Baby David

My brother David was born on this day... a long time ago. He was a handsome baby and an adoreable child. Carlene still has the "curl" she cut off the top of his curley head when he was a babe. You can probably see the beginning of the infamous curl in the first photo.
What is interesting to me however is the last photo. It is a picture of Baby David and Baby Catherine, but it looks like Matthew (David's son) is holding me. The power of genetics amazes me.

Happy Birthday David!

P.S. Does it looks like Baby David is trying to crush my head? Nah, I'm being paranoid, he would never do anything like that.

TIMBER!

I proudly decorated my Christmas tree a week ago and I must say it was beautiful. It was decorated in silver balls, dangling silver snowflakes and stars. It had 300 white lights on it and it looked like a Winter Ice Sculpture. I would have taken a picture, but it was so sparkly that a photograph could not do it justice.

The kittens, to my amazement, have pretty much been ignoring it. Tonight however, when I returned home from Anne's birthday party, I entered the house to find the tree on the living room floor. There were ornaments in the kitchen, entry and bathroom. There were shards of silver glass under every piece of furniture I own.

So, I swept up the damage, gathered all my ornaments from the outer regions of the house and then preceded to dismantle the tree. It now stands naked in the corner waiting to be put in it's box. I'll be honest, I'm kind of mad right now.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from one of the culprits!

Christmas Confessional

Being a Christian, it’s in my spiritual DNA to love this holiday. I do love Christmas, but today I want to confess, one of the reasons I enjoy the holidays so much has nothing to do with the “reason for the season”.

I love the colors, smells, and decorations of Christmas. I like Christmas trees so much that I want to have a Christmas Forest. Currently I have three trees and none are decorated, go figure. Regardless, I have lots of ornaments, expensive ones (purchased half price on Dec. 26th through the years) and homemade ones. Remember the ones we made in Elementary School out of Styrofoam egg cartons and pipe cleaners? Weren't they tacky?

I love the baking that is traditional with the holidays. This is the time of year when Russian Tea Cakes, Divinity and Fudge abound. This is also the time of year that Mom made Spiced Tea and the only time we drink it.

I like the movies and music we all associate with the holidays, especially the old stuff. Bing Crosby singing Jingle Bells or White Christmas is the best. Oddly enough, however, I can't stand Christmas Cantatas.

If you are a lost soul (Christian or otherwise), rent It’s a Wonderful Life and watch it like finding your happiness on earth depended on it. I think it sums up the meaning of life pretty well.

I like the idea of Santa Claus. I remember vividly the day I realized there was no Santa, it happened just last week. My favorite part of Christmas as a kid was the stocking. Mom hung our stocking on the post of our beds. It was great to wake up at 4 in the morning and burrow through that billowing bag of benevolence while we waited for the adults to wake up....would they EVER get up?

I love gifts. I know they say it is better to give than to receive, but I like both. I like to wrap presents because I like boxes and paper and bows and the little tags we put on them. And I LOVE IT when I receive a gift that is wrapped exceptionally well (in a box). It is my believe that a mediocre gift wrapped well will be well received. It's the attention to details that make the difference.

As you can see, I am a sucker for packaging. The Christmas season is “packaged” so magically. It glitters, twinkles, and sparkle and I love every frivolous, goofy thing that comes only during this time of year.

Forgive me.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

To me, the most wonderful time of year starts in October and ends in January, and these are the reasons why:

1. Fall Colors


2. October begins with the Brazoria County Parade and Fair. This is a big deal to ANYONE who grew up in Brazoria county. Schools shut down early and ALL the high school bands marched in the parade? Who out there on the enterweb marched in the parade? I did! Also, the weather changes in South Texas during this time of year and it had such a huge impact on me growing up that I call the first cool front "Brazoria County Fair Parade weather." Oh, oh, oh and I just remembered that I entered a Needlepoint (or was it Embroidery?) project in the fair and got a ribbon. I think a red ribbon.


3. Texas High School Football Season and Homecoming (mums)



4. The clothes, I look better in layering and bulky sweaters.


5. October 18th starts off the Hanna Family Birthday season with Carlene's birthday, then Catherine, Glory, Bill, Dad, David and then Tom in January.


6. Halloween, pagan, I know, but it is fun and I love the colors. I love pumpkins, carved or not.


7. The Twelve Days of Catherine


8. Thanksgiving, again with the colors. I love Pumpkin Pie.


9. Christmas (more on that later)


10. Did you know Glory and I were in Time Square together one New Years Eve? Can someone say CROWDED?


11. Resolutions and the hope that comes with a new year and a new beginning.

Oh, but there is one thing I don't like about this time of year: day light savings time. It's dark at 6 p.m. and that makes me tired. It's all mental, I know.

Today is Dad's Birthday

Today is B.T. Hanna's birthday?
It's interesting to me how a person can be dead but we still remember them on their birthdays. I guess it's because I have had more years remembering (and sometimes forgetting) Dad's birthday than I have remembering his deathday.
Dad died in May (can't remember the year). It was final exam week and I remember the first person I told he had died was Philip Shirley; we were standing outside the annex at RFHS.
I have all these vivid memories, but I can't remember the day it happened.
I miss him..... a lot.

My Brush With Fame

This weekend I visited with my good friends David and Gail Roaten in San Marcos. David reminded me several times to bring my guitar, and of course I forgot. I wasn't worried because I knew David had 3 guitars of his own: a Hernandez classical guitar, an Ovation, and a custom made Collings.

When I got to town David told me their neighbor had a best friend from high school visiting. This "best friend" was from Nashville and turned out to be the lead guitarist for the group Lonestar.

http://www.lonestar.mu/

So how great a surprise it was to spend a couple of hours listening to Mike Britt playing a great guitar greatly.