OUR CHRISTMAS EVE GATHERING

Merry Christmas one and all!

In the post below you will find a slide show presentation of our family gathering last night. We met here at the house and went to the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Alban's on Davis Drive.

It was a beautiful service and the church was packed. This was the first of three services we had there yesterday and the was also one this morning. Father Duncan gathered all the children around him as he preached a homily for the children. It was wonderful to see all of them in their Christmas best listening to him explain the light of Christ coming into the world. They had only the candles glowing in the church as he told them the story of Jesus' birth. It was spectacular and it was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. The church was decorated with hundreds of Poinsettias and greenery.

When the service was over we came home for a celebration of our own as you will see in the slide show.

My wish for each of you is that you have a Happy and Healthy New Year. May God bless each of you as I am blessed by your friendship.

XOXO, Pcasso

Christmas Eve 2008

TABLES ARE READY, WE'RE RARING TO GO, WAITING ON SANTA ... HO, HO, HO!!!

We have nearly completed this blessed season of Advent. The waiting is almost over and the birth of Our Lord is just around the corner. The third week in Advent is called Rose Sunday and we celebrated the Eucharist on the special occasion where Father Matkin was our Celebrant at St. Alban's.






It's now time to get busy with the gift buying. Holiday shopping can be such a chore, so I have made this my motto for the holidays.







To start the week off, I met with three fellow artists and we celebrated both a birthday and Christmas with a great lunch at Piranha which is a great place for tempura. It's always a special time when you are with friends.





Frank attended a party at the hospital last week for the volunteers and they gave him this wonderful gift that will become part of our Christmas tradition. It's a gift that will last forever and you don't even have to open it! It's made from glass tiles with Christmas lights inside. I think it's so clever and we will use it over and over again.



This past Saturday night the Cowboys played their last game in Texas Stadium. Matt, our grandson-in-law, went to the game with Frank. That was a very bittersweet time but they had a great time and the post game celebration was a great tribute to the team and all the past team members that had played in that stadium. We have had season tickets there since the day it opened and will have tickets at the new stadium as well. We can almost see the new stadium from our house.



The next day, last Sunday, was a celebration of Father Kresowaty's 25th Anniversary since his being ordained to the priesthood.



My photograph of him is a little grainy and I apologize but I was pretty far away from him, so I couldn't get the detail that I wanted.
The ladies at the church did a wonderful job on the food and flowers and a good time was had by all.



When we left a meeting at the church one night last week we noticed that one of our neighbors had gone all out with their Christmas decorations. It's a little over the top but great fun to see at this special time of year.



As I was going through some boxes looking for a special photograph, I ran across these old photographs of the boys with Santa that were taken a long time ago. It's hard to realize that they have changed so much over the years. It's fun to look back at old times. They were so little and cute and now they're so grown up. I miss the younger years but there are so many things that we can do together now, that each year of our journey together is special.


Ethan will be 14 on his next birthday

and Ian and Connor are 9 and 11 now. Time flies!

Speaking of the boys, Connor and Ian were supposed to come to the house to make candy on Monday. Ian had spent the weekend with his friend, Billy, so he didn't get here until later in the afternoon. They had been deer hunting and after all, first things first, especially when you can spend quality time with your best friend on a ranch!

Connor and Beth came over that morning and we made Bourbon Balls together. It was fun and messy as well.

You have to roll the chilled filling on your hands to form a ball, and then you wait for GrandmaMama to bring over the melted chocolate

and the dip the powdered sugar, nut and bourbon balls in the chocolate until each one is completely coated. It's a fun process an anyone can do it.



Ian didn't get here in time to help, but judging from the look on his face, I think he may have eaten one Bourbon Ball too many!




Our good friends, the Mitchell's, always bring us a homemade delicacy to share on Christmas morning. It's become a tradition to go over to Franklin and Beth's and have coffee and this wonderful baked treat while the boys open their presents. They came by yesterday and brought ours as it had just come out of the oven. Can't wait until tomorrow morning to taste it!




I got up early and set the tables before we went to exercise. They look pretty festive if I do say so myself! Each of the girls will wear a crown of stars and the boys will have Santa hats. Connor gets to be Santa this year so he's excited about that.




The boys will have their Christmas Eve dinner in the kitchen and we will sit at the "big table". Snoopy Claus has been in the family for years and will be at the table with them this year.




We will go to the early service tonight and then come home, open our gifts and have our traditional Green Chili Enchilada, Posole, beans and tortilla dinner. The tree is laden with gifts that are just waiting to be opened.

We will finish our meal with this delectible rum cake and then everyone will retire and wait for Santa to come in the morning.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow Merry Christmas to all ... and to all a Good Night!

XOXO, Pcasso

WAITING FOR SANTA

These are three of the trees that we have put up for the season. Be sure to remember to scroll down to the next entry as it is the story about getting ready for Santa! Have a blessed Advent Season.

Pcasso

ADVENT, LESSONS AND CAROLS AND PARTY TIME

It seems like it's been forever since I have written in this blog. Things have been happening so quickly lately that I tend to get confused about time. I did notice that it's only been a couple of weeks since I last made an entry. Time flies when you are staying busy and having fun!



I've painted a little recently. Here are some of my latest in this panel of Creme Bruelee, which is one of my favorite desserts.

The day after Thanksgiving my darling family came over and decorated our home for Christmas. What usually takes me a couple of days, they were able to accomplish in 3 and a half hours.


I couldn't believe it! While we were inside decorating, the boys and Harry were busy in the Jacuzzi watching the leaves fall and staying out of the way.

We all had a little champagne while they decorated which is a tradition in the Salazar household.

Frank was attending high school playoff games, so he got out of any work. Ian said, "Just like our Boompa .... hiding out when there's work to be done" ;-)

So many of my decorations are long time treasures and I have a story about each of them.

I did all the needlework on the wreath above and I also stitched this free-standing piece which is in the guest bathroom. I used to stitch all the time but it's been a while now. Maybe that will be my next project.

I couldn't believe how easily Beth could hop up on the counters to hang the garlands and Nicholas is tall enough that we never even had to get a ladder out!

At 6'8 he can reach everything except the highest peak in the kitchen.

The boys have always loved this little treasure. The heat from the candles makes it turn and it's great fun to watch.

Of course we always decorate the bar to the 9's since it's a favorite gathering place for fun, games and cheers to all. An added plus is that we're open 24/7, so be sure and drop by !

I'll set the table for our Christmas Eve feast the day before but for now, I have wonderful little elves sitting there just waiting for their Green Chile Enchiladas and Posole.

An Email friend of mine who lives in Las Vegas was in town visiting her sister, so I finally got to meet her. She is now the proud grandmother of triplets. Here is the happy family. There are 2 boys and a little girl and they have an older brother. They certainly have their hands full with these precious babies! We have triplets in Frank's family and I remember how busy everyone was. They're lucky to have Grandmama Carol there to help!

And speaking of babies, here's the newest member of our Parish. Her name is Madeline Grace and she belongs to Father Timothy Matkin and his lovely wife, Melisa. She was just one month old the day that this photograph was taken. St. Alban's is very fortunate to have all of them as part of our church family.

On the 4th of December we had the pleasure of attending a performance of the Vocal Majority in Dallas. Our good friends, the Waldies, had 2 extra tickets, so they asked us to join them.

We had dinner at their lovely home before the performance. If you look closely, you will see Miss Lucy, their precious little Japanese Chin. I'm not a big fan of small dogs, but this one is the sweetest one you'll ever meet. I told them if she ever turns up missing, they know where to look for her!

We then headed to the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson, TX.

The Vocal Majority is a Dallas based men's chorus of over 150 singers, billed as "America's Premier Pops Chorus."

It is part of the Dallas Metro chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Under the direction of Jim Clancy, they have won a record eleven International Chorus Championships

This was their Christmas show and it was both a lovely evening and a perfect way to start the holiday season.
December 7th was the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve. If Christmas Eve is a Sunday, it is counted as the fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas Eve proper beginning at sundown.
The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent,

and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.

We have gotten out our Advent wreath and we light it at mealtime and begin each meal with special Advent prayers.

You light a purple candle the first week, then the 2nd week you light that one plus another. The 3rd week is Rose Sunday, so you light the pink one along with the two purple and the final week all 4 are lit. It's a beautiful tradition and also a reminder of the coming of Christ and Christmas.
The following Sunday we celebrated the service of Lessons and Carols at St. Alban's followed by a dinner in the Parish Hall at church.

I thought about each of you all through the service and knew that you would have really enjoyed it. The service was very reverent and the music was outstanding. We had our Chamber choir, the youth choir and the hand bell choir singing and playing glorious hymns. It was a perfect way to celebrate the coming of our most precious Lord.
Lessons and Carols is a uniquely Anglican service. It dates to the 15th and 16th centuries in the Church of England. This beautiful service includes readings from Holy Scripture, prayers, and wonderful music and hymns of the Advent season. The church's altar and pulpit were adorned in beautiful Advent Purple. Candlelight from the Advent Wreath and candles throughout the nave delivered light to the winter darkness as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus as the Light of the World. The Lessons from Holy Scripture recount for us God's work through the prophets in preparing us for the coming of the Messiah and they conclude with the moving account from the Gospel According to Luke of the Annunciation to Mary of Jesus' birth. Between the lessons we enjoyed the beautiful music and hymns of the Advent season.
After the service we had a delicious meal of pork tenderloin which the church furnished and the side dishes and desserts were pot luck. Someone brought a dessert called Chocolate Cobbler that was to die for!

Since I guess I'll always be a big fan of desserts, I decided to paint these little ones. This way I can enjoy them and don't have to account for their calories :-)

Saint Nicholas even visited during dinner and passed out gold covered chocolate coins to all of the children. It was a great evening.

There are a group of us who were in Gourmet Supper Club together for years and have also been long time friends. Some of us were going out for dinner last night, so we decided to have everyone over for drinks before dinner. We rarely cook for the group any more. Time has taken it's toll and it's hard to spend hours in the kitchen now. The bar was ready to go at 6:30 and our guests started arrive on time.

Mojito's seemed to be the favorite drink of the evening, so we let everyone make their own.

The house was decorated for the occasion and looks very festive, so what better time to entertain! One of our guests does this silly thing called the alligator. He can drop down on the floor at a moments notice and wiggle around like an alligator.

I was really impressed ... not so much that he can get down on the floor that easily, but that he can get back up without help. I certainly couldn't do that!

I think we all still look pretty good for a group of Senior Citizens. Time has been kind to us.

Frank said that he couldn't resist taking this shot of all the gals at the bar. He said that it was a sight that he wasn't used to, so he had to have a keepsake of this momentus occasion.

We ate dinner at a little hole in the wall here in town called Italy II.

The food is delicious and we all had a great time. We were very noisy after a long cocktail hour at our place, but no one seemed to mind as everyone is starting to get into the Christmas Spirit.

Frank and I shared a pizza and it was delicious.

It's a fun, casual place and the owners are so friendly and accommodating that you can't help but have a good time.
Frank is at the playoff games again (he just loves high school football). I suppose it's because he played football when he was in high school. He also played in the band, so he said that he had to march with the band at half time in his football uniform since there was no time to change. Ah, the mysteries of small town living!
The Cowboys will be playing here tomorrow and our friend from College Station will be back in town to stay with us and go to the game with Frank. I might try to paint some since I haven't picked up a brush in several days.
Have a good week, a most blessed holiday season and I'll write again after Christmas to give a Santa report.

XOXO, Pcasso