Christmas Week, Boca Raton Bowl, and the Beach

On Monday, I went for my third PT session. I think it is helping because I’m not in severe pain like I was.

Tuesday was the Boca Raton Bowl hosted by Bush Beans. First, we got gas at Costco and thought about going inside until we saw the crazy crowd, so we left. We headed to Boca Raton around 10:15 and found a great parking spot right outside the stadium for $20. The Fanfest started at 11, but we were able to walk around the booths and talk with people. We stopped at the Air Force table and registered for free to do the performance lab. We entered the trailer, where three video game-like tests were administered to measure our focus and other skills. The last was a virtual reality where you drove a jet through a canyon. At another place, we spun a wheel and won Bean hats (we actually ended up with a lot of them). We also took a picture with a Can of Beans mascot and Duke the Dog. We got a lot of swag from vendors and had to take it all to the car since we couldn’t take anything into the stadium. I ended up buying a t-shirt and having to go back to the car again. When we finally went into the gates, we were handed another Bean hat, which was nice during the game when it got hot. The game was between the Louisville Cardinals and the Toledo Rockets. We were pulling for Louisville, which was good since we ended up sitting among Louisville fans. We took our time leaving the stadium so most of the traffic would be gone. Then we took Hwy 1 all the way back home and got home about 7pm.

On Wednesday, I was tired from the day before, so I just relaxed and knit. Started needle felting a raccoon from a kit that I bought at Dollar Tree.

Thursday was Christmas Day. We spent the morning at the beach. It was beautiful weather, and we even went swimming. We found a shark’s tooth! I finished my raccoon, and it turned out really cute. After lunch, we spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies: It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, and Red One. I didn’t even cook any dinner, and we just ate junk food.

On Friday, I went shopping with Donna. We were surprised there weren’t big crowds buying last-minute deals. I spent most of the day knitting on my sweater.

Don and I went grocery shopping early in the morning on Saturday, before the crowds woke up. Then we watched football bowl games on TV for the whole day. I finished my sweater and am already thinking about my next projects.

On Sunday, I went shopping with Donna again. I didn’t need anything, but it was nice to get out of the house. I also washed and blocked my sweater so I could take a photo of it. Then I prepped my yarn for a pair of socks to do on our January cruise.

It was a wonderful week. I think my shoulder is getting better slowly. I feel impatient, but then I realize I only went to the doctor two weeks ago and have only been to three PT Sessions. Hopefully, it will continue to heal.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

2025 Christmas Newsletter

Here is my Christmas newsletter to friends and family. We had a wonderful 2025 with lots of things happening and a big trip.

January:
We enjoyed watching the fireworks usher in the new year! We visited the Manatee Lagoon and saw lots of manatees. On the way home, we stopped at the Jupiter Lighthouse and took the tour. We also watched the inauguration of our newly elected president. We also went to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands. My online graduate classes started this month and lasted through April.

February:
We visited the Kinetic Art Show in Boynton Beach, which we always enjoy. We took a 5-day Celebrity cruise to Key West and Nassau. We had wanted to go to Key West, and this was better than driving the long distance. Of course, we didn’t even get off the ship in Nassau. We also attended the Lake Worth Street Art Festival, which spans two days. We watch them get started and then go back the next day to see the finished artwork. Don celebrated a birthday at the end of the month.

March:
We started off the month by walking around in the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area, which is near our house. We also spent a week in Orlando attending Kaeli’s softball tournament. Deanna booked a 3-bedroom condo, so Lauren and her family joined us. We got to know her husband, Ed, and her two children better. We loved spending time with Harley and Milo!

April:
We returned to South Carolina in time for Easter. We were able to get the huge pecan tree that fell during Hurricane Helene removed, and we got our HVAC system replaced. I’m glad we had it removed before the annual Easter egg hunt that is held in our backyard. I also sent Stephanie’s children the knit octopus that I made, and they liked them! At the end of the month, we met Lauren and Stephanie’s families at the Riverbanks Zoo. It was wonderful getting to spend the day with all of them!

May:
We went with the senior center members to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. We had never been there before, so it was a lot of fun. On the way home, we stopped at the Varsity for dinner. We also finally got our roof replaced on our house after 14 months! I was so excited!

June:
Most of the month was spent repairing our kitchen. We had the ceiling replaced and painted. Then we painted the kitchen cabinets and got a new gas stove and gas dryer. Sometime during this time, Don fractured his back and was unable to do much else after that. He was in so much pain that he couldn’t even put on his socks and shoes. Thankfully, physical therapy and time helped him heal.

July:
My friend Sheila came over to watch the fireworks with me. Our town has a wonderful firework show. I also taught my Furman practicum class online during this month so we didn’t get to do much. At the end of the month, we went to Charlotte for the stamp show and had a lot of fun. We saw a friend from our FL stamp club there.

August:
This month involved a lot of physical therapy and dental appointments. At the end of the month, we went to Atlanta to the postcard show there. We also saw a friend from our FL postcard club there. My wedding gown was displayed at the history museum in the vintage wedding gowns exhibit.

September:
We hiked with our friends in downtown Greenville at the beginning of the month. In the middle of the month, we went to my knitting retreat on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We hiked during the day and I knit in the evenings. It was a perfect time for both of us. When we left the retreat, we headed to Washington, DC, and spent the week there. We stayed in a Hyatt near the Dulles airport and rode the metro into the city every day. What a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday! On the way back to SC, we stopped to visit my knitting friends, Marlicia and Tahlia, in Front Royal, VA.

October:
In mid-October, we returned to our Florida house. It was nice to go where it was warmer than SC. We were able to go to the beach and go swimming. It was great to see our neighbors and visit our favorite restaurant again.

 
November:
We went on our first Viking cruise. We flew to Paris and spent 2 days there. Then we got on the ship in Trier, Germany, where we cruised down the Rhine River ending up in Basel, Switzerland. After 2 days in Zurich, we flew home to FL. It was a fun but exhausting trip!

December:
Time to decorate the inside and outside of the house. I didn’t have time to do it last year so I’m glad we did this year. We are visiting places nearby that we enjoy and just plan to enjoy the season.

We hope you enjoy this holiday season and that it is filled with lots of love and laughter!

Christmas 2024 Newsletter

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends!

We’ve had a unique year this year. Looking at this year, we’ve been able to see many things as inconveniences and tried hard to focus on the blessings.

January through the first half of March had us enjoying our Florida house. In January we ripped out most of the carpet and had the terrazzo floors redone.

In March, we went to Orlando for the week to watch my great-niece Kaeli’s softball tournament. She plays ball for Cortland University. It is a good way to visit with Deanna and Kaeli and enjoy the ball games too.

We returned to South Carolina in mid-March. When we walked into our house. We found that the roof had storm damage and caused a leak. This made the entire kitchen ceiling collapse. We didn’t have our kitchen for the rest of the year.

In June we went on a road trip and went to the Zombie Knitpocalypse knitting retreat. On the way, we spent a few days at Mammoth Cave National Park and had a wonderful time!

I taught my Furman practicum class online in July. It went well.

In August, we went to the Smokies and stayed at the Treetops Resort. We had a great time hiking and relaxing.

In September, Hurricane Helene hit on my birthday. We were without power for 6 days and it flooded our basement. It killed our HVAC system. We had several trees down in our yard, including our beautifully big pecan tree. Trees fell on top of one of our rental houses and another house had trees down int their yard.

After cutting as many of the downed trees as possible and then paying a tree service to get the trees off the rental house, we decided it was time to head to Florida! We also had to roof redone on the rental house.

In November, we went on a 12-day cruise on the HAL Zuiderdam out of Ft. Lauderdale. We went to St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Dominica, and Half Moon Cay. We had a great time!

In December, we went on an 8-day cruise on the Caribbean Princess, out of Port Canaveral.

Even though we had some ups and downs, we are happy to be healthy and happy. Compared to some of the other people suffering from the hurricane, we are thankful for so many blessings.

We will have a quiet Christmas and plan on watching lots of Christmas movies all day long!

I hope you enjoy your Christmas and have a safe and fun holdiay1

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Well, it is that holiday season again so I thought I’d update you about our 2023 year. 

Early in the year, we were in Florida and cruised for a week on the MSC Divina in January. It was good to visit with our friend Guglielmo, the hotel director on the ship. 

February was a quiet month. We attended regular meetings of the Cresthaven Stamp Club and the Tropical Postcard Club. 

In March, our niece, Deanna invited us to spend the week in Orlando to watch her daughter,  Kaeli in a college softball tournament. We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect. I had forgotten how much I missed softball games. 

March meant that it was warming up in Florida so we did our last-minute things to get the house ready to close it up for the summer. 

On the first weekend in April, we headed back to South Carolina. A broken water pipe welcomed us home but it was repaired quickly on that Monday. We spent a lot of time preparing the camper for an upcoming camping trip.  At the end of the month, we went camping in the Smokies and enjoyed our trip. We missed the mountains while we were in Florida. 

Don had hand surgery in May and so was unable to do much for a couple of weeks while he healed from the surgery. It corrected his Dupuytren’s Contracture of his pinky finger on his left hand. It went really well and he is now able to use his hand much better. I finally talked Don into buying a riding lawn mower and we bought a zero-turn John Deere mower. 

In June, we went on a road trip heading to Minnesota. We drove through Missouri and were able to visit my friend Cindy at Laumiere Park. We also stopped in Springfield, IL to visit the Lincoln Presidential Library as well as the Lincoln home before he became President. Next, we went to Peoria, IL, and went to the Caterpillar Visitor Center. Those big tractors were amazing to see! Then we spent a few days around Moline, IL, and Davenport, IA to learn more about John Deere machinery. We even took a tour of the John Deere Plant in Davenport. At the end of the month, we ended up in Rochester, MN for the Zombie Knitpocalypse knitting retreat. 

On the way home, we stopped in Elkhart, IN to visit the RV Hall of Fame that we had visited years ago. We still enjoy seeing how RVs have changed throughout the years. Next, we stopped at the Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, OH. Our original plan was to head north to Cuyahoga National Park but due to the Canadian wildfires, the air quality was too dangerous so we headed home. 

July was quiet for us. This was the first July in years that I hadn’t had to teach a Furman course. We don’t usually go far from home because of the crowds and the heat. 

In August, we went on a  cruise to the British Isles and Iceland on the Holland America Nieuw Statendam. We flew to Copenhagen and we were on the ship for a month. It was an amazing trip and I loved the cool temperatures. I’m so glad we got to see Iceland because they were having problems with earthquakes and volcanoes after we left. It seemed to take a long time to get over jet lag! 

In September, we started to prepare for our trip to Florida for the winter. We finished up with scheduled doctors and dentist appointments. At the end of September, we went to the Blue Ridge Parkway for the Spartanburg Knitting Guild knitting retreat. 

In the middle of October, we headed to Florida so we could help with the Fall Stamp Show and the Fall Postcard Show. Then we flew to Valencia, where we boarded the MSC Magnifica for a cruise to the Mediterranean and a transatlantic cruise to Miami for a month. Our wonderful neighbor, Bob, took us to the airport in October and picked us up at the port in Miami in November. 

It felt good to be back on land and back to a normal routine. Don was thrilled to be back with his postal collection and I loved sitting on my front porch knitting. 

December had us putting up Christmas decorations. I am still using the tabletop tree that my dad and Marge used for years. One year, I knit Christmas ornaments to put on it. We also put up the same outside lights that they used. It brings back such wonderful memories of our Christmases together.  On each side of the tree, I hung up stockings that my mother knit for us the year we got married. 

I hope this year has been for you and your family. May the new year bring you lots of happiness and good health. 

Holiday Decorating

 Last week we did some Christmas decorating. I use the tabletop Christmas tree my father and stepmother used every Christmas. I added my own knit ornaments to the tree. On each side of the tree are the Christmas stockings my mother knit for us the first Christmas after we were married (1982). Outside I use the lights and decorations that my father and stepmom used and I love the memories all of these bring. 

Merry Christmas

Sunday is Christmas Day in the United States. I love to spend the day watching Christmas movies and being thankful for all the blessings in my life.

I hope this Christmas finds you happy and healthy.

 

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Music

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the music. I love Christmas music any time of year. It usually makes me feel happy and full of hope and wonder. Here are some of my favorite socks. Do you have any favorites? Please share.

Christmas 2021

Merry Christmas! 

Tomorrow is Christmas Day so I’m taking a break today from my Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom in order to wish you a Merry Christmas.

I hope this Christmas season has brought you joy and good health.

Have a safe and joyful Christmas!

Christmas Newsletter 2021

This year has been full of lots of ups and downs. It seems like this year was longer than most because of health issues.

January:
We returned home to SC so we could go to a couple of doctor/dentist appointments, pay taxes, and check on the house. We only planned on staying for two weeks. At the end of the month, we caught Covid-19. I had a fever for one day but Don had one for a total of 12 days. We thought his fever might have been from the tooth he had pulled that had abscessed. After 10 days of a high fever, he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Covid. They didn’t give him anything other than to tell him to stay hydrated. 2 days later, his fever was gone.

February:
We just spent the month recuperating. Neither one of us had any energy and very little appetite. Once we got our taste back, we ate anything we wanted. I guess it was comfort food. At the end of the month, we returned to FL.

March:
The sun and the warmth of FL were good for recuperation. We didn’t do much other than enjoy the weather. Don attended his stamp club meetings which made him happy.

April:
We returned to SC and were feeling better. We did go camping for a week in the Smokies. Hikes were shorter than we usually do because our energy levels and stamina were still low. The weather was perfect though the entire week.

May:
Don had cataract surgery on both eyes. They did the surgeries 2 weeks apart and I had to administer the drops in his eyes, That was not a fun time for either of us! The 2 weeks between surgeries were really hard for Don because his vision was not clear at all so I did all of the driving.

June:
A few days after his last surgery, we left for our trip to Minnesota. Since his vision was still not clear, I did all of the driving for 4000 miles. We had a wonderful trip and saw fabulous things. We even stayed at the Kettle Falls Hotel in the park which is only accessible by boat. We spent a week in Rochester, MN for my knitting retreat and it was wonderful to see all of my friends again.

July:
I taught my Practicum class in person. It was so nice to have it in person instead of online. I really missed the children and my students. I had a great bunch of teachers this year and it was a fun class the whole time. During this month, Don was diagnosed with diabetes and the doctor agreed to let him lower his sugar through diet and exercise before trying medicine.

August:
Don had surgery on his eyes to fine-tune and adjust his vision. This seemed to help. Of course, this kept us from doing anything fun the whole month since we were dealing with eye drops and warm compresses. I applied for Social Security which was exciting for me. We worked on some things that needed to be done around the house.

September:
We went to the Apple Festival in Hendersonville. Don had his final surgery on his eyes and he was cleared by the doctor until his check-up next year. We went to a couple of Furman football games and it was so nice to be able to do this again.

October:
We started preparing for our trip to FL. My 40th Furman homecoming was held at Furman but nothing special was planned. We did have dinner with my friend, Nan Hannah and we had a great time. I was glad to see so many of my old friends again. Our new neighbors, Molly, Trevor, and little Eloise moved in across the street. I’m glad we had some time to get to know them before heading to FL. We left for FL on Halloween.

November:
We stayed a week in Kissimmee and just relaxed. We visited a lot of antique stores and even a yarn store. One day we went to Merritt Island and visited Carol and Becky. Their house was so lovely! When we got to our Beach House, we spent a lot of time working around the house. Don and our neighbor Bob, rescreened the front porch and it looks awesome! Don and I scrubbed the back fence and shed which was really hard work. There was a lot of mildew and lichens on both. We also trimmed the bushes, pulled all the weeds off the side fences, and did some weeding. Thanksgiving was quiet and we had an egg omelet and bacon for dinner.

December.
We met my cousins Wayne and Lorraine for dinner and it was so nice seeing them again. We had not seen them for 2 years! We put up the Christmas tree and stockings inside. We also put Christmas lights around the dining room window. It looks very festive. I’m enjoying all the Christmas music and Christmas movies during this time of year.

It has been a roller coaster year for us but with more positives than negatives.

May you have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Photo by Lynda Hinton on Unsplash

Favorite Christmas Movies

I love Christmas because of all the decorations and the music. I also love it because I can see my favorite Christmas movies without my family thinking I’m crazy.

Here are my top 5 favorite Christmas movies: 

• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
• It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
• White Christmas (1954)
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
• Elf (2003)

This would be a fun activity with students. Have them list their top 5 Christmas movies. It would be fun to put this list in a spreadsheet and then see how many of the same movies were listed. From the spreadsheet, students can make a chart of the top 5 Christmas movies for the class.

Put students in small groups and give them the class list of favorite movies. Have them come up with the group’s top 5 list and share it with the class.

Students can pick one of their five and write why they liked it. Students can pick one from someone else’s list and write why it didn’t make their top 5 list.

What are your top 5 Christmas movies? Please share.

Christmas 2020

Tomorrow is Christmas Day and I hope you and your family have a safe and merry Christmas. However you celebrate Christmas with your family, may it be full of love and laughter!

Christmas Newsletter 2020

This year has been a wild ride and full of craziness. It was hard to plan anything so we played everything by ear.

January:

We returned home from FL so we could pay taxes and deal with any issues at home. It was cold and we missed Florida’s warmth.

February:

We went to Myrtle Beach to the SCCEC conference. This was my last year as a board member and Child and Adolescent Network Coordinator. We had planned to leave from Myrtle Beach and head to Florida but Covid numbers were increasing and we were unsure of what the future would hold. So, we headed back home instead and we are glad we made that decision.

March:

We spent the month in self-quarantine, only going grocery shopping every other week. We wore masks and gloves when we went shopping.

April:

April brought an unexpected event. My parent’s neighbor contacted us to tell us that a tornado hit my parents’ house and damaged the roof. So, we headed immediately to Florida and had to deal with that. It took a lot of time and energy to get estimates, especially when some companies never showed up!

May:

We found a great roofer who put a new roof on my parents’ house at a reasonable price. We did some other minor repairs before heading back home so I could teach my Furman course.

I was able to finalize probating my parents’ estate and Don and I bought my parent’s house from the estate.

June and July:

My Furman course that I usually teach every July in person, became an online course over June and July. This was very challenging, but my students handled it well. We ran a summer program with real children who were taught by my students on Zoom. It was nice not to have to drive to work but it was very mentally exhausting to teach this way.

We were also supposed to go to Minnesota for my annual knitting retreat but that was canceled due to Covid. I was so disappointed but the organizers set up a Discord app channel so we could talk regularly and then zoom meetings were set up every week so we could meet online. That was a really nice thing to do.

August – September:

We did some things around our house that we have put off for many years. We kept saying that eventually, we would get around to it. Since we were stuck at home, we figured it was time to get around to it. After getting things done, we felt good about the progress we had made.

October:

We returned to Florida as new homeowners. We are now officially Snowbirds and will probably stay here until March or April.

November:

We worked on the house and started making it our own place. It is fun to look and make plans at some work we want to do. I planted some new plants and did some weeding. We spent some time at the beach too which was wonderful.

December:

Our daughter Dyanna and her husband Earl came down to visit for a week. We celebrated her birthday and Christmas early before they had to return back to South Carolina. Unfortunately, a cold spell hit and they couldn’t go to the beach much. On the day we went to the beach, it was still too cool to go swimming. After they left, we had a few nice days where we could enjoy the beach and go swimming. We will have a quiet Christmas here and just enjoy the beautiful weather.

It’s been a tough year worrying about catching the virus but we made lots of progress on things we put off. Don worked a lot on his postal collection and I got a lot of knitting done.

May you have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash

Merry Christmas 2019

I hope you and your family have a blessed Merry Christmas. Stay safe, be happy, and hug your loved ones close to you. If you can’t be with the ones you love during this time, hug them close in your heart.

Photo by Cris DiNoto on Unsplash

The Night Before Christmas

In A Visit from St. Nicholas BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE:

“'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;’

This is one of my favorite Christmas poems and it is a popular piece for all ages. I realized that I didn’t know very much about the poet and wanted to learn more. I want to share with you what I learned.

Clement Clarke Moore was born in New York city in 1779. He was an only child and tutored by his father. He graduated from Columbia College in 1798. He married Catharine Taylor in 1813 and had nine children. He died in 1863.

He wrote on many different subjects and claimed he wrote the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas for his own children and read it to them on Christmas Eve in 1822. It was published anonymously the next year and became very popular. For many years, many people tried to take credit for writing it. Not until 1844, when his book of Poems was published, did he get credit for being the writer of the poem.

I’m impressed that this poem is almost 200 years old and it is still popular. What a wonderful piece of history that is carried on through the ages.

What is your favorite Christmas poem? Please share.

Photo by Anderson W Rangel on Unsplash