Christmas Countdown Adventures

Every year we've made it the tradition to wait for our youngest daughter to come home for the holidays so that we can "bond" by trekking  out in the fields in search of the perfect Christmas tree for our home.

And it was with much anticipation that we waited for her to return this year, elated that she had saved her vacation days in order to be able to spend this special week with us.

After spending the morning decorating our Church, we came home for a quick lunch, then hopped in the car to fulfill our quest:  finding the perfect Christmas tree.

And you have to admit, there was no lack of enthusiasm on Marty's part.

We found the late date to be to our advantage, as it afforded us the opportunity to explore the trees at our leisure, and without any crowds.

We headed out to the field of Canaan Trees, but were careful to follow the signs along the way.

When the perfect tree was chosen, a hug was in order

Marty was called over

And, then Marty's real fun began.

We managed to get it home,  in the house and decorated before evening set in.

Beautiful, don't you think?

All this, and gingerbread face cookies, baked and decorated as well.

It does seem like there's always one grumpy face in the bunch doesn't it?

But that wasn't the end of the day's fun.  We all decided to take advantage of the warm weather and stroll around the neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights.

How about this for entertainment?

That is Abominable.  And, when we got to this particular house, he was laying on his face, on the ground. 

That seemed such a shame, don't you think?

 So, I headed up to the house and knocked on the door to ask the owners if they minded if I stood this guy back up.  

The house was dark, two little dogs began barking, and after several minutes with no answer, it appeared that no one was home. 

What to do?  It seemed such a shame for the creature to be all lit up with his head face down in the snow.  What would you do?

It was a mixed jury.  Marty and Amy thought that we should just keep on walking.  Stacey kept encouraging me to stand the poor fella upright. 

I was already on the front porch, just a few feet away, when I decided to side with Stacey. 

 I was just setting him upright when, much to my surprise, (and Stacey's as well),  the front door opened and a young man's perplexed face was looking at me.

I realized just how bad this must have looked.....some stranger in the front yard, with her arms around Abominable.  What would you think?

I quickly explained that we had seen the Abominable laying face down in the snow and I hoped that he didn't mind that I had adjusted Abominable for everyone's enjoyment.  Then, I wished him a Merry Christmas and told him that we all really liked their decorations.

He said, "Thank you, Ma'm, I'll tell that to my mother."  

So, if you were worried that I ended up getting arrested, you can calm your fears.  All is well here in Bumble land.

Merry Christmas!

Follow that Star

 On Friday, Marty and I decided to make a quick trip into Lititz, as he had never had the opportunity to see this delightful town all decorated up for Christmas, and we were both eager for a tasty lunch at Tomato Pie.

While we were in town, we checked out the information center, located in the old train station, and I spotted a flyer for the Moravian church gift shop.  I had been interested in purchasing a Moravian star, and this was the perfect opportunity to see what the shop had to offer.  When we saw that all proceeds went to support missions, we knew the place was worth investigating.

We finally found the shop, on the edge of town, near the church.  As soon as we entered the building, we were jubilantly greeted by a very excited volunteer who was more than eager to see what she could do to help us.

The ceiling had many stars hanging  for our viewing,  and while Marty and I contemplated which one to bring home, an older gentleman came bouncing through the door with a large star in hand that had obviously seen better days.  He mentioned that he was looking for a replacement for his 45 year old star, and his wife had given him explicit directions as to what he was to buy.

Marty and I began to help him regarding his choice, and he suddenly became quite interested in our presence in the shop.  Were we just visiting? 
Did we live very far away? 
Had we been in the store before?
Did we know that all of the proceeds went to mission charities?

We soon learned that this man was one of the church members, and he was excited to see someone in the shop.   He began to share all sorts of stories about the church and he suggested that we take a peek in the sanctuary to see the 110 point star that was located inside.

While we were finalizing the deal on the star that we had chosen, this same man began to encourage us to purchase more items. After all.....all proceeds went to charity.

He suggested that I go to the car while Marty stayed behind, and he would be happy to pull out the jewelry trays so that Marty could buy me something special for Christmas.  We both chuckled at his strategy.  He was certainly attempting to make quite the sell!  It made me wonder just how many customers this shop saw on a regular basis.  Especially when yet another volunteer came through the door and immediately greeted us, thanked us for visiting, and began suggesting that we attend one of the Christmas services.

Certainly a friendly group, that's for sure.

We finally exited the store with our newfound purchase: a 21 inch star and a pack of Advent candles that I had spotted on the counter, and we headed to the sanctuary to see the special star.

It's kind of funny how you can go through life and miss certain details that all of a sudden become obvious.  Walking out of the door, we soon realized that we were in Moravian Star Heaven.   Our eyes had been opened. Everywhere we looked, there were these fabulous stars hanging.  How could we possibly have missed so many of them?

Here you can see Marty holding our star with the church in the background.  Believe it or not, a large pointed star hangs in that bell tower on top of the building.

Walking through back doors, we were greeted with this on the tile floor.

Once inside the sanctuary, we found ourselves gazing upon the famous 110 point star.

Pretty spectacular, don't you think?

When we got home, Marty headed right outside and went about finding the perfect spot to hang our newfound treasure.  It didn't take long for us to agree on where it should be hung.

Perfect!

And, it didn't take long to put those candles to use.

Let's just say that "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" around here. 

Picture perfect!

From Scotland to Slovakia in a Day

Does the blog title intrigue you?  Well.....let me assure you that we are NOT in Europe!  Rather, we are in the DC area enjoying the many cultures that abound here.

We stayed at our favorite B&B in Takoma Park and hopped the metro into Old Town Alexandria where we began the day as spectators of the annual Scottish Walk.

This was a delightful parade offering entertainment by numerous Scottish bagpipers

all featuring different clansmen plaid.


Doggies of Scottish origin

And, perhaps, some not indigenous to Scotland, but entertaining, nonetheless.

most were dressed in their wee fine plaid, but this little guy didn't quite fit the part.

There were some fancy cars

And the Loch Ness Monstor

and a few Scottish Santas among the group.

The event was more entertaining than I would have ever imagined, although I do question the presence of King Henry VIII among the participants.

After the parade we ambled along the Potomic where we spotted this yacht owner getting ready for the annual boat festival of lights.  Couldn't help but chuckle at the Santas relaxing by the palm trees.

Our plans for the day included a performace of the Christmas Carol at the Little Theater in Alexandria.

The tickets were only $15.00, so how could I resist?  Particularly since the Ford's Theater seats for this Christmas Classic were running $134.00 minimum?

Well.....let me just say that you get what you pay for.  But the play was definitely entertaining and one of the quickest that we have ever attended.

But, in the long run, three ghosts came and went and Scrooge realized the error of his ways.   And the performance of Bob Crachet was extremely entertaining.  We certainly left the place laughing!

With the night still quite young, we boarded the metro to Metro Center and made a quick walk to view the National Christmas Tree, which looked quite spectacular this year.

  Despite the crowds, we still managed to make our way close enough to get some terrific shots.


We headed back to the Metro, and this time headed west to the Arlington area, where we met up with my good friend from high school, Winthrop.  He drove us to his home for some entertaining conversation.  Time flew by way too fast, and before you know it, Winthrop was driving us into Georgetown, where we had reservations for dinner at the CapitalPrague Restaurant.  Our original plans were for him to join us, but, alas, he could not.  Maybe next time?

I had heard about this restaurant when it first opened, so I was eager to check it out personally. The staff was eager to please, and was more than happy to take our photo.

 It didn't take long for Marty and me to choose an order of the Bryndzda Halusky, a typical Slovak dish, which Amy and I partook of many times while in Modra.

Ahhh...It was melt-in-your mouth fabulous!  Not quite like the flavors of Slovakia, but certainly a whole lot closer!


After all of that walking today, I decided to splurge on the warm cheese strudel with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

are you drooling yet?


After dinner, we walked the mile distance to the metro where we began our trip back to Takoma Park.

Scotland in the morn'     finished with Slovakia in the evening       with a whole lot of fun sandwiched in between.

Really, could you ask for a more exciting day?