Season's Greetings!

Here it is! The annual Christmas Card. I usually finish it around this time, then mail it sometime around St. Patrick's Day. Here's hoping you receive them before Valentine's Day this time! Either way, I'm wishing everyone a Happy Holiday NOW!

Church and Chowder

On Sunday, the Luals invited me to Dinka Church. Well, not Dinka Church, necessarily, but a church service at the local Episcopal church, specifically by and for the Dinka and Sudanese community in Richmond. Here are a few shots of the afternoon...

Pretty Talented!

Saba, Nyaring (the oldest sister of the family I tutor) and Awut
Chan (mother of the family I tutor)

Abraham, Nyaring, some guy... some other guy... Achan, Awut, and Anger. I wish I could remember everyone's name!

A shot of the kids playing in the nursery area.

This gentleman just returned from Sudan. The speakers were extremely considerate of us non-Dinka guests ... they tried to speak in Dinka and in English, when they could. I enjoyed listening to both!

Anger, Achan, Awut and little Muloh

After Dinka Church, I rushed home to meet the Richmond girls at my house for dinner. Susan (well, her husband Ben, really!) made a delicious shrimp and corn chowder, Leslie brought apps and Jamestown spiced wine, and I threw in the apple pie and cinnamon ice cream.

This is the homemade sourdough bread Kristen brought. Yum... still warm.

Leslie, Kristen and Susan in my kitchen.

Aunt Crazy, Leslie, and Kristen with our new scarfs - made
for us by Susan!

Christmas presents from Leslie! Friendship bread (not pictured), and our FAVORITE - Chili Dawg wine and Easy Cheese... which go surprisingly well together!!

Favorite tagline from the Chili Dawg bottle: Our dog WILL bite!

Hagerstown in November!

This is a Catch-Up Post from the weekend before Thanksgiving.

I ventured from Richmond to Hagerstown for a Girls' Weekend; not because Hagerstown is so incredibly HAPPENIN', but because it's an inexpensive, central location to meet some girlfriends. Andrea lives in Pittsburgh, Mary Brown lives in Springfield, and Gita lives in North Potomac, so it was a relatively easy getaway for all of us.

The fridge in the Hampton Inn was a wee bit intense for our champagne, so when we opened it, it overflowed... and overflowed... and overflowed. Notice how Gita pulled the plug on the sink drain to save every drop. Andrea said - in all seriousness - "Should we find a straw?" Gotta love a girls' weekend.

Dinner on Saturday night at the Texas Roadhouse - Aunt Crazy, Gita, Andrea and Mary Brown

View from my seat at the Texas Roadhouse.

On my way back on Sunday night, I met Soo and Jeff for dinner at Neisha Thai. They had gotten engaged the weekend before. YEAH!!

Apparently the Williamsburg Inn was INCREDIBLE. The staff really went out of their way to make the weekend extra special.