Clary's Adventures

We’ve made it to Christmas Eve 2023.  The day started with a little reading.  Then some frantic decorating.  Addy and I started with the tree.  We only had a couple of hours before the visitors would arrive. This was a pretty special decoration on the tree.  Then we moved onto the rest of the living area.  Addy set up the family in front of the house.  Did you know one of those reindeer is called Clarice? Addy called me recently to see if I knew that.  The table needed to be set. And so did the kids’ table, which is where I sat. Carlos had cooked a roast. There was play time. And photo time - first royalty. Then Rita, Jenya, Fidei and Agata. Then the host family and some extra Aussies. Present time was next. Then dessert time. I fashioned the desserts into a Christmas tree and a wreath. Ice-cream made an appearance for the third day in a row. That evening milk & cookies were put out for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer. Sleigh! Addy welcome...

December 23 (of 2023) was the day we went to the New York Botanical Garden for their Holiday Train Show.  Before we set off we had a little ice-cream.  Addy took photo with her new bag Gigig had sewn back in the ‘60s.  At the Garden we ate in the restaurant on the grounds - Hudson Garden Grill.  It was beautifully decorated. Addy even did her own little artwork. The food was delicious. And so was this cocktail. Then it was time to check out the train show. There was an outdoor section, which we thought was really cool. But then we went inside and it was even cooler. And so beautiful. The colours,  the plants,  the trains zipping around. There was a section that looked like New York City. Addy’s favourite part was throwing coins in the water from Gigig’s purse. Gigig also liked this part because she wanted to get rid of her coins. The leftover coins were put in the donation box at the end. There were more lights outside, but we’d had a pretty big day so just...