On Monday I did some grading in the morning and then we went all over the city -- Washington Square, the Curtis Building, the Visitor Center (I got her a National Parks passport, and we needed to get it stamped), the Money in Motion exhibit (so she could get some state quarters from the machine), Franklin Square, Reading Terminal (we shared jambalaya from the Cajun place), Macy's (the Dickens Village was a highlight. We also saw the light show.) We went to the Christmas Village and then to the Comcast building, where they give you 3-D glasses to see their Christmas special on the big screen. We went to Anthropologie and to Rittenhouse, then to dinner with Luke at Rangoon and then came home. We all watched Monday Night Football while I graded and Mom started knitting an elaborate cabled tree skirt from Handknit Holidays.
Dickens Village:
City Hall/Macy's:
Ceiling at Anthropologie:
On Tuesday morning I got up and did some grading while Mom ripped out the tree skirt (she didn't like the way it was coming out with the yarn I had). She started a pair of cabled socks for me. Then we got in the car and went over to the Drexel area, where we went to the bookstore and got a parking permit. On we went to the Brandywine Museum (where they had great kale/sausage/something else soup for lunch, and where we saw the Christmas trains exhibit, the doll collection, the Critters, and an Alice in Wonderland exhibit). (I love Andrew Wyeth's paintings so much. They create an instant calm for me while also inspiring me to write.) Then we went to Longwood Gardens. I had been there in the daytime at Christmas, but not at night. We drank hot chocolate in the cafe while we waited for it to get dark. At the last minute, we decided to go to the skating exhibition -- a junior pairs team and a 13-year-old male skater. It was only $5, and was fun to see skating outside. The lights at Longwood are amazing -- totally worth the admission. At night we came back and had dinner here (Luke made stir fry) and I graded while Mom knit. We had a system with dark chocolate M&Ms. Each M&M represented a paper I needed to grade, and I would move them from one cup to another as I went through them. At the end of each evening, we ate the M&Ms.
Brandywine Christmas Critters:
Wreath at Longwood:
Longwood at Night:
My GRID issue at Whole Foods:
Yesterday morning I still had a lot to do, so I was in marathon grading mode. (Mom had originally planned to go home on Wednesday, but I talked her into staying until Thursday.) I managed to get the final grades in a couple of hours early, and then we got in the car and went to Cape May. I love the shore in the winter, and I didn't get to go for my birthday this year. It wasn't as busy as I expected (in fact, it was kind of a ghost town). But we had fun poking around in the shops, and then we walked on the beach and drove out to Sunset Beach (just missed the sun going down, but saw some of the aftermath) and to the lighthouse. For dinner we had Freshchetta at home and watched Prep & Landing, which was on TV again. Luke loved it, like I knew he would. Mom liked it too, but was jarred by the commercial interruptions. Then we watched the "Crazy Christmas Lights" special on demand and knit. I'm making a set of six Christmas ball decorations with Noro yarn for my friend Bonnie. Mom worked on my socks.
I was sad to see Mom go, but at least this time I'll see her again soon!
