Saturday, December 28, 2013

And then it felt like the season...

We were within .4 degrees (Fahrenheit, for our friends using other than the empirical system... I guess that would make the rest of the world colonial?) of setting a new record for warmth last week (cuz that's how we roll), but this week nature pulled itself back together and dumped some snow.


I rode in what felt more like spring weather than winter, last weekend.  Rambo and I had a lovely time looking for turkeys in spite of the soft drizzle.  Honestly, we enjoyed wearing our rain gear, and watching the water droplets drip off my hat brim brought a smile to my face.


Total label purchase.  The beer wasn't quite as good as the label, but how could it have been.  I'd definitely buy it again... in fact, I think I did.  I'll have to check the fridge.


Sarah's plan was to go ice skating on Christmas Eve day.


We had a lot of fun and all stayed pretty close to the wall!  Just like rollerskating, I've never learned to stop.


The snow started falling while we were at the skating rink and just kept coming down.  When we went into the rink, there was hardly any snow on the ground.  By the time we were driving home it looked like this.




Sarah started cooking right away.  I'm pretty proud of this shot.  I don't usually point my camera at people, but Sarah's not just any people, and this was a holiday.



Veneta and Zhora danced and danced.  There was a lot of christmas music, but it was a holiday, so I persevered.


It was so cool to see the girls all cooking together.  The house smelled incredible and rich.




This magnificent looking piece of decadence is an egg nog cornbread cake with accompanying pomegranate sauce to drizzle over the top.  Sarah busted out her blueberry sauce as well.



Veneta and Zhora continued to play!  I had to sit down and rest from watching them.







Everybody was in the clean plate club on Christmas eve.




After dinner, Z and I had to go look for reindeer.  She took the light saber and reindeer dissuader to keep them from biting.  I told her that they spit like llamas so she needed safety goggles, too. 


All ready to go look for Santa.



The Tiny Ballerina


Monday, December 23, 2013

Cleaning house and rocking out to some great olde timey music

Just thought I'd share.

This song surprised me on Pandora.  I love how dark it is.


Heard Aoife O'Donovan sing a version of this REALLY old song on Prairie Home Companion yesterday.  I liked her version better, but couldn't find it on youtube.  This version is plenty haunting, but there are too many non-rhyming lines for me.

 

Love the haunting characteristics of sacred harp singing.




Just love them murder ballads!  

I just realized there's a theme here.  At least amongst the three.  In this cold season, be careful with whom you do the Eskimo hop.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Wintery Holiday Feelings



Eva and Jonas have been super cute and cuddly, lately.  This morning they waited for me to finish my coffee and soaked up some morning wood stove warmth. 


We had a lovely morning today so I thought I'd snap a couple shots of the outdoor decorations Sarah made. 



All the fixins were collected on our hike the other day (see post below). 


The sunrise was just lovely. I had to break from fillin bird feeders to take a few shots. Of course the pictures do it no justice, but perhaps you have a vivid imagination. 


A little hipstercam action. I miss the ole Polaroids. 


Tonight we decorated the tree. 



Some familiar favorites. 




Sarah did a marvelous job. It looks really classy and classic. 


Mom, believe it or not, I even helped with the lights!

Monday, December 16, 2013

One more shot from the end of the night


When we took Zhora home, Bob and Jen wanted to know if she'd been well behaved and pleasant. She tends to be shy and hide from me for quite awhile whenever we're all together, but I had noticed this time that she hadn't done that at all.  Turns out she asked Bob if he and Jen were coming and when he said that no, it would just be Sarah and I, Zhora said she'd have to be nice, even to me. She was, and we had a nice evening.  Sarah took this shot at the end of the night.

A Trip to the Ballet: The Nutcracker