Christmas at the Beach

Although this was our very first Christmas alone as empty nesters, we decided not to spend it moping around the house. Instead we went to the beach.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the temperature hovered around 72F with a light breeze blowing. Perfect weather. My guy and I both grew up by the beach; he was an avid surfer, too. I just love the beach. I would rather go to the beach than any other place on the planet, including Paris.

This guy was one of the few birds willing to pose for me. We brought our lunch with us, and had it while sitting on a bench by the boardwalk so we could watch the waves and the people.

We weren't the only non-traditionalists; families were everywhere building sandcastles with their kids. I know most of them were tourists staying at local hotels, but it was nice to see that.

We walked about two miles down the beach (I wish my legs were this long) before we headed back home. Beautiful day; beautiful way to spend my least favorite holiday. I feel a new tradition coming on now.

Comments

nightsmusic said…

See? This is a time to start something new! Our first Christmas alone again, we slept in, had a light breakfast, and pretty much just enjoyed the peace and quiet of not having to be anywhere and not having to entertain anyone. It was wonderful. Yesterday, we did pretty much the same thing except we had unusually warm weather at 38 degrees and it rained much of the day. I wish it had been snow. But we enjoyed the fire, had leftovers from Christmas eve for dinner, didn't do anything exciting and just enjoyed each other's company. It was nice.

December 26, 2021 at 9:20 AM

Maria Zannini said…

We took the day off on Christmas, but it was back to work on the 26th. We're in the middle of a bathroom remodel that seems to be going on forever. We're also trying to figure out where a leak is coming from outside. I think we narrowed it down. We kept digging holes and shutting valves until we found one that kept leaking. Now we have to dig out the surrounding area and replace the faulty pipe.

I hope we can be done with both within the first week of the year. I know Greg would much rather be at the beach.

December 27, 2021 at 5:37 AM

Holiday Prep

For Thanksgiving this year we've invited some guests from Oliver's mom's side of the family, so I have to start prepping now to get the house in shape for the big day. The first major thing is having the carpets cleaned, which we've scheduled for next week. This weekend I'll be cleaning out four rooms to get them ready for that. I started with my front dining room, which I use as my sewing room. It was kind of a mess already, so it felt good to get everything cleared out. We'll be having ten people at dinner plus two babies, so this will give me a chance to figure out how to arrange two tables in this space. I think this will be my last time hosting a big Thanksgiving gathering. Mike has started his family with a lovely girl who has a huge, close-knit family of her own, while Katherine will likely be off at grad school out of state for the next several years. I'm also not getting any younger. My guy and I will always celebrate Thanksgiving, but ...

T-minus Day

This was our little Thanksgiving dinner last year, when it was just the three of us. Time keeps whittling down my favorite holiday; this year it will be just me and my guy, and we likely won't even have a turkey.* That will be a first in 35 years. I feel about Thanksgiving the way other people do about Christmas, and while it's a lot of work it's my favorite holiday. Of all the Thanksgivings I've had in the past sixty years, only three were truly terrible: one when I was a kid that I don't talk about (#1 most miserable); the time I roasted two turkeys together and hosted fifteen people whom I cooked for and served with zero help (the largest and #2 most miserable); and the one I spent in basic training (the #3 most miserable.) I have no pictures of any of those, thank heavens. In addition to doing all the cooking I'm the one who takes all the pictures, washes all the dishes and puts away all the leftovers. I suppose no one else cares because to them it...

Fell Off the Wagon

I did cut up that plastic dollar tote to make into something stronger, but got caught up with work and set it aside. Then last night some hand-dyed silk and pretty threads called my name, and, well . . . Felt SO good to do some handwork, except my neck began hurting about an hour into it. I tried changing the way I sit and work, but it's pretty obvious that the doc is right.

Valerean

Search This Blog