weekend recap, december 23

1. christmas card | 2. silent night | 3. christmas bath | 4. happy family | 5. george washington | 6. the senate chamber | 7. peanut butter pie | 8. blood mary sunday | 9. can can brasserie

As you can see from the look on Violet's face, some of us had a better weekend than others. Poor thing. It was so freakishly warm here that a bath was just the thing, and don't worry, we used warm water. She's still fluffy and smells great! But if you hear her tell about it, it was miserable, horrible, humiliating and degrading. But the water was warm. So thanks.

She did not, alas, come with us to Richmond, to check out Cal's new stomping grounds. The only damper to this quick trip to Virginia's capitol, our first of many in the coming weeks, was the weather. Warm, yes. But POURING. As soon as we got there, the skies opened up and this precluded the wandering around the grounds we'd been looking forward to. No matter, we got a nearly private tour of the interior of the capitol from a wonderful tour guide. (She even took us in the Senate Chamber, where he'll be working, despite the fact that the tours usually only go into the House Chamber. That was great.)

That's when things really hit home from all of us, I think.

Holy shit, batman.

I'm not really sure what else I can say about that. Except that we got home and Cal promptly went to bed. And he didn't even have two cocktails at lunch like I did.

Now that we've gotten that out of our system, it's full-force Christmas around here. There's shopping to be done (but the fun, little stuff), there are groceries to be purchased, and there are things to be baked (that's why my mom is here, right?).

Nothing but blue skies (and wind and rain, if I'm perfectly honest) ahead.

five things, december 20

The annual day-after-Thanksgiving tree lighting in Nantucket.

1. I think I am not a fan of this year's five-exams-in-a-row schedule. These poor kids! Cal is completely brain dead, and his science teacher (the science test was last) has to feel like he's not getting the best effort. No matter. By noon-ish today, it'll all be over and Christmas break can begin!

2. I think things are kicking into high Christmas gear around here. My mom arrived on Wednesday and my dad arrives tomorrow. We have much fun in store and much to do. I'm mostly (mostly) done with everything except for having fun, so that's good, right? Full speed ahead on the riotous good times.

3. I think it's crazy that my hometown made the front page of USA Today this week for this story. It's not a great one really. You've heard my regular refrain about street flooding and sea level rise around here, and here's the story in depth. If you take the time to watch the video, near the end they describe a neighborhood that has raised houses (for approximately $135,000 per house) and is now creating an artificial wetland to help stem the tide of the rising river water. Well, that wetland is along my regular walk, and I've been watching its progress. Exciting solution to a scary prospect.

4. I think I have to guard against thinking I'm going to get all sorts of things done while Cal is in Richmond this winter. The biggest shift in my day-to-day will be the absence of the school run. I generally leave around 2:30 to hop in the carpool line, and because of timing and traffic, my working day is pretty much shot. I'm hoping I can take advantage of some extra hours and fill those hours to keep from missing him too much.

5. I think I can't let you go without sharing this video. It's older, so you've probably already seen it, but I can't stop watching it. Call it an early Christmas present.

Have a great weekend getting it all done, my lovelies! XO