The Beginning of Christmas Fun

Right after Thanksgiving, we went full-speed into Christmas. Thursday night, Issa and I rearranged the furniture and did our first set of Christmas nails, but the real fun started Friday. The morning began with potato pancakes with cranberry sauce:

Brad is the king of transforming left-overs, and it was a great way to start the day. We spent most of the day beginning the decorations around the house, but we made sure to be at the tree lot right when it opened:

We agreed on our tree very quickly, and Nana found her biggest tree yet:

They were so busy Brad did a lot of the hauling:

Look at that beauty:

Ours looks so tiny next to that one:

We also had the traditional Who Hash after tree shopping:

It's Brad's creation from Thanksgiving left-overs, and this was absolutely his best yet.

As if that wasn't enough Holly Jolly, Saturday night we went to the Greensboro Science Center to see their lights. We were all so entranced by the lights we took very few pictures:

In fact we took two:

It really was gorgeous, though--especially the light fountain that was synced to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. 

It was a perfect weekend kicking off the Christmas season, and we can't wait to continue all of the fun!
 

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

We had a truly fabulous Thanksgiving. Issa and I spent Wednesday morning cooking. We finished the pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, turkey prep, and biscuits by lunch. That left us the with afternoon to craft:

We were very please with this year's centerpiece:

The acorns were folded cardstock thanks to a pattern from Better Homes and Gardens. And the finished table made me very happy:

Gram's tablecloth, the dishes were a combination of Grandma Judy and a set I purchased, the board was a gift from a student's father, and the napkins were a gift from Grandma Luzny. There was as much love on the table as was around it.

Thursday morning was an easy prep, and I am very pleased with this year's turkey:

We used herbs as the basting brush thanks to a tip from a BBQ Competition show, and it really does make a difference! Brad carved:

And the children actually took a decent picture:

Before this one:

A lovely lunch:

We gave Nana a Nespresso Advent calendar, and we laughed as she opened every door:

And that started the laughter. We spent the afternoon just being--watching Christmas shows and playing board games:

Buddy was so happy with all of the snuggles. He stayed on Issa's leg so long he had her pant lines on his face:

It was a lovely day of being thankful and together!
 

The Snuggliest

It got very, very cold here last night. We went out to dinner, and by the time I got home I was freezing! I put on my snuggliest jammies and settled into bed to work on the Thanksgiving timeline. And then the snuggles started:

 I fell asleep with two giant dogs using my leg as pillow, and it was blissful.

A New Ballet

Sunday afternoon, we girls headed to the ballet:

It was a phenomenal program, but this one was our favorite:

I've never seen a ballet quite like it! Somehow, it made a pancake tutu sexy. The music and choreography were all non-traditional, and I loved every minute of it. 

I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful ballet so close to us, and I'm even more grateful that we have season tickets.
 

The Chinese Lantern Festival

Friday night, we made the spontaneous decision to go to Cary to see the NC Lantern Festival. We found ourselves with a free night, and the weather was perfect. We found a new Italian place in Cary that has a ton of gluten-free options, and we made a night of it!

The first display was this tunnel of lanterns:

And then there were huge lanterns spread throughout the amphitheater: 

The butterflies inspired some dance moves:

And I was enamored by the flowers that bloomed when you stood on the star:

Issa loved the butterflies throughout the park:

They had the whole Chinese zodiac, and I loved my monkey:

It was opening night, but it was bizarrely empty! We had plenty of room to take our masks off:

And just soak in the lanterns that were all so gorgeous:

The swans with the swans:

And sipping coffee while taking it all in was just perfect:

They ship new lanterns from China every year, and we are looking forward to making this an annual tradition.
 

I say it often, but I love my colleagues. One of our literacy professors made a gratitude ABCs. Faculty and students have been adding all week:

It's a little thing, but those little things make a big difference.
 

Weirdos

We skipped a bit of fall weather around here and went straight to winter. The temperatures have been below freezing at night, and our animals are not amused. They would really like to snuggle all of the time, please, and so they have taken to waiting in bizarre places to get our attention:

If we can't get upstairs, Buddy thinks we will have to sit and snuggle. And Tora has decided that if she waits in the middle we will have to stop and scoop her:

They are so weirdos, but they bring us so much joy!
 

I'm Basically a Mechanic

Sunday, on the way home from testing, the check engine light came on and the brake and cruise control lights started blinking. I'm not a car expert, but I knew those things are not connected so we googled it. The Google suggested that it was a gas cap issue, and since I had just filled up that seemed probable.

I checked the owner's manual, and verified the gas cap was the cause of those codes. I also read how to clean the cap, which I did. Voila--no more codes:

 I am so ridiculously proud of myself.

We Have a Black Belt!

Evan earned his brown-black belt two years ago last week. He intended to test on the Mountain in 2020 and 2021, but the pandemic cancelled those events. This weekend, he finally had an opportunity to test, and he did so well.

They camped Saturday night in the literal freezing cold. Sunday morning, they were awoken at 6:30 to tear down camp. They trained all morning and into the afternoon, and then Issa and I were able to go to the campgrounds to see him test with his black belt class.

He and Brad have been working for months on his demo, and then he had a randori that was completely spontaneous. I know I'm biased, but he was amazing. His attackers were all adults, and he didn't flinch. At one point, I thought he had really put Brad down. He was fluid and strong and even smiled while he was doing it, and then I cried when I watched his teachers tie on his first black belt:

It has the white stripe to show that he earned it as a youth.

His teachers also graciously indulged my every belt picture tradition, and Bryan even recreated their first photo:

He signed the official black belt log. Each class carries it throughout their testing weekend and signs it at the end:

Six of these folks tested; the rest are the demo partners and teachers that he trained with throughout the weekend:

I'm so insanely proud of this boy.
 

The Night the Bowers Crashed

 The Bowers crashed last night. We were all supposed to go somewhere: the studio, the dojo, yoga. We didn't go.

The kids got their braces tightened yesterday and were in pain. Brad and I have both had hard work weeks. We crashed hard.

We watched Aladdin. We did nothing else. We were all in bed by 9. It was lovely.

I'm grateful we have come to a place where we do this. We have left behind the days of going until we absolutely drop--pushing through at all costs. And we have no intention of going back.

That was fast...

 I spent an hour with Issa last night listening to her talk through her college spreadsheet.

Wow.

She is refining what she thinks she wants to do and the kind of school she thinks she wants. She has found some really great options, and this summer we will get serious about doing some visits.

Wow.

I'm so excited for this next chapter for her, and I know she will be beyond ready. But it is just so close. And it will be so strange to not have her in her bedroom every night. I'm just planning to soak every drop of these next two years in and ride along on this next piece of the journey...

Busy Weekend

We had another busy weekend! Friday, Issa had dance and the boy had dojo; I had time to work on some work reports that aren't difficult but just take a lot of time!

Saturday, Brad and I did Tai Chi in the morning. Issa had a ton of dance, and the boys spent some time at the dojo before they camped out to get ready for black belt testing next weekend! Saturday night, Mom and I went to see Straight No Chaser, which was a great show!

Yesterday, I did some pottery in the morning before we went to one of our favorite bookstores where one of my adjuncts was doing a book signing! And then we ended the weekend with our first holiday Starbucks run:

Issa gave me a hard time for taking the picture, but it was a great way to end the weekend even if we did have to wait forever in the drive-thru!
 

Thankful Season

Monday, I packed up all of the witches and redecorated for Thanksgiving:

Even my office door got a turkey upgrade:

I always decorate November 1 because I want it to be all settled in by today, November 3, Gram's birthday. She loved this season, and I want to continue that love. I like seeing her turkey on my table on her birthday, and I will be forever grateful for all of my memories with her. Today, I let myself sink into them a little deeper...
 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween this year required two costumes! We began our afternoon at the ballet, where folks were encouraged to wear costumes. Since they were performing The Raven, I opted for feathers:

Issa found this cool outfit:

And together we made an unkindess of ravens:

Evan was actually a Japanese demon, but you'll have that.

Three of us really enjoyed the ballet:

They did The Woman in a White Veil, The Raven, and Sleepy Hallow. Evan loved Dracula and Frankenstein, but these did not have a narrator. He was not a fan.

We came home and changed into our evening costumes:

Nana was supposed to be our Pooh, but she was recovering from her Covid booster.

We did the same table for trick-or-treating:

And this will be the last of these photos:

Trick-or-treating is coming to a close at our house. We have tons of middle and high schoolers who trick-or-treat in our neighborhood, but the kids decided to close this chapter. They want to make our house one of the really cool houses next year and help pass out treats, which we toasted in our new Halloween glasses:

Cheers to new chapters...