Iowa Dec. 2011

December in Iowa of 2011 may well go down in the record books as unusually mild. This picture off my lakeside deck shows the mere dusting of snow received just 3 days before Christmas!! It was almost all melted by noon!

The beautiful "trees" can be seen in an Omaha mall and the Nativity scene is in my home. I thought the two house plants really added a "realistic" touch. I hadn't used them in that location before and am glad I made that change this year. Also, if one didn't know, the 3 wise men really didn't see Baby Jesus in the stable but about 2 years later in a home in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:11). They had a long way to travel and over the most desolate area of land which is part of the reason.

Christmas in L.V., 2011

What a difference a year makes!! Last year at this time our first "Candle walk" and special Christmas events were cancelled due to a terrible blizzard. This year was totally different with sunshine and much milder temps. Lots of goodies were available for purchase at the local American Legion Bldg. along with this special visitor. The traditional horse pulled wagon rides were "braved" by many despite the rather chilly breeze. Since I had company from out of town coming to my home in the evening I didn't get to the other events but heard that about 25 young people did take the the candle walk from the museum to main street and a lot of fun was had by those who attended the bingo later in the evening. Lots of great prizes were won. I will have to make a better attempt to attend that next year.

Snow Fun at the Library

Our first snowy day of the season excited a few of our library "locals"! Between checking out their Facebook news and playing some Wii games, these energetic girls decided to make a minature snowman on the library's front lawn. As a reward they were treated to popcorn. Today's snow is the gentle, pretty kind one wishes would fall on Christmas Eve! Will have to wait and see what actually happens on that day this year.