Happy New Year! *cough*
Dec. 31st, 2010 04:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Well, the last week has been hectic, crazy, wild and exhausting.
My daughter and her family arrived on 12/23 and we have been going non-stop since. (Mostly.)
This is them: Max, Nathanial, Larry & Amanda.

Christmas Eve my son and his kids came by and we all had dinner together--crock pot pot roast which was yummy.
Christmas day was amazing. It began with the first round of gift opening...it has been many years since I have witnessed little children being amazed by the Santa Claus miracle. I got up early enough to write a note from the jolly old elf, and that sealed the deal. They got way too many gifts (what else is new?) and a good time was had by all.



Did I mention, we had snow on Christmas day? Only the 10th time in recorded history (in Tennessee-according to my son). My daughter and her family, being from Florida, were delighted.

My son and his family came over later and round two of the gift giving commenced.




My table was set--yes, we had Christmas Crackers! We liked them so much last year we got them again. And may I recommend English Tea Store for all of your Christmas Cracker needs? They were fantastic. The crackers I ordered sold out before they fulfilled my order, so they substituted what I considered an upgraded product instead. They let me know they had run out of my order and asked if I minded...? And they shipped them via FedEx so I received them in time for the big day. Fantastic customer service! I will do business with them again and highly recommend them to anyone who has to order British products online.

The kid's table. They had the crackers, too, this pic was taken before they were set out.

(Everyone enjoyed the crackers. We all wore our crowns throughout dinner. Two of my grandsons actually saved theirs and we would catch them in the following days wearing them!)
A good time was had by all.
The next day, more snow fell.

So, the Florida folks got to see plenty of the white stuff.
The day after Christmas, my sister and her hubby drove up too, but we didn't see them until 12/27. By then, my hubby was sick. He made it to the farm to have our third gift exchange with his folks, then came home and took to his bed. (He slept for 14 hours.) We came back to the house and had dinner.
On Tuesday the 28th, we had our fourth and final gift exchange--without my brother-in-law, who was suffering from what my hubby had. My sister brought gifts from the family down in Florida, so it was like Christmas all over again. It was funny because my sister was channeling Oprah--"It's Pillow Pets for everyone!!" and like that. But the best part of all was that she gave me a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!!
Like this one.
Un-freaking-believable. Except that it is sitting in the box on my kitchen floor right now, waiting for me to clear some counter space.
(I must have been very good this year, because my hubby had my HP3 autographed movie poster framed (very grandly--I will post pics once it's on the wall). )
We also had fried bread dough for breakfast--another Florida tradition which was very welcome here, indeed. The Mimosas didn't hurt either! The Florida gang (minus my BIL) went to Nashville and visited the Parthenon. That night, the entire family assembled at Carrabba's to use the gift my mom had sent which was enough gift cards to buy dinner for ten people. (I forgot my camera!) It was good...but I was getting sick by this point.
Wednesday, most of them went back to Nashville to visit The Country Music Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, I was sick at home with the kind of cold that every breath feels like it's dragging over sandpaper as it comes and goes. Every swallow is the same. Coughing is exquisite torture and unavoidable. OMG, it was awful. Luckily, everyone left the house so I could rest. That night, my brother-in-law fired up our grill and cooked steak, chicken and sausage for a leaving feast (for my daughter and her family) of epic proportions. (The weather had been on a warming trend all week, so there was no snow, just spitting rain, which he weathered with the help of some good Irish whiskey.) It was so good, and we ate and laughed and just enjoyed each other.
Yesterday, my daughter and her family left at 5 in the morning...and we woke to a too-quiet house. My hubby had to work, and I got to rest again. My sister and her hubby were to come by for dinner, but now SHE has the cold, so they begged off.
Tonight, they are coming over to have our delayed dinner (I made British-style shepherd's pie, so it was able to keep) and to hopefully ring in the New Year together--if we can manage to stay awake long enough!
So, that's been my busy week. More pics to come--(they're still in the camera!)
Happy New Year to all of my LJ friends--every one of you is dear to me!
My daughter and her family arrived on 12/23 and we have been going non-stop since. (Mostly.)
This is them: Max, Nathanial, Larry & Amanda.
Christmas Eve my son and his kids came by and we all had dinner together--crock pot pot roast which was yummy.
Christmas day was amazing. It began with the first round of gift opening...it has been many years since I have witnessed little children being amazed by the Santa Claus miracle. I got up early enough to write a note from the jolly old elf, and that sealed the deal. They got way too many gifts (what else is new?) and a good time was had by all.
Did I mention, we had snow on Christmas day? Only the 10th time in recorded history (in Tennessee-according to my son). My daughter and her family, being from Florida, were delighted.
My son and his family came over later and round two of the gift giving commenced.
My table was set--yes, we had Christmas Crackers! We liked them so much last year we got them again. And may I recommend English Tea Store for all of your Christmas Cracker needs? They were fantastic. The crackers I ordered sold out before they fulfilled my order, so they substituted what I considered an upgraded product instead. They let me know they had run out of my order and asked if I minded...? And they shipped them via FedEx so I received them in time for the big day. Fantastic customer service! I will do business with them again and highly recommend them to anyone who has to order British products online.
The kid's table. They had the crackers, too, this pic was taken before they were set out.
(Everyone enjoyed the crackers. We all wore our crowns throughout dinner. Two of my grandsons actually saved theirs and we would catch them in the following days wearing them!)
A good time was had by all.
The next day, more snow fell.
So, the Florida folks got to see plenty of the white stuff.
The day after Christmas, my sister and her hubby drove up too, but we didn't see them until 12/27. By then, my hubby was sick. He made it to the farm to have our third gift exchange with his folks, then came home and took to his bed. (He slept for 14 hours.) We came back to the house and had dinner.
On Tuesday the 28th, we had our fourth and final gift exchange--without my brother-in-law, who was suffering from what my hubby had. My sister brought gifts from the family down in Florida, so it was like Christmas all over again. It was funny because my sister was channeling Oprah--"It's Pillow Pets for everyone!!" and like that. But the best part of all was that she gave me a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!!
Like this one.
Un-freaking-believable. Except that it is sitting in the box on my kitchen floor right now, waiting for me to clear some counter space.
(I must have been very good this year, because my hubby had my HP3 autographed movie poster framed (very grandly--I will post pics once it's on the wall). )
We also had fried bread dough for breakfast--another Florida tradition which was very welcome here, indeed. The Mimosas didn't hurt either! The Florida gang (minus my BIL) went to Nashville and visited the Parthenon. That night, the entire family assembled at Carrabba's to use the gift my mom had sent which was enough gift cards to buy dinner for ten people. (I forgot my camera!) It was good...but I was getting sick by this point.
Wednesday, most of them went back to Nashville to visit The Country Music Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, I was sick at home with the kind of cold that every breath feels like it's dragging over sandpaper as it comes and goes. Every swallow is the same. Coughing is exquisite torture and unavoidable. OMG, it was awful. Luckily, everyone left the house so I could rest. That night, my brother-in-law fired up our grill and cooked steak, chicken and sausage for a leaving feast (for my daughter and her family) of epic proportions. (The weather had been on a warming trend all week, so there was no snow, just spitting rain, which he weathered with the help of some good Irish whiskey.) It was so good, and we ate and laughed and just enjoyed each other.
Yesterday, my daughter and her family left at 5 in the morning...and we woke to a too-quiet house. My hubby had to work, and I got to rest again. My sister and her hubby were to come by for dinner, but now SHE has the cold, so they begged off.
Tonight, they are coming over to have our delayed dinner (I made British-style shepherd's pie, so it was able to keep) and to hopefully ring in the New Year together--if we can manage to stay awake long enough!
So, that's been my busy week. More pics to come--(they're still in the camera!)
Happy New Year to all of my LJ friends--every one of you is dear to me!
(no subject)
Date: 12/31/10 11:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 1/1/11 02:25 pm (UTC)Too bad people were coming down sick, but it sounds as though it wasn't hanging on too long.
Have a wonderful New Year!