Sunday Letter: 12.05.21

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Since last week’s letter, I’ve been to Little Rock and back for the annual Farm Bureau convention. It was a real honor for me to speak at the Women’s Leadership Luncheon. If anyone from Farm Bureau happens to be reading this—thank you again for the invite!

Arkansas River

Y’all, I took a ridiculous amount of photos of the Arkansas River from the Little Rock Marriott where I stayed. You’d think I’d never been anywhere before! But really, after living on Zoom during the past year-and-a-half, staying in a hotel in a large city did feel like a jackpot win.

Here is a tiny sampling of the views that greeted me. In only two days, I saw such different vistas—vivid blue skies, a foggy morning, a fiery sunrise, a pink sunset.

How about a history test this Sunday morning?

True or False?

The Arkansas River…

• is 1,460 miles long.
• is the 6th longest river in the United States.
• begins in the Rocky Mountains near Leadville, Colorado and flows through three states before joining up with the mighty Mississippi in Desha County.
• was named by French Father Jacques Marquette (a member of the Joliet-Marquette expedition) who called the river Akansa in his journal of 1673.

Answer: All TRUE. (I wouldn’t really make you take a test on a Sunday morning.)

Capital Hotel

One simply cannot visit Little Rock without spending time at the fabulous Capital Hotel. Whether you stay there or not, be sure to stroll through the lobby, sip a drink while lingering over an appetizer (or meal) at the legendary Capital Bar & Grill, soak in the incredible architecture and history of Arkansas’ finest.

It’s a must see.

And, the very best time to be there is at Christmas.

I would put the stunning tree up against any I’ve seen anywhere.

Take a closer look at the Naughty and Nice chairs in front of the tree. How adorable are they?

 

As a kid, I worried that Santa would pass by our rooftop because I hadn’t been nice according to his definition. And even though I never did anything naughty enough to land me on anyone’s bad list, the idea of Santa’s judgment sure did follow me around, especially after Thanksgiving. Not only that, I felt certain he would overlook me simply because he couldn’t pronounce my weird first name.

Our Christmas Tree

It’s official—John and I have turned into our parents. We bought our Christmas tree yesterday, and once we got it home, we stuck it in a bucket of water to soak overnight and to allow time for the limbs to relax. Both of these practices we learned from our mothers.

It’s still outside this morning.

Tree-decorating day is one of my favorite days of the year, and today’s that day. Yay.

New Roof

The roof of our Little Free Library was beginning to rot, so we tackled some library improvements yesterday morning.

Here’s a before pic:

To fix it we affixed a new piece of wood on top and shingled the roof with old license plates.

I still need to do some touchup painting, but I think the new roof turned out well. Mostly we used what we had in the garage.

Things Momma Says:

Privacy Disclosure? I don’t care if the whole world knows I’m at the foot doctor.

***

As we head into mid-December, be sure to take a little time for yourself to rest and reflect on the quiet beauty of the season. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of going and doing and shopping. And, if you have traditional, high-stress rituals on your holiday calendar, I encourage you to simplify or eliminate them altogether.

Christmas will still come. You might even enjoy the season more.

Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Letter. Coming later this week, my reviews of the books I read in November.

Today is Momma’s birthday-eve. Be sure to wish her a happy birthday in the comments!

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.