Christmas 2013

On a cold winter's night we enjoyed the warmth of the fireplace and our cozy, Christmasy house.

After spin class and some last minute errands, Rusty and I settled in for a nice T-bone steak, red wine, and a cozy Christmas by the fire.  We feel so incredibly blessed to have so many family members and friends who make our lives special!

For anyone who's spent time around Rusty in the last year, you've undoubtedly heard him talking about the monkey he wants to get.  My mother spent a week with us here in October and I think she found the monkey story a little tiring.  Her Christmas present to Rusty has given us much to laugh about.

Thanks, Mom!

On Christmas morning we attended church. and were joined later by Lindsay, Celeste, and Lindsay's boyfriend,Tyler.  We had some ham salad (made from real Kentucky country ham!) on croissants, and some Christmas cookies.

Celeste and I read The 12 Days of Christmas.

Rusty questioned Tyler about his intentions for daughter Lindsay.

Celeste was anxious to get started with the "present-opening" part of the day.

Lindsay likes her techno-gloves.

Lindsay's boyfriend, Tyler, likes his gift too.

Celeste, workin' it for the camera.

Thanks for joining us, Lindsay, Tyler and Celeste!!  We loved having you here!!!

During a Skype session with my sister, Darlene, she confirmed that she and Tom will be signing up for this summer's Tour de Nebraska bike ride.  YEA!!!!  That gives us something very special to look forward to this coming June.  If there are other family or friends reading this blog who want to join us, we'd love it!  Follow the link to sign up.

As our blog illustrates, 2013 was a busy year for us.  The most important part, was time with spent with family and friends.

Rusty and I attended a half day training class this past week for his upcoming surgery.  He will have total knee replacement on Jan. 23rd, and will spend 2-3 days in the hospital.  He will have physical therapy 3 times a week for several weeks.  It could be 6 weeks before he's allowed to drive, so that means we will start 2014 with a few more weeks close to home.  He has a good attitude and is anxious to get going on the path to a stronger knee.

More Holiday Celebrations

This year it seemed most convenient to have four separate celebrations with each of our four daughters.  On Wednesday, we had Christmas with Anna and Jake.  Jake works some very unusual hours, so we are delighted whenever they can find time to come to Lincoln.

Jake and Anna

We had a lovely pot roast dinner, followed by present exchange and then board games.  These two are a really fun couple to spend time with!

Rusty, Di, Anna, Jake

Rusty is still spending lots of hours working on our dining room table.  Since he is using hand tools rather than power tools, it is a labor-intensive project.

Rusty is cutting tenons in one of the long boards of the table's apron.

Rusty says he's sure we'll have a table before the end of 2014!

I had my last meeting of the semester with TeamMate, Maria.

We made ornaments from polymer clay.

Maria ties a ribbon to her ornament.

The Fowler Family invited us to join their Christmas celebration.

The younger generation played games and used their cell phones.

The rest of us shared stories, both old and new.

Ellen shares a story with Lorraine Voyles and Jenny Galdemez.

Ellen, Jenny, John

Bill, Phil, Linda

John, Phil, Frank, Bill

It was a wonderful evening with delicious, traditional sausage chowder and clam chowder.

I really enjoyed seeing everyone again!

A Busy Holiday Season

Rusty and I had fun taking Celeste to a children's production of "Babes in Toyland."

Papaw and Cici.

A Kansas ice storm nearly cancelled our weekend plans with the Fishers, but the storm abated and they arrived in the wee hours Saturday morning.

First on our agenda was ice skating at the new rink in the Lincoln Haymarket.

Reece appreciated a little help from Mom and Dad.

It's been about 40 years since I've been on the ice, so I was thrilled to be upright!

Pierce says, "What's so hard about this?"

Music, big screen pictures, and a tree...what could be more festive?

Reece and Papaw, hangin' out together.

Enjoying the outdoor fire.

Chad, Pierce, and Olivia

I was delighted to have Olivia join me for our ladies annual Christmas tea.  My dear friend, Chris, puts on a very fancy affair.  She always has the triangle sandwiches with the crusts removed, scones and clotted cream, fancy cookies and much, much more.

(back row) Kathie, Lorraine, Chris, Di; (front row) Linda, Jan, Olivia

The tea also includes chocolates, champagne, and storybook time. 

This year Chris is retiring, so I made sure she had everything needed to bake bread in her spare time.

Rusty cooked up a yummy turkey dinner, complete with oyster dressing and giblet gravy.  (I forgot to take a picture!)

Then it was time for presents!

Reece and Pierce, showing their loot.

And some dancing...

And we played games...

And we baked cookies...

 

Some cookies require lots of concentration.

Thanks, Fishers, for joining us!  We had a great time!!!

I hustled off to my second tea of the weekend, which was also a cookie exchange.  It was hosted by another dear friend, Jane.  We were "track moms" together back in the day.

I'm holding Jane's newest grandson, Soren.

Soren, me, and Mommy Angie.

I am so thankful for the family and friends I get to spend time with, especially this time of year.

Winter Holidays Begin

My dear friend, Sissy, is from Wilbur, NE, which claims to be the Czech capitol of Nebraska.  A long-standing tradition is to have Tom and Jerry's during the winter holidays, so the evening before Thanksgiving, Sissy invited a group of us to share some holiday cheer.

Rum and Brandy pair up with an egg batter and boiling water for a "goes-down-easy" drink.

Rusty and I had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner, followed by pie with the White family.

Roasted chicken, cranberry salad, sweet potato latkes and yummy salad.

Lindsay, Rusty, Di, Celeste, Anna

We took a very early morning flight into St.Paul, MN in order to attend the wedding of my cousin's son.

Bethany and Chris were a beautiful couple!

Di and cousin Barb (mother of the groom)

I also enjoyed visiting with my other cousin, Terry, and her family from Phoenix.

David (son), Terry, Di and husband Chuck

The bride wore her grandmother's wedding dress for the first part of the reception, and her mother's wedding dress later in the evening.

Rusty and I had fun dancing to the music, despite the fact that Rusty is scheduled to have a total knee replacement in January.

From St. Paul we flew to Philadelphia to spend time with the Caviezel family.  Ruby really wanted some pumpkin pie, so how could I resist?

Ruby and GiGi roll out the pie crust.

As usual when in Philly, most of our travel is on foot.  We enjoyed the statues in Rittenhouse Square.

Ruby and Felicia

Ruby loves the statues in the park.

Two of the most beautiful women in my life!

We went to Macy's to check out the Christmas light show and the Wannamaker organ.

Waiting for the show to begin...

Music and lights and flying reindeer!

Watching the light show.

The Wannamaker organ originally played at the St. Louis World's Fair.

After the light show, we traveled through the world of Dickens on our way to see Santa.

Ruby checks out the almost life-sized portrayal of characters in the Dickens story.

The ghost of Christmas Past warns old Scrooge about his evil ways.

Felicia, Ruby and Rusty--enjoying Santaland at Macy's.

Ruby was very brave and sat on Santa' lap for the first time.  She told him she wanted a Christmas tree!

Sam watches while Ruby demonstrates her skill at assembling the puzzle.

Sam, Felicia, Rusty and I attended the Philadelphia Art Museum and toured the Leger collection.

You may recognize his most famous piece, "The City".

For a good sampling of the exhibition, check out this website.

Afterwards we went to Vetri's Pizzeria.  The Rotolo, which consisted of pizza dough, mortadella, ricotta, and pistachio pesto was incredible!  It was constructed like a cinnamon bun, only WAAAAY better!






I wanted to take a horse-drawn carriage ride. Our ride toured the historic spots in Old City and included an informative and humorous narrative from the driver.

Brian, the driver, was most entertaining and charming.

Waiting for our steed, Butters, to pull our carriage through Old City.

The Cianfranie Park put on an extra special celebration to light up the Christmas tree.

Lots and lots of kids and families turned out for the celebration.

The Mummers played and sang.

Ruby enjoyed the music.

Sam stood in line with Ruby so she could get another chance to visit with Santa.

Ruby seemed just a bit more hesitant with this Santa.

Ruby, Sam, and the newly-lit tree.

Rusty and Sam enjoyed the evening with a good-tasting cigar.

Two nefarious characters.

Rusty and I were pleasantly surprised that all of our holiday travels went smoothly.  After enoying 50º weather in Philadelphia, it was a shock to come home to sub-zero wind chill temps.

Several inches of good snow and I was thrilled to get back on the skis again!

Neighbor, Addison (7 yrs. old) liked the snow too.

Wind sculpture just opening.

Wind sculpture fully open.

I can't help it!  I LOVE my wind sculpture, even in the snow!