Christmas Dinner

We (actually, I) worried about what to do about Christmas dinner. Thankfully, the Chinese place near my dad's was open Christmas Day. We got carryout and took it up to my mom. We had the dining room in her wing all to ourselves. It was a much nicer Christmas than we'd anticipated.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a little bittersweet because Dan, G and I were split up. They went and spent Christmas Eve with my mom; my dad and I went to a gathering that my family and I have been attending for over 30 years. While it was nice to see old friends, especially since it had been seven years since I'd been home at Christmas, it was surprisingly hard to have us all apart. My dad and I did get to see my mom late on Christmas Eve, but Dan & G were long gone and in bed by the time we got home. The one bright spot was that I got my dad to myself for significant portions of the evening.

Christmas in PA

Trim a Tree

Every year for the past 10 years after G gets home from school on the second Friday before Christmas, she and Grandpa go and get a Christmas tree. Some years it takes longer to find one than others. This year G found a Balsam fir she liked fairly quickly, which was a good thing since the temperature was in the single digits. They started to put it up on Sunday (another tradition), but G was not feeling well, so the decorating part was postponed until today (a snow day). As always, it is the nicest tree yet!

Tree trimming

Finishing touches (you can see the Winter Storm Coverage in the background)

Tree 2008

No Cards Again This Year

People ask about our photo Christmas cards ... no, you haven't been stricken from our list, we just haven't done one in several years. We did them until they weren't fun any more (2003). Now I try to send a "real" email out to people around the holidays, but I don't know that I will even get around to that this year. Here are a few from Christmases Past.

2000: My favorite because G was so excited to dress up like presents since it was her idea

1998: Our best concept, perfectly executed by our 2-year-old

1989: My favorite pre-G card because my aptly named Argos sat like a good puppy through the whole shoot

1993: Card on the left was mailed to the bulk of the list; card on the right was sent to a few who would appreciate the humor

Merrily on High

The 7th & 8th grade Band, Choir & Orchestra Christmas concert was last night. The happy surprise was it was entertaining and just a tad over an hour. The 7th grade trombone section rocked (especially on "A Cambridge Carol")!

Long Night Moon

4:08 p.m. on 12.11

Update:

6:52 a.m. on 12.12

Cookie Walk

For the past 10 years, on the first Saturday in December, G and I have headed out at 7:45 a.m. to a local Catholic church so we can be some of the first people to go through their annual Cookie Walk. We've braved bad weather in the past, but this year the roads were still covered with two to four inches of snow we got over night. (Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to drive, let alone in snow, so this gives you an idea of how dedicated we are to this tradition!) There are tables and tables of every kind of cookie you can think of -- they give you a container and a plastic glove and let you pick what you want. G's favorite are the Chocolate Crinkles and mine are the Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies, and we get multiple versions of them. We came back with just under six pounds of cookies. We're taking bets on how long you think these will last!

Food Drive

From Thursday's local paper

Parting Shot

The last thing we do before we leave my folks' house is take a picture of them with G. This one from Thanksgiving break is a little more poignant, because right after we left my mom fell again and is back in rehab (duration unknown). (Thanks to all for your calls and emails of support.)