We had an absolutely wonderful time in Florida. We stayed in a hotel right on the Gulf, and then Todd had about a 15-minute drive to the company he was working with. (They're making a part for the project he's been working on for NASA.)
Todd ended up not having to work quite as much as he'd expected, so we were actually able to drive around and do quite a few things...we went to the historic Kenwood district in St. Pete (lots of Craftsman bungalows, which we love) and to the Dali Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts. We had dinner at the Vinoy resort on Tampa Bay, a gorgeous hotel from the 1920s, all pink and white like a wedding cake. Our last day there, we drove up to Orlando and went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom, and then flew home from Orlando the next day. The weather was mostly perfect, especially near the water. A couple of mornings, I sat on the hotel's deck, about 25 feet from the water, and wrote out all my Christmas cards. It was idyllic, to say the least. I was so glad that Todd wanted me to come along with him.
To continue with my Christmas journal, here's Day 6. The theme is "two Christmases," one good and one bad, but I have never enjoyed thinking about bad Christmas experiences--and have fortunately not had many. I saw another class member's journal entry for this day where she wrote about how her son likes to sleep under the Christmas tree at night, and that made me think of lying under the Christmas tree with my glasses off as a child. I loved those blurry lights, they seemed twice as pretty!
Day 7 is a "to do" list. I actually have quite a bit yet to do for Christmas. I wrote down everything I could think of, but I know there's more...
Day 8 is always about the sights of Christmas. This was fun to do this year, since on the 8th we were in Florida and I could get some pictures of a tropical Christmas. This page protector opens out, so here's the two 4x6" slots on the front:
And here's the inside, with photos:
And here's the back side:
Day 9 is about traditions. We simply don't seem to have any--at least not anything we do every year. I wrote about decorating my tree with all my old ornaments, instead of vintage Shiny-Brites, this year.
And Day 10 is always about wrapping paper. Last year I found two rolls from Hallmark that I'd bought the year before on clearance--of course, I didn't find them till I'd already bought paper for Christmas that year! So I knew this year I wouldn't need to buy any at all. I just wrapped a piece of cardstock like a package. I know that lovely ribbon will get squished when I put the page in the album! The tag is from a Trader Joe's grocery bag--they have all sort of gift tags printed on them this year.
Back to Mount Laundry for me.
