Firstly - I flew up there. I really enjoy flying - not so much the landing this time, with gusty winds making the plane fish-tail its way in on the runway, but no harm done. And, busy airports like the one in Atlanta are the best - so much LIFE!!!!! It reminds me of a beehive, all that activity and bustling about. Emory is a fantastic cook- period. The turkey was perfect, home made cranberry sauce, roasted asparagus and potatoes (some of which were actually purple!), bread dressing and the pièce de résistance, pumpkin cheesecake. She outdid herself much to our tummies' delight. She even made stuffed mushrooms and a baked brie appetizer. Trav helped as well, finishing trussing up the turkey (not an easy task, let me tell you) , carving the turkey, then cleaning up everything afterwards. And, thanks to the trusty little timer on my camera, I was able to get a group photo!
Secondly - on Friday morning, whilst everyone else was being "silly" at the stores for Black Friday, we all went and watched The Muppet movie - no crowds here! LOVED the movie. Then, Emory, Page and I drove to Richmond (about an hour away) to see the Mummy exhibit at the Virginia Fine Art Museum. Ironically, they are on loan from the British Museum, so we all actually have already seen them, ahem, but we didn't know this. Besides, being a smaller display, hopefully we can have a better view (and photo op). We won't know, however, until another time. The next viewing wasn't until an hour and a half later after we arrived, which would put us back home a bit late. No problem. I plan on returning before the exhibit's Mar 2012 departure and we turned our attention to Cary Street - Emory's favorite street so far in Richmond. It's full of boutiques and vintage shops, and toy stores and cool places to eat. Definitely want to give it a good look next time. But, this visit wasn't so shabby - Em flourished a peacock clip in my hair the second we entered one vintage shop - the same one where I found an adorable pair of gloves and a double string of "pearls." The toy store was quite the delight and offered such treasures as an adorable bat and a pink, glass owl ornament for my Christmas tree. It was a perfect day for walking about - the row houses, what can I say? I want one- haha. We came across a plaque, from way back when, that depicted a fireman- a plaque was placed on your home if you had paid your fire dues, in which case, they would put out a fire and save your house, if not, then, oh,well.... And, all the camelias were in bloom. All of this inspired Emory to decorate for Christmas, which she did straight away when we got home.
Thirdly, and lastly, Saturday morning arrived. Unfortunately, Page and Jack were heading back to Mount Pleasant and left early, so they were unable to join Trav, Em and I for breakfast at the Blue Talon (French bistro). I've eaten there before and it is soooo delicious.Then we hit up the Peanut Shoppe - yummy! After that we headed back to the kids' place for Christmas photos. Dori, the cat that they've had for about 3 years now, is still getting use to their new cat, Pan. Dori decided that she was too close for comfort and started hissing,etc at Pan. The picture is priceless. And, then, it was time for me to return to Mt P as well. Beautiful sunset skies followed by twinkling lights from the cities below. What a fantastic Thanksgiving, but it's always good to be back home. The dogs and cats are happy to see me, too. Guess it's time to get my Christmas tree up - the kids will be here in less than a month! (YAY!!!)
