trees, messages, snowmen, penguins, the Peanuts cast, the Grinch and his puppy, Hawaiian themed decorations, bows, lollipops, packages, deer, and lots of colored lights!
One house even had the infamous leg lamp from the movie A Christmas Story sitting in the window!
In the photo of the house adorned by a bow mad of lights, I managed to get the moon in the sky above it! We had a lovely walk.  After that we decided to drive over to see the Queen Anne Victorian mansion decorated with over 1 million lights, but as we pulled up to it, the light turned off! Maybe another night!

I hope you all have a joyous celebration and enjoy the special moments with loved one, for you never know what the new year holds. Gather those memories while you can and save them to cherish for the future!  Merry Christmas to you all!!

WHAT A LOVELY FAMILY!

My niece sent me a few more photographs of the family.  I am always happy to get photographs!

Here you see little Viviana holding her baby brother, Logan, with dad (Luis) making sure no one is dropped.

Now, for some reason, in this next photograph Viviana reminds me of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz...maybe it is the ruby red slippers! 

And it looks like she is enjoying Rollo's...Mmmmm! Yummy!

Here is my sister-in-law, Cindy, holding her first grandson, Logan.

Here we see Vanessa holding baby Logan right after he was born (Oct 30th).  I saw this and it brought to mind the childrens book I used to read to my son entitled Are You My Mother?  He does look as if wondering who she is!

Logan is definitely a redhead.

Here is the whole family:  Vanessa, baby Logan, Viviana and Luis.

Both children are redheads.  Aren't they adorable!

Shhh! Grandma Cindy is sleeping with little curly top Viviana.  Ahhhh!

Little Logan is most definitely a redhead, no doubt about it!

He seems so alert for a child a little less than 2 months old!

What a cutie!!

And we cannot forget the photograph showing that they are all Raiders fans!

Notice the clothing! Whenever the Raiders play, they drag out all of their Raider items; chairs, blankets, doll, clothing, hats, etc.  They are very into their team!  Despite that, we still love 'em all!!

SUNSET SILHOUETTE

The other day as I was leaving work, I was blessed and awestruck by a beauteous sight of trees silhouetted against such a gloriously colored sky!  So I want to share these photographs with you all.

Each day is filled with beauty...just open your eyes!

CHATTING, DINING, AND CAROLING--OH MY!

I had been missing the days of my youth when Mr. Simpson organized and led practices for the neighborhood children to go out Christmas caroling each year. I always loved singing (even if I do not have the best voice), and loved the smiles on people’s faces and in their eyes when we would carol for them.

Today the women of Chrysalis Writers of CCC gathered together for a Christmas potluck celebration, filled with laughter and chatting.

We all enjoyed delicious food.

Each attendee brought a dish,

and we had plenty of desserts!

I brought tuna salad sandwiches.

Susan was kind to open her home

to us all. 

There are always several groups

chatting away, and a variety of

subjects discussed.  You could

wander around the room and

eavesdrop until you find a subject

you want to join in on!

Lisa organized a time to sing carols. I loved it, and I know she definitely did.

We had musical accompaniment to enhance our voices, thanks to Jenny on violin and Linda on an out-of-tune piano.

Even I had a chance to play a rhythm instrument!

Lisa seemed very happy!

The first song was a funny one and had everyone laughing. I am told that Mariah supplied the song.

It was quite comical!

We all sang some old favorites with such angelic (???!!!) voices. 

Jenny also showed us her latest musical instrument, a hammered dulcimer, and it was so lovely to listen to!!  By next year she will be a pro at it!  It was so much fun to get to sing and harken to my youth.

Lisa and I talked about organizing some of us to do some caroling next year!  That would be fun!

Susan and Jenny's cat found a warm spot beneath a lamp and I could not resist snapping this shot!  He was soon moved as the lamp is an antique and there was worry he would knock it off.  But this shot is great!  I so enjoyed the celebration with all of my dear friends of Chrysalis Women Writers of CCC.     We have such a wonderful group of talented, loving, kind, and caring women. And everyone is very supportive!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL, AND MAY THE COMING YEAR BE FILLED WITH NOTHING BUT JOY, GOOD HEALTH AND PUBLICATIONS!!!!