The weather was warm and the holidays beautiful but Christmas attire was out of the question because I would have been very warm. We were invited to Nile’s and Susan’s for heavy appetizers and drinks Christmas Eve. I made deviled eggs because they are hearty and easy and they were not cheese spreads, sausage and crackers. They have bought a house so are no longer across the street from us, just a short walk though.
We had called church to find out Mass times and we both had 8:00 in our heads. The lady giving out the info was not a great English speaker so just maybe she said it wrong versus us hearing wrong. So we left the gathering and arrived to see people leaving! This didn’t bode well. Ted parked and I went to read the sign in front. There had been a 6:30 Mass that was just letting out and another at 8:30! So we went back to Walgreen’s to pick up some things and still returned in time to get a good parking spot and seat in church.
Fr. Roy did not disappoint. Mary and Joseph came down the aisle with the donkey, Jesus magically appeared from under Mary’s cloak, the angel of the Lord rose above the group, opening her wings to show gold lights outlining the underside and shepherds appeared from the right. When they got to the heavenly host of angels part, two dozen children dressed in white robes and silver tinsel halos ran down the center aisle to the manger ringing bells all the way. What fun! When we left, the beautiful church bells were playing Christmas carols, all the grounds were dressed in colored lights and despite the temperature and palm trees, it felt like Christmas!
Christmas Day I made sweet potatoes and raw cranberry relish to contribute to the clubhouse potluck. John and Vivienne who had been work camping next door came over to join us. She had made a chocolate pie and vodka soaked cherries dipped in chocolate. There were four long tables of food plus two tables of desserts. The ham and rolls were supplied and everything else was home made. I did not see one thing that looked store bought. There was a great turnout and everything went very smoothly. Kudos to the committee!
We returned to the RV and had a few hours until our very good friends that we had not seen in some time, Jay and Stella, came to visit. I prepared a plate of sausage, cheese, crackers and some candy and cookies. We had such a nice visit for a few hours before we called it a night. It was so good to see them and I know we will see them some more.
The day after Christmas was the off site ladies breakfast. I was to pick up three ladies, actually got four, and joined another group at the Griffin Grille. I ended up taking five home! They are glad my Expedition is back!
Just to be sure I didn’t sit down too long, we received a text from Niles: 3 o’clock wall tour, 4:00 o’clock leftover Christmas food and drinks on the patio.
This is a wall being built on private property with private funds and will be 3.5 miles long. It borders sugar cane fields that were a perfect place for illegals to hide as soon as they came off the Rio Grande River. There has been very few crossings since 24 hour guards are on the worksite and sensors turn on lights if tripped.
This is how they are staged in preparation for placement.
Then they are “picked up” by this heavy equipment. The horizontal bars are the lifters, not part of the fence.
Then they are set in these troughs and set in concrete.
The ground between the river and fence has already been hydro seeded, gets watered on a consistent basis and trees are being planted. The other side will continue to be planted in sugar cane. It is a massive undertaking but it pushes crossings into fewer areas and allows the Border Patrol to more easily apprehend them.
Upon our return I took a big platter and did just what Niles said. I put small remaining amounts of cheese, sausage, cookies, fruit cake and candy, plus a basket of crackers together and headed to their patio. We all had to share a memory from days gone by. We shared our story of riding the bus in Strasberg, France and almost getting caught without a ticket.
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