Tis the Season, Act 3

As the curtain rises on Act 3 we find our merry little group enjoying the holiday to the fullest. It is now the 26th and the snow is still falling. Tony has declared it "A Drinking Day". What else is there to do?

Morgan curled up to take a nap on my lap.


Tony made us omelets for breakfast on the 26th.


Boo made us a grit casserole with bacon and onions.


The morning of the 27th Richard went out to plow and the pile of snow in the driveway started again.


By the 27th we were getting weary of the snow and wind. Here are Boo and Tony relaxing near the fireplace.


Liliuokalani was tired also and she took a nap curled up on Richard's Carhart coveralls.


Meanwhile, Morgan curled up against Richard and the back of the sofa and crashed out.


Here are "da Bears".


Tony is holding up the boys so we can get the snow capped mountains in the background.


Later on that day Mathew, Reggie and Estelia stopped by.


We got Reggie to take a picture of the adult guests.


Richard made friends with Angel, Estelia's Yorkie.


By the time sunset we were really having fun. Tony was trying on baskets for hats while enjoying a martini.


Our new basement tenant stopped by just as we were getting ready to eat so we invited Josh to join us. He made new friends with Tony and Boo.


By the end of the last day we ladies were having a great time drinking champagne and staying warm in front of the fire.

Tis the Season, Act 2

NOTE: The dates on the pictures are a bit off. I need to reset my camera.

Its now Christmas Day, the snow started falling very early in the morning. We still have snow on the ground from the previous storm so this is only making Christmas whiter than it already was.

Part of the crew gathered around the dining room table.


Tony (not pictured) was comparing a candy cane to the size of Richard's head.


Opening presents makes one thirsty. We poured Poinsettias for all the adults and had a toast to Christmas and friends.


Fred, Iris and Felicia brought a gift for Morgan and Liliuokalani. Here is Morgan trying to open it.


As the day went on so did the snow,,,,,the forecast called for a total of 4 inches. Boy did they screw up this forecast.


Later in the afternoon our neighbors dropped in to have dinner. Here is Estelia. Matthew and Anna/


The table was set early in the day so things would be easy for us as the day went on.


Since it was so chilly, windy and snowy most people congregated in front of the fireplace.


Here are some of our side dishes in the oven.


Dinner is ready. We had a 22 pound turkey, an orange glazed ham, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, roasted pearl onions in cream sauce, a pineapple casserole (from Boo), Melaton (a Cajun dish made by Iris), green beans braised in cider, cranberry sauce, gravy and biscuits. Plus lots of desserts.


Our neighbor Kit popped in for a few minutes but did not stay for dinner.

Tis the Season, Act 1

Warning, this blog entry and the next one or so to follow are going to have a lot of pictures.

It's now Christmas Eve. After a dreary, cold, overcast day on the 23rd we awoke to a Carolina blue sky and the trees covered in rime ice creating an peaceful and lovely way to start the holiday weekend.



Here are our guests from Slidell, Louisiana; Iris, Fred and their daughter Felicia.


In the early afternoon more guests arrived. Boo and Tony from Charleston. Tony took some time to read a Cajun Night Before Christmas to Felicia.


I baked a gingerbread house and we got Felicia to decorate. Here she is working hard on her project.


While Felicia was working on her gingerbread house with some help from Iris, Boo and I got into the kitchen and worked on one of the things we do well,,,,,,drinking.


If you have ever spent a weekend on some one's boat and have been lucky enough to be allowed in their galley then you know they can work well in a normal kitchen. So, I put Boo to work. She does very well with one hand constantly occupied.


Later in the day Eddie dropped in with his four children. Here Fred, Eddie and Richard relax near the fire.


Here are Eddie's two sons.


Here is Felicia and Eddie's daughter Kaitlin.


Jessica loves animals and she always enjoys the time she gets to spend with Liliuokalani and Morgan.


Felicia finally finished her gingerbread house. What a work of art!


As dinner time got closer I put Boo in charge of making the Yorkshire Pudding to go with the rib roast.


While dinner was cooking the 6 adults did a Chinese gift exchange. Fred won a Snowman kit, all you had to add was your own snow. He decided to model the hat, scarf and pipe for us.

Note, Richard swapped gifts with Fred since it hardly ever snows in Slidell, Louisiana.


Richard received a really neat bear from Fred and Iris for Christmas. The gold ribbon represents Goldilocks' hair.


When the Yorkshire Pudding came out of the oven it was perfect. A round of applause to Boo and her culinary skills.

Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful,,,,,,

Anyone who listens to Christmas Carols knows the song I quoted above.

Yes the weather is rather frightful. Today, December 7th, is the fourth consecutive day of snow we are having. Now normally snow would not be so bad but combined with temperatures in the single digits and winds gusting to 45mph it all adds up to one miserable time.

I ventured out on Sunday to try and plow the driveway. Since there was a period of sleet and freezing rain between the bands of snow on Saturday I wanted to get as much cleared as possible.

I got this shot of the house ready for the holidays.


Its hard to see but I got the driveway plowed,,,all 8 inches of the white stuff was moved. I was so proud of myself.


Not 30 minutes after I got in it started to snow even harder.


I was able to make it to work yesterday and that was quite the feat, 45 minutes to drive 15 miles. It took me longer to get home.

Here is P.T. curled up under the tree near the warmth of the fire.


And as the song goes, but the fire is so delightful,,,
which this one was but please no more snow, no more snow, no more snow.

The drifts in the driveway as I write this are 2-3 feet deep and must be moved or it will be June before I can get my car down here to the house again.


I'll post more on my second adventure of plowing later. As of now its 5 degrees outside and we have about 16-18 inches of snow since Saturday morning.

Photos from Days Gone Past

Back in 2008 Richard and I set sail on our sailboat Hale Kai. We met some wonderful people while cruising. The photos here were taken by our dear friend Michelle. The same person who helped me decorate the house over Thanksgiving weekend.

This photo was taken our first night in Miami. We were invited aboard a neighboring vessel for sundowners. It was on this catamaran that we first met Michelle.


These two photos were taken on Christmas Day. We had people from a few boats over sundowners and a pot-luck Christmas Dinner.

Clockwise starting in the lower left corner:
Patti and Roland from S/V Wayward Wind
Richard's head
Me
Clark from S/V Seabatical I
Julie from S/V Island Chariot


Here Julie's husband John can be seen next to her.


One day we went to the Holocaust Memorial. It was very moving. Afterwards we walked around the Botanical Gardens. Michelle got someone to take a group shot of us.


All that walking made us thirsty so we found a bar on Lincoln Road Mall that starts Happy Hour early.

Clockwise from the lower left are:
Clark, me, Julie, John, a man I can't remember, Richard and Michelle.


Richard and I.