January 20, 2007

• Some photos 
  Christmas in Virginia, USA

    We arrived at 5 a.m. Christmas Eve morning.  It was dark out but the house was lit waiting for us.  Everyone was sleeping including the dogs who didn’t make a point of announcing us.

   The last of unpacking luggage and Christmas packages from our rented car.  Our car had some paint work done that was endangered by bugs hitting it as we drove so it didn’t make the trip.

   The Poinsettia on the steps went over well with me.  I love them and the reds are my favorite.  I took a lot of photos, different angles and the flowers lasted for my entertainment thru to our leaving and beyond.  The temp outdoors was no problem.

   There was a lot to do before evening but everything fell into place in time for candle lighting that announced the arrival of Christmas.

   This photo is pretty dark but it’s a view I always enjoy.  I find it very peaceful, a darkened room with Christmas lights.  The tree is a live Juniper and I imagine it has found it’s new home planted in the yard by now.  I wish I had tried for more than this single shot, the cat is sitting on the back of the sofa and is in the camera’s eye making the photo even more iffy.  It’s a little hard to see but it’s quite large and sits center forefront of the photo.

   During Christmas day and in fact our total visit we were spoiled with lots of good food.  The bird for the day was a Goose and it was g-o-o-d.  The ham like image on the rack to the rear of this photo is a product of Spain and is similar to Prosciutti Ham.  It is sliced very thin for eating with crackers or ?.  It is highly salted and is kept at room temperature covered with a towel when not in place for slicing.

   We did a lot of game playing at the table and as you can see, food sits waiting for the in between plays.  This was a new game for me called Sequence and I picked up on it and had a pretty fair amount of fun.  I might have even won a game or two with Halie as my partner.  I notice one of the partners is missing.  Probably fixing coffee as we did a lot of that with a new coffee maker. Come to think of it, he is probably taking this photo. 

   We did a few outtings.  The seashore is a must for Grandma and Grandpa and for dogs who expect regualar visits to the beach and running time.

    When you want to shop or enjoy the full fledged feel of Christmas decor and more, you go to Williamsburg.  We had beautiful sunny days for the day trip.  The flowers didn’t know it was December/freezing cold in Ohio and other parts of the world.

   When you’re tired, you find your way back to your doorstep.

   Then you find a warm spot by the fire.  We did some chestnut roasting thanks to Mitch, right at this spot.  They were tasty.  I had never eaten them before but intend to from now on.

    When you are really dragged out from a hard day, you look like this. 

   And this.

    And, when all the visiting is done, you do your petting and hugging while saying good byes.

   Until the next time.  We had such a great time.  It’s really hard to leave but we did.  We look forward to going back.  There is nothing like family at any time of the year.

  ---

  Our January 2007 has been punctuated with the death of another cousin. We came home on the 3rd and buried him on the 5th. His death wipes out the immediate family “Boyer” who was the husband of my mother’s sister Bessie. Bob was the middle son and he died quickly after the doctors diagnosed Lou Gehrig disease. He was a cousin I didn’t know well but his death nearly ends an era of visiting with family as almost everyone is gone. I have one aunt left on my mothers side and no one on my dads other than for each, distant cousins etc. Lifetimes move in a hurried way when your school years are behind you.

  I hope to be around a while. I have things I still want to do with my camera.

  Becca

  • 8:40 pm
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