Christmas lights

On Saturday evening, we thought it would be fun to go look at Christmas lights with our friends, Mike and Debbie. RJ and MaryEllen were going to come too, but her sister became ill and Mary Ellen had to fly out to Seattle. Prayers go with you, Mary Ellen! After a delicious Mexican meal, we drove around downtown Wichita and College Hill area.

After driving around for an hour, we went back to their home. Debbie had made lots and lots of Christmas cookies which we enjoyed. I have not done baking yet!

Their kitty liked Al's hair goop smell.

Great evening Mike and Debbie!

Christmas outing

Every year, my Bible study group goes on an outing. Well, two outings. One at Christmas and one at the end of the study in May.

Usually around 6-8 girls can go. One year only Mary Ellen and I went. This year only 3 of us could make it. The others all had conflicts.

Mary Ellen suggested that we go to Hutchinson to the Dutch Kitchen, run by Amish ladies. After a hearty breakfast, we went next door to Stutzman's greenhouse. It was wonderful!

Mary Ellen's daughter told her about the next place. Back in the '70's, when we had come back to the States and I was a junior/senior in highschool, I remember shopping here with my Mom for groceries. Hutch was the place we went to shop as Pretty Prairie, a town of 500 where we lived didn't really have stores to speak of.

Smith's is much more than a grocery store now! Such great finds!! (Family, you may not shop there before Christmas because I got several of your gifts here!)

We stopped at a very nice restaurant where the old Peques store used to be. (I don't know how you spell that, but it was a clothing store). It was by the train station. I have been thinking wouldn't it be neat if Newton turned its train station into restaurants and small specialty shops?

We ordered spinach/chicken alfredo pizza. And I got raspberry mango tea. Love that!

We continued shopping at an antique store. You can spend hours in places like this!!

On the way out of town, on the way to Starbucks, we saw this sign.

Good to know that!

(Actually Graber is an elementary school in Hutch)

Precious times, precious friends. Wish all of them had been able to make it. Hopefully in the spring more of them can.

This morning, Mom and I decided to go to the Holiday Home Tour in Hesston.

Our first stop was at Jeff and Marcy Thiesen’s English Tudor-style home. The staircase that rises two stories in front of a limestone stair tower wall give it a medieval feel. Like a castle!

"Santa" was playing Christmas music. First time I had actually seen a player grand piano! My grandparents had an upright player piano. I wonder whatever happened to it?


24-foot vaulted beamed ceiling.

Ran into Sarah, Matt Friesens and several others we knew.

The library.

The ceiling of the library was from a mosque in India. So beautiful!

Guest room for the grandchildren.

Such a magnificent home! We were saddened to hear the story about the family. Their one son was killed in a 4-wheeler accident, leaving a pregnant wife. She delivered twin girls. The cribs are for them, when they come.

Next we toured the house across the street, a Southern plantation-style home. I didn't get any more pictures. Somehow got caught up in it all.

The last home we toured was the home of the Stahly's, who used to live in our neighborhood. They have a beautiful view as their home is on an inlet surrounded by water. After they both lost their spouses, they renewed their friendship and began a new life together. They have a combined family of 19! One of the Christmas trees they have has an ornament to represent each person in the family.

It was such a fun morning seeing how others decorate for the holidays and to also help out the Hesston Women's Civic Club.

Carriage ride

Bradley Fair is beautiful during the Christmas season.

There are free carriage rides each Friday and Saturday 6-9.

What a fun evening!

Treats

When the girls came over today, we popped some pop corn for snack time. Yum. What a treat!

We got out our Miss Food Face and Mr. Food Face plates.




Aren't they a hoot? I ordered them a couple months ago from http://www.popdeluxe.net/ms-food-face-dinner-plate-fred.html , but last week I saw them downtown at the Kitchen Corner.

They are so fun for kids to make all kinds of faces with their food on the plates.



We took some of the leftover popcorn and added nuts, sunflower seeds, thistle, peanut butter and mashed it all together. Then we took an orange and cut it in half and scooped out the insides (we put that on Mr. Food as a moustache before eating it).

We made 3 holes in each orange half and put a pipe cleaner through the hole. You can use jute, thread or ribbon too. The pipe cleaner was what I had handy and it was easy for both girls to slip through the hole.

Twist at the top, add a ribbon if you want.

Sophia put hers on the maple tree in the front.

Hannah hung hers on the birch in the back yard.

Now we wait for the birds to come and enjoy their treat!

Graber family Thanksgiving

Today is the first day of Advent. Seems so early! I have not decorated for Christmas yet and didn't have my yule log out with my advent candles.

After all, the Graber family Thanksgiving was today and I still had to have my fall decorations out. I didn't want to celebrate Thanksgiving with Christmas decorations.

Grabers always have LOTS of desserts!

After filling our bellies and good conversation, time to play Apples to Apples.

Tomorrow Sophia will come and help me put away all my fall things and we will begin to set out the Christmas decorations while we listen to Christmas music!

I'm not in the Christmasy mood yet. Maybe if it would snow.

Unusual Thanksgiving Day

We didn't have the traditional Thanksgiving Day. I didn't even fix a turkey.

Our 2 older kids were in Arkansas and Mindy was working, so we went to the Community Thanksgiving Feast, a first for us. A couple churches put this on every year for anyone in the community that doesn't have plans. We went with my parents and Aunt Millie. (I was going to take a picture. Took the camera but forgot the SD card. Oh well.) It was a very good dinner!

Al thought it would be fun to go on a road trip. So we got our binoculars and maps and took off west.

We were surprised how many police were out and about - radaring. Wouldn't that be such a bummer to get a ticket on Thanksgiving??! Where is their heart of compassion on a day that is supposed to be a thankful one anyway? I mean, wouldn't a $200 ticket just rob you of thankfulness? Luckily, Al drove wisely and we didn't get stopped.

Here the sun was just behind the clouds. A very cold, crisp day, but not much breeze or it would have been miserable.

Here was our destination.




"Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is 22,135 acres of prairie grass, saltwater marshes, sand dunes, canals, dikes, and timber. Quivera attracts thousands of migratory waterfowl (including the American white pelican), providing them with food, cover, and a place to rest during exhausting flights between breeding and wintering areas.

During spring migration, Quivira is a staging area for over 500,000 birds. From September to December, up to 1.5 million Canada Geese, Ducks and Sandhill Cranes pass through Quivira on their way to wintering grounds along the Gulf Coast and in Mexico."



There were thousands of ducks migrating this weekend.

Endangered Whooping Cranes were there yesterday. We could only see them from a distance unfortunately. We couldn't get to the other side of the lake.

Blue heron

Prairie dog homes

It was too cold for them - they wouldn't come out to greet us.

We talked as we left Quivera. Wouldn't it be fun to plan a Kansas Day trip once a month? Where should we plan to go? I know we want to go to Gove county and also Barber county. We are open to suggestions for where to go. Kansas is just a state with so much beauty!

We went back to Hutch to grab a bite to eat. We were so surprised to see no restaurants open!! We were getting hungry! Finally we saw that Burger King and IHOP were open. We chose IHOP since we don't have one of those in our town. After a yummy meal, we drove to Pretty Prairie to spend the evening with Al's dad.

It was such a wonderful, although not traditional, Thanksgiving Day.