First Big Snow of 2011

The first major storm of the year left over 12" of snow. It looks lovely the next day, especially when a marshmallow appears on top of the birdbath.

Some Antique Shop Finds

As is common in New England, when you don't know what to do on the weekend, and the weather is decent, you go poking around antique shops. This time of year, the pickings can be slim, and many shops run big sales in order to move stuff. We wanted a day out, so went to southern Maine, where I found some more projects.

The mirror has damage, and a previous bad repair. I wanted the reverse glass painting, since, although broken, it was original, and I will now make a replica. I though the division of space with the blue side panels was awkwardly interesting.

The frame is actually a nice early frame, and has not been worked on. Well, except for the fact that someone decided they would keep the components together by pouring glue into the back. This should be fun.

Colonial Williamsburg

We have visited Colonial Williamsburg (http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/) before, but not at Christmas season. Although Christmas decorations are not historically accurate to the time period, they do decorate the buildings, with the requirement being that materials used must have existed in the eighteenth century. Other than that, creativity can be exercised, although most look fairly traditional to our eyes.

Although a bit unseasonably cold, it was a nice time to visit, as it was not as crowded as summer, but was still surprisingly busy. It appears to be a tradition for many families to go there at holiday time.

We had two very nice meals in the colonial taverns, and dining (as well as getting around) with minimal lighting after dark certainly contributed to the eighteenth century ambiance.

Longwood Holiday Lights

I was never crazy about holiday light displays, until our first time at Longwood Gardens (www.longwoodgardens.org), in Kennett Square, PA, several years ago. The design and execution is always good, with a design sense that keeps them from being garish. In addition to the exterior lights, the massive conservatories are completely decorated for the season.

Although the visit to Longwood was at the end of our trip, I wanted to get these posted first, before the holiday season had passed.

Wish I was better at night-time photograpy, but these should give some sense, although of course, it was much better in person.

December wrap-up

In spite of the good intentions, this December, with its end of semester assignments, a road trip to Virginia, the holiday dinner (and my usual Christmas flu) meant ignoring this blog, so there is a lot of catching up to do.

Given the prospect of airport hassles and delays, we figured out that driving was the most time and cost-effective means of travel this year. We left Massachusetts for an overnight in Wilmington, Delaware - no problems, until we hit Philadelphia at 3:00 pm, and icy roads meant another three hours to Wilmington!

We went to the Yuletide tour at Winterthur (http://www.winterthur.org/), then headed to Richmond, Virginia. No traffic problems until route 95 south of DC - tie-ups all the way.

When traveling with Joseph, you are kept on the go, so I didn't often connect the computer on this trip (which was actually rather nice). Therefore, I still need to download and edit pictures from this trip, so will post in more detail during coming days.

Thanksgiving

Between school and New England traditions of getting ready for winter, I have been remiss in posting. We did have Thanksgiving at home again, and the dogs were delighted to have a new friend. Rita, an international student from Clark University, came to dinner, and since she misses her dog back in China, she was happy to play with Lilly and Savannah as much as they wanted.

Dancing Dog

Savannah thinks that she needs to provide a floor show in order to be fed.