Christmas

My parents arrived on December 18th for their three week long visit.  We kicked off the holidays by making some delicious sushi on the first day of their visit.

 

The next day we were joined by one of my college friends and her girlfriend who are currently driving their bus around the country and having all sorts of exciting adventures.  If you would like to follow them, check out their Tumblr account here (warning, some harsh language!). 

 

It was great to visit with Dani and V but we didn't have too many adventures here due to the 3-4" of rain that came during the four days of their stay.  Hopefully the rest of their trip isn't as soggy!

 

My rainy day projects included finally making matching stockings for Matthew and I.  They may not have names yet, but at least they were usable before Christmas!

 

After our additional guests left, Mom, Dad, Matthew, and I decorated some gluten free Christmas cookies.  We used different flours this year and they turned out just as good as the regular cookies.

 

Christmas day was very low key here at the Lazy G Ranch.  We didn't even start the day's festivities until about 10 am.  Here is what the tree looked like with all of the gifts and stockings (and cats, of course).

 

Matthew the elf delivering gifts.

 

Apparently both mom and I forgot to take photos during unwrapping, but here is another one of Matthew with all of his gifts.  Thank you everyone for your thoughtfulness!

 

At least we didn't forget the holiday family photo.  Maybe some day we'll get my brother Nathan in one again!

 

 

While the guys were playing with their new toys, Mom and I went on our traditional Christmas horseback ride.  We really enjoyed the sunshine after so many days of rain!

Reenactment

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Sherman's March to the Sea during the civil war.  We went back to Fort McAlister last weekend to watch an elaborate reenactment of the "reduction" of the fort by the Yankees.  The entire performance only lasted about 20 minutes but apparently the actors stay in character all weekend.  Here is a short video of the Union soldiers advancing on the fort.

 

A blurry shot of musket fire.

 

The storming of the earthworks!

 

Union soldiers taking over the confederate camp and guarding prisoners (inside the fort).

Our Weekend

This weekend Matthew and I ran our first 5k at the Savannah Bridge Run.  We haven't been running in a while, but we managed to keep running for all 3.1 miles!  And we weren't too sore afterwards.

 

 

After our run, we walked over to an antique store and picked out a new set of dining room chairs. 

 

We wanted eight chairs but buying two sets of four was less expensive than buying a matched set of eight.  Luckily, we were able to find two sets of four that are almost identical.  Next up, recovering the seats!

 

I've also been working on painting the rest of the doors around our house.  We ordered a new front door and it will be arriving next week.

Snowy Thanksgiving

Matthew and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday visiting his family in Virginia.  We left on Wednesday but ended up staying the night in Charlotte, NC at Emily & Miran's due to a snowstorm that dropped 6" on our final destination.  We enjoyed the layover and played games for most of the evening.  By the next morning, Thanksgiving, the roads were dry and we were able to arrive at the Hicks' house just in time to eat.  I did not take any photos of the feast but did snap this shot of the snow as we were leaving early in the morning on Sunday.

 

On Friday we visited Grand Caverns, a large cave nearby.  Here are Matthew and I in front of one of the formations.

 

Some draperies.

 

My favorite feature: a pool of water that reflects the stalactites above and resembles a cityscape.

Walking down into one of the rooms.

 

A Rainbow display in one of the formations and another reflective pool (sorry for the blurry photo, I was trying no-flash).

 

Matthew standing by some flowstone.

 

This cave apparently has the most "shield" features of any cave in the world.  This one is called the Bridal Veil for obvious reasons.

 

One of several verified Civil War soldier signatures found on the walls of the cave.

 

Other than the trip to the caverns, we mostly spent the weekend inside playing games and visiting.  It was too cold out for many outdoor adventures!

A Tiny Bit of Work

We've been out having too much fun this fall and haven't accomplished much around the house, so this weekend we spent one day catching up on a few projects.  We cut up the rest of the firewood we had piled up from when the horse pasture was logged.  I also finished painting the inside of the laundry room exterior door.  Both of these events were not very exciting so I did not photograph them.  We also hung two 12 foot gates in the horses' pasture that will eventually open up to two more pastures (once the grass is planted).  This was the final piece of fencing for that pen!

 

And the other exciting accomplishment (although we didn't actually do it) was a step for the laundry room door.  We hired a local young lady, who was recommended by a friend, to build the step and she did an excellent job.  The bricks aren't a perfect match (the house bricks are no longer made) but once the step dries it will be close enough.  It only took her about half a day to build and looks a lot better than we could have done ourselves!

Fort McAllister Camping

We spent last weekend camping at Fort McAllister State park, about an hour away from the house, with some friends.  This time we left the horses at home and took our tent instead.  Saturday afternoon we visited the small museum and the fort itself.  We stayed one night and then went for a hike on Sunday morning.

 

Fort McAllister is an earthwork fort used during the civil war.  It was the last confederate fortification to fall during Sherman's March to the Sea.

 

One of the remaining cannons.

 

The bunkers reminded me of hobbit holes.  This one was used to heat up cannon balls so that they would catch their target on fire.  Our friend's son, Jett, wanted me to carry him around so he joined in our photo!

 

Sherman's Necktie (bent railroad rail).

 

Walking back to the museum.

 

Here we are all eating breakfast around the fire in the morning.  It was a little chilly but we stayed warm in our tents and around the fire!

 

Our campsite was along the marsh and we took a short one mile hike through some more maritime forest and saltmarsh.

Halloween and Cats

Our second Halloween dance (on Halloween) was at the American Legion where we were married.  This time Matthew and I, along with Jamie and Edward, chose to dress up as Wizard of Oz characters. 

 

We were joined at the dance by Glenda Goodwitch and the Wicked Witch of the West (unplanned!)

 

 

And here is a random video of a couple of our foster kittens playing.

 

 

More Camping

We went on another camping trip this past weekend.  This time we went to Broxton Bridge Plantation in South Carolina and were joined by one horse friend and two non-horse couples.  We were the only ones camping at the place and had a wonderful, quiet time.

 

Here's part of our campsite.  This was Jody's first time camping with her horse and we both got in a lot of riding.

 

Horse accommodations.

 

Jody on Vader and me with Mow.  The weather was perfect for riding and we covered about 35 miles over the weekend.

 

Justin and Phylicia brought their son Jett for his first camping experience.  Ben and Renee joined us as well but I didn't get any photos of them.

 

The cool weather was perfect for hanging out around the campfire.

 

And for making hobo dinners!

Halloween Dance

Last Friday we went to the first of two Halloween dances of the season.  Matthew and I usually dress up in related costumes but Jamie and Edward joined us this year in a group costume.  Scooby Doo was one of my favorite shows as a kid and my haircut, along with Edward's long hair, made our costumes even more realistic.

 

A fellow dancer took this photo and added in a perfect Scooby!

 

This was a ballroom dance and the Mystery Solving Crew had a great time.