And if you live in my 'hood, you can also get the Christmas tree out of the living room and set it out by the curb. Course, and this is just a suggestion, if you do go all out and take down the Christmas lights, you are only going to have to put them back up in 8 months. Is it really worth the hassle?Dave
Your Host
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Christmas Report: Yes, You May Now Take Down the Lights...
Our area is doing that twice a year bulk garbage pick up this week; you know, where you can throw out all your old sofas and washing machines and other crap. Once the people finish their street shopping (my daughter's term for people who drive by in pick-up trucks picking up all the stuff they can use), then the city trucks come by and pick up your tree branches, old fence boards, and other unwanted crap.
And if you live in my 'hood, you can also get the Christmas tree out of the living room and set it out by the curb. Course, and this is just a suggestion, if you do go all out and take down the Christmas lights, you are only going to have to put them back up in 8 months. Is it really worth the hassle?
And if you live in my 'hood, you can also get the Christmas tree out of the living room and set it out by the curb. Course, and this is just a suggestion, if you do go all out and take down the Christmas lights, you are only going to have to put them back up in 8 months. Is it really worth the hassle?
Friday, December 12, 2008
Hot Chocolate Social Report: It's All About Santa, Baby...
Can you tell we are getting closer to Christmas?
If it wasn’t the snow just north of us and freezing temperatures experienced this week that gave it away, the line of excited children and their parents all waiting patiently to get a moment on Santa’s lap was evidence enough that the Holiday season is here.
Along with several neighbors enjoying the company of hundreds of Great Northwest residents, my wife and I attended the Hot Chocolate Social at the Lodge of the Great Northwest on Thursday evening. We attended briefly last year just to see what it was all about and honestly, did not recall seeing as many people waiting to see Santa.
If it wasn’t the snow just north of us and freezing temperatures experienced this week that gave it away, the line of excited children and their parents all waiting patiently to get a moment on Santa’s lap was evidence enough that the Holiday season is here.
Along with several neighbors enjoying the company of hundreds of Great Northwest residents, my wife and I attended the Hot Chocolate Social at the Lodge of the Great Northwest on Thursday evening. We attended briefly last year just to see what it was all about and honestly, did not recall seeing as many people waiting to see Santa. 
For those older kids not requiring some personal time with Santa to deliver a specific list of desired Christmas presents, the lodge was equipped with tables to observe the action from. Meanwhile, the staff and volunteers served tummy-warming hot chocolate and tummy-expanding cookies. 
As the eager crowd waited their turns with Santa, they were entertained by The Great Northwest Sounds who performed a series of memorable holiday standards. The festive tunes were met with enthusiastic appreciation from the audience.
During a break in the performance, a Sounds duet gave a wonderful treatment of the classic, Santa Baby which drew great applause from the festive crowd.
Later, the Great Northwest “High Steppers” gave us a demonstration in line dancing, showing off their skills to “Boot Scoot'n’ Boogie” and “
Funny, this young lady apparently didn’t want to wait in line for Santa, so she found a lap of her own to sit on!
The Annual Hot Chocolate Social; another reason we love living in the Great Northwest.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Trip Report: HEB Plus on Potranco...
Apparently all it takes is the hint of cool weather, a Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday to get HEB in the Christmas spirit.
We went into the HEB Plus on Potranco for a few items Saturday, and my wife was immediately interested in a huge tree. 
I'm thinking something much smaller this year, but I don't see myself paying $16 for the top of someone else's tree either.
We walked in through the garden department and found no garden stuff at all. Instead, it has been transformed into some sort of Christmas decoration center complete with loud Christmas music playing like it was a concert or something, perhaps to remind us that we are less than 30 days away.
Once we got into the regular part of the store, the place was lined with all sorts of potential holiday gift ideas. My wife wondered if a chafing dish is for people with jock itch. I don't know, but it made me laugh.
Oh, here is something interesting. Have you ever purchased milk on clearance? Hey for 50 cents, maybe if they let me sniff it first, it might be worth it. Then again, I don't drink milk so I wasn't going to seek out an employee to ask.
On our way out, they had this vendor who has been selling Kettle Korn. It's Rockin', don'tcha know. Anyway, we bought a small bag last week and ate small portions during our TV time throughout the week, and it was mighty tasty. So we bought another bag yesterday. Oh, and the proprietor of this Kettle Korn Kiosk says he has been cooking it since he was 7 years old. Aren't there laws against that? All I know is it's some good stuff.
Oh, and if you are wondering which one is the Jelly Belly and which one is me, I'm the one not wearing gloves.
We went into the HEB Plus on Potranco for a few items Saturday, and my wife was immediately interested in a huge tree. 
I'm thinking something much smaller this year, but I don't see myself paying $16 for the top of someone else's tree either.
We walked in through the garden department and found no garden stuff at all. Instead, it has been transformed into some sort of Christmas decoration center complete with loud Christmas music playing like it was a concert or something, perhaps to remind us that we are less than 30 days away.
Once we got into the regular part of the store, the place was lined with all sorts of potential holiday gift ideas. My wife wondered if a chafing dish is for people with jock itch. I don't know, but it made me laugh.
Oh, here is something interesting. Have you ever purchased milk on clearance? Hey for 50 cents, maybe if they let me sniff it first, it might be worth it. Then again, I don't drink milk so I wasn't going to seek out an employee to ask.
On our way out, they had this vendor who has been selling Kettle Korn. It's Rockin', don'tcha know. Anyway, we bought a small bag last week and ate small portions during our TV time throughout the week, and it was mighty tasty. So we bought another bag yesterday. Oh, and the proprietor of this Kettle Korn Kiosk says he has been cooking it since he was 7 years old. Aren't there laws against that? All I know is it's some good stuff.
Oh, and if you are wondering which one is the Jelly Belly and which one is me, I'm the one not wearing gloves.Friday, December 14, 2007
Contest Report: What is Your Address?
I once sent my sister Sharon, a copy of a letter I sent to a national organization with whom I had a serious beef, to ask for her advice about how I had expressed myself. In the letter, I had made multiple valid points but for added emphasis and to add somewhat of a dagger into the heart of whoever might be paid to read incoming correspondence, I used some form or another of the "F" word.
My sister, who has great experience as a professional writer, advised me that I may have actually lessoned the credibility of the clearly valid content of my letter by stooping to such a level, and quite frankly, in retrospect, I agreed with her assessment. I would use that advice for years to come in my correspondence with others.
A friend of mine cusses as much as I do. But he does not cuss in front of his kids. He is a Green Bay Packers fan, so this year, he is okay. But in years past, while sitting in his living room watching my Tampa Bay Bucs pummel his Green Bay Packers, I witnessed him give the following directive to his youngsters:
As Brett Favre threw an interception, he said, "You kids go upstairs, Daddy is about to cuss."
So, I mention all of this so I can tell you that I am about to say "Fuck".
This evening, my wife and I went out on sort of a volunteer mission to take pictures of houses within several of the sub-divisions that make up our Neighborhood Association. The idea is, people decorate their homes with lights, we take pictures of the lighted homes and then later, some committee will look at all the pictures and choose winning homes for each sub-division.
I printed off a list of addresses that had already been pre-selected for viewing with the instructions that any other homes that looked really good could be added. Fair enough. But you can only really look at the lights when it is dark.
When my wife tried to burn my house down... Okay, let me rephrase that.
When we had an accidental kitchen burning at our home, the fire department made it to our house in minutes. Thankfully, all we got out of the ordeal was a new kitchen and dining room. I'd hate for any of you to have to suffer such a fate, but the fact is, our damage was limited because they got here so quickly.
Heaven forbid the fire department had to track down half the houses on my list tonight because homeowners are too lazy or too cheap to pay the $20.00 it costs to have reflective numbers painted on the curb or heaven forbid, they might change the light bulb that shows the 35 cent numbers mounted on the front of your house. What the Fuck? Are you people nuts?
I wish no pain upon anyone. What happens if your kid chokes on a chicken bone and you dial 9-11 and the EMT's can't pick out your house from the other ones on the street without numbers? What happens if your neighbor is the guy the SWAT team is looking for but they get confused because neither of you thought it was a good idea to post the address to your house on the curb or the freakin' house?
Then what?
For God's sakes, it's just a stupid Christmas Lighting contest but now is the time to figure out whether or not you need to fix your address marker. Walk out front at night and ask yourself if a paramedic or a firefighter is going to come right in and help you, or drive up and down the street looking for your house.
I'm not sure how valid my use of the F-word was in describing this situation, but it sure made me feel better.
My sister, who has great experience as a professional writer, advised me that I may have actually lessoned the credibility of the clearly valid content of my letter by stooping to such a level, and quite frankly, in retrospect, I agreed with her assessment. I would use that advice for years to come in my correspondence with others.
A friend of mine cusses as much as I do. But he does not cuss in front of his kids. He is a Green Bay Packers fan, so this year, he is okay. But in years past, while sitting in his living room watching my Tampa Bay Bucs pummel his Green Bay Packers, I witnessed him give the following directive to his youngsters:
As Brett Favre threw an interception, he said, "You kids go upstairs, Daddy is about to cuss."
So, I mention all of this so I can tell you that I am about to say "Fuck".
This evening, my wife and I went out on sort of a volunteer mission to take pictures of houses within several of the sub-divisions that make up our Neighborhood Association. The idea is, people decorate their homes with lights, we take pictures of the lighted homes and then later, some committee will look at all the pictures and choose winning homes for each sub-division.
I printed off a list of addresses that had already been pre-selected for viewing with the instructions that any other homes that looked really good could be added. Fair enough. But you can only really look at the lights when it is dark.
When my wife tried to burn my house down... Okay, let me rephrase that.
When we had an accidental kitchen burning at our home, the fire department made it to our house in minutes. Thankfully, all we got out of the ordeal was a new kitchen and dining room. I'd hate for any of you to have to suffer such a fate, but the fact is, our damage was limited because they got here so quickly.
Heaven forbid the fire department had to track down half the houses on my list tonight because homeowners are too lazy or too cheap to pay the $20.00 it costs to have reflective numbers painted on the curb or heaven forbid, they might change the light bulb that shows the 35 cent numbers mounted on the front of your house. What the Fuck? Are you people nuts?
I wish no pain upon anyone. What happens if your kid chokes on a chicken bone and you dial 9-11 and the EMT's can't pick out your house from the other ones on the street without numbers? What happens if your neighbor is the guy the SWAT team is looking for but they get confused because neither of you thought it was a good idea to post the address to your house on the curb or the freakin' house?
Then what?
For God's sakes, it's just a stupid Christmas Lighting contest but now is the time to figure out whether or not you need to fix your address marker. Walk out front at night and ask yourself if a paramedic or a firefighter is going to come right in and help you, or drive up and down the street looking for your house.
I'm not sure how valid my use of the F-word was in describing this situation, but it sure made me feel better.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Sid's Christmas Extravaganza: Enough Spirit for All of Us...
I shan't bore you with the unsavory details, but my wife has long considered me to be a Grinch when it comes to Christmas. I confess readily that, though I like the idea of giving gifts and certainly appreciate a stuffed stocking and Christmas dinner, I don't seem to share the same excitement that I did as a child. I do enjoy the watching The Movie every year, but suffice it to say, guilty as charged; I'm not a real Christamsy kinda guy.
But my friend Sid, known here as our Mission Trace Correspondent, and proud Papa of Baby, the Australian Swan, is totally into the Christmas spirit, so much so that my wife and I dropped in to inspect his hard work and creative touch in decorating for the season.
First, I do get occasional e-mails asking about Baby, so here she is, all grown up. She is doing fine and Sid reports that since Baby's father has been "fixed" he is not as aggressive toward her. Everyone seems a bit happier in Mission Trace as a result. 
Onto the festive decorations. You have to appreciate anyone who has not one, but multiple Christmas trees, and places them throughout the home. I mean, I think my wife gets into it by going all out in our living room and dining room. 
Sid has his place decked out! I submit that anyone can run into Wal Mart and grab some festive decorations for the house and slap them on a coffee table; it takes a real artisan to design and hand craft the array of festive displays that Sid has produced. 
My wife was simply impressed with his skilled use of a glue gun and wired ribbons and of course the eye for different themes suitable for the style in the home. 
I enjoyed the display of ornaments and statues including a shelf full of Santa's of all design. 
One particular Santa is a clown helping a little girl decorate a tree. Very festive and in fact, a collector's item for sure. 
You can see the creative eye in fashioning his fireplace mantel with bulbs and such - we thought it had somewhat of a Russian flavor to it. Honestly, Sid has left no room in the home without at least some form of fun Christmas decor. 
In fact, even the restroom had a festive display - perfect for when you are standing there taking a pee. How Jolly is that? 
We had a great visit and in spite of all the Christmas cheer, I must tell you, there were no threats to bust into caroling. For that, I was glad.
But my friend Sid, known here as our Mission Trace Correspondent, and proud Papa of Baby, the Australian Swan, is totally into the Christmas spirit, so much so that my wife and I dropped in to inspect his hard work and creative touch in decorating for the season.
First, I do get occasional e-mails asking about Baby, so here she is, all grown up. She is doing fine and Sid reports that since Baby's father has been "fixed" he is not as aggressive toward her. Everyone seems a bit happier in Mission Trace as a result. 
Onto the festive decorations. You have to appreciate anyone who has not one, but multiple Christmas trees, and places them throughout the home. I mean, I think my wife gets into it by going all out in our living room and dining room. 
Sid has his place decked out! I submit that anyone can run into Wal Mart and grab some festive decorations for the house and slap them on a coffee table; it takes a real artisan to design and hand craft the array of festive displays that Sid has produced. 
My wife was simply impressed with his skilled use of a glue gun and wired ribbons and of course the eye for different themes suitable for the style in the home. 
I enjoyed the display of ornaments and statues including a shelf full of Santa's of all design. 
One particular Santa is a clown helping a little girl decorate a tree. Very festive and in fact, a collector's item for sure. 
You can see the creative eye in fashioning his fireplace mantel with bulbs and such - we thought it had somewhat of a Russian flavor to it. Honestly, Sid has left no room in the home without at least some form of fun Christmas decor. 
In fact, even the restroom had a festive display - perfect for when you are standing there taking a pee. How Jolly is that? 
We had a great visit and in spite of all the Christmas cheer, I must tell you, there were no threats to bust into caroling. For that, I was glad.Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Christmas Lights Report: You Don't Have to Go Far...
It isn't Windcrest but it sure is a lot closer. In case you hadn't heard, the city of Windcrest located just East of Loop 410 and IH-35 on San Antonio's north east side, is famous for their yearly display of Christmas lights. It isn't so much that the city sends some guy out to adorn each home with flashing lights and reindeer displays, but more along the lines of the homeowners really getting into the Christmas spirit. The result is long streams of cars traveling in and around the streets looking at the spectacular displays.
Not to be outdone, my wife and I have in years past driven through some pretty impressive displays on San Antonio's West Side like along 24th Street and such. The only difference being that you can go anytime of year and Christmas lights up on some of the houses there. Okay, bad joke. (but true).
Anywhoo, within The 78250, we have found the many folks get into the spirit as well and beyond just the usual string of icescickles (famous at my house), you have really well done displays. We enjoy driving through Braun Station and the other Braun-like neighborhoods along Guilbeau and Tezel. Of course, the Great Northwest Community where we live has a yearly contest that seems to motivate a lot of our homeowners to go all out.
So, if you feel like getting out to check out the lights but don't want to drive all the way to Windcrest, I'll make a quick recommendation of Silver Creek. There are two must see areas, though many other streets are worth driving through. First, the houses along Timber Belt really seem to get into it.
Second, on the other side of Silver Creek closer to Silent Sunrise is a road called Timber Grand. Timber Grand has a series of streets that all connect together so you basically take the first street and just zig-zag your way to the end. There are some truly magnificent, Windcrest Worthy decorations and displays in this area.
So load up the kids, get a mug of hot chocolate, and take a short drive just after dark. It just may motivate you to go spend a small fortune after the holidays on all the 75% off sales on lights and snowmen and blow-up Santa's and such. Or you can be like me and just appreicate other people's spirit!
So, if you feel like getting out to check out the lights but don't want to drive all the way to Windcrest, I'll make a quick recommendation of Silver Creek. There are two must see areas, though many other streets are worth driving through. First, the houses along Timber Belt really seem to get into it.
Second, on the other side of Silver Creek closer to Silent Sunrise is a road called Timber Grand. Timber Grand has a series of streets that all connect together so you basically take the first street and just zig-zag your way to the end. There are some truly magnificent, Windcrest Worthy decorations and displays in this area.
So load up the kids, get a mug of hot chocolate, and take a short drive just after dark. It just may motivate you to go spend a small fortune after the holidays on all the 75% off sales on lights and snowmen and blow-up Santa's and such. Or you can be like me and just appreicate other people's spirit!
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About Your Host
- Dave
- San Antonio, TX, United States
- I love to observe the odd things happening around me as I go about my day. I especially like it when I can get a picture of people being themselves. Here, I attempt to report the various people and events I have encountered in my neighborhood, and my city. I'd also love to hear from you. Feel free to e-mail your experiences and photos of life in San Antonio.
