Merry Christmas to You All

Christmas with friend, Mary in her beautiful home.

As most of you know I am home for Xmas in a new and special way.  So I get to enjoy all my friends and events with a twist. I called Mary and said, “I will hold our traditional Xmas tea party at your house, ok?  All you have to do is set your beautiful table and make the coffee.  Oh, yeah, surely you will have the house decorated to the nines.”  The last time I did this was when I asked to have my wedding on her pool side deck.  So this was relatively small. We almost got a full table.  Esther, whose husband, Al, married Russ and I, was able to come early for a short time.  Jenean, Mary and my sister Kay sat down to incredible quiche brought by Jenean.  I love these women so much and am so thankful for our many years of sharing everything.  Yes, I am blessed in my relationships and am so happy to share with all of you who will receive this as my Xmas card. Russ and I spent the first of the week visiting northern CA.  His sister, my dear cousin Carolyn and my nephew and his girlfriend.  We were with people we love and we had the added joy of seeing geese, swans and ducks in the rice paddies of the Valley.  I saw thousands jump into the sky.

December in Northern California valley

Shasta in the background-the grasses are starting to green up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to being with loved ones, I got to make Mom and Grandma’s famous Christmas cookies, share the recipes with another generation and help decorate for Xmas at my sister’s.

Russ and I want to send peace, love and joy and great good health to all of you this very very special 2011 Christmas.  

All dogs love to be in Russ's lap-the Minks dog (sister)

Here are a few more pictures of Mary’s beautiful home and my beautiful friends.  Please send me some of your Xmas pictures.

All around the house are these incredible scenes of Mary's collections.

a good sister to have

Esther and Mary's dog, Brock

I love you Jenean!

RV Xmas Decorations

Our sunset view here from the RV Window

 

Well living out here has its moments.  For example the sunsets are spectacular.  Walking along the levee (finally learned to spell it) is fun for the girls.  They love the smells.  Izzy actually has incentive to go.  The river has great scents and she can’t see or hear much any more-so she likes it.

I would love to be in the Concord corridor rather than way out here-but we have found no RV places.  I would even live in one of those moble home parks-as a couple by the airport are actually pretty descent.  Seems there are some interesting laws here in California, something that sort of separates moble home places which are residential, from RV places.  So who knows.  But I am keeping the door open to finding something closer to my friends and family-could be a long winter in the fog filled valley!. Things have a way of working out for the best.

After spending months without plants or decorations in the RV much less outside decorations I couldn’t do Xmas without finding ways to dress up the little home.  The past few days, we have done a little of this and a little of that and here are the results.

Just a few lights and poinsettias

The campground also is decorated, but we are here with working people mostly because this is off season

 

Being a Full Timer in your own backyard!

Been awhile since I last blogged.  We are living on Bethel Island, outside Oakley, Brentwood and on the Sacramento Delta.

So much to share, so will do a several blogs to journal this experience back at home without the  house.

We cooked Thanksgiving together with my sister and brother in law.  New recipes, my niece and nephew with their significant others.  So much warm laughter and teasing.  Russ in his cast to keep his foot from tearing up before surgery. Dogs loving the space at Kay’s but so happy to get home at night in our tiny, cozy space on the island. Night walks with the girls under star studded skies, or foggy cool air-still warmer than Santa Fe’!  Long drives into Martinez area to be with friends, medical appointments and shop in familiar places. We are generally 45 minutes to an hour away from everything we do-but Kaiser is out here and Brentwood has grown from country to upgraded suburbia.  Housing springing up surrounded by farms-probably like Concord in the 1960’s and 70’s.  Correct me if my time line is wrong.

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