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So this was the weekend we have been dreading! But the good news is that we survived! We had the Christmas House Tour on Saturday and Louie's dance recital (he was in four dances, that means four costume changes! and he has the personal dresser me...). It was a lot.

The Christmas House tour was arranged by our local library. A beautiful facility and a very worthy cause. But it is a weeks worth of work to get ready. I was asked as being a house in the borough and the fact that my house is a historic home. So basically an excuse for random people to come into your house and look at stuff. The idea is that you decorate the home for the season and people then buy tickets and they limit the number of tickets given out and people can tour the homes open. It gives people a start to the festivities and actually is rather nice. But when you do it yourself ie host a house, it is a lot of work. Coming back from being away and having a week to get ready was a close run thing and the tree was only cut and put in place Friday morning!!!!! But 'nuff said, here is the evidence

Dress Rehearsal Thursday

trying valiantly to do algebra home work.....

Quick change...dance of the flowers

Yes mum this isn't really a 'bloggable' moment!

No seriously I have to get on stage....we're in the glamorous dressing room in the wings!!! ie the toilet! works well though...not far to get on stage

Alright ready for the party scene

More algebra

Louie and Elizabeth...could be homework ....more likely mindcraft....

Friday Morning approximately 9:45 am

We are at our Christmas Tree farm and off we go...

You know that cart is quite heavy

There are thousands of trees....easy to get lost. Luckily my bright yellow wellies meant that Damian didn't lose me and coupled with my penetrating voice, there was no chance I would be lost!

How about this one....as I explained slowly and repeatedly ...we needed an angry stubby tree, like the ones in the Isle of Man, to take the weight of mercury glass ornaments.

This one Damian...perfect

Well you cut it!

Now lets drag this several miles back to the car

Nice man helped

And home and all before 10.30am

OK enough standing around, hoof that tree in

Ah, now that's lovely and because I asked the man at the tree farm, I now know, that when I want a stubby angry tree, it's a Norway Spruce....good to know. I believe that's the tree Norway gave to the Queen, all those years ago! So that's about right, that's what I need.

I decided that we had to have some splendour for the table, so I set it for a make believe tea party, with plates showing 12 days of Christmas. Although having a setting for 6 did throw me. But no one commented on that

Dinning room with all the "artifacts" of the house on display....photos and maps of the house that a previous owner complied...properly a lucky break for me, all I had to do was label them.

Fireplace and library

Christmas trees by the office and front of the house reception room on the right of the entry way

Decorated by the evening on Friday and looking wonderful, although angel needed some adjustment, as she looks like she's ready to leave

This is the tidiest ever in the history of a Damian office, that it has ever ever been...evidence for future use that is

What I forgot about the Friday night was it was First Friday in West Chester and the Christmas Parade and for us to put out luminaries....thank goodness I had some from last year.....so running about at 5:00pm to set these babies up

But decided that although dead on my feet and they were sore, I had to see the luminaries in the neighbourhood and park....

The statue in Marshal Sq park even had them on the steps and I love this picture

Damian is so good at being a silly billy and this is his way of being exhausted.....following the star. This is  on our porch. He says he was being a camel, I have another word for it and it isn't camel!

I think this picture I took just before the Tour shows the tea party better...and you can see more of the room

THE TOUR SATURDAY

So when you look out of your library and see this scene gathering on your lawn...that's anxiety that is! This lot went through the house. It is estimated that we had conservatively 500-600 people on the tour and yes they came through the house and no they didn't take anything or break anything. I talked myself horse and didn't manage to leave from 10.00 till 2.30. Managed food before I fell down and did meet the most amazing people and they were so grateful to be in our home and share it. It was lovely to see how people reacted and the things that they loved and though the kitchen wasn't 'tour tidied', or even meant to be on the tour, they loved that too! no kidding people literally pushed their way through the whole ground floor and didn't miss the downstairs toilet, also not officially on the tour! on their way through. 

The Recital

This is delivered to us as we arrive for the performance and what an amazingly fantastic costume is this!!! He really can be the Rat King/Mouse King in this

Splendid

Louie and this years Nut Cracker,....we love him

Louie in the wings waiting to go on

I know that you can't really see what's going on but the essence is there. Louie has a blue vest on or tank..

And this is my favorite photo, the snow queen and lit up! as they circle her. Just stunning

Change

Drink

New performance...Charlie Brown and friends

We are nearly finished

I made him pose and bless him he listened. Love that costume!

This is where I sat when I got home

I lit the luminaries and enjoyed their glorious glow

and pondered of all the things in my house that this is the thing people seemed most drawn too. This hangs in the library and was bought for me for a birthday, one time in Cape May. I laughed so hard in the shop, I had to leave...I was on my own and literally laughing like a crazy lady. I told the boys about it and so a few days later on my birthday, that often coincides with Cape May holiday, this was one of my presents. So when I was guarding the library, from random public peoples, practially every one that came into the room zeroed in on this and as I saw the first person look at it, I had that sinking feeling...OMG what if there is swearing in there, as to be honest I've not read it recently...and didn't think that tour people would look at this....as maybe the fireplace would be more compelling, with original tile work and working fireplace........well from then on everyone looked at it and took pictures of it!!!! and now I come to read it....I had forgotten the screw thing! So there you go, people always surprise you and I hope that they enjoyed this and all the tidying that I did. It was such a crazy day.....

Next time...

The Return, Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving in the US and we make a dash for the home country. I have to say I was amazed that people asked if we celebrate that in the UK and also that they looked sorry when I said no...but the thing is....I was kinda grateful AND thankful and it happened on the last Thursday in November and I was with family on Damian's side....oh I think we did do it then, we actually had Thanksgiving on the Isle of Man...

We arrive to a very cold Isle of Man and Isaac attempts to wheel three cases at once

He actually managed it too!

View from the apartment in the south of the Island where we stayed. I grew up in this part of the Island and this small town, so there are mixed feelings. But I'm loving that blue sky.

Occupied fully reading a Beano! (comic in UK from a byegone age..basically toilet humor 1970's)

Artsy fartsy shot at the Studio! Caroline has a studio next to this tumbled down barn and it was just too alluring to ignore

Said studio and we are waiting for the door to open.....we know she's in there, as I spot a heat haze from the chimney

This was at the studio too and I couldn't believe how lovely and summery it looked....it was, did I mention, freezing!!!!

This area is by the studio door and I thought that this was rather a calm shot

We spent many many hours driving back and forth from Ramsey and this is an evening shot of the sky line on the mountain road.

This is a tribute to Paris and the recent attacks....Ramsey Swing Bridge in the Red White and Blue

So the weather changed then...

At our apartment there was a balcony and for several days we pondered on where this door went

That's where!!!! We did laugh at that one....

So this is what is trendy for Christmas on Man!

I just don't think that the Ironic Christmas sweater will make it in the states....people would just think you were being very festive and leave it at that!

Moody shot of Louie ....sort of 1920...gangster

This is Ramsey again and those scurrying clouds...now the question is, is there enough blue sky to make a pair of sailors trousers?

I'm guessing not

Headland in Ramsey by the old Pier

Isaac and the sea....

Us driving back from over the mountain and it was mist all the way!

Out to dinner with Paul and Caroline

Lots of shenanigans....

THE FIELD TRIP...SCARLETT

I decided that after all the intensity of the arrival and dealing with family things on the Island, that the boys needed to do something fun, well my idea of fun! So we went on a geology field trip. Just me and the boys....this is drawing on knowledge from when I was Isaac's age!!!

These are the kilns that they used for the lime at Scarlett

This is the limestone quarry and that is a very slight syncline

Castletown which is slightly along the coast from Scarlett

This is part of the limestone pavement, the geological feature that brought us to this spot

That divide is where there is a basalt dyke in the limestone

And here is part of the view that we can see from the coastal point as we look down the south east corner of the Island to Port St Mary

This is looking back inland to Colby

Just more of the limestone pavement

You can from this picture also taken at the coast, looking back to the Island, see that the mist is not far away

This really shows the line of the rocks and how they were laid down...

This this is a volcanic outcropping and also the piece in the sea....this is right next to the limestone

Then the weather started to change and it was was brilliant sunshine...it felt quite magic

This jagged landscape next to the smooth flat limestone pavement such a contrast

This is a little beach between the two

And just for some scale the boys...on volcanic tuff...I think, again reaching into the recess of memory

Louie wanted a arty shot of the small rock pool

It was windy and a bit cold but we had fun

Louie always up for the challenge!

That coast looks so beautiful in the sunshine

Seagulls even wheeling on que!

Just breath taking

An Isaac curl a bit of limestone and the volcanic outcrop in the sea! perfect

Look at the color of the water!!!

Just amazing that this is the same day!

We walked back to Castletown, this is a familiar path to me having gone to secondry school near here. This would be the cross country course

The gnarly trees show that this is a rough environment for trees

Blazing sunshine over the lime kilns

The house out there always reminds me of Jane Austin

A hug and a smile

I mean what a picture! It was a great outing and the boys learned a lot from this old mum!

Later that night this was the moon outside Nana's house...

This was the eveing sky...

This morning looked like there was a temporal shift and rift opening in the sky! It really did look like that

Once the sun was up, this was the day we had. This a picture of the town we stayed in and as you can see it is by the sea....sort of grey....and lumpy kind of a day

A lovely sky line for me. This is the Howe in Port Erin and I went to a chapel on the hill and so spent many Sundays being driven back and forth. 

I went on the bus one morning and visited my friend Marisa in the Cafe where she works and this is the place

The builders were laying paving slabs outside and had just stopped for sausage baps....lucky!!! break working outside a cafe!!!

This was the floor in the cafe...love those tiles

Me looking from the inside out....of the cafe

A view of the promenade at Happy Valley in Port St Mary...and believe you me the surf was bashing away out of shot. A lovely line of Victorian..originally boarding houses..

another drive to Ramsey to see Mum and over the mountain we go....it isn't out of focus...that's mist and rain

That apparition is a massive wooden loaghtan sheep they have built on the mountain, at the foot of Snaefell....I tell you in the mist it was a bit eerie.

That would be low visibility on the mountain road

This is Gansey on the Island and the sea is angry this day

Yes very angry but really rather splendid and not at all scary..

Yum that would be breakfast Manx Style...made by Damian for me. Now that's love, that is

They have a display at the Airport on the Island...and this fabulous Reindeer I thought was the best

Night time Manchester UK and our view from the hotel we stayed the night in, we arrive to spend the night before departing to US

Honest mum I'm not tired

Oh that's a good one, maybe I'll use it for my linked in profile.....he said

I'm staying in the room

Reading before bed

This is the BEST invention ever. I have never seen this before so bear with me. This is our hotel bathroom mirror and after my shower I noticed that OMG the mirror had a special "non fogged" patch!! That is BRILLIANT.....made my trip that did, hence photo

Ah Manchester Airport

Yup time for the flight to US and home.....