Merry Christmas from the mountains. The scenery is the mountains but the temps today will be balmy and spring like. That is supposed to be the norm for the next few days. So we could have the top down on Mustang Sam today. That could happen in Houston almost every Christmas but it is a surprise and serendipity for here. Certainly not Christmasy feeling but for us Christmas has mainly been about the heart and our hope in the Lord.
Spending three weeks in Houston has kind of messed up Christmas decorating. We still have harvest themed decor in the house because we left before Thanksgiving. The blessing is, we won't have tons of Christmas stuff to put away...maybe the correct measurement would be in ounces. We have ounces of Christmas decor to put away.
Last night we went to our Christmas Eve service. It was a beautiful and worshipful service and the Christmas carol to end the service was Joy to the World, not Silent Night. Loved singing Joy to complete the service. We came home and texted our neighbors. We have been trying to exchange Christmas with each other and our schedules have not cooperated. This year we exchanged pies, homemade apple for us and Goode Company BBQ pecan pie for them. I was also able to thank Naia for doing such a fabulous job with the ferals.
This morning all the ferals greeted me except for Strawyer. He arrives in mid morning from his overnight dwelling. I think the kittens get on his nerves. Yesterday, FB brought up a picture from last year of he and Punky. Little kittens playing by the fir tree, wouldn't come near me for nothing. For just being a year older, Strawyer looks like an old cat but life in the wild will do that. This morning FB brought up the pics of Riley in the garage. She came into the garage last year and didn't leave for seven days. Then, the in and out began for several months. I didn't look at the pictures too closely because it makes me sad that her story didn't end the way I would have liked it. She and Cali truly captured my heart.
Buddy is thrilled by once again spending time on the front porch. She spent most of the afternoon there and she is out there in these chilly temps this morning. Yes, we are heating the neighborhood but happy to do so to see her feeling good and in seemingly good health. I feel better about her since visiting our Houston vet. Hands on and the direction we will take with her is more pronounced than the fear free vet here in Asheville.
Roy is continuing his de-stressing from the office. I think he needed this break with all the pressure and stress he has had the past few months. Deadlines before the holidays are never fun...well usually not fun when it comes to work.
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Happy Day After Christmas! We had such a fun day yesterday. Having a warm day for Christmas here meant we had the top down on Mustang Sam. We had a leisurely morning before leaving for the Biltmore Estate. I had made reservations in November for the Deerpark Restaurant. We were a little early but that worked out well because the sheep and the cows have been moved to pastures nearby. Roy had his camera and took tons of pics. We met a cute young couple from Florida while taking pics. They are trying to figure out how they can move to the area. Lunch was fabulous. We totally approach buffets differently now that we a little older. Roy's approach was a little bit of shrimp and a gumbo looking soup, turkey and dressing....then he proceeded to fill up on desserts. So many to choose from but he sampled the eggnog cheesecake, fruit cake, cookies and five dishes of ice cream with either caramel or a fruit compote. My approach was apple and pumpkin soup, flat bread and olives, then prime rib, mashed potatoes, dressing, carrots and parsnips, collards and a tart/sweet cranberry sauce. I had ice cream and caramel for dessert and some of their sugar cookies. We waddled out to the car and drove around for a bit. The new layout is different and not being able to drive through the estate was a tad disappointing but we were able to still drive around the lagoon and to Antler Hill Village. All the stores have 40% off which I've never seen before. At The Barn Door which has made in USA and local artisan products, we found a wooden advent tree that we will use next year. I would have never paid full price for it but with the 40% and then the pass holder 10%, made it a reasonable purchase. We saw deer along the roads and attempted to take a few pics of the bucks we saw. It didn't feel all that crowded yesterday but maybe with the new buses taking people from the house around the estate is working. Anyway, Roy said on the way home, this was so much fun, let's do this next year. It has been awhile since he has been on the estate since many times we have so much to do that we don't make the time to get over that way. We spent several Christmases at the Inn and always loved that.
Today, we have things around here to take care of. I'm still going through things we brought back with us, trying to find everyone's Christmas presents. Oh well, it's a work and usually if it isn't late, it isn't from me. Merry Christmas Week!
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