Georgia-Virginia Connection

We had a wonderful Georgia Christmas and are still spending time with family. On Tuesday, I made the trip from Georgia to Virginia to gather with my parents and brother before heading back to Warrenton. Shannon remained in Georgia and will remain there until she flies back up next Wednesday.

When Shannon arrives, we will have three weeks left in Warrenton before moving on to the next project. Over the phone last night, we were discussing how much we are enjoying our life in Warrenton--and look forward to our life beyond. We still don't know where we are going next--although there seems to be two finalists.

The Living Christmas Tree

Interesting Facts:

• The total weight of the tree is 2,909 pounds.



• The tree will support 10,800 pounds.



• The tree is 21 feet high with a diameter of 18 feet.



• The fiber optic star is 3 feet high.



• There are 4,880 lights on the tree.



• There are 32 red bows made from 140 yards of ribbon, 1,200 feet of greenery 100 feet of garland, 35 snowflakes, and 80 pointsettias.

• It is now over! The last performance was tonight and all went well!

Oh Christmas tree

First Performance...Rave Reviews

Earlier tonight, Shannon and her fellow singers had their first Living Christmas Tree performance. I must admit, it was nothing like I expected--not even close. Shannon has been playing a CD around the house for the last month, practicing for the performance by singing along with the music. Let's just say that their performance was better than the CD they have all been toting around and measuring themselves by. I was proud of Shannon--her wide, beautiful smile up there providing just the right surrounding for my favorite singing voice.

The whole group sounded heavenly, and I am glad I will get to be there for all the performances. I am going to try to film a clip so that everyone can see. By the way, we have not forgotten...a picture of our own living room tree will be posted soon.

Impatience

Sean and I were ecstatic when we found out that one of our favorite VA Beach eateries was coming to Warrenton, Tropical Smoothie. And we've been planning for today, the grand opening of the restaurant, knowing that we'd meet for lunch there. Well, we did just that and ended up waiting an entire HOUR to get our food. Not a real complicated order, either - a couple of wraps and a smoothie to split usually took about 5 minutes in VA Beach.

A lesson learned - never visit a place on its opening day...or opening week...maybe even opening month, unless you want to be the guinea pig as they work out the kinks.

Waiting for Flurries

At the moment it is 10 minutes past midnight and we are still up waiting for our first snowfall (flurries to be exact) here in Warrenton. They tell us it's unusual for the snow to take this long to get to the area. My feeling is, if it's cold and windy--which it is--you need some snow to go with it.

Shannon and I watched Miracle on 34th Street earlier tonight. We also watched White Christmas the other night, so we are well on our way through the viewing of our favorite Christmas movies. Next on the list: the 1951 British version of A Christmas Carol. My personal opinion is that this is one of the best movies ever made, with Alastair Sim giving one of my favorite performances of all time.

Back to the window, then to bed.

Arsenic and Old Lace & Christmas Trees

Last night we saw the very amusing production, Arsenic and Old Lace, here in Warrenton. The show was in a renovated theater on site of an old Army base. Yet another memory to add to our Warrenton experience.

We also decided yesterday to decorate for Christmas, even though we'll be in Georgia for the actual holiday. After a trip to Target, our decorating was done. We will be posting a pic of our tree soon.

Thanksgiving 2006