weekend recap, december 9

1. tree hunt | 2. local joint 3. in situ | 4. dinner with friends | 5. st. germain on ice | 6. ice wreath | 7. deco time | 8. chili | 9. success

Well, while all of you were out enjoying your ice storms and snow and just generally making me jealous, we were submitted to a cold rain this weekend, just warm enough to keep from being fun and just cold enough to be really, really miserable. I mentioned that two-day migraine on Instagram, well here's why: 80º  on Friday, 49º on Saturday, 39º on Sunday. My poor head couldn't keep up.

Shopping for a tree felt like we were back in California. Warm! Too warm. We could have taken our time and browsed a bit, but Cal found a perfect tree on the first try, so there we were. Got it home and in a bucket and saved the rest of the work for later. Gah. I must be getting old. I used to be able to whip this decorating out no problem. Now it's taking days, and I'm still not done!

An unexpected dinner with friends on Saturday (seriously, who has a free evening in December these days?), lots of house and other work on Sunday, and now it feels like we've barely had a break. Monday again. The tree is sparkling behind me though, and the decorations are almost up and out. There's a Christmassy chill in the air. We're getting there. Man, that chili was good.

five things, december 6

1. I think it's so remarkable to have traveled in the span of just a few days from New England where the trees are completely bare and the streets swept clean of leaves back home to the coastal south where even in December, fall keeps kicking.

2. I think, among the more material, 14-year-old appropriate things that he's considering for Christmas, what Cal really wants is a jar of sand from Nantucket. Who can blame him?

3. I think one of my favorite Nelson Mandela quotes comes from his 1994 biography, Long Walk to Freedom. "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

4. I think I love the idea of celebrating St. Nicholas Day. The inspiration for Santa Claus or Father Christmas, St. Nicholas was known as a giver of gifts and a man who cared for the poor. Noreen shares a sweet photo in preparation for celebrating the day. We should be emulating people like St. Nicholas more, not less, don't you think? Happy St. Nicholas Day!

5. I think that Annie's post and this link she sent me has me day dreaming about a London Christmas like nobody's business. We often talk of slipping away to some European city for the Christmas holiday. Would you do it? Would you leave hearth and home? Where would you go?