Winter Solstice Success

Our spur of the moment Winter Solstice party was a great success! Between 7 and 11 PM we had about  25 people here, fortunately not all at once because when we had about 12 people in the fort, it was quite crowded! Tucker and Corey added a snow bar to the snow fort, decorated the top edge of the fort with ice-sicles and Christmas lights. We put a few benches and chairs around the fire pit and were set to go. 

We served hot and cold beverages with the cold beverages stored right in the walls of the fort. For snacks we had chips, gold fish crackers, candy, cookies and the makings for s'mores.  I had a "Martha Stewart" movement earlier in the evening and made cut-out designs of the sun in some brown paper bags in which we put a candle to make luminaries to light the way from the driveway to the fort! 

Jim kept a big fire going in the fire pit and the fairly warm temps of high 20's made it quite a pleasant evening to be outdoors. The skies cleared off and we had a ceiling of stars with the moon shining down like a spotlight on our party. It was quite festive!

Thursday night we went to GEVA theater to see a show called Plaid Tidings. For 2 hours we were thoroughly entertained by 4 guys singing and dancing. We had many laugh out loud moments and were sorry to see the show end. It was a nice holiday event.

Yesterday was the last day of school for me and we now have 2 weeks off. The students were barely able to contain their excitement for a vacation and Christmas so I decided to end each class with 20 minutes of yoga and it was perfect. The kids did a great job and it seemed to me that they were glad to have a chance to rest and relax away from all the holiday stimulations. I will remember this for next year.

Tonight we are going to Syracuse to see SU play Cornell in basketball. Three of the four grandparents are going with us, Grandpa is staying home to keep his cats company. We are hoping to see a good game, and SU should be able to beat Cornell (sorry Sally and Sandy!).

This morning Gram and I went to the public market and picked up our "local" crown roast of pork and some sausage for stuffing for our Christmas dinner. We got a few other locally grown produce items to go along with the pork. We are doing pretty good with our local menu, but will need a variance to serve coffee, since I know of no one who grows coffee beans in western New York. Jim and Tucker had to go to Eastview Mall this morning to take Tucker's computer to the Apple store so I had them look at the Williams and Sonoma store for those little booties that have traditionally gone on a Crown Roast of Pork. The woman at W-S told Jim that booties were outdated and no longer used! Jim thought she was telling him that he was old! So I guess to be hip and happening, our pork roast will be bootie-less!

Gram told us a funny holiday story the other night and I will share it with you to give you some holiday cheer. Gram and 16 of her "Silver Sneaker" friends from the Y (think old ladies in sweat suits!!) went out to a local restaurant for a holiday lunch. They all started singing Jingle Bells at the table (Jim O. and Bob O., please stop rolling your eyes!). Shortly after they finished Jingle Bells the waitress came over to their table and said that the little girl at a nearby table wanted to know if they would sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!" How cute is that!

Time for a nap and a road trip to SU. Go 'Cuse!

Hope all is well.

Winter Solstice Party

Tucker finally made it home on Monday night after spending 2 nights in Dallas! He loves travelling by plane in the winter! We're glad to have him home.

Yesterday Corey and Tucker worked for 3 hours on an impressive snow fort. See photo. 

After reading an e-mail from my brother, Bob, we have decided to hold a Winter Solstice party this Friday night, starting at 7 PM, in the fort. You are invited. Please note that this will be an outdoor party with a campfire and hot beverages. This party is to celebrate our great snow fort and the lengthening of the day light hours. There will be live music! Stop by to say hi and have your picture taken by the fort!

I'm starting to feel better after being diagnosed with a sinus infection and taking 2 of the 3 antibiotic pills at $18 a piece. I better be feeling better at that price!

Time to go plan a party. Hope you can join us!

Robinson 2007

Merry Christmas to all and welcome to my family blog! We thought we'd try something new this year by putting our 2007 Christmas letter on the family blog that

I (Marji) started writing in July as a way to keep in touch with the boys now that they have flown the coop! Hence, the name of the blog, The Empy Nest.

Our status as "empty nesters" did not start until we dropped off Corey at Syracuse

University in the middle of August and we had a lot going on in the seven and a half

months before that occurred. 

Getting out of town seemed to be a theme in 2007 and we probably should have kept track of the miles we travelled. Some highlights include a week-long trip to see Tucker out

west. We flew into and out of Colorado Springs but spent most of our time in Utah and New Mexico. Tucker was our tour guide as he took us to several of the sites where he has done or is doing archaeological work. We hiked numerous miles in beautiful, unspoiled country, got to meet many of his friends and colleagues, and thoroughly enjoyed our time with him. If you are looking for a great place to hike, that is relatively unknown, consider the Four Corners area - you won't be disappointed!

As soon as school let out we travelled to Idaho to do another 6-day Main Salmon

 River trip, and Corey and Tucker served as 2 of the 7 guides on the trip. We were joined by some

friends and travelled down river with a delightful group of folks from around the world. These river trips are always a great vacation for us.

Shortly after returning from Idaho, we packed

up again for a 10 day trip to Iceland with our

dear friends Bob and Sally. Wow! Here is

another place you need to put on your "Things

To Do" list. Iceland has glaciers and volcanoes and puffins and ice-caps and flowers and sheep and hot springs and fjords and tunnels and mountain passes and hiking galore, and horses and waterfalls and history and geysers and mudpots and an endless coastline. You gotta go!

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a weekend in Toronto, where we went to a Yankees/Blue Jays baseball game. As a Yankee's fan, Marji loved it. As a reluctant

baseball fan, Jim put up with it. That must be the success of our 30 years together!

Syracuse University was Corey's college choice and we are quite pleased to have him only 90 miles down the road. He ran one race for the SU XC team, did quite well, and then was "red-shirted." This was done so they can have him run as a fifth year senior, when he is 22 years old, a more prime running age. He continues to train and will be part of the indoor track team this winter. He is enjoying the whole college experience and seems to have adapted quite well to life away from Mom and Dad! 

Jim has taken a new job within the Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics division of Johnson and Johnson and is liking his new responsibilities. He has had a bit of international travel for this new job, but not enough for it to become tiresome. Jim continues to run competitively all around the country. 

I am thankful to be teaching 5, 6 and 7 year olds because they keep me laughing and they think I'm only 29 years old! I run if there is a race that everybody else is doing, but I prefer to get my competitive high from rowing crew. Quiet times around the house or in the car will find me with knitting needles in my hands as I continue to learn new things about this craft that brings me joy.

Speaking of joy, Jim, Tucker, Corey and I wish you peace and joy this holiday season. We hope that you will have time to spend with the people that mean the most to you. Feel free to leave us a comment about your holiday and what brings you joy. 

Peace. Hope all is well.