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December 30, 2009: Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert |
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December 20, 2009: A Visit to Natchitoches, LA |
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Return to Index for 2009 |
Between our return from Florida and Natchitoches, and Christmas, it was all we could do to get ready for the holiday. I had cooked a turkey at Thanksgiving, right after we returned from our cruise through the Panama Canal, so this time it was going to be a ham. I also had to wrap gifts and clean and decorate the house. Fred had gone home right after we returned to do his own preparations, and he returned to my house two days before Christmas. He spent Christmas Eve, as he usually does, with his stepmother Nina and his half-brother Troy and his family at Nina's house in Fort Worth, returning to my house late that evening.
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I'd done most of the prep work yesterday or early this morning, so Fred and I had a chance to relax a bit before our three guests arrived just before noon. This were pretty tranquil before that time; so much so, in fact, that Bobbie Lee mellowed out and joined us downstairs. Not even her nemesis, Lucky, could keep her from relaxing on the back of the living room sofa.
When the doorbell rang, though, she was off like a shot, and we did not see her again until after our guests had left in the evening. But that's Bobbie Lee for you. Lucky, of course, gregarious cat that he is, stayed around all day, except for the odd times that he went off to see what Bobbie Lee was doing up in the family room.
Mario, Steve and Martika arrived, Mario bringing one of his vegetable casseroles to contribute to the dinner. It wasn't long after everyone had arrived that the ham came out of the oven, and Martika helped me get everything ready. Fred called us all into the dining room so he could take this year's Christmas picture. He did a number of them, and the best one is below:
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Then it was time for everyone to serve themselves while I cut up the ham and brought it out to the table. We all sat down, and Fred took two pictures just before we started eating. The first was one of Martika, myself, Steve and Mario at the table, and you can have a look at that one here. As for the other one, I guess Fred wanted to record that dinner consisted of ham with pineapple, Mario's vegetable casserole, scalloped potatoes, broccoli and rolls, because he took a picture of his filled plate.
Dinner was pleasant as always; we enjoyed catching up with what Martika has been doing, and she enjoyed hearing about what we had done since the last time we saw her. After dinner, we adjourned to the living room to open gifts. This is always a fun experience and, as usual, we all gave and received way too much. One of these days we'll realize that we each have just about everything we need and we'll migrate to a "one small gift" policy. It's each other's company we really enjoy.
Fred always likes to record our gatherings with a picture of all the attendees, and this year's Christmas Portrait turned out very well:
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During our gift exchange, Fred snapped the occasional picture of some of us or of Lucky playing with the bags, boxes and wrappings. I've selected the best of these photos to include here. If you will click on the thumbnails below, you can have a look at some of these pictures:
We spent a really pleasant afternoon and early evening, taking desserts just before our three guests had to leave. Just after our guests left, Fred took advantage of the tripod's being set up to take our photograph. The object I am holding is a pencil sharpener in the shape of a cat that Jeffie gave me. You can see for yourself where the pencil goes if you click here.
You can use the links below to continue to the album page for different day.
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December 30, 2009: Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert |
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December 20, 2009: A Visit to Natchitoches, LA |
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Return to Index for 2009 |