Veronica's Visit

I trust you had a nice Christmas?  We did too.  In fact, Joey declared it was the best Christmas yet.  Certainly it was for him, he got a drum set...yup, 5 drums, all the hardware and 3 cymbals.  Yes it's very loud but so far, no complaints from the neighbors.  Mike came through with some fabulous knitting stuff for me...a kit from Brooklyn Tweed, a book and some lovely light pink sock yarn.  Then my dad, who had be in the gift exchange, got me a gift certificate for my LYS.  So I'll be yarn shopping soon, as soon as I can make up my mind which sweater(s) to knit.  But it really was a nice Christmas, the best part was having Veronica back home! 

We did alot of hanging out, cooking, baking, playing and just enjoying having the family all together.  We did venture out to see some of the sights around town, too!

We drove into Washington DC and mostly walked around, enjoying the city and freezing our Florida tails. 

 We also went to see Fort McHenry in Baltimore.  It's where Francis Scott Key saw the American Flag and was inspired to write The Star Spangled Banner.  The wind was blowing and it was very cold, but we made it from building to building and walked out to the water to see the grounds.  Burr!

The best thing was that it snowed while Veronica was here!  Not a white Christmas but wonderful all the same. Last Saturday it snowed all morning. It was the perfect amount of snow, enough to throw snow balls and play in...then it was all gone by late afternoon. All fun and no trouble.

Maybe I should buy Gracie a winter coat?

Our dock...just look how wintry it is on the river!

Our Florida baby bundled from head to toe!

Burr! 

Happy New Year everyone! 

Christmas Stuff

This year's tree...chuck full of ornaments! Now there are presents under the tree...I did some wrapping last night!  woohoo!  

Mike and Justine after her Winter Concert this week.  She's missing her bow tie and cumber bun. The concert included Jazz Band, Concert Band and Symphonic Band.  Justine plays trumpet in Jazz and Symphonic Bands.  The really sounded good...for a Middle School Band that is.  ha-ha

Anyone know what these orange sticks are for?  I didn't.  I saw them all through our neighborhood, mostly on corners.  Mike, who as skied before, knew exactly what there were.  They're to guide snow plows and cars when the ground is covered with snow.  Right! Cuz when every thing is covered with the white stuff, you can't see curbs etc.  Duh.  It's a whole new world, this state called Maryland.

By the way...no sign of snow in the near future.  Keeping fingers crossed for a White Christmas anyway.

A Wonderful Day!

Yesterday was such a wonderful day!

It started with everyone up early, and by early I mean the kids were up and dressed before ten. Justine had a date with some friends from school to meet so one of them could use the others as subjects in her science fair project.  Nothing sinister...listening to music and take pulse rates.  In the end, Justine thought her pulse rate was highest while listening to country music, "Because I hate that music!"  But I digress.  So we dropped her and a friend and their friend's house and Mike and I were on our way to Christmas shop.  Well, mostly.  We made a quick trip to Target.  "A quick trip to Target" during the holidays?!  I told you it was a good day.  Then we went to Joann's; Mike in search of felt for a Christmas project and me in search of buttons for my newly finished cardigan Miss BB. I'll probably sew them on today and take pictures. Then we were off to do some department store shopping, which we both despise.  BUT we found the perfect gifts in the shortest amount of time and exited the store before the crush of shoppers dampened our Christmas spirit.  Mike suggested we get some lunch, always a great suggestion in my book.  We ate lunch at Baja Fresh. They have a wonderful salsa verde...yum!  The weather was nice, too.  Temperatures in the mid-50's so just enough for a sweater, not a big coat.  I wore my warmest sweater, which I haven't worn in a couple years due to the non-winter we had last year (even in Florida).  It's a sage green cardigan type coat with a wonderful lattice stitch, pockets and shawl collar to keep the cold off my neck.  Very comfy and cozy...but not so hot I need to peel it off every time I step into a store.

Anyway, back to pick up the girls, drop off Justine's friend and home to get Joey.  We need to hurry because we're going to see a play.  The Colonial Players of Annapolis' production of A Christmas Carol.  This tiny theater just off the State Circle in historic Annapolis is in the round.  The production was a musical too (which probably bummed Joey out, but who cares). It was a lot of fun to watch...the gentleman who played Scrooge was so good.  I have to admit, I liked him better before his "transformation".  He has the best scowl I've ever seen!  haha

After the play we did some shopping in town.  A quick stop in Starbucks for some hot drinks then a walk along the City Dock to see the boats preparing for the light parade that night.  It was late afternoon so the lights were on and we could see them in all their glory.  One was "A Christmas Story" themed!  Too funny!!  I giant "major award" leg lamp with lights spelling out: FRAGILE! I think that's Italian!  haha  And another panel of lights, which alternated between yellow and red lights spelling out "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!" and "I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU!"   Another boat had a mermaid made of lights about 30 feet in the air, attached to the mast.  Cool!

We then went home.  I made my amazing Potato Chowder for dinner and we ended the day by watching two episodes of Haven.  It really was a fun day.

Today is starting with rain and fog.  I can hear the fog horn going (somewhere on the Chesapeake).  It's cold, too.  Colder than yesterday.  Gracie isn't moving...she's curled up on the couch and has made no attempt to tell me, "Let's go out so I can go!"  Oh well, I don't blame her one bit!  I think it'll be a good day...lots of football and knitting.

Hope your day is wonderful and your Christmas Spirit is with you.