Christmas in Weatherford with our son and his family was wonderful. We attended the Christmas Eve service at Aledo UMC and got to hear a bell choir as well as a great communion and candle-lighting service. We enjoyed the Christmas gift exchanges and we are now well stocked with chocolate. Mary Kathryn prepares gourmet meals and the special treat Christmas was the home-made chicken tamales that she and Mark prepared. We got to visit with granddaughter, Ashley, who got a 802 page Bridal catalog as one of her gifts. She was making a big move from her apartment to a shared house in the hospital district making her commute two minutes in place of the half hour highway trip.

Lou is still having back pains. One of her Christmas gifts was a Homedic Shiatsu massage chair that she says helps some. She had five Xrays that have been looked at and she has an appointment with a back specialist January 4 right after she meets with her eye doctor to discuss cataract treatment. It helps to double up on doctor appointments.

We are looking forward to Clayton Sheppard's wedding in Round Rock tomorrow. That is when we will finish Christmas gift exchanges with our daughter's side of the family. It is raining here today, but should clear out for our trip tomorrow.

You meet old friends at the Doctor's office. Yesterday Lou made her appointment with our family doctor, Dr. Estes, to have xrays taken of her back. Also waiting for a doctor was Bob Green and his wife, Nancy. Bob is the rancher/historian/author who has ranched for 80 years in Albany. The author A. C. Greene is buried on his ranch. We first met him in the West Texas Historical Association and he was one of our Meet The Authors in Cross Plains for his book OKINAWA ODYSSEY.

Today the nurse called to tell us that Estes had looked at Lou's xrays and he can confirm that she has back problems. She knew that, but the good news is that it seems at first look to be arthritic rather than a spinal problem. He will have a radiologist look at it before making any more diagnosis or treatment suggestions. He did give her a pain medicine that is not as aggravating as Notrol.

We did get a lot of Christmas shopping done. Ate at Cypress Street restaurant and shopped at Civilization and Texas Star before the appointment. Glenn Dromgoole and Carol were at Texas Star, so we got to visit with them. They will be at the Sheppard/Dromgoole wedding in Round Rock on 12/30. So does that make us related? Val Sheppard's son, Clayton, is marrying Glenn's neice so we will have a permanent connection. Lou signed some Quotable Texas Women books that are selling well at the Star.

I dropped Lou off for the doctor's appointment and I took a box of ostomy supplies left over from the colostomy experience plus three wigs that Lou never wore to give to the cancer center at Hendrick for use by some other poor soul who might need them.

Lou had her final surgery by Dr. Hancock Monday when he removed the port that had been used for the chemo infusions. The port had been bothering Lou for some time and she was happy to have it removed. Dr. Hancock offered to clean it up so she could give it to a grandkid, but she turned down the offer. It was at the end of a busy day for the good Doctor, but he said he had two more meetings, one with the president of the hospital and the other to give a talk, so his day wasn't over. The surgery went well with little pain and we got to have dinner with Lou's sister, Sue, and her husband, Ike, our granddaughter, Ashley, and her boyfriend, Ross, along with Mark and Mary Kathryn. We ate at La Madelaine on Camp Bowie. Ike got a good report on his blood tests and they are trying to decide when to do his knee replacement. May wait until after Christmas.

Lou asked about her back pains and Hancock told her to check with her doctor and find out what is causing the pain. Today we called Dr. Estes, our family doctor, and he said the earliest he could see her is Wednesday week. Said their office is full of people this week. I am amazed at Lou's work ethic. She has all of these books to read, but she has addressed all her Christmas cards, and today I mailed the local cards plus one to Laurie's family in France. Tomorrow she will finish writing a note in each of the other cards. All this and she got her Monday laundry done on Tuesday. Truly one amazing person.

At lunch today at Kiwanis, the Baptist preacher, Ron White, told me he was pheasant hunting this last weekend with Dr. Guy Sheppard, our friend who is the current president of the Texas Veterinary Medical Society. His wife, Valerie, was our daughter's roommate at A&M.

Eyebrows and eyelashes are the good news. They are showing about 1/8", but they are there! Hair is growing and it is over 1/4" and is thick. Lou is staying busy reading books for one of the Spur awards, best 1st novel, for next year. She has a stack and they can be submitted until the last of December. She has waded through a lot of them, mostly shoot-em-ups she tells me.

I hope all of you Texas Folklore Society folks are enjoying your new Folklore book. We got ours today. It has essays by the living and the dead. Even one by Dobie. Ken Untied is doing a great job editing. Tonight Lou went to bed in a good mood after watching the Mavericks beat the Nets. I am now watching the Aggies lose to LSU, but maybe they will come back.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Wilcox side of the family here being most thankful for the answered prayers for no sign of ovarian cancer in Lou. We even got to see A&M beat tu on Friday and the Wilcoxs on the couch celebrated by jumping up and broke a leg off. But the craftsmen, Keith and Jim, quickly repaired the damage and the leg should be stronger than before. Keith worked on loose boards at the Halsell House, Jim repaired a tail light fixture on my pickup and Keith and Jim helped me move my firewood to the porch to prepare for the predicted cold blast. We had a nice warm toasty house with the fireplace for the last 3 days. Got a little snow/sleet that is mostly gone today. We walked today after skipping yesterday because of the ice. Lou walked to the gate in spite of her back pain that we think is related to a cold cough spell for the last few days. I got over my cold in four days, but Lou's immune system is a little slower to recover.

On a literary note, Lou's essay on Tom Lea published in the Roundup (the Western Writers of America magazine) has been submitted to the Cowboy Hall of Fame for one of their writing awards. If she wins, I will have to rent a tux to go celebrate with her next Spring. She is also on the program for Literay Lubbock for her Rushing book. She wrote a blurb Thursday for a book which will get her some publicity when it is published. So she is staying busy on her computer.