Christmas traditions and delights

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Published: Wednesday, 01 January 2025 13:34

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope it was a very special one for you.

At this time of the year, I fondly remember one of my husband’s favorite sayings. Perhaps you have already heard it. If not, then here it is - “Christmas is coming, and the geese are getting fat. Please do put a penny in an old man’s hat. If not a penny, a half penny will do. If not a half penny, God bless you”. We didn’t hear this once, but it was repeated many times during the Christmas season.

That little saying packs quite a punch. Sometimes we forget how truly blessed we are while in this land of plenty there are still many families who are struggling as they try to stretch their meager income just to cover the basic necessities.

No doubt every family has traditions. Once we had electricity and television, we started the tradition of watching Dickens Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve. We still, after eating homemade chili and tamales, will gather together on Christmas Eve to watch Dickens Christmas Carol with Mr. Scrooge, who finally changes character on Christmas Day. The Mr. Scrooge of today is Grinch and how he stole Christmas. Don’t let him steal your Christmas, it is the most beautiful time of the year.

When our children were little, we always had a birthday party during the Christmas season. After all, don’t we celebrate Christmas because it is Christ’s birthday. A birthday cake with candles always graced the table with gifts to the children who came to celebrate. What could be more appropriate than a small manger scene. After the birthday celebration we always went to a local church to view their manger scene. Each child had a small coin to give to the Baby Jesus as their gift to the Christ Child.

A delightful drive around the neighborhood to see all the Christmas lights should certainly put you in the Christmas spirit. Another fun and entertaining thing to do is a visit to the little town of Hidalgo that always goes all out with Christmas lights. They also present entertainment at Payne Arena that will steal your heart away. Don’t miss the performance of local school children followed by the choral group from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. This group is made up of young boys, some of whom appear to be no more than four or five years old as well as older students and fathers. Their voices are beautiful. The show begins around 7 p.m. with open seating so plan to arrive a little earlier

Some of the seating will be metal chairs. My advice to you is to go prepared with something to put on that cold metal seat and perhaps a blanket to wrap up in as the entertainment is almost always outdoors. Those metal seats are mighty cold on a cold winter night. All sorts of booths offer treats and temptations, and a trolley ride saves walking through a trail of lights. If you wish to go all out, call the arena and buy advance tickets that will include a seated dinner and the trolley ride. The musical entertainment is free, but you need a ticket for dinner and for the trolley ride.

ENJOY THIS SEASON WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY!

December 26, 2024 - Rina's Ramblings

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Published: Wednesday, 01 January 2025 13:33

While we are going to press before Christmas, and you will receive this after Christmas – I will tell you that I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! We are spending time with three of our kids this Christmas, but very low key.

We had a Christmas decorations contest in our neighborhood and some people put on quite the display. Did your park have a Christmas Lighting contest, or Christmas Tree display? Share the photos and winners with us.

Next week is New Year’s Eve. Here I hope you have a very safe and fun New Year’s Eve. I know many of you will be enjoying some type of entertainment at your park, or another park, for the evening. Please share your festive photos with us. We love seeing the fun you have at the events in your park.

Now back to New Year’s…. Do you make a New Year’s resolution? I haven’t in years, I just try to do better than I did last year. Something I try to do everyday though. I will look for more opportunities to do good, and maybe be a little more active this coming year.

Do you have anything special, or different, that you are going to try and do this coming year? Do you make a list of New Year’s resolutions?

Do you have a New Year’s Eve meal that you do? We have tried to do some in the past – like collards, black-eyed peas and grapes. Last year we had a sausage and cabbage meal with cornbread that was really good.

What is your New Year’s Eve tradition?

You can share some of your thoughts, ideas, and photos with us by emailing news@wintertexantimes.com.

Learning through repetition

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Published: Wednesday, 18 December 2024 14:56

It is difficult to believe that the year 2024 will soon be ending and the New Year will be upon us. It seems to me that as we slow down the years go racing past us…faster and faster every year. It is fun though to look back at all those years and remember some of the most rewarding memories.

Do you remember when you were in elementary school? My elementary school was a small three room building that housed the first through the eighth grade. A wood burning stove heated those rooms in the colder months and open windows let in the fresh air in an attempt to cool us off in the warmer months.

All those memories of my early schooling came flashing back yesterday when I was tutoring a a third grader as she struggled with reading English. At home my student speaks only Spanish and is the youngest of a large family. I hope that the hour that I spend with her will somehow be beneficial and that she will continue to do her best as she struggles with those difficult words that are so challenging.

There certainly have been a lot of changes in the curriculum since I was a third grader. First of all, the book covers alone have changed. Today the book covers are brightly colored and very eye appealing. The covers on the books that my school offered to third graders were of the same dull color with the title in large black letters. Inside the cover the story was generally very repetitive. Do you remember?

One of the books that I remember was about a mother rabbit and her family of little rabbits. As the mother rabbit led her little rabbits, she would constantly ask over and over "Children, dear children, are you hopping along behind?” Over and over the little rabbits would reply "Yes, dear mother, we are hopping along behind.” And that is how we learned to read - repeating and repeating.

However, we were being taught more than just reading. We were learning that mothers take care of their little ones, the little ones are respectful and obedient. So, there we have it - three lessons in one - mothers who care, children who are respectful and obedient to their mother and learning to read all at the same time.

Sometimes I wonder if maybe the old ways are better than the new ways. Of the four little books that my student was able to finish yesterday in our session, only one of those books had repetitive wording. And we do learn with repetition. Maybe it would be better if all of us could take the good from the old and add it to the new. We do need to keep up with changes - especially those changes that are good changes.

Perhaps that is why I often have travelers who are repeating the same trip they have already done at least once before. Things do change - the seasons change, the crops change and sometimes historians find new information that has been there all along just waiting to be discovered. The change in climate has brought changes to the Farm Tour that I offer. We have drier weather now leading to changes in crops. You won't see the large sugar cane fields anymore but fields planted with crops you may not even recognize. Come join us on a Farm Tour and see how many of the new crops you recognize. I hope to see you soon.

December 18, 2024 - Rina's Ramblings

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Published: Wednesday, 18 December 2024 14:55

I can’t believe Christmas is next week. We just did and finished our Christmas shopping. I hope you are caught up with everything you need to do before Christmas Day. We have hopefully bought all the groceries we need for next week as well. We might have to go back for some veggies this weekend, or maybe some extra sweets (shhh… don’t tell Dan).

We’ve been cutting down on the sugar intake around here, so I haven’t done any of my usual baking. So, it feels a little odd, but I am not stressed to get plates of cookies or anything out to friends and family.

Do you do any special treats for your friends for Christmas? What are your favorite treats during the holidays?

What also feels odd is not having tamales. It’s a Christmas tradition – that and hot cocoa. But like I said, we’ve been cutting out the sugars, and that includes carbs. It’s okay though. We’re doing good and still enjoying the holiday season. I made a decent low carb, sugar free lemon custard pie for Thanksgiving that was enjoyed by more than just my husband.

I do miss the days of old, of big gatherings and lots to choose from. We have settled down to just small gatherings, or the main immediate family. We do get more time to catch up with each other though, enjoy the company a bit more, and I feel like we bond better in small gatherings.

We do hope you take the time to celebrate the season, celebrate the reason for the season, enjoy time with friends and family, and have a very Merry Christmas!

Share your photos with us by emailing them to news@wintertexantimes.com.

Winter Ranch donates to community organizations

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Published: Wednesday, 18 December 2024 14:48

Winter Ranch RV Resort is spreading the joy of Christmas to ARISE Adelante, which they have done for many years. This year, they collected more than enough to fill 280 stockings for young children, and 20 stockings for infants.

Bob Coakley, a chaos coordinator at Winter Ranch, said about 20 volunteers showed up to stuff the stockings once they had all the donations gathered. Tables in the rec room were filled with the items park residents had donated. Donations included coloring books, crayons, toothbrushes, toothpaste, barbies, snacks, ramen noodles, toys, hats, and stuffies.

Read more: Winter Ranch donates to community organizations