Yuletide Trifecta ~

We've dug into the Christmas season with a happy vengeance, heading up to the Winterthur and Longwood Gardens displays on Thursday and enjoying them despite weather that was, well, lousy, deteriorating to miserable -- heavy, sideways rain. But our merrye band -- us and two couples -- was undeterred and did most of what could be done despite the elements and enjoyed the cozy A/Bus as the elements lashed it. Doing the trip as an overnight deal was, I concede, a superior way to do it and the motel where our friends stayed was about 1000 feet from where we were parked in the Walmart. The sleeping aboard the A/Bus with the rain on the roof most of the night was sublime. I didn't mind the $2.36 diesel, either.

Then Friday eve we went to this year's Chapel C'mas concert, this being the first to be held in the new building. It was, in a word, spectacular, with full orchestra and really fine audio/video support. The place was packed out at 1600 people and the message was strong but winsomely stated.

Then this morning M&I helped escort recipients of this year's Kiwanis toy drive, wherein we (among many others) helped parents (mostly, but by no means entirely, minority moms) locate and choose gifts for their kids, $35/head. It's a wonderful thing to participate in and speaks very highly of the Kiwanis chapter M belongs to.

We had some mandatory dining minimums to eat away by 12/31 so we had both lunch and dinner at the Club today. Get the prices off the menu and it would be just like cruising. I've been binging on cookies, nuts, chips, you name it since the A/Bus rolled Thursday morning and I have the tight belt to show for it. We're going to a big holiday luncheon with our dining-out group in C/W tomorrow after church, which won't help things.

We put up the tree late this afternoon and the excitement is growing as we look forward to heading to Dr Brado's in a week.

Speaking of seasonal excitement, here is a dog who LOVES the snow:
http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/