"Christmas" Lunch at La Posta Restaurant

I have been wanting to see inside the "famous" La Posta restaurant next door in the tiny village of Mesilla since they decorated for Christmas. They decorate in a big way for Christmas, and have many themed rooms inside the 1840s adobe building that once served as a stagecoach stop. So that was my Christmas present to myself!

The food was secondary to the setting! We were very lucky and were seated in a prime spot for seeing into some of the other areas, including a room with lava-rock walls. 

But first Santa welcomed us in. 

And he whispered that we shouldn't be afraid of Pepe, the resident piranha, because he's just a little toothless viejo (old man) now!

There was so much to see that I lagged a bit and was slowing down the staff. So I had to hurry and get seated. I was trying to get a good photo of a colorful Nativity scene.

It's a very popular place, especially at Christmas, when many people bring their out-of-town friends for a meal. The food is not very spicy, so non-New Mexicans can enjoy it, too. 

The old vinyl tablecloths are so bright and pretty. Each table has a different cloth.

There was what I call a "títere tree" there ("TEE-tah-rah") -- a tree with many vintage "títeres" (puppets) on it, along with sombreros and woven garlands. Very bright and cheerful but I just noticed that Pancho Villa has a gun in his wee hand...

The food came very quickly. My husband ate better than I have seen him eat in several months! That was a blessing! My food was lousy, and I am glad, because it was all off-limits items for diabetics except for some vinegar slaw.

I was just on Cloud Nine the whole time. So many strange and pretty sights! I love decorations.

We must find happiness where we can. Sometimes we have to look a bit harder for it, too. But even in the midst of troubles or sadness, we can find some peace and joy. And most of all, we can have hope! What a gift God has given us, to put hope in the human heart!

I know most of my bloggie frens are having lovely times with family right now, and I am so glad for each of you! I do not mean to bring anyone down during happy holiday times. I think most are not even on the blogs right now, as they are active with their loved ones. Good!

But for those like me who may not have any loving family left, or who have seen friends dwindle away as the years have passed, or who have tribulations or health problems themselves or worse, their loved ones do, please know that I understand, am there with you, and am praying each day for happiness and peace in the world! And don't forget, whatever your religion or non-religion -- the angels and Saints are all around you! The veil is very thin during this time of year! Christmas magic is real, it is a glimpse from Heaven, in my opinion, and I hope it puts heart into you. There is always next year, too! 

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

Bright and Beautiful Wanderings

Greetings, dear bloggie frens. I am continuing to run so far behind in visiting blogs! We had a pet emergency, in that my little half-feral was evidently bitten by a rat right on his face, and has had surgery but isn't recovering quickly. We know it was a rat, because Morgy fought it, and won, right on the back patio! A Pyrrhic victory, perhaps.

Poor Morgie, or Morgy as the vet has re-spelled it (!), is wanting to be held for hours, and I am glad to do it, as he never liked being held before. But not a lot gets done when you are holding a sleeping kitty. And my knee is acting very silly lately!

I am shocked, but not really, at Hobby Lobby: They have consolidated what's left of Christmas onto two aisles, and have Valentine's and a bit of Easter up! The Christmas items must have sold in record numbers this year. I tried, but couldn't find, any boxes of unbreakable ornaments and lights after the first of December. I did get some adorable retro plastic deer, 90% off because they were missing something from their heads. Here are two of them, along with some marzipan:

Frens, don't forget, you can always ask for a discount at stores, including Big Box stores! I wanted 90% off those deer, not the 50% they already were, but the cashiers are usually limited to 10 or 20 percent off, so just ask for the "manager on duty" and see if they'll bite! You know who asks for discounts all the time? Wealthy people! That's where I learned it.

An aside: Have you ever made a big pot of soup and have it not turn out very tasty? I am now stuck with eating a yucky, but healthy, soup for the next three days! I need to stick with a recipe. I think the cauliflower fought with the other flavors.

I'll leave you, dear bloggers, with some photos of my travels home from church. I love the lights of Christmas! Sorry if I repeat any from before.

Leaving San Albino Basilica after Mass...

(Yes, I got that piece of trash up!)

Side view of a house near Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral:

This house was full of music and inflatables: A labor of love for the children of Las Cruces, found out on a county road. All are welcome to wander the grounds, so I did:

A pretty house in the part of town known as Mesilla Park. I love it when people light up their palm trees:

And here is a reminder that be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. See the doggie on the back porch? He was so smart and good! Home is where the heart is! 

Hoping your season is going well!

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

Free "Merry Mix" Printable Tags, Attack of the Age Spots, and A Rosary Rescue

December Greetings, dearies! 

Here are some free downloadable tags, safely saved on a Google Drive. Use this LINK <---- instead of saving the image, as Blogger shrinks the big files and they won't print nicely. I call it "Merry Mix" because it has a smorgasbord [Smörgåsbord] of vintage images.

 

Oh boy, last year I posted about the movie White Christmas, which I dearly love, PARTICULARLY the smorgasbord scene in the middle of the night, when Bing and Rosemary went to the big den area and were enjoying the snacks that were always available. 

It reminds me so much of a lodge I stayed at one night at the Grand Canyon. It had a huge fire, 24/7, and a smorgasbord all night long. I just walked around and snoozed in the den the entire night! It was forty years ago, and I mention it in the blog and in person entirely too much! It was just magical, that's why. One of the best nights of my life! What can I say, my life is pretty lowkey!

In the movie, Bing and Rosemary sang the pretty duet, "Count Your Blessings." Oh yes, that's a good song to memorize and sing to yourself! I like to be real, not have a Pollyanna attitude, but having an appreciation for what you do have can be so important. I wanted to just cry yesterday, I was feeling so blue about not getting that job and in so much pain when I walked. And then I thought, "My gosh, but I can still WALK! I can WALK, what a gift!" and it gave me strength and off to Walmart I went for some needed groceries! Mainly, chicken tenders to bake for the silly dogs! They love their chicken.

When I was throwing my purse into the back seat of the car, I looked down and there on the driveway was a single-decade Rosary I have been missing for weeks. Right on the concrete, with tire tread marks going over it, and broken glass beads around it and crushed pinecones all around!

I had parked back a-ways on the driveway, unusual for me. I don't think I would have found the Rosary had I not been parked so far back. I must have dropped it. I don't make "bracelet" Rosaries although they are popular. I think that a Rosary ought to be firmly in hand or nestling in a pocket, not put around a wrist and forgotten! But the danger in that is not being aware enough! 

I set out to repair the Rosary. Amazingly, both the Holy Medal and the Crucifix were intact, although the tire had clearly rolled right over them. It was just a matter of replacing some of the beads and doing a bit of straightening!

Two beads are missing, and five more are cracked

 

Repaired! Under the medal is the Glory Bee charm I put on all my personal Rosaries.

At night, with the execrable Hallmark movies playing (yes, some I LOVE, some make me just CRINGE), I am making lots of Rosaries. I'm putting them at the churches with a note in Spanish and in English, and I do not let myself hang around to see people react to them, because that would undo the good of giving, I feel. But they are gone quickly. 

I am "repairing" something else, too! What price vanity?! I am attempting to remove some "age spots" from my hands and face. Dear friends, do not try this at home! It involves wart remover. I use the chemical one, not the freeze one. I have done it before, and removed some really big age spots, or liver spots as my mother called them, on my face that the dermatologist didn't remove despite using a laser. But being a desert rat for so long, they are on me a-plenty. The ones on the hands don't seem to be doing as well as the face ones. This is my first try on hands and arms.

The chemical is applied and drying in this photo...Ow!

I've taken some before and during photos, and I'll show the "after" photos when the process is over! Usually, I don't like wearing a face mask, but for now, I am happy to wear one and I pull it up to my eyes! And I have those fingerless mittens on when I go out! It looks pretty bad right now!

It is going to be so busy at church! So much going on!  Tonight, a Vigil Mass because tomorrow is The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

If you get a chance, please share what you're doing in the evenings! I'm always curious!

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

 

Matachines, Pink Shoes, and Y'allmark Christmases!

Don't ask me why, but I have been watching Hallmark Christmas movies nonstop. Oh, maybe not watching, exactly, but having them on "for company" while I do other things. I am trying to sort through and organize my possessions. More on that in another post! Here's one of said possessions, from an entire huge box of vintage Christmas cards:

I hope you are not having such a day as poor snowman is having!

Sometimes I go sit in the "new" recliner and watch the movies a bit, after putting Champie the Chiweenie "up up" with me. With his wee wizened leg, he cannot jump up at all and he MUST be by my side at all times, he feels. Sophie, the little fuzzy mutt, gets in the other "new" recliner next to me, "all by her big-girl self."

I am evidently in a "quote-mark mood" today! "So to speak."

I was thinking, as each Hallmark movie unfolded, that maybe there should be a Y'allmark or Drawlmark movie channel, where various corny Southern romances could be depicted. They could NOT be worse than some of the movies I'm seeing!

Tonight on the Drawlmark Channel! A Northern Storm

Can an icy Nordic prince starting a chain of yoga juice bars warm up to down-home honesty and a zany small-town girl?

"Momma, I think I love him, even though he's some kind of Yankee boy and he's done took over Old Doc Grover's soda shop and says he's turning it into a high-end juice bar and they're going to have yoga and pita-bread sammiches and break the whole town's heart!"

"You go warsh yer mouth out right now, talking such nonsense! In love with a Yankee? Pfffft!" 

"But Momma, he's real rich and he has a lifted pickup even tho' it's elec-tric and he's an executive and he's a prince of some little European country an' I'm so zany I just fell right in love with him!" 

"A lifted pickup? And money to boot? Why didn't you say so? Bring him to supper! I'll make a big pot of turnip greens 'n' cornpones!"

Or, 

Tonight, a Y'allmark Channel World Premier: Yankee Doodle Candy

Can an unlucky-in-love praline maker convince a snotty Eastern venture capitalist to take a chance on her grandmother's old-fashioned candy factory? 

Things get off to a sticky start when Brent, the venture capitalist with a sad secret heartbreak in his past, has his fine Italian suit ruined by a warm praline thrown by Missy Belle! She was aiming at Bubba, her old high-school beau who is back in town for the big high school reunion! Will the week end with a Ding-Dong and sody-pop date with Bubba, or the ding-dong of wedding bells with Brent?

That's enough of THAT!

~ ~ ~

I haven't yet felt much better lately, but sometimes, if you can manage to get up and stay up, you can get a lot done anyway. I did have FOUR interviews for a job I wanted very much at the university, but evidently I lost out to someone else, because I did not get contacted after the fourth interview. I GOT GHOSTED, as the kids say, or maybe used to say. It was interview after interview, test after test, phone calls, Zoom calls, another interview, then radio silence. Was it the pink shoes I wore to the last interview?  I tend to forget to check what shoes I have on. Look, I originated in Arkansas. It's a miracle I wear shoes at all. 

These shoes have fake fur inside! Very warm and roomy at the toe! And you don't tie them! IT DOES NOT GET BETTER THAN THIS.

My precious Walmart pink low-quarter sneakers!

Today, to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe (big day coming up, December 12th), matachines (mat-ah chee-ness) gathered at four points in our city, and danced to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They danced for miles, and then when they arrived, they danced more, the earlier troupes for an hour and a half, and the later troupes for portions of that time. 

Matachines are groups of dancers who dance for religious reasons. They are almost trance-dancers, I would say, able to dance beyond normal endurance, and able to dance their particular rhythm and movements despite many other troupes dancing to different drumbeats and different steps right next to them. It is a cacophony of sound, and an amazing sight.

Usually, a full-size statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe is carried in front, and the dancers follow. The statue is sometimes carried on a litter, by hand, and sometimes is in the bed of a truck.

The dancers wear elaborate costumes styled much like southwestern Native American ceremonial dress. Lengths of bamboo from reeds by the Rio Grande are used instead of porcupine quills, but sewn in horizontal lines, they give a similar hollow sound as they knock together. Row upon row of this bamboo, many times with small bells at the end, adorn the long loincloth-type costumes. Gourds with beans or beads inside are carried and shaken. 

The embroidery on the loincloths is just stunning, heavy on the sequins and favoring depictions of Divine Mercy, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and of course, Our Lady of Guadalupe. Front and back loincloths each have different depictions. 

Elaborate headdresses or scarves tied like a sheikh's are worn, or both. Stylized weapons are carried as the dances often depict the battle of good versus evil, and some dancers appear as monsters or devilish creatures that dance among the faithful, lest we forget this is so. 

I love that all are welcome to be part of these troupes. You see all weights and sizes. You don't see many older dancers, though. They just cannot have that high level of energy, but they act as the elders and teach and advise and walk along the dancers on the road. 

There are all-female groups, all-male groups, and a few mixed groups. Sometimes determined children in first or second grade are dancers, their tiny feet keeping the steps as well as the teens and adults do. The dancing is a serious business. You will not see smiles while the dancers do their steps, but faces set in concentration!

Today, six troupes were at the Cathedral. I could not choose a favorite troupe, but the matachines wearing powder blue were tireless! First to arrive, they were last to stop dancing. They also had three strong dancers who wore wooden-soled shoes that sounded like clomping horses' hooves as they stomped. You could hear the hoofbeats over the general din. 

I took a photo of them during one of their rare breaks where they yielded the prime dancing spot, as they gathered in excitement when our Bishop walked out, and quickly surrounded him. Our Bishop is from Malta and he is hilarious. 

You can't see it from here, but a table was set up and just COVERED in roses during the dancing, then brought into the Cathedral. Roses are associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe, or OLOG, as it is often abbreviated.

Here is a vintage Mexican Christmas card I have in my collection. I had to smile, because it looks so similar to the Mexican "Loteria" (bingo) cards' designs. Catholics and bingo are like peanut butter and jelly!

All of my Mexican Christmas cards have roses on them. This has a rose and bud, very fitting!

I'm continuing to try to fast and to go out to nature each day. Nature seems to know it's Christmas fever this time of year! Even these leaves turned red and green! 

I hope all of you are well, and I will be hopping to your blogs today to catch up on what I have missed! 

Kind regards,

Olde Dame Holly

So Much to Be Thankful For...Including YOU!

I can't even begin to express how much your comments have meant to me this past week. I was very down when posting my tale of health woes, and then things got worse: A torn meniscus, again, and sciatica, again, different leg than last time, though! 

At first, I was angry at myself for posting when I was down. It seemed weak, unworthy. And of course, I am weak and unworthy, yet I have the love of the Holy Trinity, and all the angels and saints! It was good to be reminded and to strike down false pride. I have such an unfortunate tendency to false pride. Ugh.

Flowers, a palm-tree, and turning leaves, all at the same time at the little park I like!

So, I've been down, but not out! In fact, the worse I feel, the more often I pray, the more often I go to Mass, and the more determination is given me to carry on! Because although I am just a shy, puny person, with no great credits to my name, I can still be an instrument of the Lord, and light my little candle to brighten someone's day, be they human or animal! 

I used to sing that song at summer camp: "It is better to light, just one little candle, than to stumble in the dark...and if everyone lit, just one little candle, what a bright world this would be!"

Thank you for "lighting a candle" for me with your kindness.

Yes, much to be thankful for this year! And every day! Yesterday I was determined to run errands, leg or no leg, so to speak. I just could not delay any longer, and be able to make Thanksgiving dinner. And God placed me to see an altercation with a disturbed man attacking a woman, and call 911. And I saw a loose dog (a chiweenie), but sadly was unable to catch him. But I did alert our wonderful local rescue that just swarms like a SWAT team when a dog is reported running loose, and I got a message he had been captured. And I found a "blow mold" (those light-up hard plastic snowmen and Santas and so forth that folks put on their porches and lawns) that I could afford! I put him (it's a snowman) in my room and had him lighted all night, I was so excited. At the thrift store where I got the snowman, I was also given a big bag of leftover Chick Fil-A cooked pieces, free! There was 8 quarts of frozen chicken in there! And I put out the trees!

This year, feeling puny, I just put up a few ornaments on the turquoise tree to make a "fiesta tree" to fit our Southwestern area.

Can you see my German good-luck pig ornament on the old-fashioned tree?

And I reread all the wonderful comments, as the icing on the cake.

I can smell my turkey in the oven, hooray! And I hope you are having a sweet day. My son decided not to visit after all, and my husband doesn't celebrate any holiday, but I hope you have someone to share the day with. And if not, know that you are not forgotten, and that all the angels and saints, bidden or not, are all around you and concerned for your happiness! And remember that God's eye is on the sparrow! 

These fine fellows wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Much love and kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

 

Not So Fast

I have been out-of-pocket because of a very bad flare-up of my arthritis and my liver problems. My diabetes went bonkers, too.

For years, I have tried to find something that would return my life to nearer normal in terms of health. I searched and searched for a doctor, a medicine, a method, an herb, something to return me to normal, to end the pain, to end the inability to stand or walk for long, to end the diabetes, to fix the liver. My friends, my family, my husband all impatiently wanted me to "be fixed." Not for my benefit, but for theirs. 

Despite that, I no longer pray simply to be "fixed," but to be at peace with God's will. I pray for strength, for grace, for "oomph" in the face of my medical problems. When I taught grade school, my classes always knew my mantra when handing out treats, coloring pages, and so forth: "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit." 

It's hard to "keep in life" with medical problems. But I'm trying. I'm trying to stay in the game. I saw so much beauty, so many interesting things this past week! Yes, I regret I can't walk around much, but I do walk around. Better 100 steps than no steps!

I don't want to stop trying to get better, but I want to stop feeling ashamed that I can't be 100% again. It's a fine line, to accept that some things are simply God's will, and to keep trying. I think there is a lot of blame in our society, for those who have medical problems. There's suspicion that they "caused it," that they don't try hard enough to get better, that they're lazy or unworthy or something. That they are flawed. Oh, God forbid someone is flawed in the time of Instagram and Facebook!

I went to the botanical garden here almost every day this week. I looked at the plants. Some aren't doing great. Should they feel ashamed? Should we question God's handiwork? Some have broken limbs, or their trunk is twisted, or their flowers small, or their berries not as bright as others' are. And they are all beautiful to me! To be growing in the harsh desert! All are intriguing and amazing!

My main mantra is, "Keep on keepin' on" and in that spirit, I am! I heard about a possible way to help my liver and help my inflammation, maybe help the high blood pressure and diabetes: Fasting.

I am fasting and eating a small amount once a day. I am going to have some 48-hour fasts, too, after these first five days of 24-hour fasts are done. I think every religion on earth has a lot of fasting involved, at least in olden times. I know our priests fast every Friday, but they do not mention it.

My first day of no food until 9 p.m. was tough. I had a small bowl of soup and six green olives and was still very hungry. The second day, better. I had more soup and some crackers, and was still a bit hungry. The third (today), better. I had half a hamburger and felt full. I hope tomorrow and the following day will be better still! And then the two-day fasts: That's where the real benefit to health is supposed to kick in. I'll let you know! 

Have you ever struggled with the expectations of others towards you? Have you ever tried fasting?

Sharing "the last roses of autumn" with you!

Remember this in times of doubt:

Your heart's like a ruby,

Your mind's like a pearl.

Your faith's like a diamond:

You're a gem of a girl!

Kind regards,

Olde Dame Holly

It's Beginning to Look...

...a lot like Christmas downtown! 

I am noticing that all around, decorating seems early again this year! I don't know if it's from the COVID shock or just what, but lights are going up, garden flags with Christmas motifs are flying, some wreaths are on doors and gates, and some trees are up!

I am spotting the trees in coffee houses, cafes, and gift shops. I have not seen one in a home window yet. And I'm seeing Santa here and there, too! I love what they call "blowmolds," like the ones above and below. I remember a lot of them from my youth.

Aw, our town is so poor that Santa can have only two deer. Luckily Santa seems a bit undersized so it won't be too hard for them to pull him. Remember in the poem "The Night Before Christmas," when Santa is described as "a right jolly old elf?" He used to be kind of small. The poem also says,

Now what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

Now he's big and rather rotund. Inflation, I guess. And two of those big-sized deer must be equal in deer-power to the original eight.

I am happy my cattycorner neighbor has a big light-up turkey in the front yard! We must give Thanksgiving its due! Of course, a lot of folks mingle Thanksgiving with Christmas, and I do love a jumble of holidays. 

The dogs have a special perch right in the front window, so they can reign over the street. They do not like the big glowing turkey at all. Bark-bark-bark. Bark-bark-bark.

Driving downtown, I stopped and asked this artist if I could take his photo while he worked. And assured him that "no" was perfectly acceptable. But he was happy to oblige. We have some really good artists in town. Some of the students at the university are really talented, too. I love when the businesses paint pretty scenes on their windows at holiday times.

He also has a little baby polar bear cub looking out of the window next to this one! It's going to be really cute when finished. Did you know that polar bears have transparent fur? And that their skin is black? 

Have you seen any Christmas trees or blowmolds up around your area?

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

Indian Summer? And Swept Paths and Yards

It is suddenly much milder than it was during the last days of October. Last night was "supposed" to have a low of 39, which is, as my husband likes to say, "Only 7 degrees above freezing!"

But instead, the low was only 50, and today had bouts of clouds but ultimately cleared in late afternoon, and was very mild and pleasant.

I went to the very old cemetery, San Albino Cemetery, I wrote about on the blog before. (<---Link) Many people were there, and many of the graves had been cleaned, and new flowers and decorations placed. 

Some of the graves had simply been "swept." 

[An aside: Did you know that in Colonial times, "swept yards" were de rigueur? Yes, no one of any account would have had grass in their yard or along their garden paths. I can remember, as a very small child in Arkansas, helping smack wetted clay soil into a hard, smooth surface along the garden paths. We always put a "slip" of clay on our paths, and raked the loose soil around the paths constantly. I have something of a "swept" yard here, too, in parts.]

This family is taking no chances. Not only is there a lovely old statue of Blessed Mother Mary gracing the grave, but a smaller statue of Mary as she appeared as the Virgin of Guadalupe has been wired onto the iron fence in front. Do you see the rotund little "mariachi" musician playing his horn to the lower right? 

I am still not used to these ground-level graves. In New Orleans, everyone must be buried in vaults above ground. I was very frightened of the idea of being below the ground! But my sister-in-law, and many visitors to New Orleans, were uneasy with all the crypts, like a stone maze, a stone city, in those old cemeteries. 

During my visit to the cemetery, I sat on a bench next to a little sign that said, "Welcome Steelers Fans." I am unsure about who the Steelers are exactly, other than being a football team, but I felt they would not mind if a neutral party sat on the bench to pray. 

I keep seeing a television advertisement with a frail-looking Joe Namath hawking some kind of Medicare supplemental policy. I was astounded: I recall him as "Broadway Joe," the good-looking, vital, sinuous quarterback of the New York Jets. Now, I could easily tackle him. 

I brought along Rosaries with me, and my favorite Rosary to pray, and on as many of the neglected, worn crosses as I could, I placed a Rosary. I chose the graves where no trace of a name remains. Sometimes families die out, even our great Mexican-American dynasties here. I had both beautiful Rosaries, and the free Rosaries from the missions. I need to get more Rosaries because dozens of plain crosses remain unadorned.

I said the Rosary many times because there are so many to pray for, so many to remember, and of course, we must remember the unremembered, if that makes any sense. Of course, God remembers us all, down to our last atom! What a comfort!

On the way home, I saw this arched gate, which I just love. It is pretty no matter the season. A "ristra wreath" adorns it this fall.

Do you have unusual cemetery traditions in your area, or strange gardening traditions, like "swept paths?"

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

Welcome, November, You Blustery Rascal

And so the year rolls along, and now we are in November. But we are not done with "witches," oh no. For now comes the time that sees storms known as "witches" in the Great Lakes area -- The Witch of November. You may recall the storm that sank The Edmund Fitzgerald referred to in the Gordon Lightfoot song thusly - "...when the Witch of November comes stealing!" 

There will be bluster. There will be leaves down and underfoot, crunchy or sodden by turns. There will be sad-looking gardens that you'd swear were neglected for years, after just a single blast from November's weather cannon. 

Here in the southern desert, the leaves will finally change. It has begun!

For Catholics, November is the month to pray the Rosary daily and help the souls in Purgatory. It may just be here in the very different borderlands area, but Rosaries said on All Saints Day (today, November 1st) and most especially on All Souls Day (November 2nd), if said in a graveyard, have tremendous oomph, and can lift a soul right out of Purgatory, one per Rosary. If that doesn't get a good Catholic busy with the beads, I don't know what will. Of course, you will find me at the cemeteries today and tomorrow, favorite Rosary in hand. (I know Rosary is not usually capitalized, but I'm capitalizing it!)

November will bring us Thanksgiving Day, a holiday I remember with especial joy, and with such bittersweet feelings. I found a YouTube video by someone who calls herself "Little Poet," and in the video, Little Poet sings a song she wrote, "Thanksgiving Day." It's very evocative of those bittersweet feelings!

I never used to watch YouTube videos except for do-it-yourself type of things, but now I watch Little Poet as well as a woman who found herself without much of a retirement, Dee Burks. Dee is sharing how to have a better retirement. Dee is no-nonsense but enjoyable and kind. Little Poet struck me as sugar-sweet at first, but I enjoy it. Take a look at her "channel." All these terms are new to me, and I don't seem to be finding many other "YouTubers" I like, except for those two, but I am sure there are more good ones. And many more bad ones!

I hope your November will start off beautifully, continue contentedly, and finish fantastically! 

Hallowe'en Roundup: At least 170 trick-or-treaters! I made 170 little bags, that's how I know it was at least that many kiddos. I also had two large bags of Smarties and one of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups "just in case" and boy am I glad I did. But it wasn't just kiddos. The demographic changed during the 2-hour window, which is really 3 hours long because the late-comers are swarming until 9. 

At first, while still not full dark, it's the neighborhood moms with very little kids, and some with their dogs, too. I have special dog treats handy for them. The cutest thing was when I handed two dog treats over, and the family looked like they were going to just burst. Finally one child spoke up, saying, "There is a chihuahua in the wagon." Oh my, the poor chihuahua was getting overlooked! He got a treat, too, and the relief was palpable. 

Then, when fully dark, it's neighborhood elementary age and tweens thronging the street. And this is also when very young parents with their new babies in strollers come. The parents are dressed up, as they are barely out of their teens themselves, and the baby always "matches" them. It is SO sweet, and they are SO proud of the baby.

As it gets later, the teens arrive, and are boisterous, but not bad. Sometimes I give a good shriek at their gory costumes and feign fear, and they love that, but anxiously ask if I'm too scared. 

Then there is a definite change, as very little kids start arriving again, this time with parents also carrying "calabasas" for candy. The costumes are pretty threadbare all around. These are our regional neighbors from the El Paso and Juarez area, as evidenced by their license plates.

Some people in our area get angry at these families for coming up from El Paso and Mexico, but I give the parents a lot of credit for bringing the children to an area they know is safe and that will let them enjoy a bountiful amount of candy. The shy smiles of the parents, too, is heartwarming. Unaware I can tell what they are saying, I hear many touching things. Few outside of this area understand the abject poverty of Juarez.

Not one child, not one adult, failed to say "thank you" for their treats! 

The candy necklaces and the glow sticks were the hits of the night. Next year, I am getting more glow sticks, because I ran out.

I hope your Hallowe'en was as fine as mine was!

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame