Catching Up -- Part One, Christmas

Thanks to so many for your prayers and good wishes for Bodacious, who is once again acting almost normal. He's well enough now to bite the hand that pills him (is there, she asked rhetorically, any less gratifying task than pilling a cat?). During the holiday period, with a visiting dog and a visiting toddler, we thought it best to keep him confined to our bedroom. We used the carry-case to make a little nest for him and put it in my closet. He seemed very comfortable. Now that everyone is gone, we've moved the nest into the kitchen (love that radiant heat floor!) where Bo still spends much of his time. Last night, however, he saw fit to wander into the living room to entertain my visiting cousins. Tomorrow morning he goes to board at the vet's for a few days while we are away (more about which later on). Bo has now apparently used up two of his nine lives. Let's hope he slows down in this regard!

We talked about not getting a Christma tree this year, but of course we did. I like a skinny sort of a tree, and was pleased to find one at Whole Foods. The angel at the top was made by Andrew or Sherry during 4-year-old nursery school. I've never been able to bring myself to put anything else up there.

If you look down at the base of the tree, you can see a wonderful gift I received! For 40 years we had draped a piece of red fuzzy fabric around the base of the tree, frequently vowing to get a tree skirt. We don't have to do that any more! Bonnie made me a beautiful hand appliqued skirt with a hand-embroidered Dickens quote on it. I'm so pleased to have it. I noticed this year that the tree photographs better without the lights on!

The table set for dinner on the Friday before Christmas. We'd invited two couples from church to come over, and I was so happy when the head of school gave my a Christmas gift of a cyclamen! It makes, I think, a very pretty centerpiece.

In the background are my little Swedish Christmas people and straw bucks.

I collect glassware with twisted stems and have put wine glasses from that collection on the table along with some candlesticks that also have twisted stems.

Another, closer look at the cyclamen. In this picture you can see the table runner Bonnie made for me several years ago. I think she meant it to be for Christmas use, but the purple fabric goes so nicely with my dishes and my candlesticks that I leave it on the table most of the time. I'm lucky to have a sister who makes me beautiful things. She made me a mantel scarf for Christmas a few years ago, too.

Our dinner party was a success, and was the start of much entertaining. We had a crowd of people in for brunch on Sunday, and the seven of us for Christmas dinner, and then last night my local cousins all came to dinner and to laugh. We have one more dinner to do, and that one will be on January 2, when we return from the trip alluded to in the first paragraph. We'll be spending New Year's with Tom and Anastasia in Richmond.