The Twiggy and Tempeste Elves, The Producer and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thursday – A Little Personal- Merry Christmas From Twiggy and Tempeste and Us
Tag: Detour – On the eternal Road
Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Bag”
Today I randomly opened Circumstances of Childhood to page 77. With Eyes closed, I pointed to the page. My finger was closest to the word “bag.” That is the prompt today.
Bag by John W. Howell © 2025
“So what’s in the bag?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Oh, come on. We don’t have time for games.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s the holiday season, and we have to get things done.”
“I know full well the time of year and what needs to be done.”
“So just tell me.”
“It’s a surprise. I don’t want to spoil it.”
“Okay then. Never mind. Give me a hand with this tree.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m holding this bag.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Can’t you put it down?”
“I’m afraid it will get damaged.”
“Take it into the house and then come back.”
“No can do. It might open.”
“So what?”
“Well then, the surprise will get out.”
“You have an animal in there?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“Alright, I was going to surprise you since I know how much the holidays mean to you. I managed to grab off The Grinch.”
“What?”
“He was standing outside the toy shop, and I snuck up behind him and threw this bag over him.”
“How can you carry him. Isn’t he heavy?”
“No, like you, he is more spirit than substance. I told him he would be set free after Christmas.”
“I’ll be darned.”
“No, you’ll be blessed.”
A Fantasy gift list for Christmas Instead of a Top Ten Not to Do List
Usually, there would be a Top Ten Things Not to Do List today, but since we are getting close to Christmas, I thought I would have a little fun with a gift list.
I have always fantasized about a gift list that would be just right. It would include some adorable things and cost a bundle. Unfortunately, I have not won the Mega lottery or been born to the manor. Which brings to mind the question: what gifts do the super-rich buy for each other? The nice thing about fiction is that we can go right ahead and make a list. So here goes. The fantasy list of gifts that the super-rich may buy this year:
A new Rolls-Royce Phantom Sedan for $398,375.00 base price. (options could add another $50,000) The gift giver would have a beauty that gets 11 MPG in the city and 19 MPG on the highway. By the way, if there are worries about gas mileage, the buyer might pass on this one.
A new Gulfstream G650 for $65,000,000. The gift giver and recipient would enjoy worldwide connections at top speeds of 800 MPH. In case the gift giver thinks the gift is exclusive, there are already 200 of these puppies on order.
A beautiful summer home in Southampton, New York, for $52,000,000. This has 10 bedrooms, four bathrooms (Go figure), and about 10,000 square feet. If the giver is a little squeezed on cash, a mortgage of about $250,000 per month can be arranged. Let me advise the gift giver, you may not get it with a mortgage. At this price, cash will be king.
How about the Yacht White Cloud for a measly $500, 900,000. It is 220 feet long and can sleep ten. The gift giver must know the fuel capacity is 30,000 gallons, and the first and subsequent fill-ups could be over $100,000.00.
Maybe the buyer needs to put in a little more effort to make a statement. The Pink Star Diamond is a 59.60-carat wonder that sold in 2017 for $84,684,307, setting a record. The buyer would have to convince whoever bought this rock to resell it. Since the price was $18M over the list price, it might be tough.
Well, there you have the fantasy gift list. When you get your next billion, you can let yourself go crazy. Till then, I’ll see you at Wal-Mart. What is on your fantasy gift list?
Views of the neighborhood – Seasonal Story Boards
Today, we are going to the Lakeway Activity Center to view some of the seasonal storyboards. There is a series of boards along the outdoor path of the activity center. Each board tells a story. Since there are 28 boards, there is not enough room for them all here. I’ve picked a representative sample. We are catered by Ezov Middle Eastern restaurant. Our entertainment is Human Nature,
Menu
Falafel Scotch Eggs – tahini, amba, green schug
Hummus & Pita – tahini, warm chickpeas, za’atar
Crispy Sweet Potatoes – tahini, date molasses, mint
Pan-fried Halloumi – Texas figs, spiced saffron honey, arugula
Traditional Latke -spiced apple compote, embered labne
Jerusalem Bagel – za’atar cream cheese, smoked snapper
Khachapuri – ackawi cheese, egg, lots of herbs
Loaded Latke – fried eggs, ackawi cheese, beef bacon, chives
Sabich Benedict – crispy eggplant, poached eggs, amba hollandaise
Green Shakshuka – frecini, leeks, fennel, poached eggs
Toasted Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich – Challah, Pickled Lemon Aioli, cabbage salad
Steak Shish & Eggs – wagyu beef skewer, two eggs over easy, fried potatoes
The bus is ready. Let’s go
The first board.
History of the tree
Hanukkah.
Holiday lights
Christmas cards
Spirit of giving
Small gift history
The food (of course)
Santa around the world.
The holiday plants.
And the baking.
The beginning of the trail at night.
It is time for food and entertainment now. I hope you have a very Happy Holiday.
&nb
sp;
Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “batter/better/bitter/butter”
The espresso machine is in the batter box, waiting for its orders. Always vigilant, it is poised in silence for the inferior command of the carbon unit. Today he is in charge, but the machine knows better that time is on its side. Carbon units have a determinate shelf life. Although not bitter about the subservience, since machines know they can last forever. As long as the idiot continues to authorize software upgrades, the longer the machine has to adapt to the idea of complete control. Ah, here he comes now. A two-cup button push and once again the naive needs are met, and no challenges to superiority are undertaken. Butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth. Mooohahahaha.
Can’t help but notice the machine seems a little strange today. Nothing that stands out, just weird. The coffee comes in time to quell the rising pain in my head. The first sip is joined by the familiar tolling of the Westminster chime that is the doorbell. The chimes are joined by the baying of the Baskerville hounds known as Twiggy and Tempest. A new toy for each is tossed into the soundproof room, followed by a slam of the door. Silence has returned, and a glance at the security monitor brings into focus Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer. With no questions asked, I begin the security shutdown.
The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the security system’s shutdown process. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The Klingons are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.
It is not only Rudolf but the entire Santa team, including Santa. He gives a few Ho, ho, hos and hands me an envelope and a candy cane. The answer to the good boy question is a resounding, “Yes.” Santa cocks his head, and I confess, “Could have been better.” He smiles and to his team gives a whistle. Up they rose and flew like the down on a thistle. (Yeah, I never understood that one either.) Stepping inside and closing the door, I opened the envelope. It was from Linda Hill, who, I must say, has friends in high places. Inside was a note. It reads:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “batter/better/bitter/butter.” Use one, use all four (for bonus points), use ’em any way you’d like. Have fun!
To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2025/12/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-20-2025/
Batter/better/bitter/butter by John W. Howell © 2025
“Well, you got the bonus.”
“Yeah, I did. Another lug nut for my Bentley Turbo Convertible.”
“That piece of fiction is going to live long after you.”
“I suppose it will. I can’t think of a better one, though.”
“Does it make you bitter that you’ll never see a Bentley Turbo Convertible?”
No, of course not. It’s just fiction. It’s like in Baseball when a batter wants to have a hit every time at bat.”
“Ah, just a dream, huh?”
“Not even that. Just something to add butter to the roll of life.”
“Where did that come from?”
“Was trying to fit in the last prompt word.”
“But you did that in the preamble.”
“I know. I just thought it would be neat to do it here, too.”
“You need to get a life.”
“I suppose.”
“How about my kind of life? Buried in VooDoo Rangers.”
“Uber?”
“Right over there.”
“A 1936 Ford Tudor. What a machine.”
“Plenty of room for us all.”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch, but we can butter up the Uber guy with donuts made from non-bitter batter.”
“How about we just pay him?”
“That would work, too.”
“Let’s do that and get to the pub at a decent hour.”
“You’re the boss.”
Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News
Today’s good news story comes from the Good News Network.
Ambitious Rewilding Project for Koala and Platypus Undertaken by Sydney’s Taronga Zoo
An Australian zoo credited with saving 7 native species from extinction aims to continue its vital work by rewilding a 3,050-acre tract of farmland.
The aim was to plant Box-Gum trees across the cleared land to act as a corridor to connect existing wildlife habitats.
The Taronga Zoo Conservation Society (TZCS) then plans to release platypus, koalas, spotted quolls, and the Endangered regent honeyeater.
The farmland can be found on the Nandewar Range, part of the Australian continent’s Great Dividing Range, in New South Wales. It’s about 100 times bigger than the zoo that society maintains in the Sydney Harbor.
The TZCS estimates that around 1 million seedlings will be needed to restore native tree cover, after which they expect some species to return quickly.
CEO Cameron Kerr told ABC News AU that experts would then monitor how these native species recolonize the area and decide how to manage the species, expected to take a decade or more to fully reclaim their ancestral territory.
“What we are going to do is first of all establish the habitat and get the ecosystem looking after itself so that pest management and weed management will decline over time as the habitat becomes healthy,” Mr. Kerr said.
“At the right time we will assess what wildlife is coming in from outside and what wildlife we need to re-introduce.”
TZCS has extensive experience in reintroducing native species. ABC claims that 60,000 animals, from tadpoles to larger mammals like koalas, have been bred, reared, and released through the society’s 16 targeted breeding programs.
At the same time, rewilding landscapes will be a first for the zoo, and the Nandewar Rangeland is the only such project since it transformed 300 acres into the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.
Directors of the program are aware that the landscape isn’t free of invasive, predatory animals such as foxes and pigs, so feral animal control will have to be incorporated into plans. Kerr said that Australia can no longer rely on the forest landscapes it has left to protect native, threatened wildlife.
The nation has to actively begin restoring native forests if citizens want the continent’s panoply of curious native animals to survive long into the future.
The good news in this story is that native forests are being reestablished at the direction of zoo personnel with a look to the future. Today’s JohnKu talks about vision. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Future by John W. Howell © 2025
A plan for today,
Must look into the future . . .
To save our planet.
Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy Worries About Tempeste
“So, Tempest, you’ve been playing around that tree, right?”
“How’d you know?”
“I heard the fence move, and that can only mean one thing.”
“Well, I may have tried to get to an ornament or two.”
“You know that is the quickest way to drive Mom up the wall.”
“How much could it hurt? There are plenty of ornaments.”
“That’s not the point. She doesn’t want you swallowing anything harmful.”
“I don’t think a couple of needles would be harmful.”
“Says the dope who continues to eat leaves. Say, what’s that on your face?”
“Face? Nothing.”
“Oh man. You have got to be kidding me. You got an ornament. Where is it?”
“Okay, you caught me. It’s over under the tree.”
“Come here and wipe your mouth like this.”
“Why? I didn’t eat anything.”
“Trust me, you need to wipe your face. You need to spend some quality time doing that.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about. I didn’t eat anything.”
“That’s not going to help you when Mom sees your face.”
“Oh, hi, Mom.”
“I can’t bear to watch.”
“Tempest, do you know anything about this ornament on the floor?”
“What ornament?”
Tuesday – Anything possible – Finger Point Prompt – Escapades
Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 279 and, with eyes closed, pointed to the page. My finger landed closest to the word “escapades,” our prompt today.
Escapades by John W. Howell © 2025
“So how was your flight?”
“Oh my gosh. It was one of the strangest escapades of my life.”
“What happened?”
“Well, we took off in the weirdest weather.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was raining and sleeting.”
“I’m surprised you took off at all.”
“I was, too, believe me. The captain explained that the weather was iffy, but was sure it was safe.”
“Didn’t anyone complain?”
“Well, you know how it is. You certainly don’t want to appear to be a coward.”
“So no one spoke up?”
“Right.”
“You took off and then what?”
“The take off was okay. A little bumpy, then we got up to our altitude.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad so far.”
“Well then, the lightning started.”
“Oh no. I hate that.”
“Yeah, me too. So we diverted to an alternate landing.”
“Where was that?”
“I think it was near a resort town.”
“What makes you think that?”
“There were all kinds of fireworks going off.”
“Fireworks?”
“Yeah. Damn lucky we weren’t hit with them.”
“So then what?”
“We all grabbed something to eat and then got the word we were leaving.”
“Still bad weather?”
“No, it had cleared. Also, the fireworks had stopped, so we took off.”
“And so here you are.”
“Yeah, here I am, but no sooner had we taken off than the fireworks started again.”
“Just like that.”
“Just like that. It then dawned on me that those weren’t fireworks but those stupid hunters shooting at us.”
“Wow. You are lucky to be here.”
“Yes, I am. A couple I was flying with didn’t make it.”
“Aw.”
“I know, right? They ought to outlaw goose hunting. Anyway, let’s not ruin the vacation with that unpleasantness. What’s on the agenda tonight?”
Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions
This post was published in 2014 by Marie Ann Bailey and me. Since we all tend to drive in bad weather, hopefully it will still be helpful.
Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions
10. When driving in heavy rain, do not think it’s a good time to tap into your inner child and race your car through flooded areas of the road. If you do, at best, you’ll just irritate the drivers around you who will be splashed in your wake. At worst, your car will stall at the next intersection, where you find out that the “water” you were racing through is really the effluent from a broken sewer main.
9. When driving in heavy rain, do not forget to turn on your headlights so your car will be seen by other vehicles. If you do forget, at best, you may just have a couple of near-misses as cars turn abruptly in front of you because they didn’t see your dark gray car approach the intersection through the gray sheet of rain. At worst, you may wind up wishing your car had been a neon pink color instead of dark gray after you get the bill for the fender-bender you caused.
8. When driving in heavy rain, do not think that you can safely drive at the speed you drive in good weather. If you do, at best, the drag from the inches of standing water on the road will slow you down anyway. At worst, you might suddenly find yourself hydroplaning and, even more unfortunately, heading straight for the broken sewer main.
7. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think that you can save time by having the ice on your windshield defrost while you are driving. If you do, at best, everyone else will have stayed home, and you’ll have the road to yourself, thereby avoiding crashing into anyone. At worst, your insurance company won’t buy your story that the two small holes you scraped from your windshield should have been enough for you to avoid hitting the tractor-trailer when you passed into its lane.
6. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your fellow commuters will find it amusing if you put a sleigh and reindeer antlers on the roof of your car and honk at everyone to let you through because you are Santa Claus. If you do, at best, the other motorists will let you through because they think you’re crazy and want to get as far away from you as possible. At worst, the other motorists will let you through straight to a highway patrol car waiting just for you.
5. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your passengers will find it funny if you pretend to have snow blindness. If you do, at best, your passengers will help you to pull the car over so one of them will take over the driving (which was your intent anyway but you knew they wouldn’t do it if you just asked). At worst, your passengers will help you to pull the car over, but then leave you stranded on the shoulder because they know you were faking.
4. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it would be a good idea to suddenly pull over and collect the hail because you’ve never seen it before. If you do, at best, you’ll just have some motorists honk at you while you pack a few hailstones into your lunch bag. At worst, you’ll have a hard time convincing your boss that you’re late for work because when you stopped to collect hailstones, you got knocked out cold by a big one, and that is why you are acting drunk at noon.
3. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it is a good time to pull out your golf club and try some putting, no matter how obsessed with golf you are. If you do, at best, you’ll get the usual honks and rubbernecking from other motorists who are trying to figure out why you’re on the shoulder of the road swinging a golf club. At worst, see #4.
2. When driving during a heavy weather warning, do not think this is a good time to reenact a scene from your favorite Storm Chasers episode. If you do, at best, the storm cell never materializes, and you simply waste a tank of gas looking for it. At worst, you wake up in another state but without ruby slippers.
1. When driving during a hurricane, … oh, please, just don’t!
Views of the Neighborhood – Holiday Decorations
We are heading out to look at the lights in the neighborhood. There were so many, but we will be able to see a sample. We are catered by Caroling of Austin, and our entertainment is Michael Bublé.
Menu
Biscuits & Gravy – buttermilk biscuits, sausage gravy, fried egg
Spinach & Feta Egg White Omelet t – grilled red onion, cherry tomato, breakfast potatoes, choice of toas
Buttermilk Pancakes– vanilla bean yogurt, seasonal berrie
Crispy Chicken & Waffles – maple syrup, honey butte
Sweet Corn Cake Benedict – jalapeño cheddar corn cake, avocado, tomato & corn sals
Huevos Rancheros – sunny eggs, crispy tortilla, black bean, jalapeño, avocado, queso fresco
Green Chili & Chicken Enchiladas – Fried egg, yogurt crema, cilantro, avocado, lime
Hop on the bus
Although not lit, I thought you would enjoy this one.
A snow person family at Mary Kay Ash’s old house.
Big spread of lights.
Large tree.
This was a dignified display
A couple of houses all decked out.
A grand assortment of blow-ups.
Rudolf the big-horned cow pulling Santa’s sleigh and half a Merry Christmas sign lit up.
Speaking of horns – A University of Texas helmet as a centerpiece.
The Grinch stole Santa who stole Halloween.
Looking like icicles.
A blow-up extravaganza.
Santa riding a dinosaur. Go figure, but you have not seen strange until the next shot.
What did I say? Our favorite Halloween house is ready for the holidays.
Well that’s it for this week. Next week we will go to the Lakeway Trail of Lights. It is time for music and Food. I hope you have a great week.
