Lesson 931: Wintering

 Hello, Readers.

This blog finds its way to you

on December 26th--

the self-declared Day of Rest

for Yours Truly.

When baby Jesus hits the manger,

and Santa's sleigh returns to the North Pole,

I'm left feeling like my two dogs.

I admire the people of the Earth

who follow Boxing Day.

Props to those who are motivated for

 Out-With-the-Old 

and

 In-With-the New,

boxing up unwanted items 

to donate and pass along.

For old Eloise,

Christmas Extraordinaire of the household,

December 26th is a day I like to mentally recover

from all the effort I put into the holiday.

After a months long planning

and two weeks execution,

I feel the deep ache in my bones,

longing for some rest.

It was an icy day today,

so a good one to lounge around the house

in front of a warm fire.

It's the beginning of my Wintering.

Even minus the snow covered ground,

the earth whispers Winter.

The choir on a wire

sat and sang

before the strong gusts shouted louder

"take cover!"

I'm just going to say it--

and say it with confidence:

Eloise enjoys the winter.

I am ready for Wintering.

How lovely that Whitford and I curled

up with my gift from Jack and Mikayla this morning!

It's beautifully crafted with the perfect word flow.

It is all tabbed up already,

and I'm just 50 pages into the book.

I marked this part, 

as some random internet book fan did, as well.

It sounds so cozy,

doesn't it?
Cozy is such a great word

to read,

write,

and say.

!

Maybe tomorrow I'll try this lovely surprise I 

found in today's mail!

Thank you!

Tomorrow I begin my work on the annual

Lamp Post Year in Review.

It takes days to put together,

and it is one of my most enjoyable tasks of the year.

I'll see you next week

for a 2025 recap.

Eloise

Lesson 930: Dance

 Hello,  Readers.

Eloise, here--reporting to you from the windy city.

No, not Chicago--Erie, PA.

It's so windy, 

the buck's antlers blew off!

It's been windy for a week!

We will dance right through it

in good holiday spirit!

Dance is the theme of this week's blog

because I've been to three dances

in six days.

We attended the Colorful Christmas Barber Ball.

Here is the proof that I dressed up.

The next day we were back at it--

down to the Sheraton again

for Natalie and Erik's ball.

I just got back from dance #3--

The Expanding Social Opportunities (ESO)

Christmas Party.

The videos are on my facebook.

Now I'm all ready for vacation,

sipping tea from my favorite Christmas mug,

reflecting on the celebrations of the season.

How lucky am I

that I get to experience the magic of the season

with children each day?

We radioed the North Pole

and Santa told the kids I was on the Nice List.

I received some nice Christmas treats already.

This wire tree so neat!

The ribbon candy 

brought me back to Christmases

at Grandma O's apartment.

And a fourth grader made me this 

unique Christmas tree on a lathe.

I have now added 

lathe

to my Christmas wish list.

Enjoy dancing through the best of the season

with your forever dance partners.

Eloise

Lesson 929: Local Happenings

 Happy Holidays, Readers!

We are in full Christmas mode here at the Lamp Post.

Tonight we headed out with the townsfolk

to Light Up Night.

Natalie likes to hit up every Santa that she can.

Last weekend we celebrated Sugar Plum Weekend

in North East, 

Mr. Lamp Post's hometown.

It's been a snowy December,

so it adds to the holiday feels.

Hazel isn't having it--

she's not a fan of the snow.

Here she is pouting at my parents' house.

The gals have been doing some baking.

And Samta--

some shopping.

I grabbed him from Behrend of Monday evening.

We did all our shopping Monday night at Boscov's!

It truly is a one stop shop!

You can buy everything from gum

to neckties

to furniture.

They give free boxes and gift wrap for each item, too!

And they have carts.

We loaded ours up.

The very next day I came across this Boscov's 

highlight online and shared the post.

Here it is if you didn't catch it on facebook:

On Thursday,

the real feel was 2 degrees

with a 24 mph west wind.

That was the day I took a group of students

to Presque Isle to birdwatch.

The gulls will stand on one leg in the cold.

I thought this was bumpy ice,

but it was birds!

I even caught a swan in flight!

And this cute little woodpecker.

I'll end tonight with this squirrel we caught

in the Nature Play Space.

He was all rump for awhile.

Birdseed stealing of gymnastic proportions!

Enjoy the weekend.
Check out what the your town has to offer.

Keep it local!

Eloise