Beginning in January . . .

Robert and I started off New Year's Eve at Jim and Peg's, along with some other friends and family. Jim has been working on a dinghy for their sailboat and had taken it out for a test float earlier in the week. He showed off his handiwork to Robert.

We left around 10 or so, and I made peasant pizzas at home to wait for the New Year to come in. Robert, Holly, and Trev were on the couch watching something. Quite literally, I was fixing pizza, glanced at the clock, and said, "Guys, it's 2 minutes past midnight!" Response: "Gosh, Mom, didn't you hear us just say it was midnight and cheer for the new year?" I DO tend to live in my own little bubble!

Pizza with creme freche (okay, it's sour cream), sauteed mushrooms and onions, thinly sliced apple, shaved parmesan and blue cheese--on top of homemade dough.

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Me with Pumpkin in my hair!

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FINISHED the pencil puzzle from Lori! A challenging one to be sure, but not to the point of being impossible!

Followed quickly by another puzzle--

and a wonderful three day weekend full of genealogy and loads of cooking:
Baked potato soup and bruschetta
Shrimp scampi
cookie dough (no baking here!)
banana bread
And this amazing dinner: weinerschnitzel, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, sauerkraut, and sweet and sour red cabbage .

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Snowed in for the day--a free day off of work!

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Trevor's delicious dinner of Chicken Alfredo.

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To Ballast Point with the Schroes and Dalls. It's tough getting this guy to take a picture.

Sour wench. As in Sour Raspberry Ale! And Peg, Canadian-turned-U.S. citizen, with her poutine! I must add that we are on the second floor that she engineered, along with the leaning window.

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And another puzzle. I liked this design, different top and bottom.

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And the month winds up with the lunar eclipse on January 31! It was super cold that morning, and I was going to skip it--but Robert found it for me. It was beautiful, although we missed the eclipse by minutes after the moon sank down below our beloved Tinker Mountain!

A Best Day in Richmond

When the kids were little, we learned about the Terra Cotta Army discovery in China, an incredible tribute built to **the first** emporer c. 200 B.C. Discovered buried underground in 1974, this life sized army boasts 8,000 warriors, 130 chariots, 520 horses, and 150 calvary horses. Reread and try to wrap your brain around that for a minute!

At the time, we knew a Chinese exhibit would tour the U.S., but the schedule had not yet been announced. When we were in Richmond in November, we found out IT WAS THERE temporarily, and we made plans to visit.

All the makings for a great day:
Me, Trev, Holly, together again.
Road trip!!
MUSEUM!!!
And of course lunch!
Lastly, a special unannounced surprise.

At the entrance, I bought Trevor a museum membership, as the student membership cost the same as the exhibit admission, got him into the exhibit for free, AND gave us free parking. I also knew we'll find our way back here when he heads to VCU in the fall!

(Can I just say how happy it makes me that my kids love museums?)

The exhibit consisted of several rooms with artifacts from the excavation site (and maybe other Chinese?), ending with a room full of the Army figures.

 Imperial Edict on plaque, c. 221 BC

 8th Century bracelet of nephrite, agate, faience

I convinced Trevor to mimic the pose! Isn't he a great sport?! :::love:::

Showing the detail on the reverse, including the sole of his shoe.

The detail of the armor.

We took advantage of our time there and checked out the rest of the museum (Museum of Fine Arts). Incredible! It was Washington, DC comparable. Truly, it was huge and had incredible displays, rooms full of ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, African, and Native American collections. We literally ran out of time and didn't see everything but look forward to going back.

 Cast from Temple of the God Amun-Re

 Cast from Temple of Hatshepsut

Trevor and Holly - Native American Art

Holly and Trevor had chosen our lunch spot--Greek food, right on the same few blocks where Robert and I met up with Valerie and Gary a year ago at Mellow Mushroom, and where Trevor, Holly, and I ate at the Korean place in November.  In practically a miracle, I found parking easily, and the restaurant was sooooo good, definitely a spot to return to.

I had a small surprise lined up for our final stop before heading home. I drove over to the VCU Barnes & Noble bookstore and had Trevor pick out a VCU shirt for himself.

Trevor drove for the first hour home, a nice treat for me, and good practice for him to drive longer distances on unfamiliar roads. It was SUCH a fun day, one of those that we won't forget. Ever.