Porter, Harlan, and I went to the tree lighting ceremony on campus. They had cookies and hot cocoa afterwards, but their favorite part was rolling down the big, steep hill on campus!
I took the younger boys to Scottish Walk. Definitely festive to see the bagpipers and the kennel clubs with the different dogs–corgis, Westies, Scotties, Newfoundlanders, Cavalier King Charles, all so cute in their tartans. Porter tired of it all completely by the time the parade ended, but we did catch Santa in the convertible at the very end. Pizza at Harris Teeter, and a quick stop in at our friends’ party in Old Town, and it was a great morning. Then we had chili mac and friends over for dinner. It was a good evening for a fire. Patrick worked on the skis outside. Saturday was a beautiful day.
Sunday was also gorgeous. We went to a 4H cooking meeting, and all four boys helped make 12 different kinds of cookies for the meeting today. Harlan and Porter enjoyed helping and learned about mixing from the older kids. Then Patrick and I saw another play bound for Broadway, A Strange Loop at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. It wasn’t as unthinkingly fun as Once Upon a One More Time, but it was a solid, provocative show, and we are so glad for the opportunity to have seen it.
Monday gave me an opportunity to accomplish a lot of grading, some errand running, and miscellaneous work around the house. That evening, I took metro downtown to see a very exclusive Brandi Carlile solo show with my friend. It was beautiful and such a small venue that it was like sitting in a living room with a friend. She told stories about going to the Kennedy Center Honors with Joni Mitchell and her daughter come up on stage and sing with her. Very special night.
Tuesday marked the last week of classes! My students are hanging in there, wrapping up their work, and getting ready for break. I got the tree out of the attic, and the boys decorated it. Porter made up some cute songs while he was decorating. Seamus and Gilbert had their band concert. All of this gets us in the festive mood!
Academic Leigh Speaking 