I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May you be at peace with yourself and receive the joy this season has in store for you. Xavier

Christmas for the Vets

It's that time of year again. Our Chapter of Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association visited the nursing homes in northeast Missouri to thank the veterans there and give them some Christmas gifts. It always touches my heart visiting with these great gentlemen and ladies. There is always one or two that bring a tear to my eye as they tell thier stories. America owes them a lot and our group does what we can to show them our appreciation. The bottom picture is of me and my nephew. He served in Dessert Storm and is now the Sherrif in a neighboring county. X.

Misc. Pics

Top picture, the button on my hat says it all. Middle, trip to the woods on mothers farm. Bottom, found this print, loved it, bought and made a frame.

'New Stuff'

In spite of this horendous heat and drought conditions,I've been able to raise a few crops. In the top picture is one of my 'Moon and Stars' watermelons. In the same picture, in the upper left hand corner you can see a baby butternut squash getting a start at life. In the middle are a few tomatoes hiding in the leaves. In the bottom picture some of our sweet potatoes which are growing in one of my raised beds near the green house. If I hadn't watered things we would be without anything, I'm sure. They are calling for cooler weather this week, in the mid to upper 90's :^) X.

"Old Stuff"

I'm a perfect fit! X.

Bucket List Crew Takes a Trip

For a number of years some of my former classmates and I have been talking about a trip to Wisconsin to visit one other classmate. During the past year several of us have had some serious health issues come up. So, we decided it was time to take that trip that we had only been talking about making. Last friday morning we left in a caravan, mostly campers, with me on my bike. We had a great visit. It was extra specail for me, as I hadn't seen some of the group in years. We arrived back home last night to be greeted with 100+ temps. X.

A great Fathers Day

My daughters Tanya and Trisha and my middle grandson Layn were up for the weekend. I had a great visit with them. Don't see them as much as I would like to. The picture above was taken a couple of years ago and is one of my favorite pictures of me and the girls. I used to give them piggy back rides to bed when they were little. It's one of my fondest memories of that time. One of them reminded me of it this weekend. Kids grow up to damned fast. X.