Old Tucson!

We have two birthdays in December on top of Christmas, and then two in January.  It's a BUSY time for us!  :-) We decided to take our sweet grandson to Old Tucson on his big day (later we all saw a movie, went to Applebees for his birthday dinner, and then had presents and cake...it was a VERY full and enjoyable day!)  Old Tucson is the town built west of the real city that has been used in dozens of movies, and nearly as many TV series.  We went there several times when our daughter was small and we were stationed here, even taking my own grandmother there as part of her visit "out west" for the only time in her life.  It's a lot of fun, and very interesting.  About 40% of the movie town was destroyed in a fire after we moved away, but they rebuilt it, and added a lot of great features.  Our grandson had never been there and he really likes "cowboy stuff" so he had a great time.  So did we...

 Checking out a stagecoach...

 A cannon used in the movie The Alamo...

Scenes from McClintock, with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara....

 The train station...

 The Reno, an actual locomotive and train cars used in many, many movies filmed here....

 Our grandson gets a turn at the steam locomotive.....

 Another view of The Reno....

The train schedule....note that the train to Yuma departs at 3:10.  Also, the departure for Tombstone is before the gunfight, and the arrival at Tombstone is after the gunfight.

 The three of us on the stagecoach ride...

 Our grandson enjoying the team....

 Learning to pan for gold....

 Oops, our grandson apparently stole a horse!

 This is the oldest building in the movie set town.  It was built of real adobe back in 1936 for the movie Arizona, the first film made here....

 A replica of the oldest schoolhouse in Arizona...

The chapel recognized by many movie-goers.  Unfortunately it was badly damaged in the fire, and is now simply a movie facade.  When we used to live here in the 80's, it was a complete building, and one of our friends was even married inside.  I made their wedding cake, which I carried over the pass on my lap in our car.  The pass winds around the mountainous terrain, and many a line of cars has been stopped on the far side because of filming at Old Tucson, so they couldn't be seen in the distance on the mountain.  Hope you are enjoying this little tour of this great piece of movie history (and fun place to visit!)....
More to come....

The Birth of Christ

In 4 BC a supernova was seen in the far east and over a period of time rose more and more to the south each day as wise men from Persia traveled over mountain and desert, following it to Bethlehem where it appeared to hover.  It was early spring, but that does not matter to the millions of worshipers worldwide who know the fact that on that day God came as man, to be our blood sacrifice and re-establish the Covenant between the Creator and His creation.  A young girl held our Savior in her arms and the world was changed in that moment, for all eternity...

May God bless you and your family as we all remember this Sacred day and thank God for His perfect Gift.
Love from my family to yours...
Marie
(photo taken from the internet)

Bonding With Grandaddy

 One of the absolute joys of being here now is getting to spend time with our sweet grandson.  I watch him after school four days a week while his parents are at work, and then sometimes he spends Friday nights with us.  Now, for Christmas break, we can be together even more.  This time is priceless....

Grandaddy was an F-111 pilot in the Air Force.  Our grandson wants to try on his flight helmet, so grandaddy helps him put the helmet on, then our grandson doesn't want to take it off!  :-)

Perhaps he will want to be a military pilot someday too....
Another day we decide to shoot the Red Ryder B-B gun out in the back yard.  What would Christmas be, anyway, without a Red Ryder B-B gun!  :-)
Grandaddy gives some pointers on the correct way to hold the rifle...

 And our grandson takes a few shots at the targets we made...

Grandaddy wants to take a few shots as well....

And he gets the turkey right in the eye....
But, a chip off the old block, our grandson has also had some nice hits....

 Ahh, he got the bad guy right in the middle of his forehead, kind've like David and Goliath, B-B- style!

And look, we'll have a nice turkey dinner for Christmas!
Good shooting, little guy!
Nope, there is NOTHING like sharing sweet moments with your grandchild.  Time steals them away into adulthood FAR too fast!

The Dining Table

When I was a little girl in the fifties and sixties we often traveled back to Alabama to Grandmother's house to spend Christmas there.  Since part of my childhood was spent in Maryland, the trip was never a short one.  Sometimes we came from Virginia, or even California.  I can remember always leaving as soon as my Dad's Navy leave-time started, which was right after midnight. We children were still in our pajamas and we cuddled together in the back of the family car which was usually a station wagon.  (No seatbelts in those days!) Daddy drove all night.  We'd stop at a gas station somewhere and change clothes after everyone awakened, and we'd have breakfast at a diner (I still love to eat breakfast out because of these early experiences!) If I was awake during that night on the road, I would stare at the stars in the cold sky and sometimes quietly chat with my Dad to help him stay awake.  The roads were not the super highways of today, but two-lane paved roads that stopped at the traffic lights in every town you'd drive through.  A child could enjoy the Christmas decorations as you passed them and wonder who the families were who lived in each house....were they like us, a Mom and Dad with four children, excited and anxious for the big day?

Most importantly, though, was our destination.  We were going back to Alabama...home.  Every time we crossed the state line, we children would shout "Hurrah" and start singing "Alabama here we come, right back where we started from!"  It was the center of the universe for us, and the person around which that entire universe revolved was our beloved Grandmother.

I could write a great deal about that sweet, precious woman who so greatly shaped my young life.  She had a truly gentle spirit and selfless loving heart.  But, this is a blog post, and I have a particular thing about which I wish to speak today.  Christmas dinner around my Grandmother's table in her small white house was a time I remember with great reverence.  It was Christmas, which meant family to me, and home, and safety, and love.  I learned much more about Christ's birth and the importance of the celebration of His Incarnation at a later time.  Now, surrounding the table laden with wonderful foods, with all their savory tastes and smells, I saw the faces of my loved ones, and that was what was important in those days.  It was the love in my Grandmother's eyes as she looked at us.  It was the fact that Grandmother had baked my favorite buttermilk custard pie because she knew I loved it.  It was her attentive Christ-like servitude to everyone at the table, causing us to gently chide her for bouncing up and down to get this and that and not actually eating her meal.  But, to Grandmother, having us there was the greatest gift she could have received.  I know that now, because I am now a Grandmother too.

Many years ago my parents moved from Alabama where Dad had retired from the Navy, to Virginia to be closer to the kids.  When they made the move, I was offered some things that my Mom didn't wish to take with her.  One of them was my Grandmother's dining table.  This past Thanksgiving my husband, daughter, son-in-law, and grandson sat with me at that table, just as I had sat with my childhood family many years ago.  I had so MUCH to be thankful for!  It was truly a blessing to gather at this board with my loved ones just as I had so many, many times before.  And as I did, I thought of her, my sweet Grandmother and thanked the Lord that she was the matriarch of all of us, and gave so freely of herself to us all.  For that we are all very, very blessed.

May you all have a very blessed Christmas around your family dining table this year, wherever you are, and may you make memories that you will cherish for a lifetime.

Hummingbird Heaven!

That's what it is here...Hummingbird Heaven!  We have so many species here in Tucson, and I have trouble identifying them.  I think we are getting Black Chinned and Anna's.  Maybe some of you could help me!  And they are here even into December (I believe all year!)  Anyway, I have an awesome Tucson Hummingbird story I want to tell you all when I can finally use my scanner.  For now, here is the recent activity in our yard....

Hard to catch those furiously fluttering wings!

He stayed on his perch a long time and let me get lots of pictures.  Then, down to the feeder....

And another bird at a second feeder....

Time For Adventure!

 It was the day after Thanksgiving.  Our grandson didn't have school and he was staying with us for the day.  What better time for an adventure!  At first we suggested the zoo, and our sweetie said, no, he would rather go to the desert.  Then, he changed his mind and said, no he would like to go to the mountains, but not on the main road....go into the mountains on a rugged road.  OK!  I mean, how many places can one live and have so many great choices right at their fingertips.  So, a rugged mountain road it was!....

The scenery was wonderful as we began to wind up into the mountains out of Oracle, AZ.  We were headed for a campground called Peppersauce Campground (a perfect name for a campsite, says this Alabama girl!) and once we arrived at that point, we were smitten!  Yep, definitely have to come back and do some camping here!

But even after we left Peppersauce with its lovely large (and colorful!) trees, we saw interesting rugged terrain that seemed to be favorite spots for hunters, and their tents were dotted here and there. 

Then we came upon the most idyllic spot, nestled in among trees.  Hunters or campers had used this spot before (we could see by the stone fire rings), but no one was here now....no one but us.  Our grandson and I went exploring!

We found evidence of past equestrian visitors.....

and the workings of a little bridge across what was now dry but could be water in the spring run-off.

The road was so wind-ey and rocky and filled with hairpin turns at times!  We met an occasional car coming down from Mt. Lemmon's resort area and headed back to Oracle.  Fortunately we didn't meet them where the road was the most narrow and steep!

We saw a few cows, and these horses on a hillside....

Here's a view of the road!

And then finally we had reached the summit of Mt. Lemmon!  We stopped for chili at a cafe, and then began our descent back to Tucson....

The views were incredible!  And we passed hoo-doo point as we descended.  In a little while, the city, it's evening lights beginning to twinkle on, came into view....

It had been a perfect day.