I can't believe that it is almost December and we are already into the Christmas season.
Thanksgiving was great. We had two celebrations over the last couple of weeks...one with my mom and all the 3 guys and one on Thanksgiving Day. It was really nice to have all the boys take a weekend to get together away from our normal weekend routines. (laundry, cleaning etc.) The only problem was that the weekend went by way to quick, and before you know it you're back into the work routine again.
There is just no way to leave the Thanksgiving table without eating too much. We always end up with tons of left-overs and since the guys are splitting time with their in-laws and girlfriends, they didn't eat as many leftovers as they normally do. There is only so much turkey a person can eat !
I spent the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend starting to put up Christmas stuff. That is a real love/hate kind of job. I love when the house and trees are all decorated because it makes everything look so festive but I hate putting the stuff up and taking it back down when all is done.
At the Thanksgiving meal, we discussed having houses built with special doors that store the decorated trees, and all it would take is a push of a button to mechanically open the wall and voila! ....A Fully Decorated Tree moves into place!
It is amazing to me that more and more folks are putting up Christmas decorations weeks before Thanksgiving. One of my friends started the day after Halloween!
When we were last in WV, there was a house completely decorated with a ton of outdoor lights.
I was commenting that it was pretty early in the decorating season to already have that many lights up. Then the thought jumped into my head that maybe all they had to do was flip the light switch...they could have been one of those year-round-lights-up-kinda-folks! (or tree-up-all-year-kind of folks! That's right...you know who you are ...newlyweds are allowed idiosyncrasies and it really was a nice conversation starter!)
Sometimes when I have all the decorations strung all over the house and it looks like a bomb went off...I can really appreciate those year-round-decorators...after all there is only so much time and I want to enjoy those decorations while I can!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Greenbriar Story
While watching one of my favorite shows recently, specifically Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, one of the stories was particularly interesting. It was the Dorothy Draper the Designer story.
In the Dorothy Draper story, they mentioned that she had redesigned the Greenbriar Hotel in good 'ole WV. That brought back some interesting fun memories for me because The Greenbriar is where my husband and I spent the first part of our honeymoon.
We were only 18 and 21 years old when we got married and basically had minimal travel/hotel experience between us. We were given a three night honeymoon at the Greenbriar as a wedding present from my parents. We arrived late and the valet directed us to a cottage that was separate from the main part of the hotel. (In hindsight, this was probably a very good thing because it was not as lavishly decorated and was not as “busy” as the rest of the hotel. The cottage had a very nice sitting room with a fireplace and front porch. The cottage type setting worked pretty well for us.)
When we walked into this little cottage, the first thing the husband said after he looked around was, “I’m going to kill your father!” This was said because there was not a double bed in the room but TWIN BEDS! He was less than pleased that he had twin beds on his HONEYMOON! (In my Dad’s defense, we later learned that he had no idea that all the cottages only had twin beds. The husband still talks about how his father-in-law “really got me on my honeymoon.”)
Well, being the young, industrious, honeymoon couple that we were, we moved the beds together. It really did become quite humorous that for two nights, we would move the twin beds together, and then every morning when we came back to our room after the maid had cleaned up, the twin beds would be separated again. This provided a good deal of conversation between my husband and I. Finally, on the third night, the maid actually made the beds together and we had a good laugh about that when we saw them together!
Anyway, I digress…The show about Dorothy Draper was pretty interesting because she was the “Martha Stewart” of her time. She had a well known decorating style and was pretty original, both for her time then and even by today’s standards. They mentioned in the show that the Greenbriar recently had a “Dorothy Draper weekend.” I thought this was interesting, but I really enjoyed noticing that almost all the members at the lecture were the “well to do, draped in jewelry, even white glove wearing, older set.” (There were not many men at that lecture that I could see.)
When they were showing the pictures of the interior of the Greenbriar that are so lavishly decorated, it reminded me that my first impression when my husband and I walked into the main lobby was: “We are definitely out of our league here!” We were just so very young when we got married and pretty darned naïve.
There are two memories from our stay at the Greenbriar, (other that the twin bed situation) that were also memorable:
The first goes along with how naïve my husband and I both were. They have a fabulous, lavish dining room (decorated by Dorothy Draper, I might add) at the Greenbriar, with a world renowned chef school.
The first night that we dined in the dining room, we were given a complimentary bottle of wine. Now, neither one of us are drinkers and therefore, we had never had the experience of the ritual of wine tasting. We were just barely legal to drink.
The waiter prepared the bottle of wine with great ceremony, even down to the classic white towel over the arm move. He showed the vintage to the husband and of course we just stared at him. He continued to proceed through the ritual and handed the husband the small sip to taste for approval. My husband just looked at him, without a clue, and the waiter calmly leaned down and whispered in his ear, ever so unobtrusively, and said, “You need to taste it and nod if it meets your approval.” That was the quickest taste and nod you ever want to see. The husband could have been tasting vinegar, but that nod was coming, regardless! We do laugh about that now, but at the time, we just didn’t have a clue. I think we gave that waiter a few good laughs during that dinner!
The second funny incident was when we were taking a horse drawn carriage ride around the grounds. There happened to be this older lady and her husband riding with us. She was dripping in jewels and designer clothing and was looking a little snobbishly at my very plain dress. ( I thought I looked beautiful in that dress, even if it was homemade. Don’t judge me harshly because I had no clue ...I was young, in love, and on my honeymoon, so I didn't really care what I was wearing!)
Anyway, being the gregarious, outgoing people that we are, we engaged this couple in small talk. (I don’t think they were all that enthusiastic about our conversation, but since it was a confined space and they really couldn’t get away, they had little choice but to respond.) The husband and I had been discussing what would be appropriate to wear to the “high tea” that is a daily tradition at the Greenbriar. I leaned over to the lady and admitted that I had never been to a high tea before. Showing no pride, I flat out asked what might be appropriate dress for high tea and what do they actually do at high tea? She got this opened mouthed, embarrassed look on her face and quietly said in a mumble that she wasn’t sure because she has never been to high tea either. I was pretty surprised by this because she certainly had been coming off as the well cultured, “I’m much more cultured than you” kind of person. The subject was quickly dropped, but I can still remember thinking that the lady wasn’t too happy that we “exposed her”, so to speak. We never made it to the “high tea” during our stay, which was just as well, because I don’t think the husband is the “high tea” type!
Anyway, the husband and I have talked about scheduling a stay at the Greenbriar again. We have never been back since the honeymoon. We drive by it everytime we drive home to WV to visit the family.
If we ever do make it back, I know I will appreciate the whole experience and the decorating much more now that I know a little bit about the Dorothy Draper history.
One thing is for sure, the second half of our honeymoon was worlds away from the Greenbriar and the Dorothy Draper decorating experience...we went camping!
In the Dorothy Draper story, they mentioned that she had redesigned the Greenbriar Hotel in good 'ole WV. That brought back some interesting fun memories for me because The Greenbriar is where my husband and I spent the first part of our honeymoon.
We were only 18 and 21 years old when we got married and basically had minimal travel/hotel experience between us. We were given a three night honeymoon at the Greenbriar as a wedding present from my parents. We arrived late and the valet directed us to a cottage that was separate from the main part of the hotel. (In hindsight, this was probably a very good thing because it was not as lavishly decorated and was not as “busy” as the rest of the hotel. The cottage had a very nice sitting room with a fireplace and front porch. The cottage type setting worked pretty well for us.)
When we walked into this little cottage, the first thing the husband said after he looked around was, “I’m going to kill your father!” This was said because there was not a double bed in the room but TWIN BEDS! He was less than pleased that he had twin beds on his HONEYMOON! (In my Dad’s defense, we later learned that he had no idea that all the cottages only had twin beds. The husband still talks about how his father-in-law “really got me on my honeymoon.”)
Well, being the young, industrious, honeymoon couple that we were, we moved the beds together. It really did become quite humorous that for two nights, we would move the twin beds together, and then every morning when we came back to our room after the maid had cleaned up, the twin beds would be separated again. This provided a good deal of conversation between my husband and I. Finally, on the third night, the maid actually made the beds together and we had a good laugh about that when we saw them together!
Anyway, I digress…The show about Dorothy Draper was pretty interesting because she was the “Martha Stewart” of her time. She had a well known decorating style and was pretty original, both for her time then and even by today’s standards. They mentioned in the show that the Greenbriar recently had a “Dorothy Draper weekend.” I thought this was interesting, but I really enjoyed noticing that almost all the members at the lecture were the “well to do, draped in jewelry, even white glove wearing, older set.” (There were not many men at that lecture that I could see.)
When they were showing the pictures of the interior of the Greenbriar that are so lavishly decorated, it reminded me that my first impression when my husband and I walked into the main lobby was: “We are definitely out of our league here!” We were just so very young when we got married and pretty darned naïve.
There are two memories from our stay at the Greenbriar, (other that the twin bed situation) that were also memorable:
The first goes along with how naïve my husband and I both were. They have a fabulous, lavish dining room (decorated by Dorothy Draper, I might add) at the Greenbriar, with a world renowned chef school.
The first night that we dined in the dining room, we were given a complimentary bottle of wine. Now, neither one of us are drinkers and therefore, we had never had the experience of the ritual of wine tasting. We were just barely legal to drink.
The waiter prepared the bottle of wine with great ceremony, even down to the classic white towel over the arm move. He showed the vintage to the husband and of course we just stared at him. He continued to proceed through the ritual and handed the husband the small sip to taste for approval. My husband just looked at him, without a clue, and the waiter calmly leaned down and whispered in his ear, ever so unobtrusively, and said, “You need to taste it and nod if it meets your approval.” That was the quickest taste and nod you ever want to see. The husband could have been tasting vinegar, but that nod was coming, regardless! We do laugh about that now, but at the time, we just didn’t have a clue. I think we gave that waiter a few good laughs during that dinner!
The second funny incident was when we were taking a horse drawn carriage ride around the grounds. There happened to be this older lady and her husband riding with us. She was dripping in jewels and designer clothing and was looking a little snobbishly at my very plain dress. ( I thought I looked beautiful in that dress, even if it was homemade. Don’t judge me harshly because I had no clue ...I was young, in love, and on my honeymoon, so I didn't really care what I was wearing!)
Anyway, being the gregarious, outgoing people that we are, we engaged this couple in small talk. (I don’t think they were all that enthusiastic about our conversation, but since it was a confined space and they really couldn’t get away, they had little choice but to respond.) The husband and I had been discussing what would be appropriate to wear to the “high tea” that is a daily tradition at the Greenbriar. I leaned over to the lady and admitted that I had never been to a high tea before. Showing no pride, I flat out asked what might be appropriate dress for high tea and what do they actually do at high tea? She got this opened mouthed, embarrassed look on her face and quietly said in a mumble that she wasn’t sure because she has never been to high tea either. I was pretty surprised by this because she certainly had been coming off as the well cultured, “I’m much more cultured than you” kind of person. The subject was quickly dropped, but I can still remember thinking that the lady wasn’t too happy that we “exposed her”, so to speak. We never made it to the “high tea” during our stay, which was just as well, because I don’t think the husband is the “high tea” type!
Anyway, the husband and I have talked about scheduling a stay at the Greenbriar again. We have never been back since the honeymoon. We drive by it everytime we drive home to WV to visit the family.
If we ever do make it back, I know I will appreciate the whole experience and the decorating much more now that I know a little bit about the Dorothy Draper history.
One thing is for sure, the second half of our honeymoon was worlds away from the Greenbriar and the Dorothy Draper decorating experience...we went camping!
Monday, November 06, 2006
One month and no new blog
So my husband pointed out to me the other day that it had been a whole month since I wrote anything on my blog. I was truly surprised about that because it doesn't seem like it has been that long.
Probably because I have been writing on a couple of drafts and just can't seem to get them done.
Late night is my favorite writing time but...
Sleep vs writing??????
I don't think I need to do a quiz for you to figure out that Sleep has been winning.
Since I last wrote I have done quite a few things to keep me away from the blog:
1. Entertained some new friends that were visiting from Australia with a couple dinners at the house, a couple of dinners out, a trip to Gettysburg for a tour around the battlefield (maybe sometime later I'll write about this...it was pretty awesome), a walk around the town during the "Fall Jubilee", and a trip to price club that my Australian friend couldn't believe was so big!
2. Cleaning the house for the dinners at the house with the Aussies, mowing the lawn and mulching leaves because it's fall and that's what you have to do at this time of year.
3. Trip to WV to see the new great niece since the adoption was finalized...FINALLY! She is a doll and the trip was totally worth it...but tiring!
4. Work, work, work
5. Making some new bead jewelry that took a little time since I have never done this before.
6. Some maintenance health visits that are totally time consuming but necessary. ( I'm trying to be a more compliant patient since I am daily complaining about "non-compliant patients" in my job.)
7. Reading my romance novels and watching reality TV....yeah I know...this is so shallow but it is sooo relaxing!
8. Celebrating 2 of the guys birthdays with a family dinner. (The Italian chicken was fabulous and the funfetti cake that was requested by one of the birthday guys was pretty good too!)
Anyway, it has been pretty hectic around here this last month and I don't really see it slowing down anytime soon. We plan a family trip to WV again before the holidays since we may not have the time or good weather to travel during the actual holiday season. Then, time to put up Christmas decorations and SHOPPING! My closet has been calling to me that it needs a little maintenance, we are still trying to finish the outside painting before the weather really gets bad, the middle son bought me a new tree to replace my fallen tree and that will take a bit of muscle to get planted....And so the list goes....
Probably because I have been writing on a couple of drafts and just can't seem to get them done.
Late night is my favorite writing time but...
Sleep vs writing??????
I don't think I need to do a quiz for you to figure out that Sleep has been winning.
Since I last wrote I have done quite a few things to keep me away from the blog:
1. Entertained some new friends that were visiting from Australia with a couple dinners at the house, a couple of dinners out, a trip to Gettysburg for a tour around the battlefield (maybe sometime later I'll write about this...it was pretty awesome), a walk around the town during the "Fall Jubilee", and a trip to price club that my Australian friend couldn't believe was so big!
2. Cleaning the house for the dinners at the house with the Aussies, mowing the lawn and mulching leaves because it's fall and that's what you have to do at this time of year.
3. Trip to WV to see the new great niece since the adoption was finalized...FINALLY! She is a doll and the trip was totally worth it...but tiring!
4. Work, work, work
5. Making some new bead jewelry that took a little time since I have never done this before.
6. Some maintenance health visits that are totally time consuming but necessary. ( I'm trying to be a more compliant patient since I am daily complaining about "non-compliant patients" in my job.)
7. Reading my romance novels and watching reality TV....yeah I know...this is so shallow but it is sooo relaxing!
8. Celebrating 2 of the guys birthdays with a family dinner. (The Italian chicken was fabulous and the funfetti cake that was requested by one of the birthday guys was pretty good too!)
Anyway, it has been pretty hectic around here this last month and I don't really see it slowing down anytime soon. We plan a family trip to WV again before the holidays since we may not have the time or good weather to travel during the actual holiday season. Then, time to put up Christmas decorations and SHOPPING! My closet has been calling to me that it needs a little maintenance, we are still trying to finish the outside painting before the weather really gets bad, the middle son bought me a new tree to replace my fallen tree and that will take a bit of muscle to get planted....And so the list goes....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
