Me On Monday

It's been a fun week. I had quite a few fun activities and accomplished a lot (finished the decorating I can do right now, finished all the wrapping and baked 3 batches of cookies for the freezer).

1. I've had not one, but two baths this week. 

There's nothing like an afternoon bath with bubbles, scented candles, Christmas music, a Diet Coke and my book! I've kind of been at loose ends with not being able to do all the normal stuff around here. This bath came after Butch and I hiked the trails at Radnor. Since I'd already walked on the treadmill that morning, I ended up with a total of 6.5 miles that day!

I get on the treadmill early in the morning while it's still dark. It's not unusual for me to see the sunrise. But this particular one was spectacular. I called Butch up to see it! The picture does not do it justice.

2. On Tuesday, a little old lady bridge friend of mine, Louise, invited me to be her guest at a Christmas luncheon. She is so sweet and always remembers me. She remembers Butch too. Years ago--probably 20--she told me that the Central Parking lot next to her church, St. Mary's, made them pay to park. I asked Butch to intervene. He did. Turns out, they were always allowed to park for free when going to Mass. To this day, she thinks that Butch arranged it for her. There was no convincing her otherwise, so now I don't even argue with her. She brings it up whenever she introduces me to someone new! All Butch did was call someone at the church to let them know that they could park free during Mass. They just didn't realize it or hadn't spread the word.

The party was at the Centennial Club. The tables were beautiful! The paper whites were the party favors to take home. The food is always so good--old-fashioned southern cooking. We had a delicious turkey dinner. I saw quite a few people that I hadn't seen in two years, so that was really nice.

3. On Wednesday, we went to Sam's. I bought this to be my dining room centerpiece rather than what I normally do--a little too much work to have to do at the last minute for me this year.

It's so beautiful with many different plants and textures---and huge! A bargain at $16.00! 

Speaking of flowers, Nicky brought over my annual poinsettia.

I've come to look forward to the delivery every year. I just never know when he's going to swing by to drop it off. He's a sweetheart!! 

4. Thursday night was our annual Christmas party with my Overbrook and St. Cecilia friends. A few of them I see regularly, but there's several that I don't see often. It's been two years for this group too. We all bring a dish and exchange gifts. We were at Kim's new house. I didn't get any pictures. Her dining room table was gorgeous! I do love pretty tables. 

This is the group that frustrates me because they are always late. I had a little trouble finding it because I hadn't been to her new house and it was dark. I actually had to get out of my car to look at the mailboxes for the address. I ended up being 10 minutes late and I was the FIRST to arrive!! We didn't even sit down to eat until 9 p.m. Still it was a lot of fun!

5. On Friday night, we had our annual, poker Christmas dinner. I wanted to get pictures of the group, but someone said we'd take them at Jimmy Kelly's---our favorite steak place and an old Nashville institution. We know the owner, so we always get a good room! I did manage to snap this picture on the way out the door but that was it. We forgot to take any pictures of the gang at the restaurant.

You might remember these guys! I decorated with them for years. 

This was the only picture I could find from a few years ago. When I was ready for a change, I asked the girls if they wanted my elves. They all said "no"! As I keep saying, our kids don't want our stuff. Linda had always admired them. So, I packed them up and surprised her with them! I'm happy to see them being used and enjoyed by someone else. Although, I do sort of miss them! 

Butch and I got home around 10 p.m. The weather was so nice--70's--that we decided to sit on the front porch for awhile. 

This was after I washed off my makeup! Butch made me a Bailey's chocolate martini. We had Christmas music playing and sat out there until 11:30 p.m.! It was just so nice. It's not usually this warm in December, but sometimes.

An added bonus is that my camellias are still in bloom. They glow at night--which is why I am drawn to white flowers. They just always show up at night.

It was a fun week that ended abruptly with the storm and tornadoes around town. It didn't hit us, but we did have some minor damage. A couple of our screens were blown off along with a window outside my office that shattered on the roof of the garage. It looked like paint. Butch realized it was glass. I don't know how we're going to get that cleaned up! There are lots of small limbs and branches down, so there's some clean up to do--but minor in comparison to what others are facing. We were so lucky. The wind was so loud that it woke me up. I actually was a bit alarmed--but not frightened enough to get out of bed and "go to our safe place!" 

I'll save the rest of the weekend for another post. The busy-ness of the season is exactly why I like the holidays! Oh, and the food.