A Day of White & Wonder

I'm just now getting around to posting about Christmas as we left home on the 26th and have been very busy in Austin & vicinity. More on that later.

The quiet of Christmas eve continued through the morning until the roads cleared enough for everyone to gather. The party didn't take long to get going with lots of fun & laughter and a major announcement from Karen and Ken. I think that gave Kathy and Phil the prize for best gift. They'll join us in the grandparent club in Aug.

The food was delicious. With the delays it got to the buffet rather informally but no one seemed to mind. The pic doesn't even show the desserts which were on a different table and PLENTY YUMMY. We finished off a good bit of the left overs today with Austin family.

Kathy supplied the crackers to keep the traditions of their Scotland years alive. The prizes were along the line of whoppie cushions and trick cards but we wore our crowns in good spirit and the mood was festive as we celebrated family, friends, and love. God bless everyone.

Merry Christmas to All

This has been the quietest Christmas Eve I can remember. The rare North Texas snow disrupted traffic to the point that Ashley & Frank couldn't get here from Ft. Worth and the friends we've celebrated with for over 21 years were also "no shows". Church was canceled so we've been here with Kathy & Phil watching "August Rush" and a country music Christmas show. Now I'll turn up the holiday tunes while cleaning up the kitchen.

Santa and dinner will be as late tomorrow as need be for everyone to get here and the gumbo will be saved for another evening.

Blessings to one & all.

More cuteness.

It is truly amazing to me that one tiny girl can bring such joy and happiness to my world. Karlie is so precious and here she is admiring Santa as he dances around and then talking to herself in the mirror.
Mommy had said she wanted her to have boots someday and I found these little red ones for snowy days. Too much fun.

Now I've got to get ready for the next installment of Christmas. I hope to get the last of the shopping done tomorrow. I couldn't go today as 2 of the 3 vehicles would not start. The count down continues.

Magic....

This week has been about regouping after the Cherrywood art sale in Austin (check here for pictures); visiting with friends, and getting ready for special company. I did a 3 day marathon of decorating; Karl cooked yummy smoked chicken and we had our first Christmas celebration. I Cooked Elliott's favorite potato salad; Susan brought green salad; and Ashley made Fantastic mint chocolate chip cookies which every one loved.

All the excitement was because Karlie came for her first visit to Grammy & Poppy's. They arrived Friday afternoon just before other family & friends, mostly with little folks. One surprise guest brought all kinds of happy reactions. There is definitely magic in the air.

Tuesday and it's about time.....

........to get back to work. It was 2 weeks ago today that I left home. I got back late Sunday and spent yesterday with typical post travel catch up. We had a great Thankgiving weekend in Austin. The big day was shared with 25 friends and family at the Boddens and they were wonderful hosts. We were too busy having a great time to get many pictures but of course, I got a shot of Karlie in her darling brown velvet outfit.

The rest of the weekend we chilled out in the rv at McKinney Falls State Park. Some of the chill was literal as we had some electricity issues (we're still in "learning mode"). Sat. we went to the Eye of the Dog Art Center for their holiday sale and Karl & Phil resumed their conversation about extended travels and a base camp in the central Texas area. We're set to explore some options after Christmas.

Early on Sunday after Thanksgiving I flew off to Colorado with Elliott, Celeste, & Karlie. Most of the time I stayed inside with Karlie while Mom & Dad hit the mountains with friends. When not rocking & snuggling, I got a good bit of crocheting done, making small stuff for Cherrywood Art Fair this weekend. I flew back to Austin on Friday to help Ashley at the art sale at Laguna Gloria and must have brought the cold (and snow) with me. It was pretty quiet as the sale was outside and lots of people stayed in.

I hope Cherrywood has better attendance and we will be inside. Please come out if you're in the Austin area. I've got LOTS to finish before leaving on Friday. I should say there are lots of things started and I'll finish as much as I can. Lu & Michelle volunteered to come help tomorrow and I welcomed the offer. Aren't friends wonderful?

Before the holiday, I went to see Susan Lenz's "Blues Chapel" at the Greater Denton Art Center. The show is wonderful and I had the added pleasure of hearing Susan speak about the development of her work and share her newest series, the grave rubbing quilts. I wish more people had been there as she is a generous and inspiring speaker. I definitely encourage everyone in the Denton, Dallas-Ft. Worth area to see the show before it leaves Jan. 6th. If you're not in this area contact Susan about it coming to a gallery near you. This is a portion of one of the stainglass windows she created in cloth. She has much better photos of the installation on her blog but again, you really SHOULD see it in person.