Memories and happy New Year🥳.

 The weather in Colorado this winter is so unexpectedly mild, that we have been really enjoying the outdoors.

My granddaughter hates to take pictures but I was fortunate to get her in a couple.😊.

Now it's on to 2026.

Hope all my friends and family have great health, happiness and success in the new year and beyond.🎊🎉💞.

Love the advice below.😁

No more betting for me!

I already know what my new year's resolution for 2026 will be. And it's something I should have abandoned decades ago.

Stop betting, for it's hazardous to my pocket.

You see,  I have forever had this bad habit of betting on my assumptions instead on verified facts, despite knowing that "to assume means to make an ass of you and me."

My latest expensive gaffe? Betting my daughter that Florida is sunnier than Colorado and ignoring the fact that she has lived in the latter state for some 25 years!

Part of my reckless bet this time arose from the fact that I was disappointed that I had lugged my winter gear across the continent, looking forward to a white Christmas but ended up with Florida-like weather.

 (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/12/climate-change.html?m=1.)

Further, every time I looked up at the ever- visible, snow-capped Rocky Mountain range, I see the sparkling snow.

However, I should have learned from seeing the fabulous snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania years ago, that just became some mountains are snow capped, it does not follow that the surrounding areas have snow!

 Duh.

Well, according to the experts ;

"On average, there are 233 sunny days per year in Miami while Denver averages 245 sunny days per year. The US average is 205 sunny days."

Yup,  it cost me money to remember that as I revelled in the beautiful snow that greeted us on December 28, which true to form, almost all melted by 3pm, due to the boiling sun!

Yup. The hot sun quickly melted the snow but it's still cold!

Tek sleep mark death.

No more assumptions for me in 2026.

Parker, Colorado

 The weather is still pleasant (60's) so Michele and I headed over to nearby Parker.

This is a tiny Western/Victorian, artistic town of under 70,000 people, Southeast of Denver. And you get a good view of the surrounding Rocky Mountain range from there.

Pleasant place to hang out.

No cel camera can truly capture the beauty of the Rockies!

Then it was on to a lovely Jamaican restaurant.

Reggae Pot not only serves delicious Jamaican food. The red peas soup, oxtail and gungo rice and peas were delicious. 

They also educate patrons about Jamaican music and culture via music boards.

Even met a St. Lucian there.

He's moving to Canada because of Trump though.😁🤣

Good weather, lovely day.

Climate change, but Merry Christmas 🎄.

 If you want to know if climate change is real, visit Colorado. For recently they have been having more or less, the same temperatures as Florida!

I still can't believe I lugged with all my winter gear across half of the North American continent to enjoy a white Christmas with my family, only to encounter this 🫢.

Instead of snow covered lawns and trees, above is a sample of what I encountered, leafless trees and dry brown grass.

No snow.

Even when you look up at the the Rocky Mountains in the distance, you see large exposed areas without snow.

 I hear that to accommodate skiers, they have more than 100 snow making machines running full time in places like Vail and Breckenridge, but because the sun is so hot, it's melting at a rapid rate.

Yup. Two things are certain: 1) global warming is real and 2)  Santa certainly didn't travel here by sleigh last night to deliver presents 🎁🎁🎁🌲🎄!

Anyway, hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas 🎄 and 2026 will bring you lots of happiness, success and good health.♥️

https://youtu.be/eEOeaVpv3s4?si=YEG48gBfpYCC8WFg

Ps. The article below is about concerns Coloradans are having a out climate change.  

https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/denver-colorado-record-high-temperature-christmas/

Gun ownership

 Hmm. Interesting statistics.

And Jamaica was on the same trajectory as Honduras!

Dem nuh ready!

 I have now added frontier airlines to my list of undesirable Airlines that I will never use again.

Number 1 6, (American), number 2 Air Europa, (Spanish) and now Frontier (American).

The first leg of my flight to Colorado for Christmas was, FLL to Cleveland and it was a small airplane with tiny seats that  could not be adjusted, back straight up. Luckily I had paid $20 extra to get a seat in the emergency exit row, so luckily it had leg room.

But can you believe we couldn't even get a cup of water unless we bought it! 

That flight was over 2 hours long.

Denver airport has a kind of magical look to it.

Loved the sunset coming into Denver.

The connection in Cleveland was smooth and this time it was on to a large Airbus for the next flight which was scheduled to take more than 3 hours.

The seats on the aircraft were bigger and softer but like on the smaller plane, they were non-adjustable.  

I again paid extra for better leg room at an exit row.

On a three hour flight, not even a drink of coffee or a soda unless you bought it. I requested water and got a cup and expected to be asked to pay and nearly died from shock when told there was no cost!😁. 

The flight was smooth however. That is after we had to de-ice after taxiing in Cleveland, for it snowed as we waited for permission to take off.

Because of de-icing we reached Denver about an hour late. (Not complaining.) But would you believe that when my daughter who was picking me up, checked Frontier's web page, it showed the plane had landed early although it was a whole hour late because of the the de-icing!!!!

Then there was the baggage madness!

We patiently waited and waited at carousel 7 where the board showed the 3 or 4 frontier flights that came in, would be unloaded.

Then a lady touched me saying she recognized me from her flight and she had gotten her luggage at carousel 8!

We headed there and that's where my bag came out.

That capped it for me. No more Frontier.

No sah, Dem nuh ready.

Father Richard Holung

 Father Richard Holung is an amazing person. Not only because of his musical talents and humor but also because of how he has dedicated his life to helping people who many of us can't even look at, much less touch!

He performed in a humorous skit last night🤣.

I have been following his career for almost half century and though he is now 86 years old, he keeps going like the energizer bunny.

I had heard of his establishment of the Order, "Brothers of the Poor," decades ago in Jamaica, learning that they dedicated their lives to living with and helping the poor, unfortunate, indigent, physically and mentally challenged people, who mainly live on the streets.

However, it never took real meaning to me until I actually saw them in action.

This was when I was freelancing at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) about four decades ago. Right beside our front gate at Half Way Tree, was a man living on the street without shelter and clearly, barely able to move. We called various agencies to try and get help for him, without success and one day I noticed that he had a cut on his forehead which had attracted maggots.

In desperation we contacted Brothers of the Poor and the very same day, two volunteers arrived, started to dress his wound then took him away.♥️

I have been an admirer of that organization from that day and had never missed their annual fund raising concerts until I migrated.

So when I heard they were performing nearby in Florida, I had to go.

The show was awesome, with singers and dancers as good as any you see on Broadway.

 And when you realize that these are all  volunteers who perform, most of their music is original, most are created by father Holung himself (who admits that he has never had musical training) and it's their main source of funding for the wonderful work they do, the amazing nature of the production sinks in.

(Father Holung is said to have written some 800 songs for the productions over the years!)

What is equally amazing too is not only has this dedicated religious Order established 8 homes in Jamaica for the poor, homeless, sick and indigent but unbelievably, they now have similar homes in 14 countries, from Haiti to the Philippines!

(My only disappointment was that flash photography was not allowed, for this story needs to be told in the clearest possible way!)

I learned last night that lead singer Wynton Williams has been with the group from 1983!

There was also another powerful singer with the group in the early years. His name was John Jones and he was the brother of famous singer/actress Grace Jones. I remember my shock and horror at hearing of his sudden death at a very young age. 

He was no doubt quite a loss to that troupe of very talented Jamaican performers!

Mary and Joseph 

I am by no means a religious person, but among the few persons who I know of and who I have nothing but admiration for are, the late Mother Theresa, Father Richard Holung/ Brother's of the Poor, and members of the Salvation Army, for they are there for the humans that the rest of us would prefer to ignore.