Holiday highlights, the finale

Spouse & I remarked to each other that this was probably 1 of the best holiday seasons we can remember.  We never felt stressed, and everything just seemed to fall into place.

We got our tree up, our interior decorating done, and our exterior lighting all done before our tree trimming party.  (That has not always been the case.)  Our tree trimming party was fun, as always.  We attended the town Christmas parade which wasn't rained out as it has been in some recent years.  While our holiday shopping got off to a slow start, all ordered items arrived on time so I could wrap them without feeling rushed.  I got to attend the town's Christmas home tour for the 1st time ever.  I spent the good part of a day baking cakes, brownies, and breakfast casseroles to take with us.  We enjoyed our annual pizza and hippie roll luncheon with our dear friends Kerry, Hugh, Kelly, Carl, Lisa, Alex, Kim, and Danny.  We had dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant followed by cookies at the home of our old buddies Ron & James, along with Mike & Clark.  We had a lovely visit/lunch with my cousin Nez and her husband Steve.  We saw most of the family on Christmas eve and/or Christmas day.  Once we returned home we debriefed with our friends Steven & Thad over dinner.  We went to a lovely post-Christmas party at Marty & John's home. We did a lot, saw a lot, and ate a lot; pretty much the perfect holiday season!

Here are a few photos of some of our special/unusual tree ornaments:

Purchased in Palm Springs Oct 2018

1 of 2 clear snowflakes purchased at the Dollar store several years ago, and a Paris ornament from 2003

Large, silver snowflake from Joey & Glenn

Lenox sleigh from my friend Dawn

Eiffel Tower purchased in Paris Dec 2003

Translucent chicken from our friend Megan 15+ years ago, Lenox bear from Dawn, and clear rainbow swirl ball from Calvin

Another clear rainbow swirl ball from Calvin, and Chihuahua from Dawn

Blue glass ball with white swirl from Calvin

 Here are some of our interior holiday decorations:

Although not visible in this photo, the snow-covered trees have glitter on them and were found inside our very 1st home together in 1996.  I adore them and suspect they're pretty old.

The reindeer were from my cousin Nez, the snowman was from our friend Clara.  The old school ceramic tree is actually not old; we bought it at the QVC clearance store about 5 years ago.

Red truck pillows purchased about 3 years ago

Red truck floor mat purchased this fall

Red truck wall hanging purchased 2 years ago

Without any knowledge of our red truck decor Spouse's sister gave us this red truck cookie jar which coordinates perfectly

 And last but not least...

Marvin & Walter in their Christmas bow ties on Daddy's lap on Christmas day

I hope all of you had a great holiday season.

Busy weekend

Wow, what a full weekend!

It actually started on Fri evening, as I left work early and met up with 2 friends to sing Christmas carols (in costume) at a charity event.  I love Christmas music so it was fun, and I saw lots of friends.

Rick, Magnolia Applebottom, and me in our caroling costumes

Then I met up with Spouse & Steven for a late dinner.

Sat I worked until 3:30, then ran home to change clothes and get Big Ella lined up for the Christmas parade.

While this parade is always popular, this was probably the best-attended I can imagine.  I've never seen so many people crowded into our fair little hamlet.  No doubt the moderately cool temperature and the absence of rain were contributing factors.  I saw lots of friends and even several clients as I inched down the main street.  After the parade, Spouse, Steven & I had a quick dinner and then I headed to perform in the holiday Legends Show as Elton John.  I got home about 11:45pm and after talking to Spouse, we decided to begin making some of the food that night for our party the following day, so we didn't get to bed until shortly after 1am.

Sun morning we met Steven for breakfast, picked up a cake, and then returned home to prepare for our annual Christmas tree trimming party.  Spouse picked the menu this year:

• Greek-style beef sliders with hummus and tzatziki
• Pork sliders with hot mango chutney
• Curried chicken salad sliders with cranberries, apple, and pecans
• Homemade potato salad
• Homemade bowtie pasta salad
• Peppermint bark dip with cookies
• Coconut layer cake

The holiday table, before the 2 salads were added

We made everything ourselves except the cake and it all turned out great.  We had 16 friends who joined us for food and hanging the ornaments on the tree.  Since it was only in the 40s out we were able to have a fire in the fireplace which, along with the Christmas music, added some nice ambience to the evening.  We had a great time and the tree looks gorgeous!

When the last guests left Spouse & I packed up the left-overs, emptied the trash and collapsed on the sofa with the dogs.  They did really well with the house full of people and activity!  Even Walter who usually teases people with his cuteness but doesn't let them touch him, allowed some people to pet him last evening... a Christmas miracle!  The boys were exhausted and both were asleep within minutes of settling in on our laps.  We watched the season finale of 'WestWorld' and went to bed.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post. 

One of my friends posted an idea he'd seen on facebook for getting some sensible gun control laws passed:

Speaking of facebook, a friend of mine posted this little ditty which gave me a chuckle:

Tomorrow is going to be a crazy/busy day for me!  I'm working from 9am-3pm, then running over to a friend's house for a holiday between 3:30-4:30, and driving Big Ella in a Christmas parade between 5:00-6:30, then grabbing a simple dinner between 6:30-8:00, then arriving at 8:30 at the Blue Moon to get dressed and perform in the Christmas Legends show.  I'm already exhausted just thinking about it!  I'll post some photos next week.

On Sun evening we're going to have some friends over to help us decorate our Christmas tree.  Spouse & I are making some snacks and desserts.  But of course this means we'll also need to be sure the house is picked up and presentable, so another busy day but it will culminate in a fun evening with friends and a lovely Christmas tree.

Speaking of Christmas, my friend Steven sent me this:

Here's wishing everyone a terrific weekend!!  What do YOU have planned?

Parade season

Last night was the area's 1st Christmas parade.  I say '1st' because all of the neighboring towns (5 in total) within a 30-minute radius of here has their own Christmas parade.  Fortunately they coordinate them so they aren't on the same nights.

Last night was the Rehoboth Beach parade and Big Ella got lots of love from the crowd of young and old spectators.

This coming Sat evening is the Lewes parade and Big Ella will appear there as well.  This year she and I aren't participating in the other 3 towns' Christmas parades due to schedule conflicts.

Big Ella always gets lots of compliments and accolades at the parades, as she is the epitome of what many feel was the American auto industry's zenith.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Today is Fri the 13th.

The Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival is going on now.  Unlike previous years where the festival showed a variety of films simultaneously at a time at the local cineplex, this year the Festival had to find alternative venues and could only show 3 simultaneous films, 1 at each venue.  The drastically reduced number of films offered resulted in me only finding 3 films I wanted to see, compared to the 12-15 films I used to see during the festival.  Mon night I saw Those People which I liked a lot.  Its about a young gay art student named Charlie who is secretly in love with his well-to-do but co-dependent best friend Sebastian, and the concert pianist Tim who offers Charlie the possibility of a healthy relationship.  Set in contemporary NYC, the film explores the delicacies of a love triangle, co-dependency, and unrequited love.  Highly recommended.  Watch the trailer:

Wed night I saw Fourth Man Out which I also liked a lot.  Its about Adam, a 20-something auto mechanic and his 3 sports-loving, beer-drinking, women-chasing buddies.  When Adam confesses that he's gay, his 3 pals are thrown for a loop.  He's not like the gay stereotypes with which they're familiar.  To show Adam they are supportive, the 3 friends try to help him find a boyfriend, but this does not happen without some false steps and misunderstandings.  The film comedically delves into stereotypes, acceptance, and friendship with enough laughs to keep it from being too heavy.  Highly recommended.  Watch the trailer:

I hope to see a documentary tomorrow on Tab Hunter.

I realize its not even Thanksgiving yet, but I'm already getting in the mood for Christmas.  Typically I try not to think about it until we get through Thanksgiving, but I began shopping online earlier than usual and have about 1/2 of our gifts purchased.  I also purchased our Christmas/holiday cards on Wed at HomeGoods, and Spouse & I have set a date for our tree trimming party.  All of this is highly unusual for me at this point, but I'm kind of happy about it.

I just received my assignment for the Christmas Legends show series, starting just 2 weeks from now, taking place every Sat night between Nov 28 and Dec 26.  I will be Elton John and will sing "Candle in the Wind" and "Step into Christmas".  While I'm not unhappy about this, I was hoping for a little more variety.  I did these same 2 songs the last time we did a Christmas Legends series.  Oh well; I'll sing them again and collect my paycheck.

I saw this sign at a local independent coffee shop and it gave me a chuckle:

 

Have a great weekend!!