Holy Smokes, It's 2013

Wow, that came fast -
a New Year and all that goes with it.

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