Shepherds entering.
Silent Night choir.
angels waiting.
from the choir.
self portrait in the pew.
a Christmas scene.
family.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Christmas 2008
Shepherds entering.
Silent Night choir.
angels waiting.
from the choir.
self portrait in the pew.
a Christmas scene.
family.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Night before Christmas Eve
It's trying to snow again. Ariel is in Seattle. Merry Christmas to you, Ariel, and happy holidays to all.
Somehow we are ready for Christmas. All but pictures out to family and friends, which we will try to get out for New Years'. The house is decorated, the Christmas train is under the tree in the living room, and the Polar Express under a small tree in the boys' room. Lights and wreaths outside. Another train on the lawn. The village is up, the snow babies, the creche, the Advent calendar, candles on the mantle, biscochitos on the counter, stockings to be hung, and lots, lots more. Easily half our storage is Christmas decorations.
We finished the gingerbread house last night. It looks very funky, but the icing and candies hide many sins. Jackson is finishing his letter to Santa. He's including Rylee's wish list, too. Surprisingly, Santa may get the letter and bring many of the things they wish for. Now if they only stay nice long enough not to get bumped to the naughty list.
We have broken down and gotten Jack a DS handheld game player for Christmas. We are both insisting on monitoring and limiting the games he plays, and we found a game called Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which sounds like it is a good (award winning) game with a story to follow and many, many logic puzzles to solve. Some of the puzzles may be a little hard for him, actually, and it will require him to read a lot. Maybe it'll be a good game for the family. The game takes advantage of the stylus and touch screen feature of the DS.
We didn't decide until this weekend to get him the game player, and I spent Monday morning going to stores and calling around to discover that there was not one DS player left in all of the city. So I tried Amazon, and sure enough it is being overnighted for only a couple of bucks more, along with the game, which we would also never have found in town. It's been a kick to track the player and game from processing to warehouses to local centers to hubs and then to Albuquerque, all in the space of about 16 hours.
Cyndi has gotten the boys presents (and clothes, of course) along with a few other small things I had ordered a few weeks ago. We also got them the remote control vehicles they asked for: Rylee is getting a muscle car and Jackson a "monster" truck. Those should be big hits and great battery drainers. Ry is getting a junior-sized soccer net and ball. "It's one of my sports," he says. Tonight we will sort through everything and decide what gets wrapped and placed under the tree and what comes from Santa.
We got a ham for Christmas Eve, tamales and taquitos, guacamole and chips, rolls, salad, wine and beer. Cyndi is making posole (hominy and pork, served with red chile and maybe a side of pinto beans), too. The family will all be in town and in and out to eat after mass, as Bennie is still at the skilled nursing center, where we will have a (somewhat potluck) supper on Christmas day. The family thinks he will be moving right after Christmas, either home or an acute physical therapy center. Since we are having an open house on Christmas Eve, we probably should get makings for luminarias, too.
Cyndi's gotten small gifts for nephews and nieces, and I managed to ship stuff to my family. Nothing extravagant, but I think they will be enjoyed. Meanwhile, we are receiving boxes and cards from family and friends.
Wednesday is Christmas Eve, and as I've mentioned, there will be the Childrens' Mass. We need to get there by 4 to get a pew for the family, to get Ry in his shepherd's costume, and to get Jack to a last-minute choir practice. Afterwards it will be time to switch on the lights, even light a fire, for posole and ham and possibly a little Christmas nip, visit Bennie, and then put the boys to bed in their Christmas pajamas.
Fortunately, I do not believe there is much assembly this year, just a lot of charging to do. Christmas Day we hope will be quiet and peaceful, with maybe a hike in the mountains during the day. We plan to have a second Christmas with Ariel when she returns after the New Year. She will spend more time in Seattle and Bainbridge Island with her college roommate, Em, and maybe even visit Portland for a week just to look around. Then fly home.
Big, wet snowflakes are falling now. Much love to all.
Somehow we are ready for Christmas. All but pictures out to family and friends, which we will try to get out for New Years'. The house is decorated, the Christmas train is under the tree in the living room, and the Polar Express under a small tree in the boys' room. Lights and wreaths outside. Another train on the lawn. The village is up, the snow babies, the creche, the Advent calendar, candles on the mantle, biscochitos on the counter, stockings to be hung, and lots, lots more. Easily half our storage is Christmas decorations.
We finished the gingerbread house last night. It looks very funky, but the icing and candies hide many sins. Jackson is finishing his letter to Santa. He's including Rylee's wish list, too. Surprisingly, Santa may get the letter and bring many of the things they wish for. Now if they only stay nice long enough not to get bumped to the naughty list.
We have broken down and gotten Jack a DS handheld game player for Christmas. We are both insisting on monitoring and limiting the games he plays, and we found a game called Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which sounds like it is a good (award winning) game with a story to follow and many, many logic puzzles to solve. Some of the puzzles may be a little hard for him, actually, and it will require him to read a lot. Maybe it'll be a good game for the family. The game takes advantage of the stylus and touch screen feature of the DS.
We didn't decide until this weekend to get him the game player, and I spent Monday morning going to stores and calling around to discover that there was not one DS player left in all of the city. So I tried Amazon, and sure enough it is being overnighted for only a couple of bucks more, along with the game, which we would also never have found in town. It's been a kick to track the player and game from processing to warehouses to local centers to hubs and then to Albuquerque, all in the space of about 16 hours.
Cyndi has gotten the boys presents (and clothes, of course) along with a few other small things I had ordered a few weeks ago. We also got them the remote control vehicles they asked for: Rylee is getting a muscle car and Jackson a "monster" truck. Those should be big hits and great battery drainers. Ry is getting a junior-sized soccer net and ball. "It's one of my sports," he says. Tonight we will sort through everything and decide what gets wrapped and placed under the tree and what comes from Santa.
We got a ham for Christmas Eve, tamales and taquitos, guacamole and chips, rolls, salad, wine and beer. Cyndi is making posole (hominy and pork, served with red chile and maybe a side of pinto beans), too. The family will all be in town and in and out to eat after mass, as Bennie is still at the skilled nursing center, where we will have a (somewhat potluck) supper on Christmas day. The family thinks he will be moving right after Christmas, either home or an acute physical therapy center. Since we are having an open house on Christmas Eve, we probably should get makings for luminarias, too.
Cyndi's gotten small gifts for nephews and nieces, and I managed to ship stuff to my family. Nothing extravagant, but I think they will be enjoyed. Meanwhile, we are receiving boxes and cards from family and friends.
Wednesday is Christmas Eve, and as I've mentioned, there will be the Childrens' Mass. We need to get there by 4 to get a pew for the family, to get Ry in his shepherd's costume, and to get Jack to a last-minute choir practice. Afterwards it will be time to switch on the lights, even light a fire, for posole and ham and possibly a little Christmas nip, visit Bennie, and then put the boys to bed in their Christmas pajamas.
Fortunately, I do not believe there is much assembly this year, just a lot of charging to do. Christmas Day we hope will be quiet and peaceful, with maybe a hike in the mountains during the day. We plan to have a second Christmas with Ariel when she returns after the New Year. She will spend more time in Seattle and Bainbridge Island with her college roommate, Em, and maybe even visit Portland for a week just to look around. Then fly home.
Big, wet snowflakes are falling now. Much love to all.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
nights before Christmas
A busy week. Snow, school parties, Cyndi's parties. Plans for Bennie. Plans for Christmas. The solstice is near. More snow forecasted.
Ariel is in Seattle, too faraway, hanging with Emily, seeing how it fits. Wish she were here.
The Children's Mass is Wednesday. Christmas Eve is so soon. Saturday, the boys had practice for the pageant and the choir. Rylee is a shepherd, Jackson is in the choir. We were so proud of them. Today there is another practice for the choir.
Family may be here for the mass on Wednesday evening to see the boys, and maybe we'll have posole, tamales and ham afterward.
Tasty gifts coming from family. Chocolates and smoked salmon. We have tasty stuff on its way, too.
Friday evening we ate at the ABQ uptown and toured the shops. Don't know when we will get the last of the shopping done. I think there's a trip to Radio Shack this year for electronic games and remote control stuff and a side trip to a sports store for a soccer net.
Yesterday we drove to Santa Fe. We didn't take the Railrunner afterall. We were too busy all day. Parked at the new railyard underground lot and got our tickets at the depot for the Polar Express. For trademark reasons, I'm sure, it's not called the Polar Express anymore. It's the Christmas train. The boys wore their pajamas. All the kids wore pajamas, and some adults, too. There was a conductor, a reader, and, later, Santa, giving bells. There was singing, but mostly because one little girl would spontaneously sing and we'd join in. There was hot chocolate (instant packages and hot water) and cookies. There was a flat car, too; so the boys loved to go out. It was cold and dark and the train really moved along in some stretches. The sky was clear and the stars bright. Snow lay along the tracks.
We ate late at La Choza and drove home. Carried the boys to bed in their pajamas.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
snow day
It snowed yesterday. Not a lot, but it is white. When the boys got home last night, they put on their coats, hats, and mittens, and played in the yard under the glow of the outdoor lights. Jackson built a small snowman. He used buttons, sticks, and an organic baby carrot for the nose. (It's all we had.) Last night they announced a two-hour delay for school, but this morning they announced school was cancelled today.
It looked like it might snow all through the night, but it did not. They are forecasting, however, a couple waves of snow through Thursday, and maybe another series next week. I wonder if we are getting some of the storms that dumped all that rain upon Ariel in Hawaii. It should be clear but cold Saturday. We are planning to take the Polar Express out of Santa Fe, which should include a reading of the story, hot chocolate, and, of course, the children dressed in their pajamas. There ought to be a conductor, tickets to punch, and Santa, too. The express Railrunner is up and running as of this week, and I think there is a schedule that would take us from Albuquerque to Santa Fe before the Polar Express departs and take us back afterwards. For free this weekend, too.
Maybe we will have a white Christmas. The boys' grandma asked me, "Why does everyone want snow on Christmas? It just makes it hard to drive." Cyndi and the boys would love it. It's that vision of a sleighride "over the meadows and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go." We don't know where Christmas will be this year. At the moment, we are figuring out Bennie's continued care, which may or may not bring him home for Christmas.
It looked like it might snow all through the night, but it did not. They are forecasting, however, a couple waves of snow through Thursday, and maybe another series next week. I wonder if we are getting some of the storms that dumped all that rain upon Ariel in Hawaii. It should be clear but cold Saturday. We are planning to take the Polar Express out of Santa Fe, which should include a reading of the story, hot chocolate, and, of course, the children dressed in their pajamas. There ought to be a conductor, tickets to punch, and Santa, too. The express Railrunner is up and running as of this week, and I think there is a schedule that would take us from Albuquerque to Santa Fe before the Polar Express departs and take us back afterwards. For free this weekend, too.
Maybe we will have a white Christmas. The boys' grandma asked me, "Why does everyone want snow on Christmas? It just makes it hard to drive." Cyndi and the boys would love it. It's that vision of a sleighride "over the meadows and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go." We don't know where Christmas will be this year. At the moment, we are figuring out Bennie's continued care, which may or may not bring him home for Christmas.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Honolulu Marathon update
Ariel texted just before the 5 am start in Honolulu. I found her entry online to watch her splits, but so far no entry. I also have streaming radio from Honolulu, and they are saying there is a heavy downpour now, almost one-half hour into it. They also say there's 23,000 running. The course map shows that Ariel should be looping through downtown and headed to Waikiki, maybe even near where we stayed. A beach cam just shows darkness and a few lights.
It's snowing here now. We started a gingerbread house yesterday, but we need to correct the icing recipe today. After church, we hope to interest the boys in the Children's Mass pageant and choir for Christmas eve.
It's rained a lot in Hawaii since Ariel's been in Kauai, but she was up for the race.
It's snowing here now. We started a gingerbread house yesterday, but we need to correct the icing recipe today. After church, we hope to interest the boys in the Children's Mass pageant and choir for Christmas eve.
It's rained a lot in Hawaii since Ariel's been in Kauai, but she was up for the race.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Kauai bound
Ariel's in Kauai with her friend, Emily. Emily's been working there but is returning to Seattle with Ariel after they both run the Honolulu Marathon. We miss Ariel.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Santa Fe holiday
Thanks to Gary & Beth's points, we stayed at the Residence Inn in Santa Fe Friday and Saturday night after Thanksgiving. It turned out perfectly. Bennie is still at the recovery center, but all the family was in town for the weekend and Cyndi got a chance at an opportune moment for a short holiday with me and the boys for the weekend. Ariel was going to the cabin but those plans changed, and last I talked with her she was going for an overnight with some friends.
We went up Friday afternoon. I can't remember why but it was about 3 by the time we made it to Santa Fe. We threw in a bunch of stuff. Lots of toys, casual clothes, a couple of bottles of wine, some Scotch in case Pete and Dori came up for a night for Pete's birthday. (They didn't come up. I suspect Thanksgiving Day was hard enough and they deserved a rest, too.) There was talk of some snow but that didn't happen, and the weekend was sunny though chilly. We got a nice room, with a little kitchen and a fireplace.
After checking in, we drove to the plaza for an obligatory stop at J. Crew and the toy store nearby. The boys wanted more transformers, but I dug my heels in. We got a paper airplane kit instead. The sales at J. Crew were great, so Cyndi got a couple of bargains. That made her very happy, and made for a perfect weekend.
We went to Tomasitas. It was packed. We actually went to Whole Foods during the wait time and picked up some snacks, a bundle of firewood, some ground coffee, pears, "rupidebeer", and milk. We had some wonderful whole beans, rice, Margaritas, sopapillas, and huevos rancheros once we got our table. All for under $40, a bargain in Santa Fe.
That night we lit a fire, started Mama Mia, and fell asleep after two or three songs.
The next day I found out I was only supposed to burn one of those sawdust-and-wax logs in the fireplace, and Cyndi told the front desk we actually did not watch the movie. They nicely took it off the bill. We had a wonderful hot breakfast.
We went to the plaza again, a visit to a winter version of the Indian Market at the convention center, and another toy store trip. Okay, my heels slipped and I gave way. Transformers were purchased. (They have spring-loaded buttons, so they automatically transform!) Checked out the railroad depot area. (Lots of activity there. About a mile or so from the plaza. It's the terminus for the RailRunner, which begins service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe in about two weeks, in time for the Polar Express adventure we're planning just before Christmas.) Then a relaxing afternoon. We went to Il Vincino for pizza and wine that night. That was under $40, too. We took a walk towards the plaza again for ice cream at the Plaza Bakery, a tradition from the time when Ariel was a child. The boys ordered their usual chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Back to the room, another fire. The boys loved playing with their transformers, when they weren't fighting over them. (Jackson tries to trade, but Rylee doesn't always agree.) Cyndi and Jack went to the jacuzzi and gazed at stars in the crisp night air while Ry and I cut up some pears.
Morning we burned the last stick of firewood, the boys and I grabbed a little breakfast while Cyndi ran a couple of miles on the treadmill, slowly got out of Santa Fe, and returned home. (Our bill was 0. Thanks, Gary and Beth.)
A wonderful weekend.
We went up Friday afternoon. I can't remember why but it was about 3 by the time we made it to Santa Fe. We threw in a bunch of stuff. Lots of toys, casual clothes, a couple of bottles of wine, some Scotch in case Pete and Dori came up for a night for Pete's birthday. (They didn't come up. I suspect Thanksgiving Day was hard enough and they deserved a rest, too.) There was talk of some snow but that didn't happen, and the weekend was sunny though chilly. We got a nice room, with a little kitchen and a fireplace.
After checking in, we drove to the plaza for an obligatory stop at J. Crew and the toy store nearby. The boys wanted more transformers, but I dug my heels in. We got a paper airplane kit instead. The sales at J. Crew were great, so Cyndi got a couple of bargains. That made her very happy, and made for a perfect weekend.
We went to Tomasitas. It was packed. We actually went to Whole Foods during the wait time and picked up some snacks, a bundle of firewood, some ground coffee, pears, "rupidebeer", and milk. We had some wonderful whole beans, rice, Margaritas, sopapillas, and huevos rancheros once we got our table. All for under $40, a bargain in Santa Fe.
That night we lit a fire, started Mama Mia, and fell asleep after two or three songs.
The next day I found out I was only supposed to burn one of those sawdust-and-wax logs in the fireplace, and Cyndi told the front desk we actually did not watch the movie. They nicely took it off the bill. We had a wonderful hot breakfast.
We went to the plaza again, a visit to a winter version of the Indian Market at the convention center, and another toy store trip. Okay, my heels slipped and I gave way. Transformers were purchased. (They have spring-loaded buttons, so they automatically transform!) Checked out the railroad depot area. (Lots of activity there. About a mile or so from the plaza. It's the terminus for the RailRunner, which begins service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe in about two weeks, in time for the Polar Express adventure we're planning just before Christmas.) Then a relaxing afternoon. We went to Il Vincino for pizza and wine that night. That was under $40, too. We took a walk towards the plaza again for ice cream at the Plaza Bakery, a tradition from the time when Ariel was a child. The boys ordered their usual chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Back to the room, another fire. The boys loved playing with their transformers, when they weren't fighting over them. (Jackson tries to trade, but Rylee doesn't always agree.) Cyndi and Jack went to the jacuzzi and gazed at stars in the crisp night air while Ry and I cut up some pears.
Morning we burned the last stick of firewood, the boys and I grabbed a little breakfast while Cyndi ran a couple of miles on the treadmill, slowly got out of Santa Fe, and returned home. (Our bill was 0. Thanks, Gary and Beth.)
A wonderful weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
