Heirloom Santa

If I have my facts right, my mom's cousin made this Santa (I better find out!). It always hung on a doorway when we were kids and it was filled with candy canes. I pinned it to my quilt last night since I don't really have any doorknobs in my condo (except on bathroom doors).

Oh Christmas Tree: Phase 3

Adrienne and I put the ornaments on the tree last night (just in time!). It was pretty with just lights and now it's prettier with all my ornaments on it. It's nice to have a helper around (aka "Cinderella")

MIT Lab rat

Adrienne went to work with me Monday. She did some shredding for me. We had pizza at the Stata Center. She loved MIT. A friend of mine is getting a Ph.D. in Chemistry and showed her his lab and some chemistry stuff.

Macy's Christmas display

Holiday Pops

Tonight we went to the Holiday Pops with my friends Leah and Alicia. It was fantastic. Adrienne plays the baritone horn in the high school band and knew she'd love hearing the Boston Symphony Orchestra. When I went to buy the tickets the woman suggested I pay a little more money to get in the balcony (as opposed to the cheapest seats which were literally in The Last Row). We were on the first row of the second balcony and close to the front. They were terrific seats. That's Keith Lockhart in the red shirt. It was a really fun night; getting dressed up, taking the subway, and listening to a wonderful concert. I've been humming Christmas songs all night.

Phoebe's blessing

Today was Phoebe's blessing. And, as luck would have it, it was in the Arlington Ward. Phoebe and her family recently moved to Cambridge but their ward canceled church today and our ward had a 5 1/2 hour delay (and Sacrament Meeting only) so I got to be at Phoebe's blessing. It was a special day.

Note: Phoebe's big brother Bruce is crazy about her.

Florida girl

Snow Day at Aunt Camp

Adrienne has never ever ever been in snow. (The patch of dirty ice she saw one summer in Liberty, Utah doesn't count.) It was a fun first for her today! Church was postponed until 3pm so we'll venture out this afternoon.

Let Holiday Aunt Camp begin

My 14 year old niece Adrienne arrived this morning. [I told a friend that my niece was coming for Holiday Aunt Camp and she said, "I've never heard of that" and I said, "Oh, I made it up!"] She'll be here two weeks and we have a long list of things to do, projects to complete, and places to go! I'm only working one day that she's here (hooray!). Day 1 has been great so far. I'll be blogging about all the Holiday Aunt Camp adventures!

Note: We're expecting a BIG snow storm tonight (8 inches). Adrienne has never been in snow, has never been sledding or made a snow angel. This Florida girl is in for a treat!

Old Santa

I drove by this Santa last weekend and wanted to take a photo but didn't have my camera. I went back today and took a few photos. He seems vintage-y to me.

Christmas stories

I love Christmas stories. Here are some links to a few of my favorite stories from my blog archives.

Holiday Stop for Train Number Seven

Choosing Christmas tree evokes battle memories

A Story of Riches

Greatest Gift

Do you know a Kunz out in Utah?

Big Apple Christmas

Heirloom Santa pitcher

Oh Christmas Tree: Phase 1 and 2

Thanks to my friends the Sipherds, my tree is assembled and it has lights. Phase 3--ornaments--will happen in a day or two (I feel like the tree needs a few more strands of lights). My tree is tall and it's beautiful and I love sitting in my living room with the Christmas tree lights on.

Worldwide Candle Lighting

My mom asks me to participate in this every year in memory of my brother Robes. Tonight I burned my Christmas Wreath yankee candle from 7-8pm pacific coast time (since I was at a concert earlier).

Ward Christmas Party

Merry SONIC Christmas

I love peppermint treats and tried this tonight; it was good.

Book Club Christmas Party

Tonight was our RS Book Club Christmas party; our traditional dinner and yankee swap book exchange. The meal was delicious and the yankee swap was fun. I ended up with an Ann Taintor book--I'm Becoming My Mother. I've been to yankee swaps that were brutal; I only had to steal the book from one person! The party was at the Dredge's home and it is beautifully decorated for Christmas including this display of Christmas books.

Santa Dax

This is my friend Dax, I mean Santa, with his little girl Elle. I took this photo at our ward party 4 years ago. It's a favorite of mine.

I'm a sucker for a snowman

I saw Mr. Snowman this morning behind my building and I had to stop and take a photo even if it made me late to work (which it didn't).

You can't deny snow is beautiful

Favorite bakery

My friend Kate is visiting today (they moved away from Boston about 7 years ago). We ran a few errands this morning and went by my favorite bakery; Lyndells in Somerville. They have the best chocolate eclairs I've ever had. I bought a dozen of the small eclairs and have been grazing on them all day. Everything I've had there is delicious. I thought these Christmas cakes were cute.

No NYC

Today was supposed to be my annual 1st Saturday in December trip to New York City. Unfortunately the weather report was rain/snow most of the day so I canceled the trip. I didn't want any repeats of last year and I didn't think sloshing around the Big Apple would be very much fun. I may try to squeeze in a trip before the end of the year.

Oh baby!

My friends had baby #2 this week, a boy named Camden. I went over today to visit and got some photos. Big sister Darian is almost 20 months old. They are going to be the best of buddies.

Still in wreath mode

I took this photo of a wreath "down the Cape" a few years ago.

Wreath Making Party

Tonight was my 22nd Wreath Making Party! It was really fun. Since I'm the RSP I got to conduct and make a few remarks. There were probably over 100 women there; and lots of friends. Everything worked out great (decorations, set-up, food) and I oversaw the clean-up and there was a great crew of workers and we were done by midnight (my goal). I observed a moment of silence for all my former Arlington Ward friends that no longer live here (and lots of you read my blog). You were all there in spirit! It's a toss up if it's the best Arlington Ward tradition or the Clambake. The Wreath Making Party is a great way to start the holiday season!

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas

Happy December!