Christmas in Colorado

So this year, for the very first time, I spent Christmas away from home, and went to visit my daughter in Colorado. It was VERY cold - sub zero at some time on most days in Summit County - with a little bit of snow most days. Of course the forecast was to warm up a little after we left! And interestingly enough, there was more ice in our subdivision when we arrived home than I saw anywhere in Colorado. I got to ski 2 days, and Chris skied 5 days, and we got to see Juls almost every day, which was very nice, since I hadn't seen her in over a month, and Chris hadn't seen her since October.

The strangest thing for me was Christmas eve and Christmas day. Usually I am a whirling dervish finishing the wrapping, cooking, cleaning and getting ready for the holiday, followed by a house full of family on Christmas day, with a big meal with all the trimmings. But when you are staying in a hotel, there is no cooking or cleaning to be done. Wrapping consisted of putting bows on presents I had shipped already wrapped, and stuffing everything else in a gift bag - I even ran out of tissue paper. On Christmas day, it was too cold for me to ski ( but not for Chris, of course, he went out and froze his toes with the best of them) so I watched 5 hours of a Bones marathon, before going to dinner with Chris and Julia and a friend. It was undoubtedly the most relaxing Christmas day I have ever had. Not sure I would want to do this every year, but it was nice to try it once.

No new orchids bloomed while we were gone, but there are 12 with spikes on them, and 2 that bloomed before I left, that I need to post pictures of. The kitties were a little spooked when we got back, but here is a picture that charmed us before we left!

Thanksgiving Orchids?

Yes, for some reason, my orchids are exploding and I have 6 beautiful plants in bloom, pictures below. I have another 10 or 12 with bud spikes which will bloom in the next few months, so expect more pictures.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we did another hike at Clear Creek Metro Park. A great hike but VERY steep the first half mile or so - I thought I was going to die. I'm going to have to start taking pictures. I'm also going to have to get in better shape - who knew there were steep hills in Ohio, of all places?

Over Thanksgiving, we had the traditional family feast gathering, minus my younger daughter Julia for the first time, who we missed. We failed to take pictures of this also. I am seeing a trend forming here, we are going to have to do better at picture taking!

We went to a Cleveland Cavaliers game over the long weekend - my very first! Let me tell you, they know how to entertain you! It was nice that the Cavs beat Dallas, but I'll tell you, I think the unicyclist who did the halftime show was the most entertaining of all! The young breakdancers who performed at the breaks were also quite talented. I'm convinced, everyone should go to at least one Cavs game.

Here are pictures of what is blooming now, for those of you suffering through the grey midwest rainy fall drizzle!