a christmas tree and advent

 

it was such a pretty day to drive to connecticut to look for a christmas tree. 

we first walked to where all the concolor firs were located (by the entrance) and then walked across the farm to where there were more spruce trees and then back to the firs. it was cold out, but the sun felt warm. 

i would look at a short and plump tree and say how i liked it, and greg would immediately point to another one next to it and say how much he liked that one. this was very new to me. usually he doesn't care. finally i asked . . why??! and he said we may as well get a bigger tree, we're paying more money this year . . yes, the price went up significantly. what is funny is that we ended up choosing a tree that has the most slender trunk of any we've had . . but it is a little taller than the ones from the past few years. 

i was glad it was a light tree as it was much easier to help him carry it . . and i could easily pick it up by myself.

saying hello to the oxen, dan and jake after dropping the tree off to be tied up for the trip home. we saw a worker there who commented that we had found our concolor fir . . he remembered how we liked that type of tree from past years. it was nice to say hello and that it was good to see each other again . . once a year at tree expedition time!

here is dan . . 

and here's jake with his horns peeking above the fence . . 

we ate lunch at the picnic table but i did stand by the fire long enough so that the wood smoke permeated my clothes and hair and is still lingering.

st. nicholas chocolates and coffee for dessert . .  

and then we loaded the tree into the back of the car and headed home.

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the fourth light of advent is the light of you and i, the light of love, of thought, to give and understand.

a december visit with nana

 i drove up to connecticut on wednesday so i could put our car in the shop and visit my mom. our car has been stalling at odd moments and monday we would like to drive to the tree farm to get a christmas tree with korrina and brian. there are some steep hills on the way to the tree farm. i wouldn't like to get stuck.

the assisted living community is decked with holiday decorations.

it felt wonderful coming into a warm fire after a walk outside. it was cold on thursday.

on thursday i heated up progresso split pea soup and then made my mom a chocolate egg cream (which does not have an egg! it's chocolate milk with seltzer), and on friday i brought new england clam chowder from whole foods and a chocolate haagen dazs cup of ice cream.

reading about princess diana in the upstairs library.

we also played pool in the game room . . 

every room has a shelf upon which the room's occupant displays photos or knick knacks. i love this santa in his dressing gown.

flowers on my mom's dresser from the care committee at my sister's church . . the porcelain christmas tree on the right has been in the family for years. i'm not sure who gave it to my mom, but she has set it out every christmas since i was a child.

mom had a haircut last week . . 

which looks really nice on her.

my sister and brother-in-law's house is still being renovated after the mold problem. they now have new ceilings in three bedrooms and the den and everything is being taped and painted. this is toby's special corner . . underneath a side table.

the living room is also a bedroom . . with the couches from the den and a bed from the upstairs bedroom.

here you can see the ice covering the lake in town.

the hydrangeas are brown . . i wonder when the petals will blow away . . 

bundled up . . thursday was very cold but she didn't complain at all and napped in the little bit of sunshine we had. friday was cloudy again, but a little warmer . .

and saturday was cloudier still! (and the car was fixed. it needed a new starter part by the engine.)

sunshine and snow

 we woke to a beautiful blue sky and a glistening white world.

 walkways and driveways were untouched, even by toby's footprints. she doesn't run outside into the cold like she used to. she's happy to be in a warm home.

does she look a little worried here? i barked at her to get her attention. maybe she's concerned that i'm having an identity crisis.

 warren is all ready to start shoveling snow . . i forgot that when one has a house, there's lots of snow shoveling to be done. what softies we apartment dwellers are.

 this person is totally oblivious of the work that needs to be done . . or just very good at ignoring everyone's preparations to go outside.

 warren is operating his new gadget here, except it really isn't new anymore. he's probably had it for a good four years. 

 the year he received it, they had snow past the car roofs and it really became a necessity. when one passes sixty years old, i think there's only so much snow shoveling per season one can do.

 though, i have to say, pushing and turning this machine takes a lot of strength!

 after a delicious breakfast, greg and i headed out to pick up chicken soup and visit my mom for lunch.

 we took another walk outside, and napped in the sun in the gazebo for a good . . half hour? maybe not that long, though it felt that way, and it was certainly warm enough with the sun shining so strong. we were chased away from our vitamin d bath when the clouds rolled over and sent a chill through the air.

today the fireplace was working which cheered us all. i'm surprised at the warmth that it sends out. it must have something to do with the special glass cover . . somehow it radiates heat through the top and bottom vents. today mom was much happier with her lunch and ate almost all the chicken soup, albeit very slowly! before we went back to the other side of the assisted living complex, we visited the upstairs library and i tapped into facebook on the computer up there, to share photos with mom of my cousin johnny's visit to moscow. he travels all over the world attending chimney sweep conventions. being a knowledgeable chimey sweep, he gives speeches and classes about new techniques and protocol.

pictures and valentine flowers on my mom's dresser.

 mom and santa claus . . with my sister in the background (i love this pic . . it's just so perfect) . .

 and her wedding photo.

 these are the two boxes of chocolates my nephew sent, along with his valentine's card, which i think is incredibly cute.

 we said good-bye to mom and left her by a window in the activity room, along with the other residents (she wasn't happy about this today . . ) and stopped at whole foods for lunch for this guy . . i was a little hungry too, and had a vegetable sushi with peanut sauce.

this is the necessary chocolate heart to go with the jasmine green tea . . 

 greg is buying chocolate bars that were on a special sale right in front of our table . . just so tantalizingly close that he couldn't resist . . 

often when i play back these videos i'm surprised at how loud the background machine hums are. i also took this video as i was struck by the passage of time which i noted because of the song that is playing. it's chrissie hynde singing with the pretenders, brass in pocket, which came out in 1980, my freshman year of college . . thirty eight years ago . .

on the road home . . i'll be back soon.