The Packed Sleigh, er, . . . um Car Ready to Depart

I returned from Richmond on Saturday evening around 6:00 PM.  The train back to Washington was crowded and even hotter than the train going down.  The attendant in our car tried to adjust the thermostat but had no luck in getting the heat turned down.  I would describe the mood of the car as "frantic."  People were hot and there was no relief.  Finally the attendant opened the doors on either end of the car to try and allow fresh air to circulate.  Unfortunately, that did not help.  The passengers were upset and begging for bottles of cold water and cups of ice.  When the attendant finally made her way to my seat I asked for the same.  This was a difficult trip.  I was glad to arrive home.  Sunday was spent doing a few things around the house and wrapping gifts.  We were invited to Paul and Barbara's on Christmas Eve.  I packed the gifts and gift bags in the car and headed to the party.

The red gift bags contained bottles of Korbel Extra Dry and Biscotti tied together with green grosgrain ribbon.  I found this super fun wrapping paper that I couldn't resist.  I just thought it was really cute and the added benefit is that it is reversible.  The other side has the same blue background with snowflakes.  So, it was Ho Ho Ho this year.  Next year it will be snowflakes.  And the roll of paper was huge.  I don't even know how many yards of paper are on it.  Enough I would imagine for many a Christmas to come.  Of course there is the canvas bag in blue and white (that is actually a Martha Stewart bag) with Baxter's toys and food and treats.  We were spending the night away from Crest Avenue due to the fact that Baxter planned on having a few cocktails at Paul and Barbara's and didn't want to drive home!?!?!!!

Here is a picture of the back seat of the sleigh with two rather large boxes which each contain a Malm Nightstand from IKEA.  You see little Baxter's seat on the other side.  He was standing guard at the front door just waiting to be buckled in for the trip to deliver presents and to attend the party.

Of course the party was divine.  Lots of food and drink and wonderful company.  Paul and Barbara are wonderful friends and we don't know what we would do without them.  (So anymore talk about moving to 16th Street NW will not be tolerated!!) 

We had a wonderful Christmas Day and Christmas season at Crest Avenue this year, as we do every year.  I'll leave the outdoor decorations up through Monday night.  Then Tuesday morning they all come down and are placed back in storage until next year.  I think I'm going to make some changes on how I store the holiday decorations for all holidays and we will talk about that in the coming weeks.