Merry Christmas!

     This is our first Christmas in our new digs.  We moved in about three weeks ago..or at least I did.  My buddy, best friend, husband was in the hospital, then a rehab facility receiving physical therapy to regain the strength he had lost through bouts of chemotherapy. As we had scheduled to move, to begin renovations, etc. we had to go ahead with our plans even though he could not be a part of it all.
      We have "downsized" from about 3000 square on two acres to a condo in the city...although we loved our "country" home, it is time to move into another phase in our lives.  We feel very lucky to have found this condo...it it a perfect size...has two rooms for bedrooms downstairs..one of which will become my studio; the other our bedroom which has a large closet and a medium size master bath. There is also a half bath off the hall near what will be my studio....and a nice sized living room/dining area/ and kitchen which we have totally renovated with new flooring, new cabinets, countertops and appliances.
     I am still in the process of unpacking so haven't found all my Christmas stuff for this year..and really didn't have the energy to decorate all out even if I could have found it! But decorations do not make the season...the people do and we are fortunate to have both of our

Memory Monday #47

      Another high school memory...Freshman year. A tradition which still goes on today is prom.  Prom has taken a bit of a different meaning now, but when I was a kid, prom was a "going away" party/dance, hosted by the Junior Class in honor of the graduating Seniors. It was in the spring...underclassmen could come by invitation of a Junior or Senior.  The Junior class would choose the theme, decorate accordingly, etc. Even the Prom Queen was a Junior...(Homecoming Queen was always a Senior).

(Not my prom, but certainly could have been...we all looked just like that!)

      Prom took place in the town's largest building...the American Legion Hall.  After the hall was decorated by the Juniors, tables set up, the Queen's throne/dais decorated, snack table set up..(the moms would usually make all the snacks)..the prom attendees would arrive.  Juniors would have spent days decorating..and some nights! Then the day of prom, everyone was a tither with anticipation...no one but the Juniors would know what the dance looked like...and that evening as the attendees came in, many of the townspeople would line up to see everyone in their formal attire!  Then..another tradition, after the crowning of the queen, the band would strike up a song to which all the dance participants would line up in a promenade led by the queen and her court and their dates. After the promenade, the townspeople would leave and the dance would proceed.

     The year I was a Freshman, my sister was a Junior...so her class was hosting the prom.  One of the nights the Juniors were supposed to be decorating, my gang was having a birthday party at one of our houses.  Several of my friends were dating Junior boys who were also at the party...sometime in the evening, the Junior girls all showed up to drag all the boys away to help decorate!

    One of my friends' boyfriends drove a Jeep...and he had left it there while going to decorate...my friend and two others who dates had also gone to help decorate, decided to take a little joy ride in the Jeep! (Of course none of us were old enough to drive..legally!) So the three of them crammed into the front....I decided at the last minute to go along and jumped in the back!

Again..not the actual Jeep, but very similar!

     She gunned off...me hanging on for dear life bouncing around in the back!  We roared out to the edge of town...turned around then came roaring back...I doubt if the vehicle could go over 40 miles an hour...but at the time it seemed pretty wild!  The house where the party was sat on a large lot with a long gravel driveway.  The driveway ended in a circle around a group of trees.  As we came down the drive, we "zoomed" around the circle..once...twice..then on the third time...going a little faster each time, my friend lost control..we went crashing through the wall of a garage/barn next door!

     By then the guys were back from helping decorate...and our CRASH! certainly brought out the entire neighborhood!  The guy who owned the house next door was not very happy with us wild teenagers!  I guess by today's standards, we would have been considered real juvenile delinquents, but again, small town...everyone knew everyone...we were just lucky none of us were really hurt!  We really learned our lesson!  Sometimes innocent fun which turns into disaster can be a real life experience...none of us were ever involved in anything so stupid again!

    I think if I remember right...none of us went to the prom that year!!!  The Junior girls won that event over the Freshmen girls!!!

   

Our Beautiful World-December

     Again... November was a bit of a "month to forget"...and I didn't get the last couple of posts for the "Our Beautiful World" blog.  This week (which is about over!) the word is December...what is December like in my part of the world!

December 6, 2013-outside our new condo in Ft. Worth

Icy Holly branches

Winter visitors at our previous country home-2012

    December in North Texas can be very unpredictable...on Wednesday of this week, the high temperature was around 75 degrees...yesterday (Thursday) a front came in and by afternoon the temperature was in the 30's...today (Friday) the high was 25 degrees!

     My first picture was taken this morning outside our new digs!  I don't remember when the second picture of the holly was taken, but is typical of the kind of weather we get in winter...rather fierce but also short-lived...by next week, the weather will be in the 50s again!

     And the last picture is our little deer friends who would visit us frequently all year 'round...although I love watching them..I am looking forward to being able to grow flowers in pots outside!  The little rascals would eat every tender green plant we would try to grow!!!1

Memory Monday # 46

    After having a pretty hectic month of November...I missed a couple of weeks of memories, but I am a little more settled now and am ready to continue the saga!!! My last memory was about Junior High..seventh grade specifically.  The eighth grade wasn't much different..but then came HIGH SCHOOL!!
     Freshman Year:  I was still somewhat socially immature..not really into boys yet, but did join in on the "fun" of dating somewhat.  My best friend, Barbee, (we met in fourth grade and the friendship continued on) was much more socially mature than I...she started dating earlier and would often drag me into double dating, etc.
     There was a dance in the winter where the girls invited the boys...the guy Barbee was dating didn't have access to a car always so she coerced me into asking a friend of his, so we could double date.  He was nearly as shy as I was so it was a pretty quiet date as I remember.
     I ran around with eight to ten girls...we would take turns having slumber parties...usually around our own birthdays..although one of my friends developed the "half-birthday"...six months after one's legal birthday...thus squeezing another party in!!

A slumber party...we really weren't stoned..just goofy from lack of sleep!

In the above picture, I am lower left...I have no idea what was going on with the log..but I am sure it was hilarious!!  We would all bring bedrolls with pillows and blankets...the hostess would supply all kinds of snacks...if one had a date, she would come at the appointed curfew of the hostess's parents..and oh, the giggling and fun we had!  And of course, there were always a few who were going steady...and those who were breaking up!  Oh, the heart ache and angst of being teenagers!!

     Music was always a big part of slumber parties...and we played it at top volume..until a parent...usually a dad would tell us to quiet down!!  And yes, we were Elvis fans...this WAS the fifties!

A favorite!

...then Elvis had to make movies and ruined his image to me...he really should have stuck to just singing!

      We had so much fun...and alcohol and drugs were never part of our lives..an occasional sneaked cigarette perhaps....all of our parents were big smokers...no one thought anything of it back then.  Just look at old movies and tv shows of that era..everyone smoked!