Quiet Christmas

It was a very quiet Christmas for us this year. But, I am so thankful for all my family and friends, and though we didn't get to be with our daughter and grandson, or other family members, we did see Mom, and had a sweet sharing evening before she left for NY. We had a wonderful dinner and exchanged our gifts....

She gave me some great quilting things, a tote bag, fabric and gift certificate--yeah!!!! And we went to see Dad on Christmas eve. He opened his present from us....



A RED shirt, so he can be really festive at the next Christmas party (and also for Valentines, and any other time he wants to look spiffy!)

He held the shirt up and stuck his tongue out at me, but the camera delay made me miss it! :-) Still, he looks happy enough with his present.

And my sweet Russell decided he wanted to bake his first turkey this year! We had a nice quiet Christmas dinner with our friends. I made the cornbread dressing and mashed potatoes. Dear friends from out of town had sent a honey glazed ham, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. And Russell made yeast rolls, using the bread machine. It was all so GOOD!




We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Blessings for the New Year.....

A Blessed Christmas to You All!

Tour of The Great Dismal Swamp

Two weekends ago my husband and I asked our friends D and S to join us on the bus tour of The Great Dismal Swamp. For those of you who didn't see my earlier posts about the swamp last year, and would like MORE, click here and here. The Great Dismal Swamp encompasses miles and is found both in Virginia and North Carolina. It was first discovered in Colonial times, and George Washington had the area surveyed....more on that later. We started our tour at the Visitor Center in Suffolk where I now work part-time. I will do a post on the Center at some later date. But, I mention it to say that the poor black bear who was shot and stuffed and now greets visitors there, is the only bear we saw that day....not that we couldn't have seen one in the Swamp. There are about 500 bears who live there....


Here is our group, led by a very informative and knowlegeable guide named Penny who did a wonderful job. She is a biologist and is also Seminole Indian.



We entered on Railroad Ditch because Washington Ditch was closed. It was called RR Ditch because it was dug out to haul timber for railroad ties out of the swamp. Washington Ditch is named for, you guessed it--George Washington.



Happily we find a beaver lodge, and then wonderfully also see a beaver swimming up and down the Ditch (or canal)! I managed NOT to get a picture! :-(



This is a view of the 900 year old bald cypress tree! One of many ancient trees in our area!






And, yep--bears were here before we were!






Here is a view of the devastating fire that burned for months in The Great Dismal Swamp, most of last year. It burned underground in the peat and was very hard to contain. There are miles of swamp that was damaged.






This is our destination--Lake Drummond. Now, back to Colonial times: the Governor of the territory of NC was William Drummond. He and two other men went into the swamp to explore it, and discovered Lake Drummond. It is the second largest natural lake in the country, and only about two feet deep at it's greatest depth. It is stained with tannin from the cypress so is a healthier natural water than most lakes and streams now. And William Drummond...he was the only one of the three men to come out of the swamp alive. He also was my 10great-grandfather! You can see why I have such a strong connection to this swamp!






Lake Drummond is stunningly beautiful! My new header picture was also taken there that day.

A Christmas Party.....

Tonight was a very special night. Mom and I went to Magnolia Manor to attend the Christmas Party there with Dad. It was a wonderful party, with amazing food and a band called Lyrics that played Big Band, Easy-Listening music and mixed it up with some great Christmas songs. They were wonderfully talented. My Dad, who is often very lethargic and unresponsive, came alive as the evening got under way. He seemed almost like his old self, and enjoyed it all so much.

Here he reaches out to touch an ornament on the Christmas tree. It fell to the floor, but didn't break, and then there's Mom, putting it back....the look on her face is priceless! :-)



Dad enjoyed the music so much, and also was really into the food! It was very charming, and Mom and I got a kick out of some cute comments he made!



Mom and Dad danced several times, and Dad actually was doing a great job! He also sang several of the songs, like Tennessee Waltz, White Christmas, Blue Christmas, Jingle Bells, and several others.




This was such a sweet night, and really emotional for Mom and me. It was hard to tell him goodbye. We got lots of pictures, and they will hold the sweet memories for us for a long time to come....

A Farewell to Fall....

All the leaves are gone...and the sky is blue, not grey, thankfully. Well, it rained all day yesterday, and that's what took the last of the leaves. But a week ago we still had a few gorgeous examples left, and I wanted to give them their "last hurrah!" One tree that is exquisite in the fall is the crape myrtle. It is gorgeous in the summer, blooming it's pink or fuscia and even red or white curly soft blossoms just at watermelon time. But then in the fall comes the second gorgeous surprise held in its woody arms...orange and yellow with dark russet berries left from the blooms. It's a wonderful tree, common to our area, and often a treat for those from the northern states when they come to visit, if they've never seen one before. I enjoyed these last stunning examples and wanted to share them with you....





And here is another lovely tree I had to share....




And now....winter comes