Christmas 2006

We were in the Christmas spirit a couple of weeks ago, and we decorated our tree. Although I miss the smell of a real tree, and the search for just the right-sized one (which Tom tried to say every year was too big) and the huge trees we dragged home that would touch the ceiling, I must admit that this little artificial tree is hassle free, and looks rather pretty when finally "dressed".


Merry Christmas to everyone!

December 16, 1974

Christmas came early that year as we were blessed by the birth of our beautiful daughter Erika!
It's hard to believe that 32 years have gone by.

Happy Birthday Erika!





From tomboy to princess,





Who knew she was thinking "Hello world! Better get ready 'cause here I come!"

Cayuga Blues

It is a nasty, grey, damp, drippy day today- there is not even any snow to hide the ugly mud, dead leaves, and other debris that comes with winter in Central New York.

So, just to cheer ourselves up, Tom decided to post a few memories of what summer can be like!

We have the Cayuga blues- longing to be back on the boat. Only about 4 1/2 months to go!






Serendipity!











My favorite activity!

























I would prefer to be blogging from here.

















Not a bad view, either!

Here is home- all 128 sq. ft.!!

















Tom enjoying his morning coffee







And when we travel, this is one of our destinations. It is an old viaduct over the Erie Canalthat used to carry water.

Mr. Pink

We've had some aquarium deaths lately, including Nemo (the baby Molly) and one of his parents. We were at a loss as to why we were starting to lose fish, and then I looked closely at Mr. Pink. These photos don't show his true state- which is OBESE!

We think the culprit might be the automatic feeder that was installed while we were at the lake for the summer. It apparently has been releasing way too much food for the number of fish in our aqarium, and some of them just ate themselves to death. We have put the remaining fish on a diet, and are only feeding them by hand.

You may recall that Mr. Pink was one of two fish that Tom rescued when we started this aquarium, so we hope he will slim down and survive for many more years!


















Who says fish aren't fun? Mr. Pink plays hide and seek in the castle. If he gets any fatter, he won't fit in there.

Pictures of the party

I promised to post pictures of Towhee & Alex's party, so here they are!

The kitchen-BEFORE the onslaught of food!













This table looked a lot prettier without the people!
















Table details- Note the pretty placecards.

Celebrations!

Saturday night Tom & I went to Towhee & Alex's new home in Binghamton for a combination anniversary/Christmas/housewarming party.

Although we have visited the house before, it was transformed for this party by Towhee's decorative flair and the lights of Binghamton spread out below like jewels. The house is situated at the top of a hill, and the view is spectacular!

There were about 20 of us for cocktails and a sit-down dinner (Yes, all of us in the dining room!!) The table was beautifully set with china and glassware, but we did not take a camera so we have no pictures. I am hoping that Alex will be successful in e-mailing pictures to us.

And many thanks to all of you who provided appetizer recipes for me. Guests were asked to bring an appetizer, and I vacillated as to what to take, but in the end I opted for elegance, and took "Winter Baked Brie" which is Mike's Mom's recipe. That was a hit. I also took stuffed dates just for the heck of it, and was so surprised that they were all eaten!

We both behaved ourselves and stayed away from Towhee's infamous Cosmos. Tom did try the Peppermint Martinis that were the focal point of this party, but I opted for a Manhattan. Although we had been invited to spend the night and had an overnight bag in the car, we did make the drive home and made it to church Sunday AM!

This was a wonderful way to start the Christmas season, and our calendar is fairly open - so keep those invitations coming! :-)