Merry Christmas: 12 '17

And a Merry Christmas to All

New Boundaries; 12'17

At 7 a.m. this  morning, the developer began putting up a storm fence all around his property boundary.  He said it will reduce soil erosion when they start grading.

Along Tanglewood

Across the Heritage Oak lot

Does a jog at the corner of Masterplace

Cuts across the grass  behind MP  Buildings 51 and 57

Stays at the edge of the woods behind Building 92

Enters the woods at the east end of Building 92

Runs through the woods behind Building 108

Connects with the street behind 108-4

 It runs around the west and south edge of the private home property-line at the end of Twelve Oaks Drive.

And yes, it does run the length of the 18th fairway!

Xmas is back on the table:12 '17

With Hanukkah behind us, the Christmas lights are back on and the table is set with gold and silver  in anticipation of  the Christmas and New Year's  Eve Celebrations

Happy Eight Night of Hanukkah: 12 '17

It is the last night of Hanukkah.

The menorah is burning brightly.

There are games to be played for who gets to open their gift first.

Everyone wins on  the last night of Hanukkah.

And a feast awaits us.

Wish it could be Hanukkah all year long.

Wishing y'all a last Happy Hanukkah for 2017.

Not the best way to celebrate Hanukkah: 12 '17

Pre-op

 Those party pooper nurses at the hospital wouldn't even let Bruce light the  Hanukkah candles ( but we did say a prayer at sundown.)

Post-OP

Perfect end to a perfect night:: 12 '17

And our decorated  Hanukkah Bundt cake

 provided the perfect finish 

to a perfect first night of Hanukkah

Happy First Night of Hanukkah;12 '17

Honoring each others holiday traditions in a mixed religion marriage can be a bit or a challenge, especially when the holidays overlap one another.  But with a little effort, we have made it work for both of us.    For example, this morning, all the red and green Christmas theme decorations were switched out for a blue white and silver Hanukkah theme.   We'll return to the Christmas theme, when the eight days of Hanukkah are over on Dec. 20th. Now after 25 years, I don't think either one of us could imagine ending the year without celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas.

 But for us, Hanukkah is not about the color scheme.  It really always begins with lighting the candles on a simple Menorah Bruce, and reciting the Hanukkah prayers. Bruce got both the menorah and the book from his family when he went into the  military at age 18. Bruce reads the prayers in Hebrew, and I read the translation in English. 

Then we  each open  a gift from under the Hanukkah bush.

The gift giving is more symbolic than luxurious, since the gifts are almost always something practical we  would be buying anyway, but

receiving it wrapped up does make the evening seem a bit more special.

Then we sit down to a formal (and fancy) Hanukkah dinner  planned and prepared by both of us.

Happy Hanukkah everyone.

Star of David Bundt Cake: 12 '17

CC is so pleased with her new bundt pan. 

We can't wait for the cake to cool enough to decorate for to night Hanukkah dinner.

First frost:12 '17

We just had out first hard frost of the season.   So glad we brought our tender potted tropical plants into the Carolina Room yesterday. It is so cold that Ms Kat won't step outside!

But it could be worse. Check out this video we took in the same location on Jan. 29, 2014.