Hot Chocolate Report: Santa in the House...

The annual Great Northwest Hot Chocolate Social proved once again the place to be for children of all ages.

It was standing room only at the Lodge of the Great Northwest on Thursday the 10th of December, as hundreds of eager youngsters with parents and grandparents in tow waited patiently for the all important visit with Santa Claus.

To keep the waiting crowd of the young and young at heart entertained during the wait; the Great Northwest Sounds musical group performed a host of their holiday favorites. Outfitted in festive Christmas uniforms, the Sounds had happy children and adults tapping toes and singing along to the music.

A group of volunteers assembled by Jose Morlett served up delightful cookies and smooth hot chocolate to help battle the chilly temperatures just outside the lodge.

Once again the volunteer spirit of GNW residents was evident as special elves photographed children during their time in the spotlight with Santa, then presented the parents with a printed photo for the family album.

UPDATE: Reader Anon E. Mouse has posted some video from the event on YouTube.

HEB Plus Report: Madhouse...

What the hell! Apparently, for some inexplicable reason, everyone decided to go to HEB Plus at the same time my wife and I have historically attended each and every Sunday for the past year or so since it opened on Potranco and 1604. What a bunch of inconsiderate copy cats.

And don't even get me started on how freakin' freezing cold it is out there. On our way to the store, the radio guy said that we had already reached the high temperature of 46 degrees, and that was it; nothing but down hill from there. Hello? It isn't even winter yet, or is it? Anyway, thankfully we are supposed to be back up to 70 or so on Christmas Eve, so at least we won't have to keep the heater on. Two words: Brrrr!

Oh, I should mention that I am horribly ill and yesterday morning, I think the record should clearly show, my wife attempted to kill me by giving me a little something that she promised would make my throat feel better. I'm pretty sure that's what the hangman said as he tightened the noose around the neck of some poor guy on death row.

I have this really terrible scratchy and dry throat that really makes me want to throw-up after one or two good coughs. So my wife says, Here, take this little pill and suck on it for a little while before swallowing it. Then, she leaves the room and if my ears hadn't been ringing so bad, I might have been able to hear her giggling as she left. So, I begin to swirl this little thing called Tessalon or something equally evil sounding, on my tongue and really, it had no taste until about thirty seconds later it sort of exploded in my throat with a really, really horrid taste. Then I swallowed it and my throat began to tighten. I grabbed for a water but I think my throat was too numb and too tight to even swallow.

That was when I began to hyperventilate. Hey, choking is not for the feint of heart. I jumped up to the bathroom to see if I might projectile vomit the stuff from my throat but then it really hit me that I could not breath well enough to give myself the Heimlich maneuver, so I should just relax and try not to breath so hard. After a few minutes, I was able to brush my teeth and strangely enough, my throat felt pretty good.

So this morning when I woke up even sicker than I was yesterday, my wife wanted me to try the same little pill and I rejected the offer completely. Instead, I got up, had some coffee then promptly fell asleep on the recliner watching DVR'd episodes of Monk until about noon.

It was only later that I was able to make our scheduled appointment at HEB Plus, and even, I was forced to do something I never do, and that is open up stuff before I purchase it. But my throat was so dry and sore I had to break into the bag of Ricola cough drops and a box of Kleenex.What was my wife doing during all this? Samples. I rest my case.

------<<>>------

Did I mention it was cold?This freak decides to put on some sort of snow suit and walk around the store yelling about how Co Co Cooold it is. Look at the little kid just staring at the guy.Now, the freak sees me with my camera and he gives me a look like he would prefer if I were to pay the nice lady with the Official Camera for pictures. Meanwhile, the little kid is still looking at him like he is a freak of nature.And speaking of strange. Can someone explain just what is going on here? I get the mattress. And I even get the mattress with the Santa hat on it. But what exactly is being advertised when you have some Ninja bumping and grinding on the Santa Mattress at the intersection of 1604 & Culebra?

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.

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 “New York, New York”. They were having so much fun, some audience members joined in the dancing! (Picture of Line Dancers)Aside from the delightful entertainment, most of the younger crowd had their eyes set on a single goal; getting that moment with Santa and having the pictures taken as proof!

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.

Santa Report: Unexpected Sighting...

Apparently, Santa is not so busy going through the final month of hurriedly checking his list (twice) and overseeing the loading of his sleigh to be certain each deserving child receives a gift (or lump of coal) commensurate with their behavior this year.Nope, turns out Saint Nick has time to coax potential new residents into this West Side apartment complex I passed by today. I fully expected my first actual eyes-on sighting of Santa to be soon after Thanksgiving; I just didn't expect it to be here.

My brother-in-law used to always tell the kids he had seen Santa ordering a Jack and Coke down at Barton's Boozery. Good times.

Where was your first Santa sighting of the year?UPDATE: Santa moved to a different corner today and turns out, he's a chick. Isn't there a Santa Union or something?UPDATE #2: Santa has an impostor out there, and this time the chick is dressed as a gorilla pretending to be Santa.

Strange in Valrico: Santa on Vacation...

Right next to my hometown of Brandon is another small but growing town called Valrico, Fl. It seems that over the years, the place has just merged into one extension of Tampa, and thus, requires the shopping amenities available to such a populace.

And lucky for us, because we do what everyone does when vacationing in Florida; we go to Wal Mart.And as it turns out, so does Santa Claus. Yes, kids, it may sound strange, but Santa shops at Wal Mart just like the rest of us.

Hot Chocolate Report: GNW Visit with Santa...

My wife and I took a drive down the street to the Lodge of the Great Northwest to see what was happening at the Hot Chocolate Social. Talk about a happening place. We had driven by earlier to see people lined up just to get in for their picture to be taken with Santa.

Santa is a pretty tough character - the fact that he could withstand a big kid like me sitting on his lap. Hopefully, the elves in his workshop can assist with a knee replacement for him later!

As my wife made her way around enjoying the hot chocolate and socializing with neighbors, I snapped a few pictures of the Great Northwest Sounds in between sets of merry melodies.

Total cost to enjoy this outing? Free!

What a great treat to motivate even the grumpiest Scrooge like me into the holiday spirit!

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.