Daylight Visit To MSU's Fantasy Of Lights While My Old Washington Home Floods

With the temperature well above freezing it was to MSU (Midwestern State University) I ventured on this second Wednesday of the 2025 version of December.

Only 15 days til Christmas.

As you can see, via the photo documentation, blue is the dominant color in the sky, currently.

This year's installation of MSU's Fantasy of Lights began arriving before Halloween. Each year since I have been here the Fantasy is mostly the same, but always with a few tweaks, here and there.

Last I looked, rain is not in the current forecast, at my location, well into the future.

Let's go check the current forecast. Well, there now is precipitation predicted, in 14 days, on Christmas Eve, in the form of rain, but possibly snow.

Meanwhile up in my old Washington home zone, the Pacific Northwest has been hit with two atmospheric rivers, dropping record breaking amounts of water.

I heard from my little brother Jake this morning, after I texted him, asking him if it's as bad as the news is making it sound. Little brother told me they've been told to be prepared to evacuate on Friday. So, he is packed up and ready to flee to higher ground.

Brother Jake's home is on Beaver Marsh Road, on the Skagit Flats, next door to his youngest son, my Favorite Nephew Joey, father of Hank Frank.

Joey's big brother, Jason, has been escaping the Washington rain by having an extended stay in Hawaii. But, Jason is coming home early, because of the predicted bad flooding.

The Skagit River is the big river flowing through the Skagit Valley. There also is the Samish River. And other creek type water flows, which also flood.

The current flooding is predicted to likely be record breaking.

The last real bad flooding in the Skagit Valley was back in the 1990s. At that point in time, I stayed up well past midnight, joining hundreds filling sandbags building a sandbag wall to protect downtown Mount Vernon.

The crest was predicted to happen around 11 that morning. I joined the throngs downtown watching the river rise. Just as the river was about to go over the sandbag wall, the level suddenly dropped. Everyone was stunned, flabbergasted, did not know what happened.

Within a short time sirens were blaring, helicopters were in the air, and at some point we learned the Fir Island dike had breached, downstream a few miles, near the mouth of the Skagit River, flooding Fir Island, doing a lot of damage, but sparing downtown Mount Vernon from getting flooded for the first time.

And then in this century Mount Vernon rebuilt its waterfront, adding a Dutch designed flood wall which could be erected quickly by just a couple workers.

I think the current flood may be the first time the Mount Vernon Skagit flood wall will hopefully keep downtown Mount Vernon un-flooded.

Making Linda Lou's Turkey Tetrazzini Without Linda Lou's Help

What you are seeing here is a 9 x 13 casserole dish filled with something called Turkey Tetrazzini.

A few days ago Washington's Linda Lou called me and during the course of the call made mention of the great success she had turning leftover turkey into Turkey Tetrazzini.

Linda Lou told me the various ingredients which turned into Turkey Tetrazzini and said she'd send me the recipe.

Well, I found myself with a large supply of leftover turkey, but no incoming recipe from Linda Lou.

So, I Googled and found a Tetrazzini recipe with ingredients which matched much of what Linda Lou mentioned.

And so, lunch this first Sunday of the 2025 version of December will feature as its star attraction, Turkey Tetrazzini.

I have a kitchen history with Linda Lou which goes back decades, all the way back to early grade school.

In high school Linda Lou put on Fondue Parties to which one coveted an invitation.

My most recent kitchen history with Linda Lou took place in October of 2018, in my mom's kitchen in Sun Lakes, Arizona.

At that kitchen point in time Linda Lou and I made Beef Stroganoff. It was a mostly seamless operation with the only moment of contention debating the proper way to prepare fresh mushrooms.

I suspect at some point in time in the future I will find myself visiting Washington and having some kitchen time in Linda Lou's Mount Vernon kitchen...

Fogged In December In North Texas

The morning view from my bedroom window on this first Saturday, also known as Day 6 of the 2025 version of December dawned super foggy at my North Texas location.

Such seems so odd when so distant from a large body of water, like an ocean.

This is the foggiest I ever remember it being at my current location.

I remember one October, back in the previous century, at my old Washington location, the entire month was fogged in.

My Washington location was just a few miles east of the body of water known as Puget Sound, which is directly connected to the Pacific Ocean.

I have zero clue what produced this morning's dense fog. There was a little drizzle yesterday, before noon, but not much.

I think I likely will do my nature communing indoors today. Likely at Walmart...

Re-Visiting Wichita Falls World's Littlest Skyscraper

Saw this this morning on Facebook. The World's Littlest Skyscraper.

It's downtown Wichita Falls most famous tourist attraction. There is even a Wikipedia article about it, which you can read by clicking that link in the previous paragraph.

The informational text which accompanied the photo on Facebook...

The Newby–McMahon Building built in 1919 is commonly referred to as the world's littlest skyscraper standing at 40ft / 12m located in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The building has survived tornadoes, a fire, and decades of neglect. The building has never met the criteria for the definition of a skyscraper nor even that of a high-rise. Regardless, but it is certified a national registered historic landmark by the United States Department of the Interior.

I drive by the World's Littlest Skyscraper whenever I visit the downtown Wichita Falls Public Library. And have seen it up close a couple times, reading the historic landmark plaque.

I do not know if any of the downtown Wichita Falls building are tall enough to be considered skyscrapers. Maybe just tall enough to be considered high rises. 

One of the downtown Wichita Falls tall buildings is known as Big Blue, due to the blue cladding that covers its outer walls. I thought Big Blue was real tacky looking the first time I saw it, and every time since then. Removing the blue cladding would be a big improvement...

Microsoft OneDrive Remembering Mount Baker & The Skagit Flats

A Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, that I do remember, and which could have happened on this day in early December.

But, I think it was more likely in October, with the year being 2005.

That big pile of white hovering in the background is one of Washington's five volcanoes.

Mount Baker.

The foreground is what is known as the Skagit Flats. We are heading north on Interstate 5, a few miles south of Mount Vernon. The birds you see are swans. Flocks of swans migrate yearly through the Skagit Flats.

In my house in Mount Vernon, the one I lived in before moving to Texas, I could look out my living room and kitchen windows and see Mount Baker.

Looking out my current abode's various windows, I see nothing scenic in the distance, or close, no matter what direction I look...

Freezing Sikes Lake Nature Communing On Last Day Of November

With the temperature chilled to two degrees above freezing, in other words, 34 degrees as measured via the Fahrenheit method, with a strong wind making those 34 degrees feel like the temperature was in the teens, according to the radio weather report I heard whilst taking a brisk walk around Sikes Lake, I had myself some chilly nature communing on this final Sunday and final day of the 2025 version of November.

The photo documentation does not look as cold and windy as was the reality. 

Last night's low was below freezing for the first time since last winter. Freezing had been predicted a week or so ago, but my location did not freeze.

But, last night freezing arrived, as evidence by my neighbor's vegetable garden getting obliterated. 

Up til now the way the neighbor's tomato plants seemed to be thriving, we thought they might make it til the actual arrival of winter.

Last Christmas a Washingtonian gifted me thickly lined Land's End sweatpants, which I never wore, til today, figuring all that lined insulation would cause me to overheat. Such was not the case today. Not even remotely close to overheating.

Today I made the foolish mistake of not having my hands covered with gloves. Upon returning to my abode I located my decade's old ski gloves. 

My cross-country skis made the move to Texas, but not the move from Fort Worth to Wichita Falls.

There has been a time or two where the cross-country skis would have been fun here in Wichita Falls, with the Circle Trail snow-covered.

The Circle Trail runs right by my abode. The Circle Trail through the hilly Wichita Bluffs Nature Area would be fun on cross-country skis too.

I shall see if Amazon sells cross-country skis. I doubt any store here does...

Chilly Day After Thanksgiving At Lucy Park

It was back to Lucy Park I ventured on this day after Thanksgiving, for some nature communing along with burning some of the excessive calories gained from yesterday's Thanksgiving buffet.

As you can see via the photo documentation, the deciduous trees have lost all their leaves. The evergreen trees remain green, because that is how they are programmed.

Whilst walking a strong wind was blowing. The temperature was chilled into the low 50s, with that strong wind making it feel real cold. 

A few days ago I was at Lucy Park in shorts and tank top. And I overheated. Today I was in sweatpants, hooded sweatshirt, wool hat. And I did not overheat. Instead I got cold.

Winter is less than a month away. Not looking forward to freezing temperatures and snow. 

Christmas Before Halloween & Thanksgiving

Christmas, 2025's version, at my location on the planet, seems to have arrived way earlier than I remember being the case in previous years.

Christmas decorations began showing up before Halloween.

MSU's (Midwestern State University's) Fantasy of Lights installation was mostly completely installed, before Halloween.

My next-door neighbor had the twinkling lights, inflated Santa, reindeer and giant candy canes, in place, and lit up, before Halloween.

The most over the top early Christmas display is the one you see photo documented above, with the photo taken this morning on my way to WinCo. My camera could only capture part of this display in one photo. 

Every year, since I have been in Wichita Falls, this has been the biggest Christmas display I see, with each year more than the year before.

This is located on Hamilton Boulevard, across from Hamilton Park, in the area north of my abode which I refer to as the Beverly Hills of Wichita Falls.

I am ready for tomorrow's Part 2 of the annual Holiday Season. No turkey will be seen in my abode tomorrow....

Sunday Lucy Park Duck Pond Nature Communing

On this next to last Sunday of the 2025 version of November, with winter less than a month away, it was back to Lucy Park I ventured on this sunny day, to commune with nature.

I usually park at the Lucy Park log cabin parking lot when doing Lucy Park nature communing. Today I opted to break that repetitive pattern and instead parked at the Lucy Park duck pond parking lot.

Which would make that, in the photo above, a look at one section of the scenic Lucy Park duck pond, currently populated by more geese than ducks.

With more than two-thirds of fall already gone, the leaves in the trees have mostly fallen, rendering the landscape much less green than just a short time ago. Now yellows and browns are the predominate color screen, though we do see some green in the above photo documentation.

The temperature was barely in the 50s when I was in nature communing mode. But, I did not feel at all chilly, even though I did not have on cold weather outerwear, just my regular nature communing attire of shorts and a tank top. 

Rain and thunderstorms are on the weather menu for later today, and tomorrow. 

Thursday Evening Walmart Rainbow Brightens My Drippy Texas Sky

Exiting Walmart this Thursday evening, one week before 2025's Thanksgiving Thursday, I saw something I've not seen in a long long long time.

A rainbow.

Well, part of a rainbow. Most of the bow was blocked by clouds.

I was not the only one who took to photo documenting this rare event which does not often happen in this overly dry location on the planet.

But, starting yesterday evening, rain has been falling off and on. But never at the flash flood downpour mode which had been predicted. There have been a few lightning strikes and thunder booms, but not of the strong thunderstorm sort which had also been predicted.

Even though we are nearing the end of November, I have had my interior climate control set back to air-conditioning mode for several days now, after our short bout of cold temperatures abated. Currently the outer world is being chilled to a relatively cool 68 degrees. 

I suspect by morning I will be switching my interior climate control from air-conditioning, back to heat mode.