Once again, my weekend Christmas plans were rudely disrupted by the weather. Sunday rained and rained and rained... I don't like walking around wet and cold, so I've postponed my Zoolights excursion. Not only that, but once we'd picked out the "perfect" (and my family always looks out for character as part of perfection) tree, we looked around the Christmas-y things on sale at the garden center, and stopped briefly to pick up lunch on the way home. Thus, the tree was by no means dry - in fact, it was too wet to contemplate stringing electrical lights on the damp branches. So instead of giggling and laughing and getting sticky everywhere while reaching around and hugging the tree did not happen - and my mom has plans to light and decorate the tree herself. :( Ah well.
In any case, I did bake cookies yesterday and last night. Mostly I played sous chef to my sister's master baker, but we had fun.
Tonight is a chores night (i.e. laundry) so it's not certain I'll get around to doing more than listening to holiday music, unless Netflix obligingly sends me The Christmas Carol, in which case I'll watch another holiday movie.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Advent, Days 11, 12 and 13
Today looks like another Christmas movie: A Christmas Story, this time - apparently the most-rented holiday movie on NetFlix. I've seen it before, but remember very little. I suppose I feel it's one of those classics I ought to know, because it's quoted so often. Also, I think quite possibly I'll find it amusing. And who doesn't need a little more laughter and fun in life?
This weekend will most likely resemble a holiday marathon. The family (at least, the women, who are all within less than two hours distant) have plans to congregate and bake, for friends, coworkers (and family, I do insist). Holiday cookies in my family come in at least four varieties - mostly because we love baking, decorating, and most especially (in my case) eating them.
Sunday equals Christmas Tree Day. Unfortunately we no longer drive out to a farm to cut the quote-unquote "best" tree. These days, we go in for much less exciting, but easier tree shopping. I.e., we go to the nearest garden center to pick one out. Then there's getting it home, setting it up in its little tray, and the funnest part of all - putting on the lights. That last is said only partly in jest...
Sunday I will also be going to the Zoolights at the National Zoo. Sunday is evidently "young professionals night" which should make things interesting. It's cheap, at $8 for a non FONZ member ticket. According to About.com, "Throughout ZooLights, the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat will be open for extended hours for those who wish to bid farewell to Tai Shan before he departs for China in early 2010." - so I guess it's also a good time to see the panda.
Zoolights Schedule:
December 4-13, 2009 (Friday through Sunday nights) and December 18-January 2 (every night except Dec. 24, 25, and 31) from 6-8:30 p.m.
This weekend will most likely resemble a holiday marathon. The family (at least, the women, who are all within less than two hours distant) have plans to congregate and bake, for friends, coworkers (and family, I do insist). Holiday cookies in my family come in at least four varieties - mostly because we love baking, decorating, and most especially (in my case) eating them.
Sunday equals Christmas Tree Day. Unfortunately we no longer drive out to a farm to cut the quote-unquote "best" tree. These days, we go in for much less exciting, but easier tree shopping. I.e., we go to the nearest garden center to pick one out. Then there's getting it home, setting it up in its little tray, and the funnest part of all - putting on the lights. That last is said only partly in jest...
Sunday I will also be going to the Zoolights at the National Zoo. Sunday is evidently "young professionals night" which should make things interesting. It's cheap, at $8 for a non FONZ member ticket. According to About.com, "Throughout ZooLights, the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat will be open for extended hours for those who wish to bid farewell to Tai Shan before he departs for China in early 2010." - so I guess it's also a good time to see the panda.
Zoolights Schedule:
December 4-13, 2009 (Friday through Sunday nights) and December 18-January 2 (every night except Dec. 24, 25, and 31) from 6-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Playing Catch-Up - Backwards
Yes, it does happen to be easier to remember things backwards sometimes. Thus:
Advent, Day 8: Christmas Dinner at La Cote D'Or, an excellent little French restaurant near East Falls Church Metro. The menu included escargot (I had one - I've had them before and feel ambivalent towards them), mushroom soup, lamb, "salmon in love with sea scallops" (the best, most excellent seafood I've had, maybe ever) and chocolate profiteroles (a little disappointing).
Advent, Day 7: This day gets as far as listening to Christmas music. Definitely more in line with opening a perforated door in a piece of reinforced paper and either taking a moment to look at a cute picture, or gobbling a tiny hunk of yummy chocolate.
Advent, Day 6: Christmas roll at Maneki Neko, a tiny, excellent (and reasonably-priced) sushi restaurant in Falls Church. Again, not much involved here.
Advent, Day 5: This was the day I was supposed to got to Scottish Christmas Weekend Walk, but it snowed. And snowed, and snowed, and snowed. So I stayed inside after some Christmas browsing and watched Jane Austen movies.
Advent, Day 8: Christmas Dinner at La Cote D'Or, an excellent little French restaurant near East Falls Church Metro. The menu included escargot (I had one - I've had them before and feel ambivalent towards them), mushroom soup, lamb, "salmon in love with sea scallops" (the best, most excellent seafood I've had, maybe ever) and chocolate profiteroles (a little disappointing).
Advent, Day 7: This day gets as far as listening to Christmas music. Definitely more in line with opening a perforated door in a piece of reinforced paper and either taking a moment to look at a cute picture, or gobbling a tiny hunk of yummy chocolate.
Advent, Day 6: Christmas roll at Maneki Neko, a tiny, excellent (and reasonably-priced) sushi restaurant in Falls Church. Again, not much involved here.
Advent, Day 5: This was the day I was supposed to got to Scottish Christmas Weekend Walk, but it snowed. And snowed, and snowed, and snowed. So I stayed inside after some Christmas browsing and watched Jane Austen movies.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Washington DC Sober Ride
Sometimes working for the government is surprisingly useful... an email I just received, for your edification (especially if you live in the Washington, D.C. area):
*** FOR INFORMATION ONLY ***
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) 2009 Holiday SoberRide program will be offered from 2200 to 0600 each night, beginning Friday, 11 December 2009 and ending at 0600, Friday, 1 January 2010. To receive a free cab ride home (up to a $50.00 fare), please call 800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your AT&T wireless phone. You must be 21 years of age or older to use the SoberRide service.
Click here for more information: http://www.wrap.org/soberride/
Even if you don't live in this area, it might be worthwhile looking into other regional sober ride programs.
*** FOR INFORMATION ONLY ***
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) 2009 Holiday SoberRide program will be offered from 2200 to 0600 each night, beginning Friday, 11 December 2009 and ending at 0600, Friday, 1 January 2010. To receive a free cab ride home (up to a $50.00 fare), please call 800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your AT&T wireless phone. You must be 21 years of age or older to use the SoberRide service.
Click here for more information: http://www.wrap.org/soberride/
Even if you don't live in this area, it might be worthwhile looking into other regional sober ride programs.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Advent, Day 4: With stories from Days 2 and 3
To "begin at the beginning and go on till [I] come to the end, then stop":
December 2 turned out to be cold, wet and rainy, and my determination to go to the US Botanic Gardens to see their Holiday Magic display wavered. I did go, however, and even though the walks to and from Metro stations were wet and dreary, it did not rain. Skip ahead to the foyer, whereupon entering I was given an unnecessary brochure (at the exit they have a basket to recycle brochures - how neat is that?).
The minute I walk into the first courtyard, with trees and flowering plants lining the edges and two pools in the middle on either side of the enormous Christmas tree (decorated with a train running round its base), I take a deep breath. I continually forget how relaxing botanical gardens are. I figure it's the higher oxygen content of the air, mixed wtih greenery all around and above...
To get back to the point, an artist has created miniature models of all the most important monuments and buildings on and around the Mall, including the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian Castle, the Washington Monument, Jefferson and Lincoln memorials .. etc. out of resin and bark and flowers, leaves and mushrooms! Each one is burnished bronze in color, with amazing detail. Then I moved on to the West Gallery, which holds the trains. 45-foot train tracks, the scent of cedar and pine, fairies made out of twigs and leaves, and little villages - the three little pigs holding off the big bad wolf, little red riding hood walking unsuspecting into the forest, fairy homes, and Santa's Village. All in miniature. I walked around happy and wondering for awhile before heading out.
Yesterday, my efforts to create my own Advent calendar failed - or at least, what I did followed more along the lines of simply opening a paper door and either reaching inside for a tasty bite of chocolate or glancing at a picture. I listened to holiday music. Yep, that's it! No time for more because I had tickets to the hockey game. Even without Ovechkin, the game was a rout, Alexander Semin putting up 2 goals and at least one assist, and Fehr, Bradley and others contributing to the SIX goals scored by the Caps! I also rediscovered why I don't eat any but kosher hot dogs. It was Dollar Hot Dog Night, so I tried one. Bleh. Not an experience I need to repeat. On the way home we caught a glimpse of the National Christmas Tree, or whatever they're calling it... it looks slightly boring to me, but you didn't read that here.
Tonight, it's a movie called Merry Christmas, about international soldiers on the front on Christmas Eve during World War II.
December 2 turned out to be cold, wet and rainy, and my determination to go to the US Botanic Gardens to see their Holiday Magic display wavered. I did go, however, and even though the walks to and from Metro stations were wet and dreary, it did not rain. Skip ahead to the foyer, whereupon entering I was given an unnecessary brochure (at the exit they have a basket to recycle brochures - how neat is that?).
The minute I walk into the first courtyard, with trees and flowering plants lining the edges and two pools in the middle on either side of the enormous Christmas tree (decorated with a train running round its base), I take a deep breath. I continually forget how relaxing botanical gardens are. I figure it's the higher oxygen content of the air, mixed wtih greenery all around and above...
To get back to the point, an artist has created miniature models of all the most important monuments and buildings on and around the Mall, including the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian Castle, the Washington Monument, Jefferson and Lincoln memorials .. etc. out of resin and bark and flowers, leaves and mushrooms! Each one is burnished bronze in color, with amazing detail. Then I moved on to the West Gallery, which holds the trains. 45-foot train tracks, the scent of cedar and pine, fairies made out of twigs and leaves, and little villages - the three little pigs holding off the big bad wolf, little red riding hood walking unsuspecting into the forest, fairy homes, and Santa's Village. All in miniature. I walked around happy and wondering for awhile before heading out.
Yesterday, my efforts to create my own Advent calendar failed - or at least, what I did followed more along the lines of simply opening a paper door and either reaching inside for a tasty bite of chocolate or glancing at a picture. I listened to holiday music. Yep, that's it! No time for more because I had tickets to the hockey game. Even without Ovechkin, the game was a rout, Alexander Semin putting up 2 goals and at least one assist, and Fehr, Bradley and others contributing to the SIX goals scored by the Caps! I also rediscovered why I don't eat any but kosher hot dogs. It was Dollar Hot Dog Night, so I tried one. Bleh. Not an experience I need to repeat. On the way home we caught a glimpse of the National Christmas Tree, or whatever they're calling it... it looks slightly boring to me, but you didn't read that here.
Tonight, it's a movie called Merry Christmas, about international soldiers on the front on Christmas Eve during World War II.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Advent, Day 5: Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend
It's already 1 December (Happy Advent everyone!) and although I have a freebie tonight (per the Nutcracker ballet I saw last Friday), I'm already behind on planning my Advent Calendar Events.
So let's just get right down to it, shall we?
First big event: the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, in downtown Alexandria, Va. Hosted by the Campagna Center, whose programs help young children in academics. This weekend is one of the largest fundraising opportunities for the non-profit organization. Events from the 3rd to the 5th of December include:
Christmas Marketplace (frustratingly only available on Friday, 9-5pm, leaving those of us with day jobs out of luck)
Heather and Greens Sale (Saturday at The Campagna Center, 418 South Washington Street, Alexandria)
Children's Tea Party (sold out)
Taste of Scotland ($100, it's really a scotch tasting)...
...and, most importantly of all (perhaps), is the parade: 11am-1pm Saturday morning, representing 100+ Scottish clans dressed in clan tartan. It will be followed by a massed band concert at King and Royal Streets.
Although I won't be attending this, for anyone interested in interior decorating/designer homes, the weekend includes a tour of select homes in Old Town, Alexandria, decorated for the holidays. It starts at 11, runs until 4pm in the afternoon on Saturday. Tickets in advance are $30, at the door are $35. So I'll be there on Saturday, I hope to see at least some of the parade and maybe stop by the band concert. And grab some Scottish munchies, if possible. Because that's the most important thing. ;)
So let's just get right down to it, shall we?
First big event: the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, in downtown Alexandria, Va. Hosted by the Campagna Center, whose programs help young children in academics. This weekend is one of the largest fundraising opportunities for the non-profit organization. Events from the 3rd to the 5th of December include:
Christmas Marketplace (frustratingly only available on Friday, 9-5pm, leaving those of us with day jobs out of luck)
Heather and Greens Sale (Saturday at The Campagna Center, 418 South Washington Street, Alexandria)
Children's Tea Party (sold out)
Taste of Scotland ($100, it's really a scotch tasting)...
...and, most importantly of all (perhaps), is the parade: 11am-1pm Saturday morning, representing 100+ Scottish clans dressed in clan tartan. It will be followed by a massed band concert at King and Royal Streets.
Although I won't be attending this, for anyone interested in interior decorating/designer homes, the weekend includes a tour of select homes in Old Town, Alexandria, decorated for the holidays. It starts at 11, runs until 4pm in the afternoon on Saturday. Tickets in advance are $30, at the door are $35. So I'll be there on Saturday, I hope to see at least some of the parade and maybe stop by the band concert. And grab some Scottish munchies, if possible. Because that's the most important thing. ;)
Advent, Day 3: The National Christmas Tree
Okay, I know. Not only did I completely fail this past week to do anything seriously Christmas-related, I also failed to write.
At any rate. Thursday of last week I did unintentionally almost do something that I'll put on my advent calendar. I got a ride home from the hockey game (a unique experience, not taking the Metro), and as we drove down Constitution, we glimpsed the white lights and green ... I'd say foliage, but we weren't so close... of the National Christmas Tree. Of course, we had to look past all the white tents and trailors there for the celebration.
At any rate. Thursday of last week I did unintentionally almost do something that I'll put on my advent calendar. I got a ride home from the hockey game (a unique experience, not taking the Metro), and as we drove down Constitution, we glimpsed the white lights and green ... I'd say foliage, but we weren't so close... of the National Christmas Tree. Of course, we had to look past all the white tents and trailors there for the celebration.
Advent, Day 2: U.S. Botanic Gardens Christmas Display
Okay, so this business of blogging about my plans (every day) for the next month or so, before the plans actually play out, takes more effort than I expected. And more time. Whoops!
So, briefly: Tomorrow I'm going to arrive at work just a bit early so I can leave a bit early, and go walk around the U.S. Botanic Gardens, that has put on a holiday display from November 26-January 10. Details here. If an hour's not enough, a repeat trip will at least make one day's planning much easier.
This weekend (or Monday) look for reviews of all the holiday activities I've been up to.
So, briefly: Tomorrow I'm going to arrive at work just a bit early so I can leave a bit early, and go walk around the U.S. Botanic Gardens, that has put on a holiday display from November 26-January 10. Details here. If an hour's not enough, a repeat trip will at least make one day's planning much easier.
This weekend (or Monday) look for reviews of all the holiday activities I've been up to.
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