Every year my union's local (AFGE/American Federation of Government Employees) has a holiday party. This year I was chairman. I must have been NUTS when I agreed to do this at one of our union meetings back during the summer. I was also the emcee. But everybody seemed to have a good time and nothing disastrous happened.
Also during December was the Palm Beach Chapter of The Daughter's of the British Empire Holiday Tea. This is something I've supported for years. The proceeds from the tea support a nursing home operated by this organization in Houston. The Daughter's of the British Empire started in America over a hundred years ago. Many sociality wealthy Americans wanted English girls as their maids. It was a social status thing. These young women would come to the U.S. from the U.K., work hard for low pay and no medical care or families in America to take care of them when they got too old to work. This wonderful organization has chapters all over the world.
Anyway, I have a HUGE poster of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip which the Daughters borrow every year to use at the tea. I think there are a couple of pictures of it on earlier posts. At this year's tea, wonderful homemade scones,cucumber sandwiches and great tea and my favorite, little cream puffs were enjoyed by all.
A few days before Christmas, Carey arrived from Fort Worth, actually Euless, a suburb of Fort Worth. Carey is past retirement age but continues to work as a hospice nurse, is a volunteer at DFW Airport and sings in his local Episcopal Church choir. We've be friends for many years. Carey is a very outgoing guy who is a lot of fun. But to be truthful, the Christmas weekend was exhausting as well as fun and spiritually enriching to all three of us. Christmas weekend was tiring this year not only for Episcopalians, but all of those Christians who worship in the higher liturgical denominations whose worship has followed the liturgy of the Christian Calendar for about 2000 years. And this year Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday. The poor clergy at my church, St. Mark's had 5 services that day, and Larry's church, St. Andrew's had four. So Christmas Eve morning we went to Lake Worth to worship at St. Andrew's and then to downtown Lake Worth with friends from church. Then, knowing that there was NO WAY I was going to be able to stay awake for us to drive to my church, St. Mark's in Palm Beach Gardens for midnight service, we went to 8 PM service instead and then skipped church totally on Christmas Day. The Orchestra, choir and candles and worshipping with folks close to me was wonderful. Christmas Day we went to Bohemian Gardens for Christmas dinner, a wonderful family owned, home cooked meal kind of place which has been operating in western Lake Worth for more than 50 years in the same location.
Carey flew home the day after Christmas. But the holiday's weren't over yet. There was still my birthday and New Years to come.
TO BE CONTINUED
Every year my union's local (AFGE/American Federation of Government Employees) has a holiday party. This year I was chairman. I must have been NUTS when I agreed to do this at one of our union meetings back during the summer. I was also the emcee. But everybody seemed to have a good time and nothing disastrous happened.
Also during December was the Palm Beach Chapter of The Daughter's of the British Empire Holiday Tea. This is something I've supported for years. The proceeds from the tea support a nursing home operated by this organization in Houston. The Daughter's of the British Empire started in America over a hundred years ago. Many sociality wealthy Americans wanted English girls as their maids. It was a social status thing. These young women would come to the U.S. from the U.K., work hard for low pay and no medical care or families in America to take care of them when they got too old to work. This wonderful organization has chapters all over the world.
Anyway, I have a HUGE poster of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip which the Daughters borrow every year to use at the tea. I think there are a couple of pictures of it on earlier posts. At this year's tea, wonderful homemade scones,cucumber sandwiches and great tea and my favorite, little cream puffs were enjoyed by all.
A few days before Christmas, Carey arrived from Fort Worth, actually Euless, a suburb of Fort Worth. Carey is past retirement age but continues to work as a hospice nurse, is a volunteer at DFW Airport and sings in his local Episcopal Church choir. We've be friends for many years. Carey is a very outgoing guy who is a lot of fun. But to be truthful, the Christmas weekend was exhausting as well as fun and spiritually enriching to all three of us. Christmas weekend was tiring this year not only for Episcopalians, but all of those Christians who worship in the higher liturgical denominations whose worship has followed the liturgy of the Christian Calendar for about 2000 years. And this year Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday. The poor clergy at my church, St. Mark's had 5 services that day, and Larry's church, St. Andrew's had four. So Christmas Eve morning we went to Lake Worth to worship at St. Andrew's and then to downtown Lake Worth with friends from church. Then, knowing that there was NO WAY I was going to be able to stay awake for us to drive to my church, St. Mark's in Palm Beach Gardens for midnight service, we went to 8 PM service instead and then skipped church totally on Christmas Day. The Orchestra, choir and candles and worshipping with folks close to me was wonderful. Christmas Day we went to Bohemian Gardens for Christmas dinner, a wonderful family owned, home cooked meal kind of place which has been operating in western Lake Worth for more than 50 years in the same location.
Carey flew home the day after Christmas. But the holiday's weren't over yet. There was still my birthday and New Years to come.
TO BE CONTINUED
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