Let There Be Lights

The downtown merchants hosted an open house for the lighting of the city Christmas tree and we decided to go.  It was so very cold, about 16 when we left home, so we bundled up and headed out.

This is Main Street as we approached it from our house.

All the shops along the street were open for shopping but, the stores are small and the crowd was large so we just went in long enough to warm up.

This is the tree before the lights. Notice the sound system, they were playing Christmas music that could be heard for blocks.

 

All along the road there were Christmas displays and merchants serving warm cider, hot dogs, and even roasting chestnuts.

My hubby peeling the soft outer skin off a hot chestnut so we could try our very first chestnut roasted on an open fire.  It was good!

 

 

Some of the windows had cute displays.

 Some had live displays.

 

We even had snow on the sidewalk-leftover from yesterday.

There were hayrides North Dakota style.

And then everyone headed north for the tree lighting.

and then the countdown 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1

This was as close as we could get for a picture and my poor hubby was so sweet to bring me, and so cold, that I didn't want to ask him to wait around so I could get a better photo.  It was fun and it was cold and we can now say we have been to a Minot, ND official Christmas tree lighting.

 

 

Sunday Phunnies

At Rope's End

A monastery was perched high upon a cliff and the only access to reach
 it was by way of riding in a basket which several monks hauled up to the
 top.

Obviously the ride over the rocky jagged terrain was steep, and in a
 wicker basket it was terrifying to all but the naively fearless.

One visitor, however, got exceedingly nervous. Roughly halfway up he saw
 that the rope by which he was being hauled was rather frayed and
 splitting. Shaking in his boots but unable to move, he frantically asked
 the monk who was seated next to him how often they changed the rope.

Thinking for a moment, the monk answered, "whenever it breaks."

It Snowed and Snowed

The snow started while we were at work Friday and it snowed a little all day long.  When we got ready to leave our car was just starting to get covered.

The deck at work was covered and getting slippery by the time we headed home.

This is the house we live in and by the time we got home the sidewalk had been cleared.

 

 

The prairie looks so pretty when the snow blows and covers it.

 

It snowed all day Saturday and when we got ready to leave for church Sunday we had to scrape and scrape the car windows.  It took us 40 minutes to get them clear enough for driving.

 

Our fingers and toes were so very cold.

 

 This is what the streets look like when they spread the sand.  It helps give the tires traction.

This tree is in our front yard and looks so pretty covered with snow I just had to snap a pic.

These trees are in the neighborhood.  So Christmas looking, Beautiful!!

 

Monday we headed back to work and this is what the road looked like.

A beautiful sky over the snow covered prairie.

Hope you enjoyed our touch of winter.  The weather is warming up a bit now for a few days and we will enjoy the break from the cold.

Sunday Phunnies

Waiting Room Music

A woman went to the dentist's office for a checkup and some instrumental
 music was playing. She was early for her appointment, but after waiting
 ten minutes, an elderly woman sitting beside her leaned over and said,
 "isn't that just like a dentist? A waiting room jammed with people, and
 he's in there playing the piano."

The Colors of the Seasons

We had to make a rushed trip down south for my brother's funeral and it was amazing to see the colors still in the trees.  In North Dakota the colors changed weeks ago and everything is brown so we enjoyed watching the colors as we traveled.

 

I realize these colors are not vibrant like they are on the east coast when Autumn sets in, but when you live in North Dakota you appreciate every bit of color.

We were in Missouri and passed these cliffs again.  These are so strange because we were driving along in the country and made a turn and there stood these cliffs.

We also drove through parts of the Amish countryside and saw a few people out in their buggies.

Going to a funeral is never fun, especially when the death happens so suddenly, but we were thankful for the beautiful scenery we got to see on our trip.

 

Sunday Phunnies

Poor Freddy

During a performance for the high school drama class at the local
theatre, a hole was cracked in the stage floor. Subsequent acts
managed to avoid the damaged area until little Freddy, juggling
bowling pins, accidentally stepped through the hole up to his knee.
He apologized to the audience for his clumsiness. But a heckler in
the back of the theatre shouted: "Don't worry, Freddy! It's just a
stage you're going through!"

Sunday Phunnies

Talking Cow

A man's car stalled on a country road one morning. When the man got out
 to fix it, a cow came along and stopped beside him. "Your trouble is
 probably in the carburetor," said the cow.

Startled, the man jumped back and ran down the road until he met a
 farmer. The amazed man told the farmer his story.

"Was it a large red cow with a brown spot over the right eye?" asked the
 farmer. "Yes, yes," the man replied.

"Oh! I wouldn't listen to Bessie," said the farmer. "She doesn't know a
 thing about cars."