Thank you, S&G

A few weeks ago, some of Will's friends from Denver came over for a visit and we had a lovely night by the fire. Lots of laughs and wine and good food.


This morning, I opened my front door and there was a package for Will and I from them. A lovely box tied up with a spring green ribbon-- my favorite color but just how they wrap the boxes.

Inside: the cutest chocolate caramels ever!

It comes from John and Kira's Chocolates, in Philadelphia. They are artisan chocolate makers, among other things. Sandy and Genevieve gave us the ladybugs and bumblebees, which are either dark chocolate ganache or salt honey caramels. They are the sweetest things! And very tasty.

The sad thing is that Will is in Florida for the week. Wait, sad? Lemme rephrase, the *lucky* part is that Will is in Florida this week. heh heh heh

If it's not Scottish...

For Will's big Christmas gift, I found a 1795 map of Scotland....in German (frame included)! It's perfect, since his heritage is Scottish and mine, German: A perfect melding of us. We have hung it in the dining room, so our dogs have something at which to look.

After much searching, we found the Cunningham region on the map. It is in top left of the orange bit (see the different colors of the different sections on the photo of the big map?) it is right on the western border of Scotland, near Arran Island. If you look at the second photo, you can see "Cunning......h....a..m" spreading out towards the east.
I totally think that this means that Will *has* to wear his kilt at our wedding. I mean, he has to honor his family's heritage. I plan on wearing a drindl, after all.

A return of an old friend

Our sharp-shinned hawk has returned for the winter. He is simply amazing. Will and I watched him try to scare out little sparrows in the bush for a good ten minutes. Last year we watched him get at least two birds and drop one very wiggly squirrel. After he flew off, Will promptly went out and refilled some of the empty bird feeders. I am not sure who he was trying to lure back into the yard....

Indoor Grilling

My big Christmas gift was a Le Creuset Grill. It is FANTASTIC! We have grilled fish and pork chops so far. This salmon was absolutely delicious. Fiona-- you should be very jealous.

What will our garden grow?

I am trying to not think about the mounds of work on my desk as I write this.... or the web browser open with 344783042 tabs open searching for tea-length wedding dress.... instead, I will focus on spending the gift certificate my sister C got Will for Christmas from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Hmmmm do we need purple carrots, green tomatoes, and pink swiss chard?
Absolutely....

*Sigh* I want my garden back....

Location, Location, Location

Will and I are trying to figure out when/where/how to have this wedding. At the moment, since we can't agree on a figure for a guest list as we have competing ideas of numbers and how many people are parents can invite, and the budget for all of this is a bit blurry, we are seriously contemplating the DC Courthouse. And then have a huge party later. Wouldn't any bride love to be married under the archway with fake roses?

I love the rain

For one reason only: I can wear my Wellies!