Winter Solstice Success

Our spur of the moment Winter Solstice party was a great success! Between 7 and 11 PM we had about  25 people here, fortunately not all at once because when we had about 12 people in the fort, it was quite crowded! Tucker and Corey added a snow bar to the snow fort, decorated the top edge of the fort with ice-sicles and Christmas lights. We put a few benches and chairs around the fire pit and were set to go. 

We served hot and cold beverages with the cold beverages stored right in the walls of the fort. For snacks we had chips, gold fish crackers, candy, cookies and the makings for s'mores.  I had a "Martha Stewart" movement earlier in the evening and made cut-out designs of the sun in some brown paper bags in which we put a candle to make luminaries to light the way from the driveway to the fort! 

Jim kept a big fire going in the fire pit and the fairly warm temps of high 20's made it quite a pleasant evening to be outdoors. The skies cleared off and we had a ceiling of stars with the moon shining down like a spotlight on our party. It was quite festive!

Thursday night we went to GEVA theater to see a show called Plaid Tidings. For 2 hours we were thoroughly entertained by 4 guys singing and dancing. We had many laugh out loud moments and were sorry to see the show end. It was a nice holiday event.

Yesterday was the last day of school for me and we now have 2 weeks off. The students were barely able to contain their excitement for a vacation and Christmas so I decided to end each class with 20 minutes of yoga and it was perfect. The kids did a great job and it seemed to me that they were glad to have a chance to rest and relax away from all the holiday stimulations. I will remember this for next year.

Tonight we are going to Syracuse to see SU play Cornell in basketball. Three of the four grandparents are going with us, Grandpa is staying home to keep his cats company. We are hoping to see a good game, and SU should be able to beat Cornell (sorry Sally and Sandy!).

This morning Gram and I went to the public market and picked up our "local" crown roast of pork and some sausage for stuffing for our Christmas dinner. We got a few other locally grown produce items to go along with the pork. We are doing pretty good with our local menu, but will need a variance to serve coffee, since I know of no one who grows coffee beans in western New York. Jim and Tucker had to go to Eastview Mall this morning to take Tucker's computer to the Apple store so I had them look at the Williams and Sonoma store for those little booties that have traditionally gone on a Crown Roast of Pork. The woman at W-S told Jim that booties were outdated and no longer used! Jim thought she was telling him that he was old! So I guess to be hip and happening, our pork roast will be bootie-less!

Gram told us a funny holiday story the other night and I will share it with you to give you some holiday cheer. Gram and 16 of her "Silver Sneaker" friends from the Y (think old ladies in sweat suits!!) went out to a local restaurant for a holiday lunch. They all started singing Jingle Bells at the table (Jim O. and Bob O., please stop rolling your eyes!). Shortly after they finished Jingle Bells the waitress came over to their table and said that the little girl at a nearby table wanted to know if they would sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!" How cute is that!

Time for a nap and a road trip to SU. Go 'Cuse!

Hope all is well.