Christmas 2011

How do you start when you have two solid weeks of holiday cheer jam packed with activities. I guess I will go chronoligically. First, before the holidays really got going, we went to Austin to watch Danny Hartly graduate from St. Edwards. Very nice ceremony and we really enjoyed sharing the day with his family.

The following weekend, we were off to Denton to watch Scott Hemann graduate from UNT. This was a lot of fun as well. We really were glad Jessie and Whitney could join us. It was also fun hanging out with all of the Hemann's. Sally and I did a count and figured out that this was our SIXTH graduation ceremony at UNT in the last three years. Only one more to go. Whitney should walk in a year and a half.

After all of the graduating, Sally, Katie and Ramez all got out of school for a much needed two week break. Katie and Ramez arrived at the nest on the night of the 20th. They had to come to an empty nest because Sally, heather and I met David and Pam at the Original Ninfa's to bid him farewell. He is off on another Flour adventure in Guinnea, Africa. This was a bittersweet parting as we know we will not see him for at least a year. Oh well, at the live sex show in the parking lot broke the mood. Katie and Moose spent most of the early part of the week helping Sally prepare for Christmas. So much cooking, cleaning, shopping and wrapping. Moose helped me organize my work area in the garage and build the arbor and the gate for the picket fence. Jared and I started painting the fence but that was later. here is the finished pic of Moose and Jared's hard work.

Christmas eve was a big night. This is when we all worked to together to bottle the wine. Chris, Jessie and Cameron were all there and we were all so thankful. While we were sterilizing and bottling, Cameron (and the other guys) drank a bunch of the wine just to make sure it was o.k. Judging by the amount consumed and the slurred comments, we decided it was good.

Christmas morning brought the annual pancake and mimosa breakfast enhanced with the family crossword. All agreed that this year's crossword was the hardest and bestest.

After Christmas we had a spirited "Chinese Gift Exchange". Moose won the prize of best gift by giving me "The pot that ruined Christmas". This is an inside joke and you had to be there to fully appreciate it. However, trust me, it was very funny.

Sunday found Chris, Gran, Sally and I at the Antoun's for a lovely and spirited Middle eastern dinner.

The week after Christmas found Whitney, Heather and Jared at the nest. We also got a surprise visit from margret and Kathleen Hartly.

Whitney left on Thursday because she had a hot date for New Year's. To prepare for this lavish evening at the symphony, Sally took Heather and Whit to get a manicure. After Whit left, it was such a lovely day that we decided to go to Blue Bell for the tour. Guess what? No tours today! This is the third time that we have tried to get in a tour at Blue Bell and they weren't doing them. So, after a couple of fresh scoops at the palnt we went to the Monastery of St. Claire. This is a bunch of very old nuns that raise miniature horses. It was pretty cool but sad. The nuns are so old they cannot maintain the place anymore. So, they have sold it. All of the horses will be gone by summer. The horses were cute but what interested us the most was the huge colony of cutter ants that we discovered. We did not even know this type of ant lived in our part of the world.

Friday, Jared helped me paint the fence and build and paint shutters. Big help and I really appreciated. We spent a quiet evening at home to bring in the New Year. Sally suggested going to get lottery tickets so that's waht she and Heather did. And boy is heather glad she made that trip. Turns out, she won over $600!!!!! Way to go Heather. What a great way to bring in 2011!

Jared and Heather left us on Saturday. It was another fabulous day so Sally and did a bunch of much needed yard and garden work. We worked in the potager and planted peas on cedar trellises. We also planted French breakfast radishes and Chioga beets. We planted 10-15 onions the prvious weekend. We also harvested lettuce, spinach, carrots and turnips. We trimmed bushes, weeded beds and planted roses and primrose jasmine. I also transplanted a bunch of crinums and some daffodils.

We finished our break by teaching CCE and spending the day with Sally's family in Houston. We brough Pa fresh oysters and spent a lovely afternoon visiting with he and MiMi. On the way home we dropped off homemade wine to David and Kim. WHEW!!!! Another fun filled holiday is behind us. Here's to our friends and family! I hope you all have a happy and prosperous New Year!!!!1