sparkle and cheer

tonight was "Holly Jolly" here in town~  businesses stay open late(r) for shopping and just about all of the shops have goodies to eat and drink, the main block was closed to traffic so the little ones can run around safely, the tree in the soon-to-be town square lot was lit, the local marching band marched down the street playing Christmas music and leading the way for Santa.  basically, lots of cheer and holiday merriment.

I hadn't intended to take part, actually.  but after driving through town on the way home from work and seeing the tree, I decided to park nearby so she could run around the square and see the tree up close.  which meant we heard the marching band tuning up in the lot next to us, which lead to watching them parade up the street.  and then she was all in and wanted to follow them down the street.  so we did.  no shopping, no dinner out- mama's wallet and such were back in the car, after all.  but it was better that way.  so we walked around a bit, saw some friends, drank some free powdered hot chocolate, pet the friendly wolf-dog from the nearby sanctuary, listened to some kids playing music in the street, and eventually made our way back to the car.  home for a quick and easy dinner of eggs and toast, some stories, and bedtime.

by the way, it was almost 70 degrees here today.  open-window weather.  it's nice, but weird.  also, I dropped the ball on St. Nicholas Day this year, even though Claire has been mentioning wanting to leave her shoes out again to see if St. Nicholas brings her any coins.  our dear neighbors brought us gingerbread today that they made for the holiday, and I thought "oops!".  so- I'm off to stick some coins in her shoes and put them by her door, one day late.  I don't think she'll mind the tardiness.

fa-la-la-la-la