Merry Christmas!

[Commander]

Thanks, unseen in the picture, but also on the tie are Rudolph, Hermey, the misfit elf and Sam the snowman.

It was a Christmas present a while back (I dread to think how long ago) from my eldest son. It makes its yearly appearances for the office Christmas party and other seasonal events.

[Rocket Babe]

You're a good dad. Randy has 3 similar ties he got about 30 years ago and wears them all during the holidays regardless of where he wears a suit; meetings, church, party.

After a margarita or three I might be a misfit elf.

[luke strawwalker]

Cool! Merry Christmas!

Well, we safely arrived in the Great White Frozen North! We drove through some blinding rainstorms north of Memphis before we arrived in Sikeston at about 8 pm Saturday night. We were on I-55 when the front arrived (heralded by the van suddenly being shoved sideways about a foot in my lane before I countersteered, and the wind howling like banshees into ever crack and door/window seal on the vehicle. A quick check of the thermometer showed the temperature at 72 degrees, shortly after sunset. As we watched, the temp dropped 15 degrees in the first ten minutes; about a degree every 5 seconds there for awhile. It dropped 30 degrees in the first hour and 45 degrees in the two hours it took us to reach Sikeston, Missouri, where we ate supper and spent the night.

It is now slowly warming up from the -11 temperature it was when I got up shortly after 8 this morning, after arriving about 9 pm or so last night at our inlaws home just north of Rochester, Indiana. My sister texted me yesterday they were having flurries outside her home in Needville, Texas, which is about 60 miles inland from the beach, 65 miles west of Johnson Space Center south of Houston.

At any rate, it's a winter wonderland outside (but too cold to enjoy it currently other than looking out the windows) but it's warm and nice inside, and I'm enjoying catching up with the rocket forums and stuff after 2 days on the road to get here. Driving wasn't bad until about the last 2 hours last night.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to yall and have a good one! OL J R

PS. If "Merry Christmas" or references to the Great White Frozen North offends you, sorry that wasn't the intent but you seriously need to grow a pair... LOL:)

[Commander]

Glad to hear you arrived safe and sound. Looking out the windows (especially if you have no place to go) is sometimes the best way to enjoy winter. I think I'm too old to go out and play in the snow anymore.

[luke strawwalker]

Oh come on Bernie... where's your sense of adventure??

Keira wanted to go outside and play in the snow the other day... it was a whopping 4 degrees outside at the time. I suggested she wait til later in the day when the temp climbed another couple degrees or so, but no, she wanted to go. Actually, it was a very nice day, considering. Chilly to be sure, but no wind and the snow was powdery and dry, and the sun was blazing, so it was actually pretty nice.

Course, I've had to work out in cold temps, wind, damp, and chill, and that's no fun at all.

Take it as you can get it...

Later! OL J R

[Commander]

Today's the day!

All right guys, time to go out and get your Christmas Shopping done!

[Rocket Babe]

Randy did all the shopping for both of us and he finished this morning about 9:30. I, on the other hand, haven't bought anything but then, he already has what he wants.

[Trident]

Hey Everyone! -- it is kind of late to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, but hope y'all have a Happy New Year. (Ted, did I get the spelling/punctuation right on that?).

I've kind of wrapped up 7 months of home remodeling. We have a tiny bit left -- some trim here and there, but it is so darned cold here I have no desire. My shop is in our basement, which is toasty-warm, but I prefer to do any staining or finishing out in the garage, to keep noxious odors outside. I think the garage feels colder than just going outside!

I looked at my rocket bench in the basement and thought it could use a dusting off. It is too cold to paint my Saturn 1B, but I could start some project, maybe drag out some balsa and cut out some fins or something to remind me that I once was a builder of model rockets.

We have some great news in the family. Our daughter Lindsey, who married in 2015, is expecting child in May. It's a girl! She cried when she told me, saying "I knew you wanted a grandson." Man, I shed a few tears too -- from guilt that I may have put that guilt trip on her. I really said it jokingly after she married, since her only sibling is her sister Megan, and Megan has two girls. We seem to have nailed the ability to create girls in this family. Her husband says they'll have a son at some point, just to assure her. He is actually desiring to have several more kids. That's pretty cool. It is too early to tell if our two grand daughters have the rocketry gene, but we will do some more launches when it gets warm. I've got to have somebody to give all my rocket stuff to at some point down the road. (Praying that's still a ways off!)

Take care, I'll try to drop by more regularly.

[Commander]

Well Lee, it goes like this, you just have to keep on trying till you get the boy. No slacking off and try, try again. Took me till the forth time to get a son . then had to try again to make sure I got it right .

But really, I am happy my 3 daughters came along before the boys. I'm sure the boys are happy that the girls came first also because that way the parents were already broken in.

[Joe Wooten]

Hmmmmm....

NO grandkids...yet...But there has not been a girl born in my family line since my Aunt 82 years ago. All boys from everyone since then. My nephew has 2 boys now and I am expecting boys from my sons also when they jump into the gene pool.

Seriously though, a little girl would be spoiled rotten......