Christmas Day

We got up early today so Gerry could fix the food for the potluck dinner at the recreation center today.  After that we went to Mass and enjoyed the nice view on the way there.  Since we were running a little late, we tried a shortcut and missed our turn and wound up taking longer to get to the church.  It was a childrens mass and the priest was great with all the kids.  We enjoyed seeing all those little kids and their bright faces.

After church it was home again and then getting the final preparations for the dinner at the center.  Cousin Sharon and her husband Al came by and joined us there, along with friends Steve and Judy.  The park provided the ham, potatoes and soft drinks and others brought the sides to the meal.  There were about 100 people there for the dinner and everything moved pretty well.  We were about the 6th table called to get in line and the food tables were full of delicious and tempting dishes.  I couldn't even sample all of them and settled for more food than I could eat.  

We sat around and visited a while longer at the rec center and listened to three songbirds belt out a special request for Carl.  It was a song that he loved and hadn't heard for a while.  They have a karaoke setup and they used the music from that as the background.  They did a great job of singing and we all enjoyed it, but Carl liked it even more.

After that we came back to the motorhome and Sharon, Al, Judy and Steve joined us there.  We were all too stuffed to have dessert and couldn't even down any more beverages.  Al & Sharon had a beer and the rest of us couldn't take another sip.  We had a nice visit and finally called it a night.

The kids all called us and I didn't get a chance to talk to them since we had company.  Later on we did talk to Cassie  & Jack for a while and Cassie was having an asthma attack and couldn't say much, but she did listen.  It was great talking to them and hopefully she will feel better soon and we can chat some more.

We called our friends Judy & Herb in Arlington, TX and chatted with them for 45 minutes and caught up on what they have been doing since we last saw them.  Judy got bored with retirement and took a part time job, and Herb has been working in the cigar shop lately.  Some retirement for them.  They do seem to enjoy the work and seeing people so it works for them.

That was our Christmas Day out here in the desert.  We would have loved to be with our children and family, but it didn't work out this year.  Maybe next year we can make plans on being together once again at Christmas.  Henry said no more parties at his house for 5 years, so we will have to look at alternate places to meet.  

Merry Christmas to all.