back in time

i'm starting to feel bad that y'all are still checking our blog and there's nothing new here! seems we haven't had much to report in the last few weeks (besides that we're doing the same thing as everyone else: cramming christmas shopping and celebrating into what seems like a shorter-than-usual month). but ginger (finally :)) sent some pictures from our thanksgiving down at the beach - so we'll have to work backwards, here.

this is bandit, a pretty amazing dog who belongs to my cousin debbie & family. while bandit is awesome (as is the picture) i would rather show off debbie & keith's two most beautiful daughters. but even though i'm ok posting pictures of tracy and me and our house, etc. on a potentially-public space, i'm not ok posting them. just, you should know that, hard as it is to believe, they are even more adorable than bandit. and smart, and polite, and creative, and oh! what fantastic dancers, and... i'm bragging.

this is thanksgiving, remember? november. cold. but hooray, at the beach it was warm and lovely and tracy serenaded me on his (mini-) guitar in the warmth of the southern sun. well, not really. he wasn't serenading me this time, either. it's ginger's guitar and it just looks like he's playing. but yay, it was warm.

we were so grateful for the invitation to spend the holiday at my aunt & uncle's house (that's it in the background), and enjoyed the weekend with all (most of) the Kowal family. it was tracy's first introduction to most everybody, and i think he handled himself quite well (of course, of course). though we both squirmed at the question, "when are you getting married?" huh.

this is it for a few days, now, as we'll head up to asheville tomorrow for more holiday celebrations with "my side" of the family. happy christmas, y'all.

'tis the season!

i'm afraid we're falling a bit behind here. doing more around the house than we are posting about it. most recently we've been decorating for christmas - which is so much more fun when you have a house! so, the latest pictures.






our first christmas tree. purchased from two local guys right down 64. you can't tell from the picture but the best ornaments on the tree are the result of creative energies from anna, rebecca, jen, and james (we had a decorating party on friday).


it was too much to keep all of our (well, my) christmas cheer inside (tracy is still something of a scrooge, but handy on a ladder nonetheless). thanks to his dad for the supplies!

it helped, of course, that yesterday we sat in the 70 degree sun to watch the pittsboro christmas parade (follow link for pictures of old cars, marching bands, and tremendous tractors). ah, fabulous.






this one is my favorite. tracy will kill me when he finds i've posted it. what a gentleman. (thanks to my dad and ginger for the supplies, i.e. my grandmother's wingback chair).

hope y'all are enjoying the coziness and sparkle of december, too!