Tis The Season

Friday night Rachel and I went with friends to the annual Christmas ornament swap at our former church. It is always fun to talk to friends we haven't seen in a long time. There was food, music and an inspirational devotion. Round tables were decorated by volunteers who brought their own table settings, dishes, and centerpieces. Every table was unique and beautiful.

This is the table where we sat. Cute huh?

This is the centerpiece.

Then there was the ornament swapping. Everyone grabbed a gift from the table at the door where we had left them. "If you've received a Christmas card already, swap your ornament with someone. Find someone with the same birth month as yourself and swap. If all of your Christmas shopping is done swap......" Finally, we were told we could open our gifts. Lastly, there was a lot of showing what we received. It was a good way to kick off the season.

Saturday night I was the guest of a dear friend. She had tickets to a concert at the fabulous Alabama Theater sponsored by Opera Birmingham. Soprano, Angela Brown was the featured singer. She was accompanied by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Two local children's choirs also made appearances, The Magic City Concert Choir and The Birmingham Children's Choir. Both groups gave stand out performances. Mary, Did You Know and O Holy Night were my favorites. We had a great time.

The Chinese inspired Ladies Room-Vanity Tables in the Anteroom.

Fab Art-Deco lights in the second floor hallway.

The more than fabulously fab chandelier in the lobby of the theater.
Look closely and you can see the choir singing a pre-performance concert.

Third floor lighting in the hallway.

The Symphony warming on stage up before the show began.

Even the exit signs are beautiful!

Sunday I will attend a 1st birthday party for my great nephew and then all of my children (except the ones who live in Texas) are coming over for our annual Gingerbread House party. We will make houses out of graham crackers, royal icing and decorate them with tons of candy. We've been doing this every year for almost 10 years. There is usually some heated competion to see who can build the best house. There have been modernist designs, Pennsylvannia Dutch styles, churches and even a trailer park. In the interest of frugality, I began saving all of the leftover candy from year to year to reuse it. When we've finished our houses, we bag all the candy up and store it in the bottom of my freezer until next time. We are carefully point out the fresh candy to the kids and tell them to only eat it....they never listen....uck! We make a huge mess and have the time of our lives.

Making Royal icing is a messy job, but someone has to do it!

Next Wednesday I will be leaving after work to spend a few days in Texas with the rest of my family. They have some fun stuff planned to take me to. And I plan on teaching my TX girls how to make graham cracker houses. I'll be back Sunday evening, so it will be just a short trip, but lots of fun I'm sure.

Why is it most of the year I have nothing to do? It must be because it is all saved up for December!