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December wrap-up
Jan. 3rd, 2020 09:18 pmARR and I thoroughly holidayed the holidays. (Chuckro is somewhat less festive.)
- We did the great cookie bake, with family friends coming over to help decorate gingerbread.
- We made gingerbread (well, actually, graham cracker) houses with ARR's friends.
- We stopped by the Big Apple Comic Con, which has never really been my thing, but Papa had a table. (I like cons with lots of smaller intimate panels, and dealers' rooms that have a lot of different kinds of stuff. This really is a comic con, with most of the dealers offering just long box after long box, and very little in the way of programming.)
- ARR spent a week in Farmingdale, which Chuckro spent almost all of rather ill. I went to an impeachment rally and a movie without him. We did manage to host a pirate-themed LARP which went over quite well.
- We went to the Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. (Minuses - it's in a big tent this year because they're restoring the Conservatory, which is rather less festive. Pluses - the new-to-me One World Trade model is gorgeous.)
- ARR trounced the family at the annual Christmas tree spotting contest. (There are a bunch of elaborate rules awarding points for Christmas trees in motion, decorated cars, specifically camels in nativity scenes, etc. There are bonus points for cars bearing Christmas trees specifically spotted on your street. I tipped things heavily in our favor by taking ARR out to play for a couple hours on the second Saturday of December, in a park that is both on our street and on an intersection a few blocks from one of the biggest tree lots in the neighborhood. Then he went to Papa's house, who's even better at spotting them than I am.)
- ARR and a friend went to Pip's Island, which was super cool (and 50% off that week). It's an interactive theater experience for kids, and he was super into it. You go from themed room to themed room, interacting with actors and accomplishing tasks on a quest to defeat the bad guy. Very impressive, a lot of fun I'd say for 5-9 year olds.
- We had a big mostly-Jewish crowd for Christmas dinner, which was festive and delicious.
- We had my parents for the annual wine dinner. Glazed quail with winter fruits, hot smoked salmon on greens, stewed rabbit with herbed biscuits, and a dulce du leche lava cake under a magic chocolate dome melted with creme anglaise.
- We went up to my brother's and did yet another giant dinner for my parents' 40th anniversary.
- ARR and I went to the Winter Wonderland in Paramus on New Year's Eve, for ice skating and carnival games and carousel and zoo train rides.
- ARR did not go to the adult NYE party, but an old friend who was unexpectedly in town did, which was delightful.
- We took a smaller friend ice skating on New Years Day. The difference between ARR's skating on day 1 and day 3 was staggering. He went from clinging to my arm and refusing to move his feet to zipping along. Also, laced skates are SO MUCH BETTER than latched ones.
Busy month. Now I have the conference from hell.
- We did the great cookie bake, with family friends coming over to help decorate gingerbread.
- We made gingerbread (well, actually, graham cracker) houses with ARR's friends.
- We stopped by the Big Apple Comic Con, which has never really been my thing, but Papa had a table. (I like cons with lots of smaller intimate panels, and dealers' rooms that have a lot of different kinds of stuff. This really is a comic con, with most of the dealers offering just long box after long box, and very little in the way of programming.)
- ARR spent a week in Farmingdale, which Chuckro spent almost all of rather ill. I went to an impeachment rally and a movie without him. We did manage to host a pirate-themed LARP which went over quite well.
- We went to the Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. (Minuses - it's in a big tent this year because they're restoring the Conservatory, which is rather less festive. Pluses - the new-to-me One World Trade model is gorgeous.)
- ARR trounced the family at the annual Christmas tree spotting contest. (There are a bunch of elaborate rules awarding points for Christmas trees in motion, decorated cars, specifically camels in nativity scenes, etc. There are bonus points for cars bearing Christmas trees specifically spotted on your street. I tipped things heavily in our favor by taking ARR out to play for a couple hours on the second Saturday of December, in a park that is both on our street and on an intersection a few blocks from one of the biggest tree lots in the neighborhood. Then he went to Papa's house, who's even better at spotting them than I am.)
- ARR and a friend went to Pip's Island, which was super cool (and 50% off that week). It's an interactive theater experience for kids, and he was super into it. You go from themed room to themed room, interacting with actors and accomplishing tasks on a quest to defeat the bad guy. Very impressive, a lot of fun I'd say for 5-9 year olds.
- We had a big mostly-Jewish crowd for Christmas dinner, which was festive and delicious.
- We had my parents for the annual wine dinner. Glazed quail with winter fruits, hot smoked salmon on greens, stewed rabbit with herbed biscuits, and a dulce du leche lava cake under a magic chocolate dome melted with creme anglaise.
- We went up to my brother's and did yet another giant dinner for my parents' 40th anniversary.
- ARR and I went to the Winter Wonderland in Paramus on New Year's Eve, for ice skating and carnival games and carousel and zoo train rides.
- ARR did not go to the adult NYE party, but an old friend who was unexpectedly in town did, which was delightful.
- We took a smaller friend ice skating on New Years Day. The difference between ARR's skating on day 1 and day 3 was staggering. He went from clinging to my arm and refusing to move his feet to zipping along. Also, laced skates are SO MUCH BETTER than latched ones.
Busy month. Now I have the conference from hell.
