Christmas 2016

Holly and Trevor slept in, which meant we slept in, and I had plenty of time to do a lot of things before they woke up.

Trevor and I enjoyed lox and bagels for breakfast, a throw back to Christmas mornings with my mom and Mike.

We celebrated with mimosas while opening presents. This may need to be a continuing tradition!

I cooked up a storm and mostly enjoyed it. I've not been cooking much since working full time, and I miss it. I've been cooking a lot over the past few days! Tonight's dinner was roasted duck (first time, and it turned out pretty good, although I'm not sure everyone is eager to have it again); stuffing (which was liked the first time I made it, not so much these last two times); twice baked potatoes (always a hit!), our holiday special, Spinach Madeline, and Mandarin Salad made an appearance after disappearing from the meu for several years. I also made Chocolate Mousse for dessert, with Holly making the homemade whipped cream for topping.

After it was all said and done, most of us had a blast playing Trevor's new Mario Cart game--always a hit for any occasion!

Christmas Eve

Robert and I ran to Panera early in the morning, buying the last remaining plain and sesame seed bagels, all that was left of their "neutral" flavored bagels.

He had bought, organized, and wrapped almost all of the gifts this year, leaving me with almost nothing to do except wrap stocking gifts (an easy task!).

We went to Hotel Roanoke's Festival of Trees again this year.

Pokemon may be a new tree--we didn't remember it from our earlier visits.

The colors on some are spectacular!

Down one of the hallways, such a beautiful hotel.

I got Holly to get a picture with me!

Pretty view of my building just over the tracks from the hotel.

The City Market Building from the bridge.

From there, we drove up Mill Mountain to see the view at night.

Gorgeous out, low 50s.

I was able to sneak this one in, everyone looking at their phones to see pictures they'd just taken, or taking a picture!

Back at home, we had a late dinner.

Pumpkin played Goldilocks. This basket was toooooo small!

Merry Christmas!!

Some of December

Gorgeous mornings.

Fogged in at home--

Breaking on the way to work--

View from the office.

That big brown and white hotel on the right is the Hotel Roanoke.

Fall sunsets.

And a sunrise.

A picture of me that I like!

Robert, Trevor, and I volunteered at Santa at the Station, a program that brings families from the Rescue Mission to the Transportation Museum for an evening with Santa. Pizza was served, kids got tattoos and face paintings, carolers sang, and they could shop for gifts in a special room. I was at the crafts station, where we had several tables set up for making ornaments, coloring, and more. Robert and Trev helped out with Santa. Fun night, and the kids were pretty adorable!

Our office Christmas luncheon at the Hotel Roanoke, complete with our own banquet room and Office Jeopardy!

Lunch. It was delicious.

As was dessert.

Decorating at home. Tried something different with the tree this year. I mostly like it and will look at doing something similar with ribbon again next year.

Drumstick Dash

Super fun morning with Holly and Kota!

I'd asked the kids a few weeks ago if either would be interested in Roanoke's annual 5K walk (and run) through downtown and was thrilled when Holly said yes! Dogs are welcomed, so we registered our little dog too.

We didn't know what to expect, dressed warmly, parked in my building's garage and joined the more than 12,000 people gathered at the various start lines (runners, walkers, and walkers with dogs). We people--and dog--watched for almost an hour before starting off, particularly admiring the small kids and dogs dressed in a variety of costumes!

Once the people began moving, everyone spread out a bit. It was pretty neat to catch glimpses of the masses snaking their way around as they wove in and through downtown.

Loved seeing this guy there and chatted with him for a few minutes.

 #noDAPL

I was not sure what to expect from Kota. She gets pretty excited to see other dogs. Sometimes, anyway. But she was perfect today, couldn't have asked for her to be any better, she really surpassed all of my expectations!

Fun opportunity to walk around downtown, admiring different buildings, recognizing places we've been and seeing new things. 

When it was all done, we took a quick trip up to my office floor so Holly could admire the view from 18 floors up.

This dog is going to need some serious R&R for the next day or two!

We were home by 11:30 a.m. Hoping we can do this again, a fun start to Thanksgiving!

Election Day

I picked Trevor up from school today and took him to lunch. He then hung out downtown until I was done with work for the day.  We went and voted. There were no lines, but the booth were full, and he was at an "overflow" table. It looked like about 1300 people had been there before us, which I think is a great turnout for our little rural district.

It was his first election, and I'm thrilled that he was excited about it!

Holly texted that she had printed out a U.S. map and was going to be coloring in states as the results came in. This was a fun thing they've done for each presidential election when they were younger, and it was sweet to see her making a fun evening out of it!

For the first time, Robert and I avoided watching election news coverage.

Trevor paid attention though, occasionally coming out of his room to update us.

And wow, what a crazy night. Sometime around 11, I began checking my phone for updates. I ended up staying up until there was no doubt that Trump won.

Robert slept through it all.

Crazy night. Craziest of elections. Oddest choice of candidates. Maybe.

Sobering results, and I've been nauseous and unsettled about it all week. Oh, I voted for Trump, but I it was also a vote against the most corrupt candidate ever AND the GOP. So we've given Trump and Pence the reins, and I'm praying for wisdom and humility for them and unity, finally, for us as a nation.

Erin

Holly met Erin through TeenPact. Erin's mom was Holly's cabin leader during Holly's first NC; Trish was always a familiar and friendly face who volunteered at many TP events.  Holly and Erin looked forward to reconnecting at each state class and subsequent NCs.

May 2013

Erin was a senior this year at Seattle Pacific University. One of her passions has been supporting Standing Rock Indian Reservation in the #noDAPL movement, and she'd spent two different weeks at the site, doing what she could.

Returning home with friends from her second trip early Sunday morning, November 6, she was killed in a car accident.



We are heartbroken for her family and friends.



Weepy about it Monday morning, driving to work. Hearing my two favorite Christian songs on the radio. I pulled into a parking space and my eyes lit on this.

Rejoice. Lots to rejoice over, even in such sadness. Erin lived her life for Jesus. She left this earth doing what she loved. Her family KNOWS where she is and is finding comfort in that, and in knowing that they will see her again in eternity. We have a God who is bigger than all of this, whose promises are true, and we have that Hope in Jesus.

I left the office that day for lunch, deciding to drive to my little Viet Sub place. Weepy again in my car, praying for those things that are good, rejoicing over the life that Erin had here, the lives she touched, the faith held by her and her family, thankful for the Word of God that never changes.

Walking into this little hole in the wall restaurant, who do I see?

Judy and Charlie. This is only her second time there, and she decided to stop in with Charlie. I fell in to her, sobbing, but also immediately comforted, knowing AGAIN that God showed His face to me, this time through Judy, when I needed it most.

Oh God, this has hit me so hard.  But REJOICE.

Erin:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.  2 Tim 4:6-8

Horse Show!

Holly has gone to the horse show in Roanoke every year since we first moved here, usually with me, once or twice with a friend. Lots of good memories there: wandering around with Trevor one year in the daytime; me making it home to the top of Claybanks Drive before puking all over the car; Holly literally bumping into one of the internationally known competitors (was it Aaron Vale?); the year I bought tickets for the wrong night, so we ended up going two nights in a row.

Last year, the show was cancelled just weeks beforehand. Holly found a large show in DC, and we went there instead several months laterand had a great time--so much so, that she got tickets again this year for her birthday, and we did it again.

It was a typical rushed day, driving up to Mason, unloading things from my car, running to the (nice!) Walmart to load her up for three and a half more weeks of groceries. Then ran by Cave Mezza (me) and the Peruvian chicken place (her) for food to take home to eat. We drove to the Fairfax Metro station and took the train into the city. We took the long way (hahaha!) to grab something at Starbucks and ended up in Chinatown (which is alongside Verizon Center, but who knew?).

Adorable little Starbucks (not remotely Chinese) and great crosswalks!

Ooh, lots of flashing lights and police activity, second year in a row!

We enjoyed the gorgeous weather and eventually made our way into the American Art Museum.

Grandma Moses.

Loved this of the Golden Gate Bridge being built

The study to gain approval to paint the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Stunning.

He chose to paint George Washington in the center of the dome, having ascended to the heavens, looking down upon the visitor.  Steeped in Classical mythology, Brumidi presents George Washington as Zeus, chief among the Greek gods, flanked by thirteen female figures symbolizing the original thirteen colonies.  Six vignettes form the outer edge of the decoration, allegories pairing Greek gods and goddesses with an aspect of American prowess and ingenuity.  Brumidi incorporated current events into his vignettes: at the bottom of this painting, Athena--portrayed as goddess of war—vanquishes the forces of evil, here portrayed by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, and his vice-president, Andrew Stephens.  The completion of the dome in 1865 came to symbolize a newly reunited America after the Civil War.

This Albert Bierstadt is in its own room at the museum. Breathtaking in its size and use of light. I knew Bierstadt was on Trevor's current art study list. I've been helping him with his flashcards but didn't realize it was the SAME painting. Holly's standing by it to help show the size of the work.

We didn't have a lot of time at the museum. We remembered waiting in long lines to get into the horse show last year, so we went over early and skipped the lines entirely. As always, we had great seats, second row.  There was lots of entertainment before the main event. We've seen the Jack Russell Terrier races before, but this one was truly hilarious!

The U.S. Olympic Team was there. Pretty cool!

I did not bring my big camera. We've taken it for so many years. It's old. It's a pain to download pics to my laptop, and I feel guilty and terrible to say that I never downloaded last year's photos. And neither of our phones are new enough to get great action shots, so no horse jumping pictures this year.

It was a great competition--27 jumpers to begin with, 7 made it to the final jumpoff. The timing was perfect, as the show ended between 11:00 - 11:15 p.m., and we knew the Metro would be shutting down at midnight (reduced hours to allow for major overnight maintenance). We easily caught our trains, a bit more traffic than usual with costumed people returning from Halloween parties. It was a much smoother trip than last year, even for Holly, although I wore my Sea Bands just in case!

Back at Holly's, we fixed a late snack, including garlic bread and settled into HGTV. It was a pretty late night, and I was gone at 9 to be home at noon.  Not a long enough visit. We've already made plans for me to stay overnight when she goes back after Thanksgiving, and we'll hang out on Monday, take an leisurely brunch, and just enjoy. Time flies. I miss my girl.

Hoping we make the show again next year . . . it's been a great tradition, worth keeping up.

Sisters!

Sister: The one who finds an awesome mascara sampler, wonders who else would enjoy one just as much, and thinks of ME!

Who wouldn't love ten different tubes of high end mascara? 

Reunited, Part Three

I was the first up on Sunday morning and headed down to the lobby to let Debbie and Robyn sleep. Incredibly, Robyn was the second one up, coming down 30 minutes after me, all dressed and ready to go. Robyn's sister Joni drove down just to see us, and we ate breakfast at the Fairmont Hotel restaurant.

Debbie and I went back to her dad's house, and John and her girls came down to see Aunt Mary before we took Mary to the airport.

Stacey holding Butler.

It was great to have a mostly-down day before I left early Monday afternoon. This was out the window, looking behind us, shortly before landing in Atlanta.

Four flights over the round trip, two delays, but nothing that held me up enough to be worrisome. I landed on schedule just before midnight at Roanoke, and Robert and Trevor were there to meet me.

Such a really, really fun trip. Interesting that at least three people close to me (Debbie Judy, Holly) expressed surprise that I actually went, basically saying that I don't do things like this for myself. Well, I'm planning to do it again in five years, so no one should be surprised then!

It was great. So happy I went.

Reunited, Part Two

Deb and I slept in the pop up tent trailer out back. It was quite fun, actually, and thankfully 1) it didn't rain and 2) there was a full moon, making our frequent nightly trips into the house to the bathroom easy. On Saturday morning, we ran into Valley Fair, where I promptly found a fantastic pair of jeans, the best fit I've had in five years. It was Christmas in Macy's.

We visited with Georgia's dad. He's in his late 80s, still living in the same house. Many of the same pictures are on the same walls. It was a great visit, I am SO glad we were able to do this!

Debbie took me on a neighborhood tour, past our old high school, by her dad's old house on Woodcreek, past George C. Payne Elementary School, and we drove down the streets I walked to school on as a kid.

1528 San Tomas Court. Doesn't really look that different.

We drove up Saratoga (which was MUCH shorter than I imagined), past the now torn down McDonald's and Taco Bell (still reeling over that one!). We headed downtown. It was a pretty day, and I was trying to catch a shot of the surrounding foothills in this picture.

We checked in at The Fairmont, where our room overlooked the SJBACON.COM festival.
(And I die laughing, but you would have had to be there.)

Debbie and I went out to lunch, meeting Robyn back at the hotel. We reminisced as we got ready, a lot like old times, chatting, running in and out of the bathroom, putting on makeup, sharing curling irons. And it was time to leave!

We checked in at the reunion desk and were given cut red and yellow straws as free drink "coupons." (This later led to the best line of the night by Tom, sheeeeeeesh!!!!!) One of the first people we saw was this guy.  Oh, I knew he'd be there, and he was one of the top people I was waiting to see. Debbie's old boyfriend Greg, one of the sweetest guys ever, and his nice words made me burst into tears right off the bat.

Another person I was dying to see in real life was Tom, super nice guy, big heart, loves and loved by everyonem who came in from Bainbridge Island.

Having a really, super, great, fun, wonderful time! Everyone was truly so nice and fun to see. Talked to a couple of people I am pretty sure I never knew. Talked to a few people with whom I am pretty sure I never spoke to in high school. All of the women were hugging, not being phony but being truly glad to see people. With the exception of two guys, everyone was very comfortable, no one trying to show off, just happy to be there and happy to be themselves.

There was a table with photos of classmates who had passed. Debbie had brought Georgia's photo. Gosh, she was missed. She would have LOVED this night.

An earlier picture (stolen and added here) of Greg, Leslie, and Tom. My old friend (the other) Greg, surely the cutest boy in high school, and the third person I was so happy to see in real life. Leslie, who had the most amazing dress of the evening (and I told her at least a dozen times)--and Leslie who, when she found out there was not enough money to buy a cake for the evening, made one for us (she used to bake professionally).  And Tom.

Holli and I have known each other since kindergarten, but I can't remember ever being friends. We don't know why. So that's changed--after this night, we are friends. I'm sure I've known her longer than anyone else there that night. And it's a great feeling.

 

Michelle. Apparently we look alike in photos but not at all in real life. (True, we don't look anything alike really).

 

We took a couple of group photos throughout the night.

 

 

About 15 of us shut the place down and then went out looking for a restaurant to eat real food. The bar at The Fairmont was closing (and Greg W. was hungry enough apparently to eat glass). Original Joe's--closing. The next bar was loud, loud, loud, so a handful of us just ended up going to the hotel.

Fun end of the night, eating pizza, Robyn telling her stories, and Debbie crashing early.

And I'll go back for the 40th, no question about it. CAN'T WAIT!!!!