Beginning Tomorrow...

New Year's Eve Eve

Since getting home on Monday, we've had a generous amount of "down" time for relaxing and "putzy-ing".  In an hour or so, we'll drive again to Richmond to spend the night with James and Blaire then bring the van home tomorrow.  Here are the photos and the video that remained in my camera from Sunday at Molly's.

Christmas at GiGi's

We're back in Fredericksburg again, but my heart is still cherishing our four days at my mom's house in Maryland.  We call her GiGi (GreatGrandmother) and thoroughly enjoyed her hospitality: she has enough room to house all of us comfortably and enough love and patience to put up with the mess we all create!  She's in Richmond tonight staying with Blaire and James, Eva and Mimi, as she prepares to depart for her Australian cruise tomorrow.  Bon Voyage, GiGi!

On the way to GiGi's House

We're leaving for my mom's house (Great Grandmother to Eva and Mimi) after lunch today to start our Christmas weekend with her, Blaire, James, Eva and Mimi.  While we're on the way, I'll be praying for safe journeying for us and everyone on the road.  Lots to do now...pack, pack, pack!

Caroling on Wolfe Street

"Michael and I just came home from our annual "Wolfe Street Caroling" party.  About a dozen of us roamed the neighborhood with our sleigh bells, jingle bells  and song books and had a wonderful time of it all.

We're not the only ones singing Christmas Songs:  My little granddaughter sings Winter Wonderland with a little help from her mom.

Little Angels - from recycled thread spools

I'd been holding on to thread empty spools; just can't seem to throw something out that could be re-purposed!  Along with spools, I had extra buttons, fabric remnants, out of date sample books, flannel, white plastic shade rights and button forms. Had a stash of hot glue and the gun, stiff interfacing, floral wire and spray adhesive.  Needed to purchase a few things: wooden 1" beads, paint, fixative, glitter and doll hair.    And...Wala!

Winter Wonderland

Sunday morning broke bright and sunny!  We donned our heavy boots, caps and mittens and walked to church.  Along the way and on the return I captured the wintry wonder of our little neighborhood and the battlefield area.  Here are some favorites shots:

Our church, St. Mary's

Sledding on Trench Hill

Brompton on Marye's Heights

Sunken Road Battlefield Park

Our Back Yard

Michael, the measuring man

Michael and his 16"

Still snowing at noon

We're hunkering down, watching the snow fall, making soup (Michael's creation) and putzying.  Loving it!

Eva and Mimi at Grandma's = Day 3

Friday 12/18: This was our last day having the girls and it was filled with necessary errands and an early departure on the trip home due to the weather.  Fortunately we finished our projects by last night and settled down to watch "Miracle on 34th Street" (the remake) before tucking them in around 9:30.

With a "historic snow storm" predicted to start around midnight tonight, we left Fredericksburg around 3 and made good time to Richmond.  However, the snow started at 5:30 just as we were sitting down for dinner with Liz and James.  We left at 6:30 with the snow getting thick fast.  It took us two hours to complete the 1 hour trip home, but now we're here safe and sound with cups of warm milk, honey and "JD".

The house seems so quite without Eva and Mimi here with their sweet voices and footfalls.  What's not to love??

Photos taken by Eva:  Grandma and Mimi "craft"!

Grandpa is working at the computer.

Grandma's Nativity Set

Mimi being "herself".

Eva and Mimi at Grandma's - day 2

Eva and Mimi bring a vitality to our house - we love it!  A visit from them usually involves more munching and sweets that usual, kids' movies, kid crafts and just plain kid fun!

Counting Jelly Bellies, watching kid vids, helping Grandma with her Christmas Cards...

Ten days to go...

These days are days of getting ready and still enjoying it.  Thanks to our dear friends, Vickie and Ed, for a lovely dinner at Olde Town Steak and Seafood on Sunday evening.  We had a wonderful table next to the fireplace; the food and wine was terrific; the company of friends was suburb!  The memory continued last night: I had enough filet mignon from my meal on Sunday to make a tasty stir fry for dinner!

We were both busy with our own projects yesterday: the Christmas Card publication is coming along, my tree decoration projects are on-going, and, preparing the craft projects for Eva and Mimi may be finished today. 

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la la laaaaa!

Candle Light Tour 2009

It's rainy and chilly this morning, but last night was perfect for the "Private Tour by Candlelight and Cocktail Party" sponsored by the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc.  Our friend and neighbor Stephanie joined us and, along the way, we met and made friends.

The homes were beautifully presented and took us back to their historic past and the humble surroundings of a post-Civil War city.  I enjoyed seeing my work (Little Bug Studio silk shades, chair upholstery and throw pillows) in one of the homes.  It's been five years since I've sewn for the tour and hope I can be represented again in the future.

The cocktail party was delightful: plentiful food and beverages, wonderful entertainment by our friends Peter Mealy and Laurie Rose Griffith, and the opportunity to reconnect with friends not seen over the year.  Pictured with Michael and me, our wine tasting friends: Ed, Paula, and Stephanie (photo 1) and Paula, Judy and Dick (photo 2).

Once a "to do" now, a "it's done!"

"To do" lists work well for me when the items are tasks such as "pick up prescriptions", prepare invoice, pay visa bill, etc.  However, "design and print Christmas card" is not really a task but a project, one that took several hours yesterday and is still on-going today.  Happily, the hard part (designing) is done; I'm printing now (at 561M, I'm realizing how, in 3 short years, our computer is already sub-par ram-wise).

While the printer is chewing up and trying to spit out cards, I'm able get some cello practice in.  The challenge of the two octave C Scale is not knowing WHERE to put my fingers but HOW to put them there.  I mentioned to my daughter this afternoon that the reason I'm enjoying this so much is that I'm learning the correct technique from the beginning.   My piano technique has gotten very poor over the years, but at least I can appreciate having learned how to read music on that instrument.

Last night, Michael and I watched "Julie and Julia" - what a treat!  A relatable comment by Julie, "I can write a blog...I have thoughts".  So I'm finding out that just because I (Peg) have thoughts, I'm not sure I'm very good at writing a blog!  Like the cello, I'm practicing a little every day (oops - I missed yesterday!).

Tonight is the Candle Light Tour of Historic Homes in Fredericksburg.  Photographing the homes is prohibited so perhaps I'll have photos of the fun!

There are 5 items remaining on my TO DO list for today (there were only 8 - I need to get hopping!). 

Today's cello lesson (my 3rd) was great; I learned finger placement techniques for my C and G scales. Now: Practice, Practice, Practice!

With my afternoon coffee and cookie, I'm proceeding to another item on the list:  finish our Christmas card design.  I want to finish this and one more item before joining my friend Vickie for some "girl time"!

What I've learned today...

I really don't know much about vintage dolls.  I offered to help my friend sell her dolls on EBay (Nancy Ann Story Book Dolls and Hollywood Dolls).  It's taken literally HOURS to verify the names and composition of each of the 12 dolls.  I've already been alerted by an EBay member that I incorrectly identified one of them, so I had to relist it.  Guess that's enough of my foray in to dolls and volunteering to "EBay" for other than myself!

All is not lost, however, I DID practice my cello!  My third lesson is tomorrow and I believe I might actually get some music to play!

Shopping, Cooking, EBay-ing!

I just had a few agenda items for yesterday, but it seemed to take a lot more time to get them accomplished. One item didn't make it: practicing the cello.

I am happy that I took on a task usually handled by Michael: grocery shopping and cooking dinner. I make Turkish Lentil Stew, a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook: Sundays at Moosewood. This collection of vegetarian meals made by visiting chefs to the restaurant in Ithaca, NY, has been a mainstay in my small kitchen library. The Lentil Stew is a winner with a loaf of crusty bread and a nice wine.

The biggest project of the day is carrying over into day:
researching and posting to EBay several 1940's vintage Nancy Ann Story Book Dolls from my neighbor Juli. I've learned a lot! Six of the dolls were posted last night; they are the ones in the best condition. The balance will be posted today.

HOWEVER, cello practice comes first. The break yesterday gave me some recuperative time for my arthritic thumb joints, but I'm feeling much better today and am looking forward to getting my legs around my instrument again!

I finished the last job on my work order today. Now I can be happy to have time for holiday preparation and personal sewing/crafting; but I can also wonder about what the future holds for Little Bug Studio. Being happy is better.