The first photos I took using the new camera, Canon PowerShot, was of the blue moon on New Year Eve. The photo below is the best I could do, even with the 5x zoom. I am sure other people with better equipment would be able to produce wonderful images but then I know the regular visitors and faithful readers seek not great photos but for words of wisdom and intelligence writing from my blog ** HAA HAA **
My husband gave me a new camera, Canon PowerShot SD980 IS, and a pearl necklace, as Christmas presents. I am still learning all the features, the camera that is! It has a 3" touch screen, 12.1 Mega Pixels and 5x zoom and my husband added a 4GB ScanDisk, plenty of memory for taking photos when we ride on Route 66! It seems that the last three years, each Christmas my husband presented me with a new camera. I appreciate my husband being thoughtful in getting me these cameras seeing how I enjoy taking photos (i.e. gums on the sidewalk). Or could be because he was trying to make up for the time when he gave me a new vacuum cleaner and another time, a waffle maker for birthday presents. I know we should all be practical but I would rather be given a big box of chocolate and gain 20 lbs than a birthday gift so I could do cleaning!
Almost fifteen years later, my husband still proudly talks about the "prize" he won from Sears during their Customers Appreciation Weekend in 1995. I am only glad that the "prize" was not the "leg lamp" as in the Christmas Story movie. The above photo of our front door was the "prize" from the drawings CMP entered during one of his weekly visits to Sears. Actually, just the week before, we talked about replacing the front door and my husband mentioned that he already picked out the design and just waiting for the store to put the item on sale. Talk about "divine intervention", the door CMP wanted was one of the prizes the store was giving out!
A few years ago, I purchased the above banner of the angels announcing the birth of Christ. We usually hung the banner above the mantel in the family room. This year, we decided to place a wreath there and moved the banner to the entrance hall. Last Sunday as we were enjoying breakfast from the dining room, I commented how beautiful the sun was shining thru the front door. Then we both saw how the shadows on the left and right top corners reflected from the patterns etched on the glass formed the image of the angels, the bottom shadow looks like the hill leading to the stable, with the frame serving as the entrance to where the Holy Family stayed. I am not saying our humble home was visited by the Holy Spirit. I only know for sure where the banner will be placed during Christmas season from now on.
"The juxtaposition of classic station architecture in Strasbourg, France, with the clean lines of modern railway cars makes a statement about the railroad as art. The date is July 2002."
Above is one of the displays at the Christmas Lights on the campus of Congregation of the Mother Coredemptrix, a religious community of Vietnamese Catholics priests and brothers. It is the largest drive-through Christmas lights in Carthage, Missouri.
I got up around 8:30 a.m. with a plan to go out since we stayed inside all day yesterday. It was sunny but the thermometer in the patio got stucked at 20 degrees with the wind chill below 10. I wanted to go to the library to return the borrowed items and get a few more books on Route 66. Also, it has been a while since I had the pleasure of spending hours getting lost in the bookstore. By noon, it is still freezing cold. My husband suggested that I should stay in for another day. I thought posting this photo of the crowds of tourists, dipping their toes into the sunken Barcaccia (bad boat) at the base of the Scalinata di Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps) taken during our trip to Rome in Summer 2008 would make the winter days bearable!
I always thought these photos taken at Rockefeller Center in NYC of the giant toy soldiers playing the trumpet, tapping the drum, and smashing the cymbals, looking as if they were announcing the arrival of the New Year.
Tuesday, December 29th - Two more full days of work and then another 4-day weekend before the long stretch of having any holidays until Memorial Day. Where I work, Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday and Presidents' Day are not considered paid holidays. Maybe I should demand a day off for Lunar/Chinese New Year or Tet-Vietnamese New Year. (I need to join the crowd using the race card or cry "racism" to get special treatment.) I wonder if I changed my name to Patricia O'Mara, would I get a day off on St. Patrick's Day? Not much going on at work due to the holidays. Besides I have made a promise not to talk/write about work or even mentioned the name of the head clown and his minions at the circus!
Sunday, December 27th - The snow started last night, continued with strong wind, making the drive to church a bit scary when the truck started to slide when we tried to turn into the parking lot. We were planning to drive to Hermann but decided to stay home which I did not mind at all since there were so many football games I wanted to watch. My husband could not believe that I cheered for the Colts and not the Jets. It may sound crazy but with two more games left, I wanted to the Colts to have a perfect season 16-0 but the Jets rallied to win 29-15. I was happy to see Adam Vinatieri back on the field kicking! Of course, I was very pleased that my Patriots beat Jacksonville 35-7 and Aaron Rodgers & the Packers won 48-10 over the Seahawks but I was sad that my NY Giants loss to Carolinas. Not a happy Sunday in the Manning family!
Saturday, December 26th - We decided to get out of the house and enjoyed a nice breakfast at Sunny Street Cafe. A walk around the mall, without particularly looking for any after Christmas bargains, my husband found a pair of corduroy pants and I decided to treat myself to a nice sweater. Passing by a Hallmark store, we could not resist and joined many others who purchased 50% - 70% off Christmas cards, getting ready for the next mailing!
It started in the last few years that we began the tradition of attending midnight Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Since we no longer traveling to Detroit and our home parish was sort of modern looking, being at the Basilica for midnight Mass would feel more of Christmas solemn ritual. Also, this would be the first midnight Christmas Mass celebrated by the Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson who was installed as Archbishop of St. Louis on June 10, 2009.
After our Christmas Eve dinner and opening of presents, we left the house around 9:45 p.m. and drove on the new opening portion of the highway 40/I-64. Traffic was light and it took us only about 40 minutes to get to the Basilica. We had to walk around looking for available space as many people were already there early to listen to the choir. We found two center seats, about 10 pews away, on the left side of the altar. 
It was a beautiful Mass and I even joined my husband in singing "Angels We Have Heard on High", "O Holy Night" and the recessional hymn "Joy To The World". I am not saying my singing has improved, it could be that the people around us decided to tolerate my singing as it was Christmas, the season of kindness, as no one asked me to stop singing and the church did not clear quickly! We got home about 2:45 a.m. it was the latest that we ever went to bed (our normal bedtime is around 9:30 p.m. - haa haa). 
I hope you have had a blessed Christmas and many beautiful memories with your family. Here is to 2010 and hope that it will be the beginning of peace, and that good health, love and happiness in the years ahead.
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
Angels, from the realms of glory,
All creation, join in praising
I took this photo, wanting to capture the images showing the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria with all the Christmas decorations. It was 9:17 p.m. right after we finished dinner at Oscar's and were on our way back to our room. I did not see the young man sleeping on the sofa (bottom left corner) until now. Of course, it was not my intention to include him in the image. As I tried to find a photo that would include humor and also Christmas, I thought this image is just perfect for this post "Happy Christmas to all and to All a Good Night!". Whoever that young man is, I wish you Merry Christmas and may your life be filled with good health, love, peace and many beautiful dreams!
I finally completed organizing more than 1,000 photos from our Route 66 Adventure in October. It took a lot of time to review the photos, write down the images based on locations (Oklahoma, Kansas or Missouri) and themes (gas stations, bridges, cafes etc.) or funny signs along the road for appropriate postings.
After a few turns around as we were not sure exactly where the Route was, we began the first of many stops on Route 66 visiting the restored 1898 Round Barn in Arcadia. The next stop was the 66 foot tall Pop Bottle at POPS (see photos in December 5th post). After Luther and Wellston, we stopped at Country Kitchen in Chandler for lunch. We spent a few minutes at Seaba Station, a former 1924 machine shop in Warwick. We saw many cast-off remnants of US66 in Depew, Bristow, Kellyville, Stroud, Sapulpa, but we did not see much of Route 66 in Tulsa. We probably missed a turn and did not have time to back-track - perhaps next time! We saw the Blue Whale in Catoosa, stopped by The Nut House near Verdigris for pecan fudge, encountered terrible slow traffic due to construction in Claremore and completely missed the World's Largest Totem Pole in Foyil. We did spent time taking many photos of the T-bird at the 1926 iron bridge over Pryor Creek in Chelsea. After White Oak, Vinita, and Afton, we decided to spend the night in Miami (pronounced My-am-uh), Oklahoma. The next morning, Saturday, October 24th, after breakfast, our first stop was Mickey Mantle boyhood home in Commerce. Waving goodbye to Quapaw, Oklahoma, we crossed the state line into Kansas. We spent the entire morning exploring the 13.2 miles of Route 66 in this charming corner of the Sunflower State. We took plenty of photos of the T-bird at the Rainbow Bridge, at a 1930s-era Phillips 66 Station now serves as Visitors Center and 4 Women on the Route cafe. Galena Museum was full of historical artifacts and a real nice person took the time to show us around the museum. We only wish we had more time!
The above sign welcomed us back into Missouri on Saturday afternoon. We drove into Joplin, then stopped for lunch in Webb City and took photos of the Praying Hands off Macarthur Highway 171. Our next stop was the 66 Drive In, a restored roadside theatre in Carthage. Of course, my husband took many photos of the T-bird at this Drive In. Precious Moments Park and the Chapel were closed when we finally got there early evening. After a drive around the Historic Square, saw the murals of The Battle of Carthage, the classic 1939 Boots Motel (where Clark Gable stayed in Room #6), we decided to take a room at Best Western Precious Moments Hotel. The next morning, Sunday, October 25th, we attended Mass at St. Ann Catholic Church, then took a scenic drive along the Spring River thru Kellogg Lake Park, passed the Gay Parita Sinclair Station at Paris Springs, spent a lot of time there and finally got back to Springfield, just in time for a big lunch. After that we took I-44 East all the way home since we were so overwhelmed with all the wonderful experience on Route 66, yet exhausted after four days of constant getting in and out of the T-bird, taking photos, meeting and sharing Route 66 memories with so many friendly and helpful people. We already planned our next Route 66 during Spring-Summer 2010 and will try to get as far to Arizona.
I am so glad my husband agreed that we would not be travelling to Detroit to visit his family and since I already made two trips to New York in April and May, we will be staying home for Christmas this year.
The first time I saw snow was in January 10, 1980, walking from JFK airport terminal out to the parking lot where uncle Ping parked his car. My first impression of the snow was how shining it was under the lights. The city just had a big snow storm the day before and our bodies were numbed from the freezing temperature, especially just coming from a tropical part of the world. We stayed at Uncle Ping's house in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, for a few days. The refugees agency provided us a nice apartment in the Bronx. I don't remember how we managed to walk the distance (more than a few blocks) from the subway (#6 train) to the apartment building while trying to adjust to the cold weather. We learned to survive wearing hats, gloves, scarves and layers of clothes! I don't remember if I or anyone in my family fell on the slippery sidewalks. Eight months later, we moved to Queens, again living in an apartment building, this time just one block from #7 train Elmhurst-90th Street station. When I finally saved a few dollars, enough to purchase a cheesy camera (a Kodak Pocket Instamatic camera with 110 film), we took photos of us standing outside while it was snowing. My Mom sent the photos to relatives in Viet Nam since most of them never saw snow or experience such natural wonder.
In September 1986, I moved out and rented a room in the basement in a house in Forest Hills, Queens. From the F train, I had to walk about 7 blocks to the house. I thanked my guardian angels everyday that I was never harmed or attacked walking home from the subway at 10:00 p.m. after classes at Hunter College. The neighborhood was all residential homes so the streets were emptied and dark and I could easily be dragged into a vehicle and kidnapped without any witnesses. I remembered one night after a visit that included delicious food, laughters and warm embraces, I cried while standing on the train platform, looking at the apartment where just a few months ago I could not wait to get away because of the cramped space. Tears rolled down my face from the time I left Elmhurst, still crying while walking from the F train station, to the lonely room in the basement. It was then I understood a Vietnamese expression of how much it hurt when a heart was cut into a thousand pieces. After almost a year of living in Forest Hills, having a place of my own but lonely and hungry , I was so happy when my parents mentioned about a place for rent near where they lived in Woodhaven, Queens. We had to walk a few blocks to get to the J train but it was convenient for me as I would ride the train all the way to Wall Street, got off and walked a block from Broad Street station to my office.
Lately I have been entertaining an extreme, drastic life changing thought. Whether because I will be turning 49 years old in a few months or just a typical stage when like some "geezers" approaching the final threshold of life, I began to seriously question how I should truly live my life so when I stand before the gate of heaven (or the escalator to hell) there would be no regrets.
Quapaw, Oklahoma - "Quapaw is named for the Quapaw Indians, who were removed from Arkansas to Oklahoma, then known as Indian Territory. Quapaw is derived from "Ugakhpa", a tribal term for "downstream people". In 1926, the year Route 66 was officially established, peak production of zinc reached 423,000 tons and 912,117 tons of lead were produced from the town of Quapaw."
Orongo, Missouri - "The name, according to local tradition, came about when it was found that the previous name, "Minerville" was already taken. At a public meeting to change the name, after considering many possibilities, a man in the back blurted out "its Ore or no go", referring to the mining operations. Elaborating on that, Colonel J. M. Young, suggested substituting the Spanish word "Oro" for ore, and the dropping the "or" to make the word euphonius. He pronounced it "Oronogo" and the audience accepted the name.[1]" - Wikipedia
A beautifully decorated home in Webster Groves, Missouri. I took these photos last year after reading about the home in the local newspaper, Kirkwood-Webster Groves Times. I am unable to locate that article so I am not able to share with you the story about when, how and what prompted the owners to spend time and expense on such decorations. I also don't know the exact address. Maybe an "information guru" would be able to help, anyone? 
I love looking at these photos taken in December 2007 when we were in New York for Christmas. We had many wonderful memories and these images always warm my heart. I felt as if I never left the City.
Tavern on the Green dining room (above) where we enjoyed once-in-a-lifetime breakfast (translation - we could only afford to eat there one time). I am too embarrassed to tell how much we paid for a simple plate of eggs, ham, muffins, plus coffee and juice. The word "suckers" still edged on our foreheads!
