"It was imprudent of us, in the first place, to become authors. We could have become something regular, but we managed not to.
We were lucky, but we were also determined." Roy Blount Jr

"I don’t change the facts to enhance the drama. I think of it the other way round, the drama has got to fit the facts,
and it’s your job as a writer to find the shape in real life."
Hilary Mantel

Monday, December 07, 2009

Friends & Tree & Snow & Concert

Recent days have been so full...I'm afraid online activity wasn't high on my priority list.

On Friday evening a good friend and his daughters came over for dinner. Ruth and Jewel were ecstatic having so much attention. Lots of pats and scratches and tickles and rolling around on the floor together and treats (cooked spaghetti noodles, their favourite!) The grown-ups enjoyed wine and conversation and watching the scrum of girls and doggie girls.

The Chap and I had identified Saturday as Tree Day. We knew some snow was heading our way in the afternoon, so we hastened to a local tree farm before lunch. We found a lot of choice.



Here's the one we liked.



Moment of "Timberrrrrrrrrrr!!!"



My Christmas tree wrangler wrestled the tree out of the car and into the tree stand and up the stairs. Using a very tall ladder and a yardstick (I won't get more specific) he also positioned the angel on her perch. From that point the tree became my responsibility. And my great frustration.... Parts of two strands of lights died on me, so I abdicated my responsibility until we could buy more lights and made some Christmas cookies.



Oh, and I got overly excited by the First Official Snow here at the Lodge.

The girls definitely noticed.



The "Back 21"--acres, that is--by mid-afternoon.



By Sunday morning, the snow depth was good for romping.



We got at least five inches of nice, clingy snow.





The bird bath mermaid is wearing a snow bouffant and looking chilly.



On our way to church we stopped just long enough for me to shoot the little lake from the car window. Usually by the time we get snow the ice is in and the snow lies on top of it. We don't normally have a snow scene with the mirror-effect.



Beautiful sunny blue-sky drive to church, past snowy fields and hills and forests.

After church we picked up new strings of lights for the tree. Soon as we got home I decorated. And decorated. And decorated.

I had a deadline to finish. And I did!



I think our ceiling is 13 feet. Whatever it is, the angel's head is grazing the rafters.

At 4:30 I dropped off my Christmas cookies at a Historical Association party that I couldn't attend because I was meeting a Friend From The North Country in Concord for a bite to eat and the annual performance of Handel's Messiah--the same one I attend every year (winter weather permitting) on the first weekend of December. As usual, it was an outstanding musical event and I saw several friends (and constituents) in the audience. And my FFTNC was glad she travelled so far to see it...and came home with me for slumber party and dog cuddling. Ruth and Jewel are spoilt rotten by all the recent company. They are such attention magnets!

It was a Concord morning for my friend and me. I dropped her at the diocesan offices, where we'd left her car, then headed to my doctor's office. It was a routine visit. I explained that I'd already had my seasonal flu shot (and a terrible reaction to it) and asked about the H1N1 vaccine. They had some, and they were giving it to patients. "I'm not high-risk," I said. "Doesn't matter," I was told. So for the second time in recent weeks I stuck out my arm. Here's hoping this flu juice doesn't mess me over. I'm thrilled to report that my arm doesn't hurt as much as it did after the other shot, and in fact hardly at all. Let this be a sign of a non-reaction reaction!

Will post video from last night's concert when I've uploaded it.

Back to Concord tomorrow. And Wednesday. Thursday's outing--purely social--will take me in a different direction.


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