We all went to see the "Trail of Lights" last night. It's a beautiful light display at a semi rural setting that is part of the Denver area Botanical Gardens. It was cold-no wind-but we enjoyed walking the trails.
When we are all gone and leave Stooie, the dachshund, at home, D & K just leave him in a closed room listening to public radio. I don't know if it improves his intellect but it does keep him quiet.

Yesterday the son David, the daughter Keri, the S-in-L Eric and I drove from Denver to Cheyenne to visit my 93 year old mother. David dazzled her with pictures he had downloaded on his laptop but the highlight was when he showed her some of the things that his I-phone could do. Each new app brought a smile and a shake of her head at the wonderment of cell phone technology. It was both a treat and a learning experience for her. Keri and Eric both have Droids but mom had already seen too much for one day.
D-in-L Kelsey's folks were in town after surviving the perils of air travel in the lower Midwest with the latest storm. We went out to dinner and had a wonderful time visiting. Bob, the attorney, had to be in court today so they headed back to Wyoming after dinner.
You know it's been cold in Denver when you see people ice fishing on Chatfield Reservoir.

We celebrated Christmas last night. Eric flew in Sunday night and D & K arrived from their first stop in Kansas around supper time. The Christmas season for them suffered a setback when her grandfather died last week.
We opened presents (even Stooie the dog got a couple) and kidded each other as families do. This is the second Christmas season in a row that we have all been together.
We may make a quick trip to Cheyenne today to visit my mother. She'll be thrilled.
Got a Redneck calendar as a present so those who enjoy some Redneck dailies, there will be more this year.

Finally made it to Denver around 10:30 PM. I-25 was closed from Douglas to the state line with Colorado. When they finally opened the highway to Cheyenne, the worst roads were from Casper to Douglas which had been open all day. The roads from Douglas south which had been closed were dry with very little wind and blowing snow. Who knows?

All sing"
"Grandma got run over by a reindeer..."
In a cartoon in Friday's USA Today, the grandson is hauling grandma to the hospital but a couple of insurance agents are debating whether the new health bill would cover grandma in a reindeer collision. Who was at fault?
"If life were fair the horse would get to ride half the time."

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone.

It's snowing here.

Christmas is almost here but I haven't heard one of my favorite Christmas carols yet.
Let's all sing:
"Grandma got run over by a reindeer...."

Read in the local newspaper court report that one of the son's high school acquaintances was picked up for DWUI and no insurance. A person doesn't find that kind of info on Facebook.
Now that we're a couple of days into Winter, I enjoy watching the Weather Channel give the sunrise and sunset times each day-how each day expands by a couple of minutes. I especially enjoy it in January and February.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You've ever shot a partridge out of a pear tree."

Today the Christmas card began flowing in after a slow start. Most member of my side of the family must either be dead or in poor health as I have heard from so few of them.

I can't believe a Senator from Nebraska (You know why there is wind in Wyoming and Colorado-Nebraska sucks.) had to be bribed to get the health bill passed. It passed on a strict party vote and the Senate Majority Leader called it a nonpartisan vote. The Republicans have done nothing on health care except impede playing politics for the 2010 elections. A pox and worse on both their houses.
I'm still pumped up after Wyoming's win over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if ...Your gun club has a BYOB policy."
That sounds like a bunch of Wyoming guys going camping to hunt elk.

Spent yesterday afternoon watching the Wyoming Cowboys beat Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. It went two overtimes and into the prime time slot on ESPN reserved for the next bowl game. I kept watching for Neighbor Brad, who was at the game.
Is it just me or do Christmas cards and letters seem to be later and lagging this year? Are people just cutting back or mailing later or is technology influencing the Christmas card business? I read a blog this morning that would have made a great Christmas letter. Are people just staying up with their friends through blogs and Facebook? We reveal most of our happening on Facebook and depending on the number of friends and the friends' friends, it can spread like water on a table. We'll know by New Year's.

Went out to dinner (nothing fancy) last night with some old friends whom we hadn't seen for months. It was good to reminisce about kids, etc. They are planning to spend a chunk of the winter in Hawaii. I can't decide whether I'm envious or not. I really enjoy the ski season.
This afternoon I plan to camp out in front of the TV set watching the Wyoming Cowboys play Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You've ever taken an inner tube up a ski lift."

Found out yesterday that daughter and S-I-L's twins are going to be boys. They unfortunately won't have the benefit of an older sister to boss them around and shape them up. Every boy needs that-right/ Sonny?
The funniest cartoons of the week have been Doonesbury's claiming that Tiger Woods has so many mistresses they are unionizing.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if... You've ever gift wrapped a tire."

Got my first batch of Christmas cards written and mailed today. I feel righteous.
Drank coffee (hot chocolate for me)with my homies this morning. They were talking about a small cafe called "Plows" which wasn't too far away from where we congregate on Thursday mornings. I decided to drive by just to see what it looked like. I then decided to got in and have lunch. It's what I call a "throwback" restaurant-8 stools and 7 or 8 tables and frequented by locals as the waitresses knew most by first name. Smoking is allowed but fortunately the only one smoking was one of the waitresses. The place was packed. I ordered 1/3 pound cheeseburger. The guy next to me was painting (yes painting) a picture of a coffee cup and a piece of cherry pie. The pie looked so good I ordered a cherry pie ala mode. They had already run out of cherry pie and this was 11:30 in the morning. The burger was juicy and the fries just the way I like them. The entire building looks smaller than a contemporary master bedroom. The parking is also limited. I think I'll go back some time for a piece cherry ala mode.

Went to the car wash this afternoon. Temp was 38 and so was the wind speed. I was the only one at the wash so I got right through and got a little extra attention from the guys manning the hoses. Went to the bank. Got right in at the drive-thru. Usually there's line and I go inside. Not today. Since the wife is going to hear the Casper Children's Chorale later this afternoon, I decided to stop at Subway. I was the only customer there. The wind keeps people inside or at home.
On the way home the traffic light went out at the corner of a busy highway, a street that goes to a junior high (school was just letting out at the time) and a grocery store that houses a post office branch. Tis the season-usually the Wyoming way of doing things is to play "chicken" when these circumstances occur. Not today. Each driver treated the corner as if it were a 4-way stop and things proceeded with no fender bender nor the casting of the middle finger to show one's rights had been infringed upon. The holidays just bring out the best in people.

I thought it was apropos with all the cold, crummy weather we've had that one of the Netflix I received last week was Ice Road Truckers about hauling oil field equipment above the Arctic Circle.
Just as I was contemplating taking my car and wash away some of the dirt and salt, it started snowing again.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...Your Christmas yard decorations are visible from space."
We've got a couple of those folks locally.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year-The Wyoming Cowboy/Cowgirl Shootout at the Casper Events Center. I've been running the scoreboard for this event since 1982. The Cowgirls will play Dakota State, which shouldn't be much of a game. In the recent past they have played teams like Texas Tech and Kansas State in Casper. The Cowboys will play the Univ. of Northern Colorado, who may whip the Cowboys. In the past we have had teams like Ohio State, Penn State, Gonzaga, Texas Tech twice (once with Bobby Knight) but it is getting harder to bring in quality teams.
For my work I get two complimentary tickets which I give away, parking in the VIP lot behind the Center, a free meal or two, and best of all a front row seat at midcourt. Life is good.

Got my H1N1 flu shot today. No lines. I wore a long sleeved shirt, however, and found out that anyone over 50 had to have a shot rather than the nasal mist dosage. I asked what they did for women who also had on long sleeves. They said they just take them around the corner.

Picked up my skis after having them tuned. I'm ready for the slopes although I usually take my rock skis the first couple of times.
Gas is now under $2.2o a gallon but I'm not going anywhere.

From one of my birthday cards:
"You might be a Redneck if...You've ever unclogged a sink with a shotgun."

The internet through Bresnan.net was out all over town for about three hours this morning. On Thursdays I drink coffee (hot chocolate for me) with my homies. I'm among the youngest. One of the guys was asking about the internet being down because his wife was going crazy because she couldn't get on Facebook. The lady has to be in her mid-seventies-and I felt guilty about being on Facebook at my age.
Checked the SPAM box on my laptop this morning-19 SPAMs and 18 were for Viagra and its ilk.

From the calendar-a couple of my favorites:
"You might be a Redneck if...You're older than your stepmom.
or
....You've head-butted a slot machine."

How cold is it? I went to get a bottle of water from the garage. It was frozen solid. That's a first. The gas line on my snow blower froze Sunday night. The wife was visiting her mother in southwestern Minnesota and is still snowed in although she was thinking about trying to leave this afternoon. I-80 between Rawlins and Cheyenne is closed so they are detouring traffic through Casper to Cheyenne. That's only a 300 mile detour. I don't know how but my USA Today keeps arriving each morning from Denver. It's not even officially winter yet.

I should have written about this yesterday-December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day. President Roosevelt described it as a "day that shall live in infamy." We spent the next four years at war. My dad served in the South Pacific. Hawaii at that time was an American Territory, not an American state. I consider 9/11 just as bad, if not worse. It was an attack on American soil. Over seven years later we are still at war with no relief in sight.
I enjoy political cartoons. Yesterday's was a bumper sticker parody of "My daughter and my money go to (name a college)." The bumper sticker on the back of the cartoon auto read "My kids and my $$$ all go to AFGHANISTAN."
Today's political cartoon shows a crowd lined up outside an unemployment office. An announcement in the background is blaring "Attention please...the president's job creation program just opened up 30,000 new positions in Afghanistan..."
American businesses spend a fortune at this time of year with TV and newspaper ads and at times on direct mailings. I got a direct mailing postcard from J.C. Penney informing me that I could save an "extra 20%-one day only! Sunday, December 6." The only problem is that I didn't the postcard until one day later, December 7th.

There's a group of people trying to get a new political party on the ballot in Wyoming. Originally the U.S. Taxpayers party the current Constitution Party has goals of "restoring the Founding Fathers' vision of a limited federal government based on biblical foundations." Does this mean they won't drive on U.S. highways, take a government job or take social security or unemployment benefits if they lose their government jobs? The state chairman, a social worker (most social workers receive some sort of government compensation I think), says she got involved with the Constitutional Party out of a conviction that "world will soon see the second coming of Jesus." However, she doesn't define "soon." She also believes "....we are looking at a one-world government and socialists taking over our government." She has a few other thought not worth mentioning.
Actually I think it's a credit to the U.S. that we are a nation that allows divergent thought such as this. If you are wondering why there is such a high success rate getting people to send money to Nigeria or to televangelists, you may have your answer with the Constitution Party.

It's overcast and snowing again. I don't mind the snow as the local ski area is due to open next weekend and I would like to see as many runs as possible open. If it's just one or two, one takes his/her life in his/her hands with all the snow boarders.
What I don't like is the overcast and gloom. I need to see the sun. I need to see the mountain. I'm suffering from a conflict of interest. Maybe I'll take the skis in tomorrow and get them tuned. I'll feel better doing that.
Time to fire up the snow blower.

The athletic club where I work out daily also is the place where a lot of firemen/EMT's work out at the same time. Often I can hear their radios as they monitor goings-on in Casper. When they get a call, a siren goes off in their radios and they run for the doors. They keep their fireman garb just outside the door. I've watched them several times. They are dressed and in their truck under way in less than two minutes. That's one of the reasons I like to work out at the time I do because there are so many people with EMT training there. Once a member collapsed while riding the stationary bike. He had so many people helping him and there was an ambulance there within 15 minutes and on its way to the hospital. I figure if I go down, I want that kind of attention. Today they got another call and they were up to par. Probably less than two minutes.

Got a second Christmas card today. I've got to get going on our Christmas letter.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You think Christan Dior is a TV evangelist."

Watched a great football game last night between Oregon and Oregon State. I was rooting for State because my cousin Barbara went there. Didn't happen.

My wife has complained about this for years. I also get annoyed that magazines have perfume and cologne strips inserted with the supposed scent. This week's Sports Illustrated contains a cologne strip that I can only describe as "Hint of Outhouse."

Got our first Christmas card today. It may jump start me to start on our Christmas letter-but not today.

Temps are hovering around zero overnight and it has snowed the last two nights. Thank goodness for electric blankets and snow blowers.

Only four SPAMs for Viagra today and one for air fare reduction. The travel industry is catching up.

Seen on the back of a T-shirt:
"I ran out of sick days so I called in dead."

TIS THE SEASON: I cleaned out the SPAM box of my email on my laptop yesterday. I haven't done that for about a month. There were well over a hundred emails that my program recognized as SPAM. At least 90% plus were ads for Viagra and what I assume are similar prescriptions. Most of the dates were since Thanksgiving indicating that the Christmas season is big for Viagra sales and would make an interesting Christmas gift for one's parents or older acquaintances. I did spot one clue as to why I was receiving so many offers by checking to see to whom the email was addressed. We all had one common word in our email addresses and so we received each other's offers. Ah, American (foreign?) enterprise.
Fired up the snow blower this morning as we received our first snow since late October.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You think calamari is treatable with antibiotics."

A new round of H1N1 flu vaccine clinics was announced. Unfortunately I'm too old to for the targeted age group. I guess I don't mind as there are younger people who are more at risk than me.
I visited my friend at the hospice this afternoon. His cancer is in remission and he now is going to be transferred to a facility for physical therapy to learn to walk. He said they brought him to the hospice to die but now he is recovering. We get Christmas presents in strange ways.