A Christmas Story

The Christmas season is in full swing here in Ortonville. It is cold and it is snowing. Judy and I have started to put up our Christmas tree and are now finding it difficult to get the time to actually finish trimming it.

On Saturday morning we drove to Saginaw to visit Judy's brother Butch. He had surgery to replace a blocked artery in his leg. He is doing fine and came home on Monday. Saturday afternoon we had dinner with Mark and the girls while Polly and Sara were in Maryland surprising her Dad for his Birthday.

Mark and Grace made dinner...

After dinner Isabella taught us how to play "31", a card game she had learned while in Georgia for Thanksgiving. She has quite the mind for card game strategy. I'm sure Texas Hold-em is in her future.

On Sunday evening we were invited, along with our friends Kate and Roger, to a pre-play get together at the home of Deb and Jim. Katie and Deb retired from Chrysler at Thanksgiving and this was the end of their first real week being retired. Both are happy to be out of Chrysler and all the trouble Chrysler is having right now, but Katie already had an interview for a part-time job. We were meeting at Deb and Jim's for drinks and munchies before we headed off to a stage version of the now classic movie, " A Christmas Story". Deb and Jim have a new "puppy" Winnie, a beautiful Dalmatian.

Jim and Deb were the perfect hosts !!! ........................... And Winnie...

Katie and Deb .....Brand new Retirees.... They look so young !!

Roger and Judy.

After drinks we were off to the play at the Avon Theatre. The play was great and if you know the story line of the movie, the play was full of "you'll shoot your eye out" and all the other familiar scenes from the movie.

And of course no Christmas Story would complete

without the famous winning of the "Major Award"

Certainly a "Major Award" if I've ever seen one.

The stage manager was kind enough to let the "loud group " from the audience go up on stage after the play and pose with the lamp.

We stopped after the play in downtown Rochester to see the Christmas lights and have a drink at an all organic "green" restaurant owned by a friend of Jim's. All organic meant ... food, drinks and decor. We were told even the tables were made from compressed sunflower seeds. It was Trendy, Expensive and Fun !!!

My attempt at "Artsy" photographs...



And this is only the start of Christmas in Michigan.