Bah, Humbug!

Hayden In Her New Giraffe Onesies

8:30

It's 8:00 and a miserable, wet, warm and foggy morning here in Bristow,VA, with record highs in the making for the next couple of days.  No snow this year for Christmas unless you are in the mountains out West.  I guess I should not complain because we at least have family, our health, much to be thankful for.  So, let it rain, let it warm up,  I don't care.  I have my grandchildren!

At the moment, Jill is off at Boot Camp, Hayden at track practice, both being 'good girls,' while Drew and I lull around on the couch, with cups of coffee, watching the news.  And Evie and Halle are still sleeping, the lucky dogs.  It's a shock to think it's already Wednesday, as the days seem to blend into one another.  We are kind of stuck in the house, not being able to get out except to do some shopping. So Tuesday we spent most of the day in the house though Evie and Halle had a productive afternoon, doing some shopping and making Halle's present for her Dad.  She is excited.  Jill and I did some shopping after dropping Hayden off at a friends for a gift exchange, then hit a new local restaurant for lunch called Nando's, famous for their Peri Peri Chicken.  It's either Peruvian or Portuguese influenced though I am sure I ate at Nando's in Pretoria, South Africa in 1996, when I spent a couple of months in that amazing country on my sabbatical.  When we picked up Hayden after lunch, she pranced out in her new giraffe onesies.

Making Cookies And A Mess

Mid afternoon, Halle had Carleigh, a friend, over to make cookies with Evie.  So for the next couple of hours, the girls helped Evie make sugar cookies, starting from scratch.  The girls were typically silly, making it a challenging afternoon for Evie but they had fun and made lots of Christmas cookies so they can decorate them today.  My lone exercise for the day was dragging a reluctant dog on a walk around the neighborhood.  I am not sure what his problem is, whether he just wants to go home or is scared of something but he always seemed to look back to the where we had come from.

Carleigh And Halle

We were not sure what to have for dinner, so Jill asked for her favorite, in fact, all our kids favorite, Greek Lemon chicken, with rice.  So Evie got it ready mid afternoon before the cookie making, so that for dinner, all she needed to do was put it in the oven for a couple of hours and make the lemon/oregano gravy to put over both the chicken and rice.  Everyone loved it, even the girls, so hardly any was left.

Jill And Her Hayden

And the rest of the evening, a modern Christmas miracle took place.  We  sat around in the living room for a couple of hours, without the TV, just TALKING.  It was fun as we laughed and laughed, told stories, talked about our families, childhoods, grandparents, the usual, with little if any politics.