Favorite Christmas Album

What are your favorite Christmas albums (not songs) by one artist/group? As much as it's not Christmas without hearing Bing croon, I don't actually own an album by him. He's on a number of the compilations I own, though. My top 5 are:

5. Loreena McKennitt, A Winter Garden
4.Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas
3. James Taylor, A Christmas Album
2. Johnny Mathis, Merry Christmas
1. The Beach Boys, The Christmas Album

A Shameful Finish (AMOT)

Dear Loyal Readers,

There I was, doing so well with A Month of Thanks, and then I crashed and burned. Still, I had more posts in November than I've had in quite awhile.

To finish up the series, I give you a week of thanks:

24: Thanksgiving Day: I am thankful that I live in a land of bounty and that we could share some of our bounty with others.

25: Black Friday: Ever so grateful that I didn't need to be anywhere near a store. We had an uneventful flight home. Thankful also for the chauffeur we hired (he drove our car to and from the airport for us), which made the ride home with tired, hungry children more manageable.

26-27: Thankful for days of rest and recuperation. Saturday, we took care of a bunch of errands (groceries, laundry). On Sunday, the weather was nice, so we went outside to do some long overdue yardwork. We accomplished a lot, but we didn't feel rushed, and it was nice to be home for the weekend after travelling.

28: Thankful for our cats. They're little dogs in cat bodies. They were delighted we were home and cuddly for days after our return. They remind me to slow down and enjoy some affection.

29: Thankful for family, immediate and extended. Mine's a real mixed bag of personalities and disfunctions, but they're mine, and they love me. And I love them.

30: Thankful for my spouse. We met 20 years ago, and it always surprises me that we're not completely sick of each other by now. There were times when I wasn't sure we were going to make it, but we found out how to be a team and have made it work. For this, I am truly and completely grateful.

Crafting Together

Today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!

It is from my mom and my grandmothers that I learned to craft. I remember making stuff for as long as I can remember. Grandma S. used to knit and crochet. I still have 2 pairs of mittens she knit for me back in the 1980s. She taught me to crochet granny squares. Grandma A. was more into glitter and glue. Over the years, we made a lot of different Christmas ornaments out of all sorts of styrofoam and beads. Mom would sew and crochet mostly. She also did some embroidery.

While none of them were particularly into cross stitching or rubber stamping, it is from them that I learned my love of crafting. I've started doing easy projects with the girls, to get them interested too. To that end, the three of us made these cards. The girls helped stamp the leaves and acorns. L. at first didn't want to share her paper. She wanted to stamp only red leaves on her paper. We finally convinced here to pass the paper around, and so produced the following background paper.

Today, I am thankful for being able to craft, especially with my family.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Campfires (AMOT 22)

Today, I am thankful for campfires (or "fire camps" as the girls call them).

My MIL held a meet-and-greet for us today. Some of the extended family came as well as some of the neighbors. Also included were her beau's kids and grandkids. I wasn't sure how this was going to go, but we all got along and found common ground. It was fun, and the little ones had a grand time meeting all their new "cousins".

In the evening, DH built a campfire (in one of those free-standing fire pit contraptions). I *love* campfires. We even had s'mores. The smell of campfires always brings back memories of my grandparents, Girl Scout camping, and summers with my family. They make me happy, and it was a great way to end the day.

AMOT 21

The girls are having a grand time in SATX visiting my MIL. They're having fun exploring a new house and running around a huge backyard. (We have a narrow yard in DC.) They're also having fun helping with household chores, like sweeping the deck.

Today, we spent most of the afternoon and evening at SeaWorld. This was their first real amusement park. Fortunately, the National Aquarium in Baltimore had given them a glimpse of what this would be like, so it wasn't overwhelming. Plus, there weren't many people at the park today.

Today, I'm thankful that my girls are adaptable. They like exploring. They're open to new things: new places, new foods, new people. They are very much go-with-the-flow kids, except, perhaps, when Mom says "no" to bringing home the Shamu stuffed animal when they're extremely tired at the end of a really long day. I am grateful that they adjust to things very quickly and enjoy new experiences.

Flying (AMOT 20)

Sunday, we took the girls on their first plane rides. It was a direct flight from Dulles to San Antonio, and everything -- and I do mean everything -- went smoothly. It's remarkable. The thing I am most thankful for today is being able to share in such a grand adventure with my daughters and recapture that sense of excitement and wonder that children have.

Gettysburg Address

148 years ago, Abraham Lincoln stood at the cemetery at Gettysburg and gave his most famous speech. 13 years ago, I took my first professional job as an archivist. Among the many experiences I've had, being able to hold this copy of the Gettysburg Address in my hands and share it with visitors to the archives ranks at the top.

I am thankful to be in my profession, which is endlessly fascinating.