Christmas 2016

The family spent the the days following Christmas at a cabin at Shaver Lake. It was great having everyone together...I can't remember the last time that happened.

One of the cabins the family stayed at in Shaver Lake. The scenery was beautiful!

The kids had so much fun sledding on the hill next to the cabin.

It's not a vacation unless my sister and I do a puzzle. :)

Happy New Year to everyone!

Blizzard 2016

I'm on my third day of being home-bound after the Great Blizzard of 2016. About 2 feet of snow has fallen in the DC area, and it's going to take a while to get back to normal. But first, the calm before the storm..

The sunrise on Friday morning, as seen from my apartment.

And the view the next morning.

And then on Saturday afternoon, when I could barely see out of my window.

It snowed all day Saturday, and when things finally cleared up on Sunday, I went for a walk around Old Town.

This is actually the Potomac River, not an open field.

That's a parking meter hiding under there.

While on my walk, I came across this bride and groom! I guess a blizzard wasn't going to stop them from getting married....good for them. (She must be freezing.)

And there's my little car, buried under a couple feet of snow. It's not going to be fun getting her out. I actually just trudged out there to do the preliminary work, and I sank up to my knees.

I hope all of you out in California are enjoying this winter!

Snow day

You want pictures of the snow? Here you go:

I don't mind the days off of work, but I am officially ready for spring.

Endless winter

This seems to be the year of the endless winter. We were hit with yet another snowstorm earlier this week - on St. Patrick's Day actually, so now everyone's calling it Snow Patrick's Day. And while I enjoyed the day off of work, I think I would rather have traded that for a pleasant spring day.

Here are a few pictures I took from my window, as I couldn't be bothered to go outside.

Snow day

Earlier this week, the DC area was hit with its largest snow storm in 3 years. I think the total was around 11 inches, so I was excited to hear that we would be getting a day off! After watching men's figure skating pretty much all day, I decided to get outside and go for a walk. That was a mistake. It was drizzly, the ground was wet and slushy, and my feet got completely soaked even though I was wearing pretty sturdy boots. I did manage to take a few pictures though.

The snow shovel brigade

My cute little church!

Snow!

The DC area got hit with a heavy snowstorm on Wednesday. I was fortunate enough to get home before it started, unlike other people who got stranded on the roads for hours on end. Once the snow started falling, it looked so pretty I was tempted to go outside and take some pictures. However, I was just too warm and cozy inside my house. So I took this picture from my window.

I think we got about 8 inches in total. Much of it has melted already. I took this picture as I went on a walk this afternoon.

P.S. Some jerk stole our snow shovel! Seriously, who does that?!

First Snow

We got our first significant snow of the season today! I have mixed feelings about it; it's pretty to look at and fun to photograph, but on the other hand it's a nuisance to get around in, a pain to shovel, and a reminder that it will be a long time before I feel the warmth of spring.

I got home a little early today, took a walk, and snapped some pictures before it got too dark. I've been living here for so long that I feel like I'm starting to take pictures of the same things over and over again, especiallly when it snows. Hopefully I can keep things from looking too stale.

Yes, the river is frozen.

Happy birthday to me!

This post is a little belated, but I celebrated a milestone birthday a few weeks ago. My girlfriends and I were supposed to go to Bedford Springs for a spa weekend, but the crazy snowpocalypse hit and our trip got postponed. So we wound up going last weekend and luckily the weather cooperated this time.

The destination was the historic Bedford Springs Resort in southern Pennsylvania, about two and a half hours from DC.

And let me tell y'all, this place was NICE. Everything was so luxurious; I definitely could have stayed an extra day or two.

When we arrived on Friday night, there was a little cake awating me in my room (thanks, ladies!). And it was delicious. (The champagne was supplied by yours truly.)

We basically didn't leave the hotel the entire time. There wasn't really a need to.

There were cozy fireplaces and wing-backed chairs everywhere. (These are my girls Kim, Kara, and Audra.)

The library was my favorite room (obviously).

They had puzzles set up on various tables in the library. Those were easy to get sucked into. I think we may have lost some sleep trying to figure them out. Here's Kara and Kim diligently working on one.

The indoor swimming pool was just lovely. I felt like I was in the private mansion of some Gilded Age tycoon.

We spent half the day Saturday at the spa, which I don't have any pictures of (but trust me, it was amazing). I got an aromatherapy massage, then sat in the "relaxation lounge" with a cup of tea for about an hour. Then we sat in the whirlpool for a while.

In the afternoon we participated in a cooking class with the hotel's top chefs. That was a lot of fun. I don't have any pictures of that because I was too busy cooking lamb (and it was delicious). I know one of the girls has a picture of me holding a chef's knife. I'll have to post that if I ever get a copy of it.

Saturday night we got all dressed up for dinner.

And we got some free pre-dinner cocktails because it was my birthday. :)

On Sunday we walked around downtown Bedford. Unfortunately most shops were closed because it was Sunday. Including the Banjo Shop, which every town needs.

It's a quaint little town though, with some nice historic architecture.

Then we drove through the beautiful Pennsyvlania countryside back home to DC.

The weekend went by way too quickly, but I think it's safe to say that I had the best birthday ever. Thanks, girls, for sharing it with me! And thanks for the great birthday present!

P.S. You can view more photos here.