Monday, January 4, 2016

The Post Christmas Post

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is the slower paced, relaxed week that follows Christmas. While I love all the activity during Christmas I really love the quieter less frenetic days that follow. I enjoy sitting by the tree, afternoon tea time, and lots of breathing space. 

Daughter1 and her hubs flew back to the West Coast the Sunday after Christmas, but Daughter2 was here and she spent most of the week hanging out in our apartment. Her apartment might be just a couple hundred yards up the hill, but she and her greyhound made themselves at home in our extra bedroom and I loved every minute.  

Daughter2 is a Beach Body coach and she and I went to the gym and worked out which was necessary and fun, but mostly just necessary. ahem. Her aunt had given her the Fixate cookbook for Christmas and we enjoyed looking through the healthy recipes and trying several, most of which were keepers. 

Every afternoon around 3 o'clock we'd make tea have a cookie and play Skipbo or Dominoes or Yahtzee. We cooked dinner together and watched football and had some really good talks. We face-timed her sister in Washington and made plans for a couple of fun things to do together later in the month. 

It felt so good to have a daughter in the house after Christmas. To not have all the family fun come to a screeching halt immediately after the big day. We eked out all the goodness we could and I've tucked it away with the advent wreath and memories of another year gone by. 

Oh, and I didn't take any pictures because I didn't feel like it-ha! I just enjoyed being. Plus when I look at my daughter2 this is still pretty much what I see in my head-


She might now be a quarter century in years, running her own life, and master of her third grade classroom but still... this is her...full of mischief, tender hearted, and the biggest bluest eyes you ever did see. 


Hubs and I welcomed 2016 with friends at their home near Atlanta. I like to ring in the new year in the comfort of my own home or someone elses, and have never been big on being out amongst the masses (and scary drivers). This was perfect. 

Particularly this cheese tray-


Also the company, but especially the cheese tray. It was fab!

We stayed in our pj's all day Friday, or at least until we had to leave the house to meet more friends at a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner. I wonder if waiters get tired of 'could you take our picture?' requests. 


Doesn't stop me from requesting, but I do wonder. 

Hubs and I headed home Saturday morning. The sun was finally shining and we detoured past the lot to see how wet is wet. Seriously, this weather is for ducks and fish and loch ness monsters, not for people building a house! 


We grabbed lunch at a nearby restaurant on the lake and soaked in the spectacular view and all that gorgeous sunlight glistening on the water, reminding ourselves it will all be worth it in the end. 

Now when that end will be is still a mystery, but that's what keeps life interesting, right? It will be THIS year, and that's good enough for me. Hello 2016! 

5 comments:

  1. Happy New Year Joyce! I enjoyed this entire post. Immensely!

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  2. Happy new year! I enjoyed catching up with your post-holiday happenings. Great photos, and I'm sure as long as the tips are good, with wait staff don't mind taking pictures.

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  3. Sounds like you had a great time with your daughter. Also I like the plans you had for New Year's, sound like a lot of fun and of course your view is perfect!

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  4. Happy 2016, Joyce...see ya tomorrow!

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  5. Happy New Year! That time between Christmas and New Year is great. The hustle and bustle is over. It`s perfect for chilling out and relaxing. We`re the same way with new year parties. We`d much rather be with friends or family than out among the crowds.

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