That which you see above arrived on my phone around noon, whilst I was walking around Lucy Park with throngs of other merriment seekers, disc golfers and pecan pickers. The photo was sent by Hank Frank's proud papa, my Favorite Nephew Joey.
Along with text saying "Happy Holidays to you. Currently 35 and raining. Snow predicted later this evening."
I Merry Christmas-ed back along with saying "Near 90, clear sky, no snow this evening."
Joey then inquired whether I still had access to a swimming pool, to which I said I did, but it is Winter, so pools are not poolable.
To which Joey opined that Texas is such an odd state.
I assume Joey was referring to the odd weather, but it could be any number of things to which Joey was referring.
I should have explained to Joey that in Texas one day in Winter the outer world might get heated to 90, with two days later an Arctic Blast dropping the temperature to below freezing...
About an hour ago, this 2021 Christmas morning, I got around to remembering to unwrap the assortment of packages which have spent days sitting under the Christmas tree.
Of the things unwrapped I think that which you see above was the most surprising. It came from some sort of gift store in Portland, Oregon called Heart You Gifts.
I expected the box to contain some sort of candy product, was not expecting a coffee mug talking about my butt. After cutting the box open there were several layers of protecting fluff to get through before I reached the Butt Mug. It was a big box for a little mug.
Now, I know you are wondering who would send a thing such as this to me.
Well, I will just say that this person's last name rhymes with one of the words on the mug. And that this person has seen my butt, and thus, I guess is qualified to think it to be nice.
I am looking forward to the classic Christmas dinner I'm making today. Beef Stroganoff and Cauliflower Soup...
Last night, Christmas Eve, I walked the Midwestern State University (MSU) Fantasy of Lights, with my phone in video mode. That resulted in two videos, covering the entire Fantasy zone. I walked fast, because I did not want the videos to be long. Walking fast resulted in a lot of artful dodging around a lot of people.
The two videos are below, at the end of a series of photos.
After walking the Fantasy of Lights, I got back in my vehicle to drive through the Wichita Falls Beverly Hills Fantasy of Lights, where dozens upon dozens of homes are lit up with over the top Christmas lights and displays.
The Polar Express trams, there are three of them, leave the MSU Fantasy of Lights parking lot every few minutes to tour the Beverly Hills Fantasy of Lights zone.
When I saw the above photo, my first thought was how did my phone camera mess up this picture. Then I realized the lights were reflecting off my vehicle's hood, with the road I was on above the reflection.
The above entire house was draped in lights. I'd never seen this type of Christmas lighting before.
My favorite house in what I call Beverly Hills is a flat roofed modern style that looks like my Mount Vernon house would have looked like if way more money was spent on it. This house's lights consisted of stringing so many lights in the trees that it looked sort of like illuminated spider webs.
That is one of the aforementioned trams you see behind the tree in the middle.
Again with the reflection off the hood.
The giant snowman you see here was the most unique thing seen last night. It is HUGE. And it glows with a sort of pulsating light.
The phone's camera really does not do justice to these displays. It does not help the quality when shooting through the windshield.
The above trees had the biggest tree ornaments seen last night.
All these photos were taken on routes I regularly roll by on my bike. I do not know when all these lights are installed. I did not eye witness any installing going on whilst I biked by. Seems like it must take a lot of time to string up so many lights in so many locations.
And now the videos of the MSU Fantasy of Lights..
As I walked, phone in video mode, by the time I ended the above video I had no idea how long it'd taken. Ten minutes? Five? Turns out less than three. When I realized it was not all that long I decided to take video of the rest of the Fantasy of Lights. Hence Part Two of the Fantasy of Lights...
I seem to regularly see things on Facebook's You Know You Are From Anacortes When page which trigger that dreaded homesick feeling that has become sort of epidemic during the pandemic.
I have never seen a photo of the Deception Pass bridge from this perspective before. The photo was taken by Oak Harbor's Gary Skiff. Oak Harbor is the biggest town on Whidbey Island. Whidbey Island is what the bridge connects to from Fidalgo Island. We are on Fidalgo Island in the photo, looking across the bridge at Deception Pass State Park.
The part of the bridge we are closest to is the Canoe Pass section. It connects to a small island, and then continues across Deception Pass to Whidbey Island. There is a parking lot on the small island, if one feels the urge to explore the rocky island.
A deceptively short time to build refers to the fact that the Deception Pass bridge was built in less than a year. Over water. Deep fast moving, at times, saltwater.
In Texas I have eye witnessed the bizarre building of three bridges.
Over dry land.
Taking 7 years to build. Small freeway overpass looking bridges.
Over dry land.
Hoping one day to dig a cement lined ditch under the three bridges, then divert Trinity River water into that ditch, creating an imaginary island.
The Fort Worth grifters responsible for the slow motion construction of those pitiful little bridges touted repeatedly that they would be iconic signature bridges.
And people wonder why I have fun making fun of Fort Worth so frequently...
It was to Lake Placid, I mean, Lake Sikes, I drove today for a walk around the lake. A warm walk, with tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, also known as Christmas, way warmer.
In that view above you are looking north, across Sikes Lake, with the Midwestern State University campus on the horizon.
This morning began with a thick fog. When that fog burned off dead calm was left in its wake.
I imagine this morning's thick fog made the Sikes Lake flock of seagulls think they were back near the ocean. The Sikes Lake flock of seagulls were roosting on their regular roosting location, the Sikes Lake coffer dam.
I have never figured out the purpose of this coffer dam.
The Sikes Lake geese flocks were enjoying the balmy calm by floating on the lake. The birds must be confused, thinking Winter is done and Spring has arrived.
Miss McNutty has been being extra nutty this morning, sending me videos purporting to be me singing a song, the words of which I can not make out.
That is a screen cap from the video of my supposedly singing.
For some reason McNutty thinks this bothers me, or embarrasses me, when it is widely known I am impervious to being embarrassed.
The reason McNutty is doing this is especially nutty.
For some reason, photos of McNutty in a bikini, or any sort of swimwear, embarrasses her due to a nutty belief that showing such is way too much skin exposure.
So, why put on a bikini then? Let alone put on the bikini and then politely pose for a photo in said bikini, whilst smiling.
Like I said, McNutty. And perplexing. Below is one of the McNutty bikini photos. Other than the granny glasses, do you see anything embarrassing here?
It was back to Lucy Park today to do some fast Wednesday walking on the day after Winter began.
Today was a t-shirt and shorts warm outdoor day.
Currently Christmas Eve is scheduled to be heated into the 80s, with record breaking highs. Same prediction for Christmas.
Which makes it zero probability there will be a White Christmas at my location.
I think I have experienced more White Christmases in Texas than all my years in Washington.
I seem to have lost my ability to take a proper selfie photo, with the necessary sober serious look. Instead, being overcome with the holiday spirit has me uncontrollably gigglemugging.
Scraping the sky behind me is the Lucy Park Pagoda. I have yet to get an explanation for this Pagoda. Next time I attend a service at Bob's Buddhist Temple of the Golden Dome I will try and ask my fellow Buddhists if any know the answer to this serious question.
With the underbrush foliage mostly gone, til Spring, today I saw I could get off the Circle Trail and walk the bank of the Wichita River. When I saw this was doable I thought it might lead to being able to take a photo of the Lucy Park Suspension Bridge showing its entire span of the river.
The result did not turn out as I'd hoped.
So, I turned the phone around and took my favorite type of selfie photo. That line you see across the river is the shadow of the suspension bridge. If you look real close you can see the suspension bridge above its shadow.
After the walking was done for the day, as I fired up the engine of my motorized transport I saw something speed by I had never seen before.
Santa on a motorcycle.
I soon was in pursuit, eventually catching up to Santa at the exit from Lucy Park intersection with the Seymour Highway, where a red light had stopped the man in red, allowing me to catch up.
Above you are looking through my somewhat dirty windshield at the stopped Santa, waiting for the light to turn green. As cars passed they honked and Santa waved at them.
And then the light turned green and Santa took off like a rocket. I followed Santa, turning right on Brook Avenue, then lost him when I got stopped by a red light.
Seeing Santa on a motorbike is the type thing that has me in a gigglemugging tidings of joy mood. It won't last. By the time the new year arrives I should be back my usual sour dour self...
This morning I once again drove a senior citizen geezer to get some prescriptions filled.
The geezer calls ahead to make sure the prescriptions are ready for pickup, so I drop him off at the pharmacy entry door and then go park to wait for the geezer to return.
Today's wait went on for a half hour or more. Apparently, there was some sort of confusion with the prescription order.
Whilst sitting and waiting and bored I checked Facebook on the phone, and then when that turned boring I aimed the phone's camera at me to take a selfie photo of my sour dour mood.
But, I am just so caught up with the holiday spirit and tidings of joy I had trouble mustering my usual level of dour sour selfie.
Eventually the senior citizen geezer and his walking cane showed up. In his feeble weak voice he asked if we could go on a walk somewhere. Where? I asked. Could we go to the cemetery so I could have a short visit with some of my long gone friends? asked the geezer.
And so I drove to Riverside Cemetery, adjacent to Lucy Park, which is where I took the below tree photo yesterday.
What brand of tree is this? On the west coast, well, maybe only on the Pacific Northwest part of the west coast, there is a tree called a Madrona.
Madrona trees have a thin skin like red bark which peels off. I have seen several of the above type tree in Lucy Park. Is is an Albino Madrona?
There are so many varieties of trees in Lucy Park. I think I have mentioned previously that I think it would be a good idea to have labeling signs stuck in the ground identifying the trees.
On a totally different, totally weird change of subject about something which happened this morning. The entity known as McNutty sent my phone a photo of McNutty with an elephant trunk. The text with the photo explained nothing, it just asked a weird McNutty question, as in "Do you think I am showing too much cleavage?"
How does one answer a question like that? Here's the photo in question. Feel feel to opine about the cleavage level if you feel so inclined...
I saw these two homesick provoking photos on Facebook this morning on the You Know You're From Anacortes When page.
The one above is a bit of a hyper realistic view of the full moon rising over the Mount Baker volcano.
The one below is more accurately depicting what the view looks like when viewed only through ones eyes.
Anacortes is the second largest town, population wise, in Skagit County. Anacortes is on Fidalgo Island.
Fidalgo Island is a real island, not an imaginary island such as what some in the island-free town of Fort Worth, Texas think is an island. There are two bridges which connect Fidalgo Island to the mainland. These are real bridges over real water, one of which, the Rainbow Bridge, in La Conner, is an actual iconic signature bridge, not an imaginary iconic signature bridge of the Fort Worth type.
One can take a ferry from Anacortes and Fidalgo Island to the San Juan Islands. One would think the San Juan Islands would be in Island County. But, instead the San Juan Islands are in San Juan County. There are no bridges to any of the San Juan Islands.
A blurb courtesy of Wikipedia about San Juan County...
San Juan County is a county located in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,769. The county seat and only incorporated city is Friday Harbor, located on San Juan Island.
Fidalgo Island connects to Whidbey Island via the Deception Pass bridge. Two ferry routes also connect Whidbey Island to the mainland.
A blurb courtesy of Wikipedia about Island County...
Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, its population was 78,506. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is composed entirely of islands.
I do not know why Fidalgo Island is in Skagit County instead of in Island County. Or why the San Juan Islands are not in Island County.
It's very perplexing.
But not nearly as perplexing as that town in Texas which has built three little bridges over dry land, hoping one day to put a cement lined ditch under those bridges, and then divert Trinity River water into the ditch, creating an imaginary island, which is only going to further confuse the town's few tourists...
The outer world at my planet location was chilled to 8 degrees below freezing last night.
An hour before noon, on this third Sunday of the 2021 version of December, I covered myself in a few layers of outerwear and ventured out in the cold to Sikes Lake for a walk with the geese. And a few ducks.
And a flock of seagulls.
I took a picture of the seagulls, but it turned out blurry. There were several dozens of the white birds roosting on the cement berm which crosses Sikes Lake for no reason apparent.
I do not know why seagulls would be flocking so far from any sea. But, they are seen frequently at this non saltwater location.
The temperature was 41 when I began the walk around the lake. I quickly found out I was overly layered in outerwear. Zero wind helped keep the chill level down.
About a month ago the entity who goes by the name McNutty claimed she had begun an intense yoga program. Yesterday McNutty proudly boasted she was now able to get into the Lotus position. I then said I would need photo documentation of this feat before I could believe it to be true.
That Lotus position photo documentation arrived this morning.
I don't have fancy yoga wear like McNutty has, so I can't photo document myself in the Lotus position.
I am sitting in the Lotus position right now, in my computer chair. The Lotus position is extremely salubrious...
