Christmas Holidays 2011

It's been a lovely Christmas holiday; Mom here for a week, time off from work. Today is the last day of the year. I'm doing my annual out-with-old-in-with-the-new cleaning/reorganizing ritual and Duncan is cooking up a storm in the kitchen. I'm not sure what is to come, but I saw a can of collards so I think I was successful in talking him out of cooking fresh ones. Here are a few pictures:

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Duncan played Santa Claus for a Charleston Animal Society fundraiser. He overcame his aversion to the camera because he loves cats and dogs AND dressing up like Santa!

This is that moment when we've done everything we're going to do to "get ready" and we are just enjoying Christmas at home. Notice the framed envelope over the fireplace addressed to my Grandfather., We'll come back to that in a minute.

We did our annual Christmas Day Walk on the Beach. It was cold enough to bundle up, but not freezing. We hit it at a good low tide, so it was great for a walk.

Christmas Dinner was a picnic after our walk at the Folly Beach City Park. Ham biscuits, deviled eggs, fruit salad and tea. Yum!

Here we are among the "public art."

Too bad he doesn't have on his red suit. . .

Mom keeps passing along family treasures. This is a pearl handled quill pen that belonged to my Grandmother Bowles. Mom says she feels sure it was a special birthday or Christmas gift and is the one she used to write all the letters to Granddaddy that we have saved. (Go back to the large framed envelope over the fireplace, THAT envelope was addressed with THIS pen.)

More treasures from the Bowles family:  Mom's note says these two pieces of silver were a wedding gift to Grandmother and Granddaddy in 1913 -- and since they eloped, there probably weren't many wedding gifts -- so, very special.

And this final family treasure: Recently I told Mom I didn't have many pictures of Daddy, so she made special albums for me and each of the grandchildren. This is Daddy and me at Christmas in 1996.

Christmas is Coming to Our House

It's a pretty big deal for us to put up a Christmas tree. Most years, especially if we're traveling, we don't. (Not having children grants you certain freedoms). But Mom is spending a week with us this year, so we're pulling out more stops.

It's not leaning, is it? Damn!

Charleston Parade of Boats

Early in the month we went kicked off our Christmas season by going to see the Charleston Parade of Boats.

It's blurry, but squint your eyes and use your imagination and maybe you can tell this boat celebrated Christmas At the Beach. There's a flamingo and a jumping dolphin. Sailboats paraded at their own pace behind.

December 4th and my summer flowers are still blooming.

When Mom visited in October we bought this Debutante camellia. It blooms now and the Lady Claire blooms in Feb.March.

We've had one night when it threatened to go below freezing, but the following day it went up to over 70 again. I recently said I wished it would get colder so it would feel more like the holidays and someone told me to be careful what I wished for. True, true. So, I'm enjoying this e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d fall.