Microsoft OneDrive Reminds Us Of Aunt Alice's Affair With Santa Claus

Day after day, despite my best efforts to resist, the Christmas spirit draws me back in.

That totally Christmas image, which you see above, showed up via my daily Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day.

This particular memory was from several years ago. 

Aunt Alice, in the town of Tonasket, in Eastern Washington. got herself involved with the guy who, for years, had been the Tonasket Santa Claus.

Holding court on a throne in downtown Tonasket, passing out candy canes to kids waiting to sit on his lap and share their Christmas wishes.

Aunt Alice, recently free of Uncle Albert, soon found herself having a whimsical affair with the Tonasket Santa Claus.

For two Christmas seasons, Aunt Alice agreed to play the role of Mrs. Santa Claus, which we see her enjoying in the photo documentation.

Aunt Alice's relationship with Santa Claus came to an end when Santa wanted to formalize the relationship, but Aunt Alice was not yet ready for such, still trying to recover from her years with Uncle Albert...

Ruby, David & Theo's Masked 2020 Santa Visit

The above photo arrived on my phone yesterday. There was no accompanying text indicating where the Tacoma Trio of Ruby, David and Theo found a Masked Santa to visit.

Theo and Ruby seem to have had themselves a much finer time visiting Santa Claus in 2020, than they had themselves a few years ago...

Santa You Better Not Disappoint Spencer Jack On Christmas Morning

Spencer Jack's Cookies & Dear Santa Note

The past day or two I ran out of any Happy Holiday material with which to do some Happy Holiday themed blogging.

This morning, on Facebook, via Spencer Jack's favorite girl friend, Brittney, I came upon some fresh Happy Holiday themed material in the form of Spencer Jack's note for Santa Claus.

Spencer Jack is only 5 years old, and already he is one smart cookie. A smart cookie who already knows how to read and write.

I was also able to read and write before I started school. It must be genetic.

Spencer Jack figured out that it was very unlikely that Santa could possibly make all his deliveries, world-wide, by only working the night before Christmas. Spencer figured Santa likely starts making deliveries early in December, so Spencer has been laying out fresh cookies each night, next to his Dear Santa note.

Below is Spencer Jack's note for Santa, detailing what Spencer wants for Christmas. I hope Santa is able to do a better job of deciphering Spencer's list than I am able to do.

If Spencer Jack follows in his Great Uncle's footsteps, by the time he is 7 he will be totally disillusioned with Santa Claus, declaring the entire Christmas enterprise to be a total fraud.

So, to keep Spencer Jack's current Santa illusions alive as long as possible, methinks great effort must be made to actualize whatever it is that is on Spencer's list and make sure these items are under his tree come Christmas morning.

The only thing I can make out for sure that is on Spencer's list is "I WANT A BOUNCY BALL." I have a big bouncy ball that sits in my living room. I suppose I could wrap it up and mail it to Mount Vernon.

Taking A Sunday Rest From Chronic Walking With The New Wife Of Santa Claus While Vibrating From Tao Te Ching

With one week to go til Christmas, today I'm spreading Christmas cheer with a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

And since it is Sunday, I am taking a semi day of rest. So, my only walking today was to walk around in Wal-Mart in order to get a bottle of lime juice for tonight's Merry Margarita Christmas Party.

Back to Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Mrs. Claus used to be known as Martha the Nurse. But, yesterday I was surprised to learn, via Facebook, that Martha the Nurse is now Mrs. Claus.

Before she married her latest husband, Martha the Nurse was one of the foremost practitioners, in Texas, of the ancient discipline known as Tao te Ching.

Using Tao te Ching, Martha the Nurse is able to cause thousands of special vibrations that are able to cure hundreds of ailments.

I have experienced, myself, Martha the Nurse using her special Tao te Ching vibrations to cure one of my chronic complaints.

That being my chronic grumpiness.

Before Martha the Nurse vibrated me, with Tao te Ching, I was way grumpier than I am now.

I doubt now that she has married Santa Claus that Martha the Nurse is still being a nurse or still doing her Tao te Ching vibrations.

Then again, Martha the Nurse is a highly evolved multi-tasker, so maybe she is still curing ailments with Tao te Ching and being a nurse.

It is now time to have my Sunday lunch of tasty Southern food.

Fried chicken and biscuits. And some other tasty stuff.

My Nephew David Visits Santa But I Do Not Think David Has Gotten His Black-Eyed Peas For New Year's Day Yet

That is my red-headed, ginger snap nephew David sitting on Santa's lap at something called the Festival of Trees, I assume somewhere in Tacoma.

I remember being taken to Sedro-Woolley every Christmas season to see Santa and get a big candy cane, and to tell Santa what I wanted for Christmas, none of which I ever got, which led to my early disillusionment with Christmas.

I have yet to see a Santa Claus this holiday season.

Speaking of this holiday season. There are differences in this southern region from how the season is celebrated in the northwestern region.

One example is black-eyed peas.

Decades ago, when I used to hang out with Gar the Texan, he would regularly confound me by saying things I did not understand.  One that really sticks in my memory was we were heading up to Turner Falls Park in Oklahoma, in the week between Christmas and New Years.

At one point during the drive north, Gar the Texan asked if I was having trouble finding my black-eyed peas this year?

Huh? Why would I want black-eyed peas, I asked?

You don't have to have black-eyed peas on New Years Day, Gar the Texan asked?

No, said I. Why would I?

Gar the Texan then told me he thought everyone ate black-eyed peas for good luck for the new year on New Year's Day.

This was the first I ever heard of this.

Doing a little research into this serious black-eyed peas issue I learned this black-eyed peas thing on New Year's Day is a Southern thing. Apparently many Southerners believe this dates back to the Civil War when black-eyed peas were considered food for animals, not humans. General Sherman's troops would not eat black-eyed peas as they marched across Georgia on their way to burn Atlanta. When the Union soldiers would raid Confederate supplies they'd take everything but the black-eyed peas and salt pork.

The Confederates then considered themselves lucky to have been left the black-eyed peas and salt pork, giving them something to eat to survive the winter.

Others claim the black-eyed peas thing came about because black-eyed peas were all the newly freed Southern Slaves had to celebrate on January 1, 1863, the day the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, with, from that point forward, black-eyed peas always being eaten on the first day of the new year.

I find the Emancipation Proclamation explanation to be a bit difficult to believe. I don't think many slaves knew they'd been freed until later.

The only thing I know for sure about this black-eyed pea thing is I will not be having any on New Year's Day.  But, I may change my mind on that if I get feeling desperately in need of acquiring some good luck.

I Am All Done With My Christmas Shopping On The Eve Of Christmas Eve

I am up before the sun on the morning of Christmas Eve Eve, this next to last Thursday of 2010.

I've been long done with all my Christmas shopping, due to doing no Christmas shopping. I don't know why more people don't adopt my holiday traditions.

Yesterday I blogged about my opinion that Santa Claus sets a very bad example for kids by being over weight and in dire need of going on a diet. There are way too many cookies consumed this time of year.

Just yesterday I went to my mailbox to discover two big boxes. One of the boxes was filled with Christmas Cookies, sent all the way from Seattle. I don't eat such things. Now, if it were a cheesecake in the box, there would have been a different outcome. Or if one of the cookie types were white chocolate macadamia nut.

I learned from the Scrabble Queen of Washington that North Texas is currently scheduled for some heavy duty storming on Christmas Eve. I did not know this, so I checked the weather forecast to learn that Thunderstorms are on the menu for tomorrow.

If I remember right, last year on Christmas Eve the snowstorm had already started that piled up a lot of inches by Christmas.

I don't know what I am up to today, except for being fairly certain that I am going to be shoving a big turkey in the oven. And likely going on a hike somewhere.