My last post was laden with tales of cold weather. This one not so much. In fact, not even the thought of frost here as the daytime temperatures are in the high 70's with temperatures dropping into the mid-50s overnight. I wish I'd packed more sleeveless clothes for sure. That said I am happy to report that I am back in my favorite attire and that would be dresses. Simple and only one thing to think about when dressing unlike the four or more layers when it is super cold in our adopted state. The truth is, we have discovered that there are advantages to both.
Matt and Tom were here when we arrived last Thursday after an overnight stay in Valdosta. During our drive, as we were approaching Perry, GA, I reminded Bruce that Cobby and Diane had praised the little town of Perry and thought that we would love it and we sure enough did. There is a charming downtown with an abundance of shops and restaurants, all of them either pretty or crazy cute.
Walking up to the Swanson where we planned to eat, I was excited when I saw the purple steps and the inside colors were equally as fetching.
The high blue ceiling was painted a gorgeous shade of blue in our dining room, and the ceiling in the reception area was another gorgeous shade of navy blue. When in the South, eat like a southerner is one way to do it and so Bruce had the fried chicken while I got the sampler which included way more than I could eat!
It is hard to go wrong with fried green tomatoes, deviled eggs and pimento cheese! Fantastic, leaving no room for what looked to be fine desserts. As we pulled out of the restaurant I spotted something down the street and Bruce did what Bruce does, takes me where I want to go. A big blow up was evident from our location, so we continued on Ball Street and were astonished to see Christmas lights for an entire long block. One direction below:
and here is the other end of the block.
My camera lens was not wide enough to show even a fraction of it but here's a close up sample:
Incredible in the daytime, but all I could find to show it off was this nightime
reel. What a sight it must be!
Before we leave Perry here is a peek into Sweet Evelyn's, now known nationwide because, well check out this link and see for yourself.
There is plenty more I could share, but in the interest of your time I will back-track a bit and highlight some lovely times in Murphy before we left.
I was booted as the photographer of the Santa photos by a "professional" this year so I had to see who was this person. As well I returned the Elf hat to it's rightful owner Laura who looked adorable in it as Santa's helper.
Whew, no pressure to perform!!
Seriously I was kidding about the professional although that is how it was advertised because no one knows much about me. :) The main thing is that it was so exciting that everything was happening in the new spiffy downtown park that was so many months in the making!
The Mason Bar was very much decked out with cozy lights.
David and D'Anna had a Christmas dinner party and it was so lovely and fun.
She is very much a traditionalist, serving all the Southern goodies as well as fruitcake from the
Claxton's shop in Claxton, GA. She claims it is good luck, but I have yet to be convinced enough to try it.
On the other hand, the red velvet cake was delicious.
Our choir joined with the Methodist church in Andrews and performed a beautiful cantata.
We also made a quick shopping trip to Franklin, NC.
As you can see the weather was beautiful and the shops very cute. These small mountain towns really depend on tourists so they do their best to look charming for the visitors.
Before leaving Murphy we bought an inexpensive artificial Christmas tree to put up in Orlando and despite it looking very iffy when it came out of the box, Matthew did an incredible job making it look like a beauty. Memories came flooding in of the year we moved into a new home, nine days before Christmas and our nine year old son did the tree for me as my hands were full with a two year old mischief-maker and six year old twin boys.
Soon it was time for the big reveal to those of us who had not ever seen Christian before and those of us who have waited seven months to see him again! Bill was watching him after work while Fallon went to a party. He has most definitely grown since our last visit! Who is this new man who claims to be my uncle??
A shock to his little system having four adults descend on his domain so he spent plenty of time in Bill's arms but he did show off his walking a little bit. We are heading over there this afternoon and hope he will be more comfortable with us.
This will be his second Christmas however, as he was but a month old last year, let's just say this one is going to be more special.
The tree is barricaded by the coffee table and a giant ottoman, but for how long that works is yet to be determined!
It is true that I have missed seeing the big birds that I was accustomed to seeing on a daily basis; so far I have not been disappointed because sightings have been plentiful both on our lake,
and at the Orlando Wetlands park that we visited a few days ago. We were so fortunate to see a large number of Roseate Spoonbills which is not always the case, however, I believe the blue on the head indicates that they are gathering to breed.
Fortunate as well that Matt and Tom are enthusiastic about going there.
I suspect a big draw for them is the warmth and sunshine which we have been having in abundance. Talk about abundance! Our alligator count stood at 18!
I think the photograph above is so funny showing off the cavalier attitude toward alligators that many visitors, including Matthew, have towards a sighting. A Great Blue Heron preparing for nesting season,
although unfortunately, before getting to her destination, the moss and stick dropped out of her bill. Thinking about that, I wonder what that feels like for a bird, don't you? All the hard work of gathering only to lose it?
One day I stopped into my clock guy's shop with two watches that were in need new batteries. As I stood waiting for him, I was thinking what must it be like to listen to this many clocks every working day? Seeing Patti yesterday morning, for some reason going this came up and she told me his name is Burt because his shop, Swiss House, used to be across from their office. From now on I will call him Burt and I may just ask how he tunes out all of the clock sounds!
Losing track of time is nothing new for me yet the fact that we are out of our routine is exacerbating that problem, thus, I will just say that with much mental digging I finally remembered that we went to see the lights at Lake Eola on Friday night and wow, just wow!! What a gift! Absolutely stunning light displays with so many ways for folks to take family photos.
No unlit spot was seen as the perimeter of the lake, and then some, was filled with beautiful lights. Two swans were swimming.
Nancy came along to amuse us with her commentary even though she'd already had a full day. That would be her in the striped shirt in the section called Candy Cane Lane.
Having gone a previous time, we were shocked at how much the event has grown with several areas where live performances were happening.
Matthew always makes us look good.
Seeing the stocking cap from afar, close up it was so good!
Honestly it was such a perfect night and it even included snow!
Now we know how it is done in the movies!
We are making the most of our shopping days here in Orlando where the opportunities abound. Yesterday Matt went with us to Ikea where we went looking for Bruce's Christmas present, or that is what I'm calling his new chair and ottoman we found for his shop. Matt is setting us up with an Ikea family membership in order to take advantage of discounts.
It is quite handy having tech wizards around; Jonathan has yet to arrive so there is more to come. They actually are in Orlando visiting Universal Studios newest park before coming here on Christmas Eve.
Christian seems to be more comfortable around us and he was even willing to share his favorite toy of the moment...a Costco water bottle despite having more than a plethora of colorful toys.
He's a bundle of energy, squirming to be let down as soon as you pick him up, however, for a moment he allowed Bruce to snuggle with him.
More busy days to come for us as I suspect the same holds true for all of my dear readers.
From our home and family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!
your friend,
Gail
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