Erica made it here safely. I am so thankful. It was a looonnnngg day of travel for her though, including a 2 hour train ride to the airport in Manchester, layovers in both NY and DC, and finally a 2 hour car trip home from Raleigh. She was exhausted but perked up considerably when we found her a Bojangles on the way home. Her first sweet tea and chicken biscuits in over a year seemed to be immensely satisfying. She even texted a picture of her biscuit to her British friends since they just can't quite grasp the concept of how delicious those buttery, crumbly things are.

Stephen and Hannia ran over to say hello even though it was 10 pm by the time we got home.
What a good brother and sister-in-law! But now Erica is off again, driving to Charlottesville to see some friends. Oh and just by chance she found out her professor, JoAnna G. has taken a job in Atlanta and her good-bye party is today. I am sure she willed be surprised to see Erica walk in.

Am I alarmed that she drove off in my car after not driving on the right hand side of the road in over a year? LOL! Not really...I think it will come back just like riding a bike. Plus she just texted me that she arrived safely anyway. I just can't wait for her to come back to Gville so we can get this holiday celebration in gear. We have a lot to celebrate!

Jeanne, Calvin and girls were here for their niece Ashley's graduation from ECU's school of nursing. Bruce and I didn't go to the ceremony but we met everybody afterwards for lunch. Anchalee's the best Thai food anywhere around. The Overcashes spent the night here, but Ashley's family headed back to Kannapolis.

I'm doing fine a week and a half since surgery, but one thing is really getting on my nerves. I get really tired really fast. I am up and around pretty well, but then I hit a brick wall after a bit. Like yesterday, I did a few things around the house, showered and got dressed and met everybody for lunch. Nothing strenuous...? But when we got back to the house I passed out cold for several hours. I think it is fairly normal after surgery but honestly I am ready for that part to be over.

Erica is flying home tomorrow and I am so excited I can barely stand it. Having her home makes my holiday awesome.

I was gearing up to write about the wonderful day I had. Stephen and I went Christmas shopping, had a nice lunch, got lots of things done...And then I came home and turned on the TV. I have no words that will fit a tragedy like this. I have read a few posts on Twitter....we need more God, fewer guns, more guns, regulations....??? I don't know what the answer is.
My heart hurts. :(

I just saw these made out of light bulbs! I love it!

I watched a HGTV special about the yearly Christmas decorations at the White House. It was an hour of past decorations, then another hour dedicated to Michelle Obama's choices for this year. I admit that 2 hours of decorations on TV sounds boring, but I just had surgery. My to-do list is not that long for now...I get bored. Our first Lady has excellent taste, and lots of the decor was stunning but one thing caught our eye (ok, so Stephen and Hannia participated in the HGTV-fest too. I said bored, NOT lonely.). One of the many trees was decorated with these mini terrariums, and it was just the coolest thing. The White House ornaments were handblown especially for the Presidential tree and had nice openings for easy watering...like the picture below. But I found tons of ideas online for creating your own, including using regular clear ornaments ( might be a pain to open and water but not impossible. ). And then I saw the tiny jars and thought those were so adorable. It makes me think of the tiny jam jars we were served several places in England.

You know, the hard to open clear ones could be used to create scenes that don't necessarily need watering...tiny pinecones or berries or whatever. The options would only be limited by your imagination. None of this is happening here at my house this year. The tree is already decorated and I am a bit out of commission...but I am keeping this idea on hold for future reference. Oh and also? I really really loved the wreaths made out of sheet music in the Biden's house as well. Another craft to file in my "get around to it someday" box.

My own house is not without some charming handmade touches. Hannia made me really pretty snowflakes, and Stephen spray painted them with sparkly stuff. They hung them over the fireplace, from the dining room chandelier, and doorways. Unfortunately, a few of the glittery, hanging things have already fallen victim to Vixen (evil kitty), and I don't know if my gorgeous snowflakes will survive the season....but at least they brought me joy for a while. :)

The halls are decked and the tree is trimmed. Virtually NO gifts have been bought, but we decided this Christmas was not going to be overly commercial. My daughter is coming home and this year is all about family. I can honestly say I am beginning to feel human again after surgery, and am very grateful for that, too! I am grateful that my niece Delaney is alive and home from the hospital. I am grateful that Stephen got into the Ph.D program that he was working towards. I'm grateful that all our family will able to see Erica while she is home. It's been a long hard year in a lot of ways, but all in all, I feel blessed and really, really lucky! I hope you feel that way too.

I'm alive and healing. The breast biopsy on Tuesday was much more of an ordeal than I had imagined. Then again, it's probably best that I didn't know what to expect or I would have been scared to death. Still, I wish I hadn't had to do that AND gallbladder surgery all in the same week....but everything is going well, if slower than I anticipated. I get frustrated to be out of commission, but I'm basically fine. I have Nurse Bruce on the job and he has been wonderful. He has grocery shopped, cleaned the kitchen, and even cleaned litter boxes! Oh my! He hasn't had to really cook since I haven't felt much like eating yet, but he is willing.

Anyway, it's all good. I hope to be back to normal soon. I have to! Erica will be home in a week, and I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! I'm just taking it easy, putting a few decorations on the tree and then having a rest.
It is slow going, but it's fine.