Pages

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Solstice Weekend

19°f, -7°C, frosty frozen morning that eventually became sunny and 32°f. Some snow lingers, most has melted away.


We spent most of Saturday cleaning house ...again. How do two people make so much dirt! I know the answer: we are constantly busy, constantly in and out. And then there are the dogs. I have never had housepets, but this winter there's poor old Daisy, 15 years old and arthritic. Well, she has to come in, doesn't she, poor old girl. Then Buddy, who won't stay home, has to be inside as well, and can only go out if we take him. And poor Little Boy can't be left outside by himself! So, everyone is inside in this cold weather, and that means a ton of extra cleaning every day. It's like having my herd of little boys again to clean up after.

Still.  We swept and mopped and dusted and waxed and cleaned the glass door and put away clutter.  And then we were off to a Christmas carols singalong at our favorite cafĂ©,  Shari's,  where we had a good time with a few good friends. Afterwards we stopped at the Yacht Club for a drink and a visit with our son Derek and some other friends. When we returned home (early, really, by 9:00pm) we lit the fireplace and watched A Christmas Memory, about a particular Christmas in Truman Capote's childhood, a poignant movie we watch almost every year. (If you want to see a bit of how fruitcake is made, it will enlighten you.) It was a nice way to celebrate the Solstice, and see in this new season.

Today I slept in until 9:30am, so rare! A leisurely breakfast, a little laundry done, then I picked up my friend Suzy and we drove to Charleston for a pleasant afternoon, stopping at Taylor Books for a little book browsing, coffee and cake,

before attending a "Celtic Christmas" music program at a Presbyterian church. The program turned out to be more  religious than Celtic, but the music was beautiful all the same, and the church was just stunning. 


Mary and Joseph. I hope they enjoyed the concert.


The Charleston Civic Choir, accompanied by some fine musicians.


The church has a domed, almost Byzantine roof, with this intricate interior.


A tiny clip of the concert, not the best part and on my phone so not the best quality either. 


When I returned home, Larry had the fire lit, and the dogs were a rambunctious welcoming committee.  I put in the movie, The Man Who Christmas,  a great story about Charles Dickens and the creation of A Christmas Carol, and we settled in for another cozy evening. 

Oh, and did I mention that we did find another van on Friday? Car shopping is grueling, and it was a long day, but we found what we were looking for over in Athens, Ohio--a 2020 all-wheel-drive Toyota Sienna, which oddly enough is the same color as our smashed van. Neighbors who have seen us in it are a little confused, I think, wondering if we managed to get the old one fixed! It's a big relief to get this off our to-do list. This is our third Sienna, so you know we like them a lot. 

Tomorrow, back to the usual life here.  It will be pie-baking day, I think. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

14 comments:

  1. Nice that you were able to find what you wanted in the way of a new vehicle. The ceiling in that church is amazing!!!
    I plan on baking a pie tomorrow too. I had frozen pumpkin that I took out to thaw overnight. I just might bake some scones while the oven is on. Might as well. GM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, scones sound good. Maybe I should make some...cranberry orange? Or cranberry chocolate? Or chocolate orange? Decisions, decisions!

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. True words, Tom! I swear it falls from the ceilings!

      Delete
  3. As you say, it’s quite enough cleaning up from people, and I can only imagine that dogs compound the problem. We don’t have pets so it’s not an issue, but dust and spider webs proliferate on their own schedule!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess I have to clean so often now the spiders don't stand a chance! Although I haven't checked the ceilings...

      Delete
  4. Good deal on finding a new van, that is one thing off your plate.

    Dogs do contribute to a lot of the mess (hair) in our house. Barb sweeps or vacuums almost every day, it is amazing how much hair they lose.

    What a beautiful church! I think I could just sit there and look at the detail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to admit, my long hair contributes to the household shedding. But the dogs shed a lot more than I do!
      The church amazed me. I wish I had been able to take more photos.
      The new van was not easy to find. Apparently people don't get rid of the all wheel drive ones!

      Delete
  5. It has been your 0 cold here lately, but I guess it will warm up a bit today since it is going to snow. A Celtic celebration sounds good, but if it got too churchy it might not have been

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Warming quickly this morning, but sadly no snow in the forecast, just more rain.
      What they did in that concert was to take old Celtic carols and change the words to a more religious meaning. So the music was good, but I was sorry not to hear the old songs.

      Delete
  6. Nice that you and your friend had a pleasant afternoon during the hectic holiday season. Have a fun pie-baking day, Sue!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad you've been out and about enjoying holiday activities with friends, and congrats on finding just the right car/van to replace the old one.

    ReplyDelete
  8. As usual, you've been busy. Does that mean your knee is feeling better?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congrats on finding a new van, that was fast. We had four dogs when we lived in Alaska and had lots of cleaning to do especially during mud season. What I didn't like the most was dog hair, that was very annoying but what can you do. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Comments are moderated so may not appear immediately, but be assured that I read and enjoy each and every word you write, and will post them as quickly as possible.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...