what i did over christmas vacation, by liz

i drove eight hundred miles (and back) with my family in our little car to have christmas with my parents, my brothers, my sisters-in-law, my nieces and nephew, and my grandfather at my brother david's house in north carolina. we had new all-season tires on our car, yay!

my view of my boys in the back seat:
























we checked into a motel room in edison, new jersey, to wait out the so-called blizzard of 2009. my parents stayed in the room next door, and we feasted on indian food (and later, pizza), watched the september issue together, took naps and showers, and read books while the snow fell. bean and i also worked on our felty package decorations.
























bean making a felt pompom:
























we spent nearly twenty-four hours in edison before clearing the snow off our cars and hitting the road again. here is boo's eye view from the back seat:
























after we arrived in chapel hill, i baked and baked and baked.
























david and ellen's house is such a lovely place to bake and cook. you can be standing in the kitchen all day, and still participate in the activities going on in the rest of the house. for example, stella's ongoing project, clipping and unclipping a dog leash. here she is, demonstrating her clipping skills for my grandfather, ribby:
























we made a few expeditions to the grocery store, which is hilariously named harris teeter. here is boo, gathering his favorites:
























santa came. gifts were opened, toys played with. here are some pretty forest animals under the tree:



















i made something for my mom, and i am so proud of the outcome that this will probably not be the only time i mention (brag about) it. i embroidered a portrait of her beloved lulu:
























we gave my bruddies matching slippers!





















a few days after christmas, some of us managed to sneak off for a little tea party at guglhupf, a fantastic german bakery in durham.



















boo, m, and j enjoying coffee and treats:



















and, finally, my little cake freak:
























there was much, much more -- indoor ice skating, m and me grabbing a quiet afternoon latte at cup a joe, cousins playing and reading and laughing together, many 500 piece puzzles assembled, lots of simply gazing at stella as she told jokes and played with toys and petted dogs, eating delicious food, singing along to good music, catching up with my brothers... can you see why i miss christmas so much? my family is the best, most fun, generous, silly, wonderful bunch of people i know.