CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Thank you so much, Dinu, and Holiday greetings to you as well. Winter has been here for quite awhile, the temperature being down below freezing most of the time. We are going to have a 'white Christmas'.

Merry Christmas to you too Dinu!

We aren't going to have a White Christmas like Weezie though. We had a White Thanksgiving instead. Then it warmed up again and all our pretty snow melted. I'm still hoping we get some more snow. It's weird...we had almost 50 degrees today!!!! Totally unheard of, and I don't think I like it. I want snow for Christmas.

Dinu a very Happy Christmas to you and to everyone. We have already had the snow too but it has cleared and about to get warmer so no white holidays for us. God bless you and your family.

Thank you, Dinu. Hope that you and your family are all fine, and I send everyone greetings and best wishes!

Merry Christmas my friend! What a nice greeting to have when I signed on to DG this morning.

I too, have been very busy with many distractions, and not here as much as I would like, but I still think of all of my garden friends and wish them warm and happy holidays with God's blessings.

Thank you so much, Dinu,Merry Christmas my friend! Things are getting quite hectic here too! We have bd after bd then christmas. ~whew~ I cant wait for this to all be over and calmer! ;)
We have a trace of snow-but temps are rising to 40s,, but they say it will snow for christmas-I hope so, then it can melt and send me the SPRINGTIME! lol
I hope you and your family have a safe and joyous holiday season.

I HOPE THIS FOR ALL MY FRIENDS HERE!
LUVZ YA'LL
Dori

Merry ho-ho, Dinu,.............NO SNOW!!!!!!!!! Elaine

Thanks everybody. You all must be enjoying Boxing Day today. Can someone enlighten me what this Boxing Day is all about? Or is it only in Australia?

Hello again Dinu - here is a link to explain why we, the British folk, celebrate Boxing Day. :-)

http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/around/boxingday.html

Thank you louisa for the link. It is informative.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!!!!

wishing you all the best

I took this opportunity during X-mas to visit an old Christian classmate of mine with my family, to see how they decorate. Being a Hindu, we want the kids to learn how others celebrate their festivals. They had done a fine job with dolls. The churches here get a wonderful facelift and it is all so colourful. There is one close to our house and they are lit with decorative lights. The main Church here is the St.Philomena's, an old building http://www.mysore.nic.in/tourism_church.htm that is the centre of attraction to the Christian community as well as others.

How interesting, Dinu! St. Philomena's must have seemed like a strange building, indeed, when they were building it there in the 30's.

It is generally our tradition to take down all the decorations right after New Years, so that is what I did yesterday. It also seems to be tradition to forget something. Yesterday, I look all around the house and was sure that this year, finally, I had put them ALL away. This morning, I'm sitting in front of my computer typing, and to my left, hang garland and Christmas tree lights... I forgot the office window! The tradition continues!

Is it still snowing in Alaska?

Not at the moment, Dinu. The temperature has gone down into around 20 degrees F. and it seldom snows here when it is that cold. We do, however have plenty of snow on the ground... a nice change from the last two years.

I was under the wrong impression that it snows there for long periods. 20F is more or less the same as the min. temp. here! Some years ago, I used to listen to Radio KNLS from Alaska and I used to receive a few cards and one of the picture shows the studio covered in snow.

Your impression isn't necessarily incorrect, Dinu. We are such a big state that there are many types of weather, depending on which part of Alaska you are referring to. We are on the Kenai Peninsula in Southcentral Alaska. I checked Googles to see where KNLS is broadcast, and it is Haines, several hundred miles from here. Here's a link to an article about the station. I thought you might enjoy it: http://www.knls.org/English/trascripts/pcard010.htm

Here is a map that shows where Seward is: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapshells/north_america/alaska/alaska.htm

Here is a website about Seward: http://www.sewardak.org/

Thank you WG for the links. Here in this http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/indian_subcontinent/india/attractions.htm you can have an idea (scroll down to 'Mysore') of the place where I live. So, you are on "top of the world"!

Very interesting, Dinu. There is surely some lovely architecture in Mysore: http://www.holidays-india.net/india-travel-destination/mysore.html

Yes indeed! I also browsed the "India" part of the site and found some good things (as well as otherwise) myself. Your link is not coming through.

WG, My daughter and her DH have orders (US Army) to be at Ft. Wainwright in December. What words of wisdom can I give her. She and 5 yo DGD have been with us for over two years as he went to Korea and is now in Iraq. She is excited, but I'm not sure if it is more for the move or more for the fact that she hasn't seen in her DH in so long.

Hi, Misty. So your daughter and family are moving to Fairbanks. One nice thing about Alaska is that we always welcome new folks, and we respect and admire our servicemen and their families. That should be a nice change from Iraq. Here's a site about Ft. Wainwright: http://www.wainwright.army.mil/

Here in Seward, our winters are considerably milder than Fairbanks. In general, Fairbanks temps are more in the extreme. Summers get hot and winters get subzero. There are plug ins for your cars, and nobody goes out without being dressed for the weather. I'm sure it will be quite an adjustment for your loved ones when they get here. Here's the local weather for Fairbanks: http://hurricane.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/local_index.asp?zipcode=99701&partner=accuweather

I've always said that the people who move to Alaska either love it or hate it. We've even had folks that couldn't wait to go back home, but eventually move back up because they can't quit thinking about their time spent here and miss it. One way or the other, they will have stories to tell for years to come. Everyone seems to be interested in Alaska.

I hope they'll have some time to see a bit more of Alaska while they are up here. Denali Park is wonderful, and a trip down to the Kenai Peninsula affords great scenery, great fishing, and lots of friendly folks... us included! Tell your daughter not to be concerned about the move. The old unwritten law of Alaska is to pay forward, helping the next Chichako (newbie) rather than repaying those who help you. It seems to work!

WG, Thank you so much. I have printed out your message and will give to her. She has been checking out some things and is excited about things like skating and ski lessons, etc. He is from TX and really has not been in the snow. My DD is from Mass. and has been in the snow in her younger years, but having been here in KY for 17 years, she hasn't seen much of the white stuff or the horrendous cold :) It will be an adjustment for sure. Again thanks for your info. Happy Day, Kathy