 Let the holidays start with an Italian dinner party that was out of this world!  With the fireplace lit, the women took a seat with a plate of hors d'oeuvres while the boys enjoyed the goodies in a different room. This is a bit of what we were eating with that glass of wine.  But this was my favorite and I ate many of them. Bacon wrapped around bread and cream cheese. I am getting that recipe because it makes a fabulous before dinner treat.  I must say that table setting was purely outstanding, as we all looked out the window. The snowfall added to the peaceful setting as we dined.  Pasta and meatballs then desserts ended our truly wonderful dinner.  Leon and JoAnn sit peacefully at the table, while Bill saw that we all had our wine glasses full. We are always thrilled when we get that holiday call from JoAnn. "Can you and Leon come for dinner"? YES! We wouldn't miss it!
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 Books! I love this 1000 piece puzzle thinking how creative it is to list these books this way. The cat adds character to the whole scene.  Another puzzle from the Rockport Library missing another piece. This is the chance you take when you borrow a puzzle that has been done before.  We decided to try a 300 piece puzzle. Leon finished this one in a day!  This was my favorite 300 piece one. Of course, Leon helped me! My art studio looks much like this - cup of coffee, paints, brushes, colored pencils, books, glasses, however, there are no birds all over the place. My studio is a mess when trying to paint a masterpiece.  Our next one. Will take more than a day as the pieces are small and a whole lot of them. It's called our winter adventure.
 After visiting Leon lying in the hospital overnight for prostate surgery, dinner was on me. I came home and decided to fix this fabulous Shaw's pizza. Leon usually does this but I knew I was able to do such a simple thing.  First mistake: I put the pizza in the oven with this cardboard attached. I had not read to "remove pizza from all packaging". After 5 minutes I checked on it, immediately pulled it out of the oven, removing this piece of cardboard.  When it was done, pot holders in hand, I began to pull it out of that 450 degree setting. I read from the pizza box "CAUTION: PIZZA WILL BE HOT". Duh! The whole thing dropped to the floor, with me holding the pot holders. The pieces turned upside down as they landed. I threw the parts, where the cheese stuck on the rug, into the garbage and ended up with half a pizza left.  This pizza cutter is wonderful. Leon uses it skillfully. I had trouble with it! After cleaning it up I couldn't get it back together, setting it aside until the chef arrived home. I have learned to make pasta and meat loaf but for some reason cannot remove food ready to go and put it in the oven! The parts I attempted to eat tasted awful and I was not going to try my hand at another failing meal. I have not yet mastered the kitchen!
 Furniture had to be moved around because a Christmas tree got put up! So Spencer has found a new home facing us while we are watching TV. He relaxes there daily and appears quite a comfortable place for him. Have you ever heard of a spoiled dog who seems to get his way most of the time? Well, we have one right here.
 This book led me to learning more about the Vietnam War and in a different direction information about the effect it had on those Americans fighting. Frankie, a 21 year old girl who the story is about, lived in an upper class neighborhood in Southern California. She decided to go where her brother fought just to find out the day she boarded a plane for Vietnam, he was killed. The whole story depicts life during war time and then switches to life coming home.
This war lasted for 20 years, 1955-1975, under President Johnson. "It's well documented that those returning from Vietnam were treated as pariahs; they were labelled 'baby killers' and were spat at for their service. Many were left with life changing injuries, struggling with PTSD, they were shunned and left with little support". The women that served were not recognized, which put Frankie in a horrible and distressing life upon returning. And where was I during this time. I was 8 years old when the war began, spent life in high school and was married for 5 years before the war ended. It was a war we lost and cost us the lives of 30,000 who must have thought daily, WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? The writing was exceptional: "In front of them, a wide brown river arced lazily past, lapping against a reedy, marshy shore". This quote has little to do with what Frankie went through but became a part of the great writing of this book.  We attended the open house of the Knox Museum and totally enjoyed the festively decorated rooms. Especially the kitchen where this pie sat!  Kate helped decorate the setting like it used to be in the 1700's. Such a magical setting as living back then went through my mind over and over again. Life was so simple but Henry Knox and his family enjoyed living in this huge mansion. I just took photos of things that took me back to earlier times.  Enjoyed spending time with Michelle and Jeff as we walked up two sets of stairs discovering life back in another time.
 The Holly Berry Fair was a huge success! The Rockport Garden Club knows just what to do to make it that way - year after year.  Here are a few of the people that worked the fair and
made it a wonderful event. HATS OFF TO YOU!  The annual Rockport Garden Club's HOLLY BERRY FAIR takes place tomorrow and boy do we have lots of wonderful things for sale. There's the homemade goodies all ready to gift.  If you peek around you will find Santas all over in different shapes and sizes.  Greenery is hard to beat when gifting something in nature.  A bit of jewelry creates a fabulous treat for that special someone.  All sorts of things that make this holiday extra special is awaiting your arrival.  So come by and see us!
 A very talented group of Rockport Garden Club members created one fabulous kitchen display at the Knox Museum for all to come and see for FREE this weekend. The productive minds of garden club members Kate Jackson, Doris Smart, Vivi Banta, Jane Risley and Karin Weisert designed an imaginative work of art making one feel what life was like in the late 1700's. Hats off to Rockport Garden Club members. What a fabulous job!
 It happened to be one spectacular evening when we ventured out exploring We had to take the kids to the 10th year the Boothbay Gardens Aglow came to life.  The lights were simply magical as there were more than 750,000 all around the Botanical Gardens. The perfectly lit up evening offered everyone a bit of magic. I stood in wonder at many places and thought how lovely this whole experience presented itself.  We ran into friends along the one mile walk who were equally amazed at the sites. The delightful evening weatherize rang in the 30's and no wind existed to hamper our walk.  Our trek took two hours as we stopped for some hot chocolate at the cafe. You can experience this stunning adventure on Thursday through Sunday during the month of December. Tickets sell out quickly. It was a fabulous evening all the way around.
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