GRAVETTE — Our cold weather has continued. We even had a few snow flurries Wednesday morning. Some of our winds feel as if they’re blowing straight off the North Pole. Should be enough to get anyone in the Christmas spirit as we reflect on how disagreeable it must have been when Mary and Joseph could find no room in the inn. Reminds me of Colcord author Jean Hurt’s variation on “White Christmas”: “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know. Where my fingers and toes were nearly frozen, Digging firewood out of the snow.” Jean grew up in the Ozarks and recalls the house was so open and cold that sometimes the snow would blow in under the eaves and be drifted upon their bed, especially if the wind blew hard!

We had a welcome visit on Monday when Leta’s caregiver brought her by the office to say hello. She had come home from the hospital that morning and came by to show off her new teeth. It was raining Tuesday morning but fortunately the showers ended shortly before I had to take Mama to the clinic for her checkup. She’s still not back to full speed but got a good report from the doctor. We ate chicken nuggets, corn and broccoli with cheese sauce for supper and she asked for second helpings of everything.

Wednesday morning dawned cloudy and cold and soon tiny snowflakes were being driven by the wind. We went out briefly to take some coffee to a friend and I dropped by to visit our daughter-inlaw and grandson Matthew who was home from school. After we returned the mail carrier brought a pretty card from a friend on Stagecoach Road and Aunt Merle and cousin Henry dropped by to bring us boxes of candy. Jim made a big pot of potato soup for supper, a welcome treat on a cold night.

Temperatures dropped into the single digits Wednesday night so we got a slow start on Thursday morning. We stayed near the fire, doing lots of reading, and I wrote some letters to include in my Christmas cards. We enjoyed bowls of steaming potato soup for a secondday and received a cute card from a neighbor and a photo greeting from cousins in Highfill. I watched part of the Hollywood Christmas parade that evening.

I got a call Friday morning informing me Aunt Leta had returned to the hospital. Sister Nancy came to stay with Mama while I worked a couple of hours at the office. I enjoyed reading several of the letters in Santa’s mailbox, then went home to continue my letter writing. I braved the cold that evening to attend the annual “Love Lights a Tree” in Centennial Park. The crowd was small but hearts were warmed as the names of loved ones were read and lights flickered to life on the tree.

Rain was falling when we awoke Saturday morning so Jim had to abandon his plans to work on the patio enclosure. The precipitation continued throughout the day so I went to the library and checked out a few books for his weekend reading. I peeked in the mailbox when I returned and found a pretty card from a friend in Maysville and one from a high school classmate in Missouri, complete with a photo and letter describing her “awesome” summer vacation.

We made a trip to Southwest City Sunday morning and returned for a late breakfast. Rain continued for a second day and we wondered what happened to the weatherman’s forecast of sunshine and warmer temperatures. Jim spent most of the day watching football and golf coverage.The sun did come out in midafternoon but by then it was too late to work on his patio and it was time for a nap anyway.

I’m anticipating a busy week, attending A. J.’s band concert Tuesday night, giving a program for our J.G.T. Club meeting Friday and, of course, working on more letters to Santa. It’s a time of tight finances for many folks so here’s a tip: If you want more decorations on your tree and don’t want to pay for expensive ornaments just paint pieces of uncooked pasta (wagon wheels are an ideal shape) red or shiny gold and string them together to make a garland.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 12/16/2009