Clover Street Chronicles: November 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

The Elf is Back!!

Nick, our Elf on the Shelf, returned on the Sunday morning of Thanksgiving weekend, as is his usual routine. The girls, who knew he was coming, were beyond thrilled to see him on Sunday morning!

Last year, Emily asked for a female elf for Christmas - her name is Sarah, and she kept Nick company on his first day at the house.

Nick brought the girls a new advent calendar.

During the day, the girls left a catalog with items that they want for Christmas, hoping that he would let Santa know.....

Thursday, November 29, 2012

We had a lovely, low key Thanksgiving celebration with Grammy and Grampy. We watched the Macy's parade, the dog show, and some football and enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner together. A great way to spend the holiday.

I love the setting the table at the holidays!!

The girls.

Grampy brought down this silly turkey hat and Lee tried it on....

The girls made unique place cards for each of us.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Grinch!

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford. It was a really great show! The costumes were stunning, the performers were really good and the actor that played the Grinch was quite spectacular. It was definitely a great way to kick off the holiday season!!

Santa Claus was in the lobby.

Reading the program with Grammy.

Anxiously awaiting all the Whos down in Whoville!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Autumn Love

I think that autumn is my favorite season. I love the changing colors and the cooler temperatures, and I really love getting back to into baking and cooking on the weekends. I also love decorating the house for the fall holidays - breaking out my pumpkin candles and all of the warm brown and orange accessories that make everything so festive!

Pumpkin Spice mini donuts - I made these at Elizabeth's request and they were yummy!

Pumpkin cookies - Emily just loved these.

Mini donuts dipped in cinnamon and sugar. I made these for breakfast on Veteran's Day.

I love how spectacular the falling leaves look.

We must have the only kids that volunteer to rake!

A little bit of autumn decorating.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

100 Year Anniversary Gala

A couple of weekends ago, St Mary School held the main fundraising event of its 100th Anniversary year, the Gala and Auction. I was on the planning committee for the Gala and know first hand how tirelessly everyone work to pull of this event, especially the chairperson and her immediate family. It was a fabulous success, as close to 250 parents, teachers and parishioners attended. The event raised over $25,000 for the school, which is a spectacular amount. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective, I guess), we did not win anything at the auction - we were shamelessly outbid for front seats for First Communion (twice!), movie night and McDonald's lunch with the teacher. It was a fabulous "dress up" night of good food, good friends and lots of laughs.

The Crystal Ballroom

Some of the silent and live auction items.

The only picture of Lee and I from the evening - it doesn't even come close to showing how spectacular we looked!!! ;-)

Sunday, November 18, 2012

First Snow

Our first snow of the season fell on November 7th, just 8 days after Hurricane Sandy put a beating on our state. In Connecticut, the snowfall is usually greater north of the Merritt Parkway and west of Interstate 91. Because we are located right on those two dividers, we are never quite certain what we are going to get for snowfall. In this storm, we were definitely in the middle. We got about 6 or 7 inches of snow; along the coast, the areas hit hardest by Sandy, got upwards of a foot of snow, but north of us, only a few inches fell. It was bitterly cold during the storm (in the low teens with the wind chill), but just a few short days later, the snow was gone and the temperatures were back in the 60s. You've got to love New England!

The wind was whipping during the heart of the storm.

The morning after.

This tree is always the last to loose its leaves, so it was covered in leaves and snow.

Friday, November 16, 2012

A GRAND Memere

Today we said a final goodbye to Memere, the matriarch of the Roy Family. I met Memere shortly after Lee and I began dating, more than seventeen years ago, and from that moment on, she always treated me like I belonged. She was a warm and generous soul, always quick with a smile or a joke. She was a nurturer, always “pushing” food when you visited, preferably sweets. She was a very funny lady, a trait that stayed with her even as her mind slowly deserted her. We always visited her when we were in New Hampshire and she just loved spending time with the girls. Last year, during our Christmas Eve visit, the girls showed her their autograph and photo books from our Disney trip. Even though words failed her, the smile on her face and the delight in her eyes was unmistakable. I am so grateful that the girls had a great-grandmother, for however brief a time. Cheers to Memere, loving mother of seven children, grandmother of twelve, and great-grandmother of ten. May you rest in peace.