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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Holy Smokes, It's 2013


Wow, that came fast -
a New Year and all that goes with it.
[newyearsgirl5.jpg]
Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Did you make any resolutions?
I did.
One of mine was to blog more regularly.
Already blown that one; my last post was 12/29/12.
Oops.
Sunroom tree.  Shedding needles now, sadly.

Here at That Old House, our Christmas trees are still holding court.
A double-header in the Parlor.

A tabletop with the Girls' Ornaments in the Study.

Ecumenical, that's us.


In the Dining Room, a small tree, with red wood beads,
birds, fruit, and little tea cups.

Reminder for next year:  Get a Tree Skirt!
Naked plastic fake tree trunk -- not A Good Thing.
How could I have overlooked that?
It's so easy to toss a tablecloth around the bottom.
Aaargghhh!



We always leave our trees up through the Epiphany on January 6th.

But on January 6th, we were not in New Jersey;
we were at our beach house for a 3-day weekend.
 Look closely, and you can see Howard walking Dylan on the lawn in front of the house.

It's easier to see in this picture.
Daughter Alida, who with her husband Josh was visiting for the holidays
from Los Angeles, took these pictures from the dock.

It is very quiet and rather bleak during the winter, right on the water,
and it's often cold but we were lucky - temps well into the 40s all weekend.  Beautiful weather.


The tides are lower than in spring, the grasses are brown, the sky feels even closer to the earth.
I quite like it.


Plus, there are so very few people out there in the winter.
Downside?  Our favorite restaurant was closed for a seasonal break.
What nerve.
***************************************
After canceling our Christmas party on
12/29 because of snow, we gathered up friends
and family the very next day, Sunday, and partied on.

I am absolutely awful about taking pictures during parties.
Here are a few, mostly taken by my daughters.
The younger-uns, gathering in the study.
 And the highlight of the party:
Our bizarre Grab Bag.

I hope my dear friends in the Land of Blog all found joy in
December's holy days, and in the celebration of this New Year.
Welcome, 2013.
God bless us, every one.  -- Cass

10 comments:

  1. Cass (Miss White) did it with the lead pipe in the conservatory.

    Oh Cass - - - I LOVE your conservatory at Christmas!!! Next year I want to be a hungry ghost hiding under that tree to hear/see/smell all the festivities at that bizarre grab bag party!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cass, sweetheart, you can blog whenever the mood and motivation strikes. We will be here. It sounds as if you had a wonderful Christmas full of friends and family ... just like it's supposed to be. (I tend to enjoy my gatherings instead of photographing them, too.)

    Happy New Year!
    Connie

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  3. Looks like a fun time!

    Hope your NEW YEAR started off great!

    M :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, Scott is a whole two weeks younger than you, so I guess we are indeed "younger"!
    Treasuring my sneaker deodorant,
    Phyllis

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually . . . I think Scott is a whole two weeks older than I.
      I'm July 17th.
      Isn't he earlier in the month?
      HA. You were in with the "youngers" on false pretenses! I should not have turned off the "old farts" alarms at the doors.

      And the entire family is grateful you got that sneaker deodorant in the grab bag.
      :-P
      Cass

      Delete
  5. Looks and sounds like you had a great party, even if it was delayed.
    Happy New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh- I am so glad you had your party after all-it looks like everyone had fun. Beautiful beach shots, too. Have fun de-Chritmasing! xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks like a fun end to 2012 and a fun beginning to 2013!!! So nice that your kids could come visit -- Your trees are all lovely. We started the tradition of King's Cake this year and I think it will continue -- it's so easy to make (puff pastry and almond filling) and tastes so good!

    You remind me that the time of Christmas has changed -- from the week or so before Christmas to Epiphany has now changed from Thanksgiving weekend to Christmas Day! I like the old way better!

    Did Dylan like the trees? Didn't phase Dolly one bit!

    But I like the January house -- seems so bare and so BIG after the tree comes down!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy New Year, and yes I need to get another post done also, really been lazy about that

    Your posts are always fun

    ReplyDelete

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