Golf, Happy Hour and The Elks At Christmas
The day begins with talking to the babies, feeding them and getting their morning nappy started!
We then head to Old Ranch for breakfast before attacking the course! We were the only ones in the dining room as most golfers come real early.
The pace of play was super and we finished the first nine about 30 minutes early.
Bunny joined us on 14 and we all froze by the time we were on 18! We had a single glass of wine to celebrate and get warm.
We went home and changed and came back for happy hour and then proceeded to dance until the wee hours of the evening! OK, it was 11:00 when we headed for home!
The Babies
Flower and Sarge (sister and brother are both 15 years old) enjoying the winter sun coming through the window...
Naps, their favorite pastime!
Time For Golf
We began with breakfast at Old Ranch
"No?" Yes, it means no!
The ducks were ready for a meal from Grandma Sue
"What do I have for the babies?"
A trail of duckies
Grandma Sue inspects the babies
Did you know? - The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on chickens[citation needed]. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common buteos in North America.
Red-tailed Hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within its range. There are fourteen recognized subspecies, which vary in appearance and range. It is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, typically weighing from 690 to 1600 grams (1.5 to 3.5 pounds) and measuring 45–65 cm (18 to 26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110 to 145 cm (43 to 57 in).
"The red hawk wants to be the tree topper
It was so cold on 18...
Off To Happy Hour
James shows off his 2006 Reyn Spooner shirt!
So James, what did you ask Santa for this year??
iPhone whizards! They can now text to each other
To The Elks In Santa Ana
The ground fog was getting pretty heavy
Did you know? - Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of a cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated locally (such as from a nearby body of water, like a lake or the ocean, or from nearby moist ground or marshes).
Fog is distinguished from mist only by its density, as expressed in the resulting decrease in visibility: Fog reduces visibility to less than 1 km (5/8 statute mile), whereas mist reduces visibility to no less than 1 km (5/8 statute mile).[3] For aviation purposes in the UK, a visibility of less than 2 km but greater than 999 m is considered to be mist if the relative humidity is 95% or greater - below 95% haze is reported.
The foggiest place in the world is the Grand Banks off the island of Newfoundland, the meeting place of the cold Labrador Current from the north and the much warmer Gulf Stream from the south. Some of the foggiest land areas in the world include Argentina, Newfoundland and Labrador and Point Reyes, California, each with over 200 foggy days per year. Even in generally warmer southern Europe, thick fog and localized fog is often found in lowlands and valleys, such as the lower part of the Po Valley and the Arno and Tiber valleys, as well as on the Swiss plateau, especially in the Seeland area, in late autumn and winter. ~Wikipedia
Traffic, ugh!
Great music all night
Joe is fooling around... and quite well we may add!
Christmas Tree Raffle Raises Money For Elk Activities
The trees are donated by the different organizations within the Elks and some individuals. They are raffled off and the funds go to the charitable activities of the Santa Ana Elks!
Bob and Sue joined the inspection of the trees
Meanwhile Back At The Dance
Barbara admires her new tree!
Gladys has her trusty camera out
Dressed For Christmas
The Branders are looking pretty Christmassy (a word??) this evening
The Line Dancers Get Busy
Go Marianne
Vance shows them how to do it
His new steps require him to do a lot of constipation
Hey! I remembered!
"I'm still remembering"
Marianne attempts to recreate Vance's latest moves
Vance wanted NOT to be seen this evening so he wore something inconspicuous!
Brian and Jan do the Twist
Did you know? - The Twist's original inspiration came from the African American plantation dance called "wringin' and twistin," which has been traced back to the 1890s. However, its original aesthetic origins, such as the use of pelvic movement and the shuffling foot movement, can be traced all the way back to West Africa. Throughout the 20th Century, the dance evolved until emerging to a mass audience in the 1960s.
In 1961, at the height of the craze, patrons at New York's Peppermint Lounge on West 45th Street were twisting to the house band, a local group from Jersey, Joey Dee and the Starliters. Their song, "The Peppermint Twist (Part 1)" became number one in the United States for three weeks in January 1962.
In 1962, Bo Diddley released his album Bo Diddley's A Twister. He recorded several Twist tracks, including "The Twister," "Bo's Twist" and "Mama Don't Allow No Twistin," which referenced the objections many parents had to the pelvic motions of the dance.
Body parts were everywhere after that dance
Meanwhile back at the corner of the dance floor the mild mannered couple maintain their dignity
Following Pictures Are NOT Approved For Women And Small Children
... something about ... "All the King's Horses and all the King's men"
Lean to the left
Lean to the right
Hang on... Danger Will Robinson!
We Now Rerturn To Normal Children Friendly Pictures
He believes the sign indicates his age... We know better
Oh oh! The photographer is caught in the act
The Band Is Just Warming Up
Go Get 'Em Joe
Did you know? - Joe Barile...drummer, vocalist, guitarist and published songwriter, is a native of Ischia, an Island off the coast of Naples, Italy. He has been performing since the age of fifteen. His career has taken him to Japan and many European countries, and had a lengthy stint performing and recording with The Ventures, Shango, and Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds.
He has written many songs for these groups that have been recorded and released worldwide. Joe has been collaborating with numerous songwriters over the past few decades including sax man Tony Giaimo and Phil Anthony and Nina Beck.
Joe's rich, thought-provoking melodies conjure up equally deep, meaningful lyrics by his co-writers, and Joe writes some fine lyrics of his own as well, in the "future standard" and Italian ethnic categories. When not performing, Joe enjoys cooking.
Look... There at it again!
Adult Supervision provided by Sue
Did you know? - Howard Crossen...Turned pro at the age of fifteen with a local band..Hal Brown..Joined the Marine Corps Band..after discharge played with various bands traveling the country with Glenn Henry, Chuck Cabot, Skinney Qines, Oren Tucker..Made the Nevada circuit playing at the Stardust, El Cortez, Showboat, Fremont, Harrahs, The Golden, Harold's Club, Riverside, Wagon Wheel, etc.. Backed such people as: Johnny Desmond, Rusty Draper, Billy Eckstine, Freddy Morgan, Bell Sisters, Billy Daniels, Mary Mayo, etc. Worked club dates in the 70's, 80's, 90's, and alot of casuals into the 2000's. When not performing, Howard enjoys being on his sailboat.
Did you know? - Nutcrackers in the form of wooden carvings of a soldier, knight, king, or other profession have existed since at least the 15th century. These nutcrackers portray a person with a large mouth which the operator opens by lifting a lever in the back of the figurine. Originally one could insert a nut in the big-toothed mouth, press down and thereby crack the nut. Modern nutcrackers in this style serve mostly for decoration, mainly at Christmas time. The ballet The Nutcracker derives its name from this festive holiday decoration.
The carving of nutcrackers—as well as of religious figures and of cribs—developed as a cottage industry in forested rural areas of Germany. The most famous nutcracker carvings come from Sonneberg in Thuringia (also a center of dollmaking) and from the Ore Mountains. Wood-carving usually provided the only income for the people living there. Today the travel industry supplements their income by bringing visitors to the remote areas.
Steinbach Nutcrackers have become popular in the United States as well, and the recreated "Bavarian village" of Leavenworth, Washington, even features a nutcracker museum. ~Wikipedia
Howard read a Christmas story to music... It was terrific!
Jan also puts her age right out in front of her but we know....
Sitting down is good... Look in the background... Our group closed the place down again!
"What! Go home! NO! I wanna dance and sing and..... whatever!"
