Colonial Christmas Celebration

We made our return to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen - and the 18th Century - over the weekend, attending the Colonial Christmas Dinner event.

We did this two years ago, when I wore the burgandy dress Cora has on, and Cora wore the peacock green gown. 

This year, Stace was dressed in an outfit patterned off of paintings of Gov. John Wentworth, oh-so-fancy. The costumers then created a dress for me, to go with it. We were quite a well-to-do family, for a night!
 

Our meal was, again, amazing. Riley's Farm knows how to put on a great meal. We had ham and roast vegetables, corn pudding and chowder, and a giant chicken pot pie that we took home since we didn't have enough room in our bellies. (Three of us had corsets on!) Dessert - bread pudding - was outstanding as well. 

Mr. James Riley took a liking to our family, remembering us from the Meteor shower event we attended in August. He even hooked Stace up with his special home-brewed mead.

Violet was still ill, and pushed through so we could enjoy this long-planned family trip. I'm very grateful.

Live music makes every dinner better.

You really are thrust back into the late 1700s. Riley's has the Colonial Christmas dinner event repeatedly in December, but one night per season, everyone must dress in period clothing to attend. Looking out at a room full of fellow Colonists is so special.

Cora took part in the axe-throwing competition. Violet wasn't up for it, and Stace stayed inside with her.

Stace and I took part in the dancing after dinner.

The back of my gown - interesting! 

I was stopped by several people who were happy to see the dress finished and worn - they had been following along with the costumer's progress on her Instagram page as she created it. What a gift!

We spent the night at the same lovely hotel we stayed at in August. The girls now would prefer to be in their own beds, and no longer get excited to stay in hotels, but Stace and I enjoy the treat of getting away for little mini vacations.

We woke up on Christmas Eve at the hotel, enjoyed the breakfast, and then stopped at JT and Jim's on our way home, since we literally drive through their town on the way home. 

We went to church that evening, and our Christmas Eve was complete.

Christmas Fun with Friends

Girls were off school this week, so we did some Christmas shopping, baking, etc. My college friend Melanie came out with her three kids to meet the kittens - that went so well that her kids were begging her to find out info on fostering cats themselves!

And unfortunately Vi came down with sickness on Wednesday, so she had a few days in bed. 

A highlight for me was my get-together at Sue's house for Christmas, where we caught up, ate and drank, and made a craft.

Sue's been saving wine corks for many years, and had a great collection for making a cork tree decoration.

Watch out for Jen (next to me) - she has a glue gun and she's not afraid to use it!

The finished works - mine is second from the right.

Girls' Art

Cora's newest hand-crafted clay mask is at the top. Each represents a D&D character she has created. 

Best one yet!

She is taking ceramics in school and came home this semester with these. So pretty!

Below, we have a cross section of a dragonfruit, and a lemon.

And I found this amazing creature in Vi's sketchbook. Hope it doesn't become real!

The girls are now off school three weeks for Christmas break.

The Big Introduction(s)

 After nearly a week of seeing each other through the window, we were all ready to let Sebastian meet Winston and Evie face to face. We borrowed a crate from Colleen and Rigo, and put the kittens inside in the living room on the first day, so Seb could walk around them and they could all smell each other. All went well.

The next day, we brought one kitten out and put it down in the living room, and the cats met. Then we swapped kittens. All went well!

We were all concerned that Seb wouldn't like the babies, though we know he's a generally easy-going guy. 

Thankfully, his only negative reaction was hissing when they would try to get his tail, as if his tail was a toy. Totally understandable! 

Violet got in the habit of saying, "Seb doesn't want to play Kitten right now" to whichever little cat was annoying him.

Seb decided they couldn't be that bad, because they came with better food. Our foodie big guy! 

He kept eating their dry food, which we would typically leave out for the kittens to free feed. So, we'd pick up the dry food and put it up on Violet's shelf - which Seb discovered. 

Now, we put the dry food up on the tank inside the bookshelf where he definitely can't get to it.

Though it's not like Sebastian has "adopted" the kittens as his own, and snuggles with them, we couldn't be more pleased with how the transition has gone. He really is chill with them, and is getting used to their attempts to play with him. Sometimes, he even gets a little playful, himself.

It's so interesting how the kittens immediately knew to climb the cat tree or curl up in the cat bed. And both of them together can share the bed with room to spare, while Seb totally fills it. 

Ventura Boat Parade

Stace, Violet and I went with Colleen, Rigo and Liana to Ventura Harbor on Saturday evening for the Christmas Light Boat Parade. It was our first time going, and it was a nice evening out. We waited in a long line to get dinner, but it worked perfectly as a window table opened up as the boat parade started.

O Christmas Tree, Our Christmas Tree

We didn't just bring kittens home this week - we also picked out a Christmas tree.

It had been a few years since we bought a real tree, so it's a bit of a treat for our family.

Discussing the pros and cons of various tree options - serious business!

Our winner winner. Not too tall, not $499 either.

Stace had the urge to recreate a family Christmas photo from 2015, so he insisted we bring the Vibe for tree transport.

Awww!
 

Evie and Winston Move In

Saturday was a big, happy day for us, as we brought home two new family members. Cora is holding Evie, and Violet is holding Winston, as we picked them up from the home of their foster, who bottle-fed them as tinier babies. 

The foster, Cheri, was fantastic, so helpful and knowledgeable. And she sent us home with food for several days and lots of their favorite toys!

We had a bit of a drive home and the little guys were silent in their carrier.

We had them spend their first couple of nights in the bathroom, as they adjusted to the big move. They were very good about everything - used the litter box (placed in the bathtub) perfectly, didn't start meowing early in the morning, etc.

They are so tiny! None of us have ever had kittens this small. I always had adult cats move in with us before Spencer and Seb, and they were 4 months when we got them. These two are a month younger and a good deal smaller. 

By midday Monday, we moved them into Violet's room. They had fun exploring, racing around like crazy. They both purr easily and like cuddles, with Winston being a bit more of a lap cat than Evie.

He also is a maniac at wet-food feeding time, eating super loudly and growling if you get near him. He also insists on eating out of Evie's bowl, so they switch bowls throughout feeding times. It's pretty funny.

They are so cute together. Evie was born Sept. 14, and Winston was born around Sept. 25. I love getting a pair of kittens, so they have each other to roughhouse and be crazy with. We could just sit and watch them all day!

So far, we've spent the first week with the kittens locked in a room, so that Seb can slowly get used to their presence. They make noise, so he's aware, and we've exchanged scented items like blankets so they can get used to each other's scent. Thankfully, he seems chill so far - no hissing at the door! 

And this perhaps is the one time where Violet's odd window situation is a positive - the cats have all now seen each other through the window. Seb was staring, wide-eyed, the first day, but got used to seeing them.

Relaxing with a kitty is pretty awesome. And a pair of kittens? Perfection.
 

Week in Review

Stace, Vi and I went to our church "Christmas Kickoff" fun event Friday evening, while Cora played D&D. 

I love that Violet is more willing to go places and do things the past month or so. I'm attributing it partially to her schooling change, and and an overall happier attitude.

Also this week, I had a theatre boosters meeting for Cora's old school, since I'm still the treasurer. Very happy to report that my dear friend Christina has agreed to fill my shoes!
 

Stace's coworker brought in a big bag of guava from his tree - what to do with these unusual tropical fruit?

They taste good, but have lots of tiny hard seeds inside. I looked up recipes and decided to turn them into nectar.

I cut off the ends, pureed them in the blender, and strained out the seeds/pulp. It was quite thick, and the recipe called for adding another cup or two of water and cup or two of sugar. 

I didn't want that much extra sugar, so we left the juice thick, and mixed it with orange/pineapple juice to make our own version of POG we'd get in Hawaii. 

That Hawaiian POG is passionfruit/orange/guava juice, but pineapple/orange was easier to get at Ralphs. It was yummy!

Stace and Violet got the house decorated outside...

...and December is officially here, with the girls' sweet Advent Calendars up on the mantel.

Desert Camping - by Stace

 Rigo had wanted to get a group of chaps together to go camping for some time, so on Friday, I finished work early, met up with Luis, and we set off into the Mojave Desert in search of our weekend camping spot.

After we left the main road, we headed into the desert, where we camped in the middle of nowhere.

The nights were very cold, after the fires had gone out, and the winds picked up as the sun went down and hammered the tents. 

The sunrises in the desert were stunning, as we woke on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

During the day, we went on some short hikes, did archery, pistol target shooting, and ate and drank.  

I also saw my first tarantula in the wild. And no, this is not my hand shown here, giving the size reference. 

Rigo's Bronco was made for this kind of adventure. Late Sunday morning, we headed back across the desert to the main road and made the 90-minute journey back to Santa Clarita. A good time was had by all.