We spent Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. First, we went to see Grandma and Grandpa Raleigh, my dad's mother and step-father. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to their two dogs, but I came prepared with lots of allergy medicine. Even so, Dad and I had to slip out a few times, finding reasons to go to Walmart or the gas station just so I could take a break from the dog dander. Although I had really enjoyed myself, I was glad when it was time for us to go to a bigger dog-free family reunion.
Now, my Grandma's family gets together several times a year--all her brothers and sisters along with their spouses, kids, and grandkids--at this little building on my Uncle Troy and Aunt Shirley's property. We call it the "Pond House" because, well, it's right next to a pretty good-sized pond with a dock out back. It may not be creative, but we've been meeting at the Pond House for as long as I can remember.
For Christmas Eve, the gathering is usually pretty small, but the turn-out this year was all right. I still got to see a lot of people I haven't seen since before I left for Hong Kong. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa Raleigh, Sarah, and I were some of the first ones there so, since the Pond House has no heating, we crowded around the fireplace to wait on the others to arrive. Here's (from left to right) Sarah, Dad, me, Grandma, and Grandpa Raleigh soaking up the warmth:
We had a big and wonderful surprise, too. Uncle Mike, who Sarah and I hadn't seen since we were very little, was able to come and visit. We were all so happy to see him and catch up:
Since Christmas Eve is really just "pre-game" for the actual holiday, we kept things simple: just hot-dogs, chili, brunswick stew, and bite-size treats like brownies, cookies, peanut brittle, and fudge:
As you can see, the place filled up pretty quickly. I'm not sure exactly how many came, but my guess is somewhere close to 30 people:
Sarah playing with our little cousin, Aiden, despite what she says about not liking children:
Everyone had a good time at the Pond House, but eventually it was time to clean up and leave. I, for one, was in severe danger of overdosing on fudge. We all drove back to Grandma's house to open presents. It's difficult to have just one "Christmas" when visiting relatives, so we decided to celebrate with them on Christmas Eve. Here's Dad, me, Grandma, Sarah, and Grandpa Raleigh:
It was late by the time we left so it didn't take everyone long to get to sleep. The next morning was Christmas Day, which we spent with my Mom's side of the family--her parents, brother, his wife and two kids. We got there first so Mom and I helped Meme in the kitchen. I really helped out only with the sweet potatoes, but Meme had almost everything pulled together already so there wasn't much that needed doing. Dad, Sarah, and I relaxed on the couch:
Uncle Craig and Aunt Sherry, with their kids Katie and Ryan, came around 11:00am, and the visiting really began. Ryan was "Santa" this time--just like practically every time before--and spent a lot of time sorting the presents into piles.
While he was doing that, others of us took dishes into the dining room for our big Christmas lunch. Behold the Christmas feast:
There were 10 of us altogether, but someone had to take the group picture. Mom got voted off the island (as in she just happened to be the one taking pictures already), and snapped this one for the family photo album. From the left, there's Ryan, Papa, Meme, Sarah, Dad, me, Katie, Uncle Craig, and Aunt Sherry:
We loved the visiting--all the good people, good food, and good times--but we needed to get back to the hotel early so that we could wake up early the next morning for the 5-hour drive home. According to the weather report, it was supposed to snow in Cheraw around lunch-time on the 26th so we agreed to wake up at 6:00am and be on the road by 7:00am. Well, as soon as Sarah got out of the shower, we got a call from Dad. He had checked the weather report one more time and it had changed. Instead of getting snow at 12:00pm on the 26th, it was supposed to start around 3:00am. Considering that it was already 10:00pm, we had only 5 hours left before the snow would get there--and none of us know how to drive in it! Snow is a rare phenomenon in the southeastern United States so we are simply not prepared for it. In a panic, we quickly packed our bags and hit the road, just hoping to beat the snowstorm. Miraculously, we made it back to our house in time. Just as we entered the town of Cheraw, I saw the first flurries of snow.
By morning, we were (by Southern standards) snowed-in...there was about 1 inch of snow on the ground. Call us wimps if you like, but nobody down here leaves the house for more than a few minutes when there's white stuff outside. Even though it was technically the day after, I suppose I had a "White Christmas" after all. Now that we had opened presents at all the relatives' houses, we still had to open the ones from each other sitting underneath our own Christmas tree. We exchanged all kinds of presents, but took only a few pictures.
Sarah with her new lap desk from me:
Mom and Dad gave me a couple of iTunes cards as well as all sorts of other things:
Probably the funniest present was from Sarah to Mom. Yes, this lovely hat is a penguin. Mom and penguins is a bit of a running joke in our family. If you don't get it, don't worry. Just know that it's funny. The good thing is that Mom actually needed a new hat. She's an elementary school teacher so the children in her class will probably like her new head-wear:
Of course, the furrier members of the family had fun playing in the leftover boxes and wrapping paper. Sylvester didn't really do much besides lay on it:
Fudge watched from afar and played in the ribbons later:
And Jinx didn't get too close (most likely because she doesn't like us, let alone anyone else). This would be a good picture of her if she didn't look possessed but, then again, perhaps this is a more honest portrait:
I got a better, more friendly-looking picture later, but don't be deceived. This is NOT a nice kitty, but we love her nonetheless:
This one is a nice kitty, and a stupid one. That's all right, though, because intelligence isn't really that important for a domestic house-cat. Yes, I realize we have 3 of them--and that is a lot--but we just kept running across needy kittens and having trouble finding homes for them. At least they fill what would otherwise be an empty nest. Here's Fudge (my baby) hiding behind the poinsettas:
Sylvester, our chubby boy-cat, checking out the snow:
And there was a lot to check out. The morning after our late-night drive home, Cheraw had been transformed into a winter wonderland. This is the view from our porch (it was too cold to actually step outside):
The neighbors' house:
The cars:
And the backyard:
Sarah likes the cold so she was brave enough to go out for a walk in it, but she did give Mom's penguin-hat a test run:
Mom and me outside our house in the snow:
And then Dad and me standing there freezing cold:
All-in-all, I think everyone here had a great 3-day Christmas, and I hope the Christmas celebration back in Hong Kong was equally merry. I want to hear all about it when I get back!
As for my current plans, I'm heading down to Charleston tomorrow to visit a friend, and stopping in Columbia on the way to pick up 2 more. All 4 of us will be down there until the morning of the 31st. Sara, you can relax and be happy. I'm bringing the french bread!
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