Thursday, December 26, 2013

On Christmas Day in the Morning

 After all the hustle and bustle, Christmas Day was all about doing nothing. The first thing to be done was to finish the Santa puzzle. The last few pieces are always the hardest.


 Opening presents was next. I added another model to my collection.

 I'm going to be busy all winter.

 I got Her an Irish provincial flag.



 I surprised her with new poles for all the flags she got this year.


 My little pooch liked her new toy and her new sweater that Daughter gave her.


 The usually invisible house cats left us a present.


 During a visit to Her dad, I took advantage of his greenhouse to do some spray painting.

 It was warmer in there than outside. Winter has made a return.


 Spray painting was a bit tricky.


The results weren't too bad.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Happy Holidays

Me and Stella want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 20, 2013

All Aboard!

 
My holiday bucket list included a trip to a local motorcycle repair shop that each Christmas sets up a giant train set.



 Everywhere you look there is something to see.


 The people who work there are very welcoming and will explain anything you want to know about the set up and operation.


 The details are incredible.


 There are five levels of trains coming and going at quite a speed.


 The scenery has just as many moving parts.


 The sound off all that action is deafening.

 It's just like being in a real train station.


 Inside this building is the tiniest moving train you will ever see. I'm going to make sure I go back for a second look before they close on January 18th since I am pretty sure I didn't see it all.


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Puzzled

 We must own a million Christmas themed puzzles.


 So far I've done quite a few of them.


The amazing thing is, in spite of a house full of cats, I haven't lost one piece-yet.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Tuesday at the Harbor


 We went to explore National Harbor on Tuesday.


Every time we drive over Woodrow Wilson Bridge we see this giant glass building and wonder what's going on inside.

Right now there is a giant tree suspended from the rafters inside. Outside a window washer was busy cleaning those giant windows.

The Gaylord Hotel has an amazing amount of green stuff growing outside and.....


...in. This is the view from inside the hotel looking down into the atrium. It looks like a little city but it is inside the hotel.

This hotel is also where you can see Ice!, a holiday exhibit made of tons of carved ice.

 You suit up into a big blue coat and then you get to walk around in the freezing tent and look at the ice sculptures.


 There is an ice slide. Sitting on your coat, you really pick up speed.


 There was an igloo of clear ice you can walk through.


 New York City is represented.


 Even the cabs.

 There are plenty of opportunities for photos.


You spent a lot of time trying not to photo bomb other peoples shots. Everyone was snapping away. That staircase was made of ice. It took me a while to realize this.


Afterwards it was time to warm up with some coffee.

Everyone else had the same idea so we had to go up to the lobby to find a place to sit. It is a very grand hotel.

The day was warm and sunny so we took a stroll on the waterfront and looked in the shops.


There is a giant man in the sand.


There is an old fashioned carousel.


There is an ice rink made out of plastic...

...and a water taxi to take you up the river.


On the way back to the car we found the Children's Museum. We didn't have a child to take in or we would have gone there too. Next time.



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

New Traditions


We spent Saturday making a giant mess on the table.


She decided that she wanted us to make our own Christmas cards this year. After spending enough money on supplies to buy ten boxes of cards, I was more than willing to help...


...until I got fired. I didn't make it through quality control.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Light Wrangler

 Every year I have the same problem when it comes to Christmas lights. They are always a tangled mess and half of them are always burnt out. When she drug me out of bed early this morning to go dig them out of the basement, I was fearing the worst.


But this year I was lucky. They were only tangled. For some reason they all lit up-so of course she decides she doesn't want to put them up after all. Merry Christmas.