Christmas Vacation 2013

I'm enjoying my last couple of hours of Christmas vacation this morning. It is 14F outside right now, with a high of only 16F. Tonight it is supposed to be 7F. What a way to welcome me back to the working world!

I've had lots of time off with my baby girl, and it has been wonderful! Here's the recap.

The weekend before Christmas, Lydia ran fever all weekend. We didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with family because Lydia had the flu, so I was paranoid about her being sick for Christmas, too. I took her to the doctor on Monday, and all that was wrong was a sore throat. She ran fever on Christmas Eve morning, but was fever free by that evening. We had planned to go to church at 4 pm on Christmas Eve, but we ended up staying home. I did not want to expose her to any more germs or to expose the other kids to hers.

Christmas morning was fun. I made a breakfast casserole, baked some Millie Ray's orange rolls, and Chip made his wonderful cappuccinos (as always).

Lydia played with her toys from Santa and opened her gifts from Mom and Dad. Santa brought her bath drums, a shapes puzzle, a mallet toy, and some clothes. Mom and Dad gave her a quilt, art smocks, and some books. (Bear with me on the photos. Baby girl does not sit still much these days.)

After opening gifts we finished packing the car and headed to Chip's parents' house in Hinds County. Lydia was a hoot. She even sat through Christmas dinner in her high chair. She faded fast after dinner, and we had to put her to bed before she could open all her gifts. The good and bad thing about having a set bedtime every night (7:30 pm) is that she is does not like to vary from the routine. Around 7:15 pm we reach meltdown stage if she isn't already in her jammies reading a story with Mom or Dad.

On the 26th we headed to Sallis for my nephew Lawes' first birthday party. It was a pancake party for breakfast, which I thought was so much fun! At the end of the party all the kids got on ride toys and rode in circles around the pool table in my brother's rec room. A toddler derby! Lydia rode a train while I pushed her around. She loved going fast with the other children. My legs were killing me!

We went back to Chip's parents' house after the birthday party, then I worked from their home office on Friday. On Friday night we went back to Sallis for Cain family Christmas. It was a fun night. One of my uncle's grandchildren gave Lydia her first bite (a nibble really) on her finger. It was all very dramatic. She loved playing with all of the other children and had a ball in the middle of the floor playing with wrapping paper, tissue paper, boxes, bags, and bows.

Saturday was rainy so we ended up staying inside to play most of the day. Then, on Sunday it was time to come home. We headed to the barn just before we left to let Lydia pet the horses and her uncle Scott's dog Ernie.

I worked Monday, then was off the rest of the week. It has been so great to be a Mom for a week. We went to the library, went shopping, took walks, and played, played, played. I'm so sad to see my time off come to an end. Lord knows I will miss her today.

Our Views

I don't think I'll ever get tired of these beautiful views we see from the park. The weekend just isn't a weekend without at least one stroll around the neighborhood and through the park. This weekend was no exception. We got in a long walk on Saturday and a short one on Sunday. Sunday's walk required a sweater since the weather turned cooler which made me very happy!

Sunday night as Chip and I ate dinner I glanced outside and saw the most beautiful sunset. I stood up, picked up Lydia from the pack-n-play, and scurried down the front walk to our front yard. Chip followed me, and I know he thought I was a little nutty. With Lydia in my arms I pointed at the view and said "sky", "sunset", "blue", "pink", "pretty", magnificent, lovely, amazing! She pointed and laughed, and we spun backwards and forwards in the cool autumn air.

Moments like that make life so full! It's October! My favorite month! And it is cool outside and leaves are slowly falling now (falling more quickly soon). I can sit with a cup of hot tea while it rains and wear sweaters when it is sunny. So happy.

Vacation 2013

Our mountain getaway

The sunny deck

View of the lake from the deck

The family room

Playing with Lydia

Happy baby

Bumbo makeshift high chair

Family photo

Love.

Fun on the pontoon boat

Lydia and Nana

Lydia, Nana, and Grandpa

Nantahala River

Lydia and Chip at the NOC

Vacation was incredible! There's nothing in the world like river time. Unplugged time. Family time.

We rented a lake house on Nantahala Lake this year. We really enjoyed staying on the lake last year, and decided to give it another try. It is wonderful to wake up to fog on the water. To drink morning coffee on the deck and watch the sun rise over the mountains. In the evening, sunset paddles on the lake with a cold beer are the best.

Nantahala Lake is really quiet and secluded. No cell service. No internet. We really got to wind down and spend time together. We cooked out every night. We took a day trip to Asheville one day. Lydia was an angel. We forgot her bottle and had to buy her a sippy cup when we got there. She did fine.

We took duckys down the river on Tuesday and a raft on Thursday. Big fun on both trips. We didn't make it to the fire tower this year. Maybe next year.

All in all it went way too fast.

Family Photo 2012

- Posted from my iPhone using BlogPress

Finished Cross Stitch

I had this framed in a wide, rustic wooden frame. I think it turned out nice. My brother and sister-in-law have a baby on the way due in April. I really hope it is a girl so I can stitch some of the cute girl patterns I have!

I've been embriodering felt ornaments as gifts for my family this Christmas. I plan to finish another one tonight and three more by Christmas. Can't wait to show you all my finished star ornaments!

A Right Spirit

I began a cross stitch for my nephew last year before he was born. Growing up I had a verse in my bedroom that my mother stitched for me, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance. ~ Proverbs 15:13"

I knew I wanted to do a verse for my nephew. I found a wonderful resource for cross stitch patterns and charts at Wyndham Needleworks. My favorite patterns are from La-D-Da. I bought about a dozen patterns and my first was A Right Spirit.

The pattern says that the model was stitched on 36 count "Nightingale" linen by Birds of a Feather using one strand of embriodery floss over two threads of fabric. I used 28 count evenweave fabric using one strand of floss over just one thread. Mine ended up being a little bit smaller than the model, but I think the finished work would have been too big if I had skipped over two threads on the 28 count fabric. I am happy with how it turned out.


I love the colors in this work. The gorgeous mix of greens in the leaves is so pretty. The rich browns, reds, and oranges are lovely. I improvised on the alphabet at the top. I stitched in my nephew's name and birth date.

There are a few mistakes in the finished work, but Daniel and Susan said they couldn't find them, so I'm not going to tell you what they are! Since this is only my second large work to finish (after many smaller works as a child), I am going to call this one a success!

Dinner Recap

So, here is how everything turned out.

The rice was really good. I used this recipe from the PBS show America's Test Kitchen. This rice turned out perfectly - not at all sticky. Very fluffy and flavorful.

The naan was AWESOME. These naan were chewy and had a great balance of salty and slightly sweet. I made the dough on Tuesday night and refrigerated it after the first rise. Then, on Wednesday while I made the other dishes I let it come to room temperature and rise again. Right before our guests arrived I pulled off bits of dough, rolled out the rounds, and grilled it on the grill pan. I really wish I had more time to make homemade bread. It just tastes so good.

The chicken tikka masala turned out really good, too. The sauce is really flavorful. I took the advice of a lot of the recipe reviewers on AllRecipes and cut down on the amount of salt. Also, I had to add more cayenne (to taste) because it just wasn't spicy enough for our bunch.

And lastly, the saag paneer. This dish was probably my least favorite out of all of them. I was rushed while making it, and I think that showed in the final dish. It really needed more salt and flavor. Now that we are eating the leftovers I've added more salt and it is MUCH better.

I have the next two Mondays off, and I am so looking forward to it! This weekend I plan to do some work in the garden. The area that I worked on earlier this year really took the hot, dry summer weather hard. All of the azaleas that I moved and planted are dead. The juniper is dead. Even the ornamental grass is dead. Fall is a much better season for moving and transplanting plants, so I hope I can finally put some life into this ugly spot in my garden.

Next weekend we are going camping at a local state park. I am really looking forward to kayaking on the lake and roasting marshmellows by the fire. Fun times!

More Birthday Dinner Photos

Things got pretty crazy at my house after work yesterday. Chip came back from Louisiana with lots of beer. He assembled the cheese plate, and I cooked rice, heated up the chicken tikka masala, made saag paneer, and rolled out naan dough. When the first guests showed up, I was very close to having dinner finished. Chip poured me a glass of Riesling, and the birthday celebration began. I grilled naan on the grill pan and placed the completed dishes in the oven to keep warm.

I don't have photos of the finished dishes, but we do have yummy leftovers, and I plan to take some photos tonight. I did take some photos of the dining room after I set the table yesterday. I am proud of the way everything came together.