3 Days Before Winter, 26° -- 28° Here . . . COOL!

Who says it doesn't get cold here in California. Maybe compared to other spots in the country it doesn't -- but in the mid 20s is cold anywhere.

We have just three days before the official start to winter so what will that bring -- snow maybe here,
probably not, but it could and it has.

This is what it looked like about an hour after I went out this morning (to pick up the paper). The thermometer was fogged over but still readable in the 20s. There was a very nice calm and quiet sense to the street with the lawns frosted over.

It is projected to be a beautiful sunny day -- so the flag is out. The red-brown maple? tree across the street is amazing as usual.

The rainy days and the sunshine days are really nice to experience this year.  We have one week before Christmas and it is supposed to rain just after Christmas . . . okay, so there will be more snow in the mountains.

We've had a varied week with respect to activities. One of those activities is creating a new Christmas mailing list.

Straight forward until we started. Finding a user-friendly label program was NO fun at all. We tried two of three before finally getting one to semi-work.

Okay, so we are behind schedule a bit, but I think others may be as well -- it is the thought that counts.

We think we'll finish that task this afternoon.

Over seeing and heading up some of the tasks is a "well-lit" Gail.

Our projects are taken in steps and they include, wrapping, mailing, signing cards and as everyone knows -- a whole lot more.

We also have a bunch of recorded Christmas specials to watch in our leisure.

We have certain specials that we watch every year e.g. the Saturday Night Live Christmas Special -- always entertaining, but mostly with the original cast members.



As is sometimes the case, we have a couple of Hiles family tree members convalescing -- Eleanor Hiles is resting at home after being in the hospital last week. Gail & I were able to have a very nice visit with Eleanor on Wednesday -- she lives just about 5 minutes from us.

And Lisa Hiles (my daughter) is recuperating from surgery on Friday. Unfortunately Gail and I could not travel the 850 miles to visit her -- but send our "Best Wishes" for a speedy recovery.

The following group also sends cheer to both of the above (and to all of us):

We love dogs as do both recuperating Hiles. We can only hope it cheers them up during this period.

Currently it is a challenging time for weather related conditions. There is another Hiles family tree member who is "out and about" and "in the thick of it" as I write this.

A particularly haunting photograph actually tells the story much better:

Somewhere near Chicago last week, Dayton Hiles took this photo of the vehicle that he drives.

He started this new adventure filled career just a few weeks ago. I believe that since this photo he has moved even more into heavy weather . . .

At first I though how nice the photo would look if it were at least in color and not a B/W . . . then of course I saw that it WAS in color -- only that there wasn't much color to see . . .

I hope that Dayton turns this type of experience into great stories to share with the family and friends.

What a bleak looking photo -- I hope that it is warm & toasty in the cab.


And at our house and most everyone's house -- there are rules to follow.  Here is an appropriate sign that I found "Oh, so insightful"  I spotted it on Allposters.com.

So if you are planning to "leave your children at our house for a spell" expect this to occur.

I think it is a fabulous solution to a once in a while happening.
And every kitten deserves a home with a high-spirited child . . .


That's a bit of our week before Christmas. The smell of slow cooked pulled pork is wafting through the house and we look forward to dinner.

See you all "in a few"!