Enrique in the big city

I spoke with Dub before Christmas about taking a trip to New York with Enrique. New York isn't really Mr. Dub's thing, so he encouraged me to move ahead with the planning, and he volunteered to hold down the fort while we went. I waited with excitement for that little gift to be opened on Christmas morning, and then counted down the days until our date in the city.

The stars don't always align when you make big plans; Enrique came down with a nasty illness a few days before our scheduled January 13th trip. Sandwiched between fevers and coughing on one side, and looming work and school schedules on the other, we kept to the plan and forged onward. We decided to let our two-day trip melt into one, and left mid-morning on our four hour drive.

Enrique wanted to explore the Louis Armstrong House/Museum 

before we hit Broadway, so our first stop was Corona; a neighborhood in Queens, and a tour we both really enjoyed.

I loved that Louis lived in a humble home (at a time when he could have afforded much greater luxury) where he was adored by all of his neighbors. I loved learning about his humble beginnings and listening to actual voice recordings of conversations he had in his home.  He was a big proponent of laxatives, and spent unabashed hours in his bathrooms, which ends up being an entertaining part of the house tour. Do stop and visit if you're at all close.

Who doesn't love Mr. Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World?" That's how he felt about his little corner of Queens.

Enrique, still not feeling well, was all but worn out by the time our hour-long visit concluded, and was happy to climb back in the car to make the 32 minute drive across the Hudson to the Neil Simon theater, where we had tickets to a show that night.

Thanks to rush hour traffic in the big apple, we made it in just under two hours. Plenty of time to rest our feet.

We found parking, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then walked a few blocks to Times Square, where we snapped the obligatory selfie on the red steps,

 took in the lights and sights,

stopped for some m&m's

(I recommend the dark chocolate peanut variety)

 and sprinted back to the theater to catch the show.

I learned of the musical in December when I started researching shows for our visit. The Last Ship caught my eye when I read that Sting, who wrote the music and lyrics for the production, would be joining the cast. The story line draws upon his memories of the shipbuilding community where he was born and raised in northern England.  It really was a great show.  I was surprised to learn that it was in its final weeks, and still feel a little sad that more people won't be able to experience it on Broadway.

We left the theater after the excellent performance, and had enough wind beneath our wings to line up outside the stage doors for some autographs and a Sting sighting.

We were delighted to get both.

Sadly my frozen fingers did not capture more than the back of his head as he left the barricaded area, but we had pleasant conversations with many of the actors, including my personal favorite, Father O'Brien (played by Fred Applegate).

Our time at the Neil Simon Theater was good.

 And it lifted us both sufficiently to get us safely home 

by just after two o'clock. In the AM hours.

(Don't you worry, New York... I'll be back.)

speaking of Christmas and gifts

There's a lot to be thankful for on Christmas Day.

There was a LOT going on.

Presents, stockings, food, family and plenty of CHAOS.

So much to choose from, and I'm leaving it all unblogged.

Except for one favorite gift:

Having a sister.

I have more than one sister, (SO great!) but I'm appreciative of having at least one who is close enough geographically to see with spurts of regularity.

She's a GIFT.

XO

Christmas Eve

One of my very favorite Christmas traditions is our annual home made gift exchange on Christmas Eve. Each year at Thanksgiving, we draw names and work for the next month thinking about/making a thoughtful gift for the person who's name we've drawn. I love the ideas that are generated, and the love and thought that is put into each gift. Thanks to the magnificence of modern technology and the miracle that is overnight shipping, we were even able to include our remote family members.

This kind of giving is a favorite.

And we always follow up our gift exchange by watching Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in

It's A Wonderful Life together.

Despite it all, it IS a wonderful life.

Oh Christmas tree

We happened to time the annual tree cutting expedition 

with Mr. Dub's back episode. The one where he throws out his back, and is incapacitated in such a way that he is unable to join us in our search for a Christmas tree. 

Key to this injured back story is the fact that HE is usually the one who cuts down the tree.

 That job fell to me this year.

I guess since the kids figured they did such an outstanding job SELECTING the tree.

They talked me through it.

 I was not prepared for the enormity of this task.

 I had to stop several times and talk to my biceps.

I'm actually not sure I have any.

I DO have a festive wreath,

 an obstinate snowman

 a reindeer with a sweet tooth

 AND, thankfully, a TREE.

Tree Lighting

Our very favorite tenor sax player and the rest of the high school band joined the town on the common for the annual tree lighting. It's a great way to kick off the holidays.

our Christmas Eve tradition

One of the very best parts of Christmas at our house

happens on Christmas Eve.

We spend a quiet night IN, dressed in comfy clothes

exchanging home made gifts.

 I love the thought that goes behind each creation.

 We draw names at Thanksgiving, then spend the month planning and creating our secret surprises.

 Each gift comes wrapped in love... that's my favorite part.

A brief recap: Mesquite made a lego clock for the morning boy. Rooney made Leeli a drawstring backpack for her ballet gear.  Rooney received a personal recording of Enrique playing and singing along on his ukelele.

 Mesquite received an organizer for her closet shelf, designed, built and painted by Leeli.

 Morning Boy spent many hours sewing and stuffing specially designed "bean burrito" bean bags to toss into the mouths on a tossing game he made for Enrique.

 Mr. Dub also spent long hours making a marble pinball table game for Yonder.

 Yonder created a beautiful DVD collection of 2013 highlights in pictures and videos for me--a real treasure.

Lucky, lucky Dub got a canvas carrier for hauling in firewood.

The gifts were thoughtful and fun.

After the exchange, we enjoyed pondering what a wonderful life we have as we watched the Christmas classic It's A Wonderful Life.

I cry like a baby EVERY time.

twas a good Christmas

before we open presents we sing

 Happy Birthday Jesus!

don't ask us to deck your halls.

The tree is up.

Such a simple statement.

By reading those four little words you might never understand the BIG chaos that was caused by a seemingly simple event. That's why I'm going to tell you. Don't you dare think that decking the halls is simple over HERE.

Have a seat.

First, the back-story.

My parents down-sized.

Their big Christmas tree needed a home.

(right: me.)

The tree also came with a large metal stand.  Mom and Dad were pretty sure the stand did not belong to the tree in the box, but they were both going home.  With me.

My people revolted (a little).

They made it clear that anything besides a REAL tree would be less than desirable.

Because we're young and energetic and willing to put forth the physical effort it takes to haul in the tree, the hand-me-down stayed in the box. The old stand was on stand-by.

We're young and energetic and willing; however, we have schedules that rarely afford us more than 20 minutes at a time in one place together.  Therefore, Mr. Dub stopped at the tree farm on the way home from work on Friday and paid for a tree.  We weren't sure when we were going to be able to pick it out and cut it down, but it was paid for.

Fast forward to the moment when we are hauling the tree through the front door and cannot find our own sturdy tree stand.  "That's okay!" someone yells from the hall--"We have that old tree stand that Mimi and Grampy gave us!"

And so it went.

We were so happy to get the tree UP, watered and strung with lights

(all while festive Christmas music was playing in the background)

that we immediately called for an all-hands-on-deck decorating party.

Homework stopped,

ornament boxes were distributed,

people came

and we made  it to almost 100% decorated status.

I probably should not have felt like the most surprised person on the planet when

the tree.fell.over.

Branches cracked. Water spilled.  Ornaments fell. Lights went out.

That's when the cacophony of the varied responses to stress and surprise became an unsavory stew of things that don't mix well...  Shock. Stress. Laughter. Anger. Tears.

Hey--an extra hearty Merry Christmas to you and yours if you never have a tree decorating experience like this.  In our house?  It's just a contingency in the big plan.

It became a humbling dust-yourselves-off-and-try-again experience that happened to time itself perfectly with the start of the Christmas Devotional Broadcast blaring from the other room.

We soaked in the spirit of the evening, climbed into the garage attic to find our trusty tree stand, stood it back up and wired it to the walls so it won't fall over again.

Then, while visions of sugar-plums danced in our heads, we snubbed the mess and tucked ourselves into our beds; feeling peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

Our favorite Christmas gift

As much as family and gathering and gifts are a big big part of what makes Christmas great, this year our favorite gift was waking up to flurries on Christmas morning and then having two major snowfalls during the days before New Year's Eve.

Hooray for Christmas snow!

Home-made Memories

One of our favorite traditions is exchanging homemade gifts on Christmas Eve. We draw names in November and then get busy creating.

 This year Leeli made her brother an organizing center, and painted the drawer faces with chalkboard paint so he could customize the contents.

 Rooney made her sister a set of mittens and a matching embellished ear warmer out of felted wool.

 Enrique made a custom frame to go around a vintage Beetles poster for a certain blonde Beetles fan;

 Mr. Dub granted Enrique's wish by making a giant snickers patty.  Sugar rush for days.

 Me? I crocheted my little heart out, and let me tell you: quantity is not always quality. Sweet Mesquite was an extremely kind and gracious recipient. Especially considering she got a yarmulke with a hole in it, and an ear band that makes her look like she has a tumor on her head.

 Morning Boy was very clever and created a shooting gallery for his big brother.

 Mesquite put together a compilation of memories about me.  She solicited paragraphs from everyone in the family, including some extended family as well.  It was lovely.  The kind of lovely that caused me to shed a few tears.

 Yonder made a book for his dad.

It was full of wisdom they have shared with each other.

After we opened gifts, we snuggled on the sofas and watched Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in It's A Wonderful Life.

Traditions and Memories.

It's a wonderful life.