Virginia in November

First night - at a Chinese restaurant Alex (Aunt Candy in the background)

It was cold. Really cold. Jan picked us up at the airport on Thurs. As we left the terminal to the parking lot, it started sprinkling, but the wind was incredible. I've never felt that kind of cold in my life. It went right to the bone. We stopped before we got to the car & opened our luggage to get our coats out. It would have been nice if we had mittens too, but who would have thought of that !

Matthew's bar mitzvah party was a lot of fun. It was at the Marriott in a room that used to be a disco, so it had levels & a good size dance floor. Matthew's theme for the party was robots. They had a real robot there named Sprocket. Sprocket has been on the Tonight Show & others. Jan had to give Sprocket's handler a list of info about every guest. I went up to him & said, "Hi Sprockett. I'm Candace." He said, "Hello, Candace. How are Lewis & Alex?" I told him. Then he said he heard it was warm in Arizona at this time of year. The kids loved it. (So did the adults!)

We had a great time getting acquainted with relatives I'd only met a few times & Lewis knew from when he was younger. We had time to have a nice chat with cousins & friends.

It was a wk of eating & drinking & playing & getting to know friends & relatives.

Right - -

Cousins Stuart & Irene at brunch 11/18/07

Jan's childhood friend, Warren came from New Mexico with his wife, Lilliana & their 2 girls, ages 15 & 16. The kids all got along very well.

Left - -

Jason, Alana, Matthew, Gala, Alex

(Warren's 2 girls)

After brunch 11/18/07

Jason's driving now. I just can't believe how fast that happened. I don't even want to think about Alex driving. I'll be a nervous wreck. I went with Jason twice, & he did really well. Used turn signals & everything ! I was very proud of him.

Our flight was an hour late leaving Dulles so we got home later than expected. Got to Sky Harbor & grabbed a cab to get home as quickly as we could. Couldn't wait to see our sweet little Sparky. Our friend, Eric picked her up at Raintree Pet Resort earlier in the day so she would be home when we got there. By the time we got home the place would already be closed & we'd have to wait an extra day to see her. We were glad to be back with her. She was all dusty from her group play sessions, so her daddy gave her a bath right away. When we went to bed, she burrowed under the sheet & snuggled inbetween us, up against my back, all silky & soft. She's such a little princess.

Even though we got in late last night Alex still went to school this morning, which he was not too pleased about. But he's missed too much already. He'll have Thurs & Fri off.

Today has been spent taking care of the laundry & just hanging around relaxing. Have to relax from all of that relaxing time in Virginia. I could get so used to this.

Sevilan called this morning & said she didn't feel well so Thanksgiving with them is off. I would have called my mom & planned to go over to my sister's tomorrow with my family, but I woke up with a nasty cold, coughing & sniffling. Throat hurts. And at this point, I'm pretty sure I'm contagious. Lewis is plying me with zinc stuff & Emergen-C & soup. I've been drinking raspberry tea with honey. So we're having Thanksgiving alone tomorrow for the first time ever. Lewis went to Whole Foods & ordered dinner which he'll pick up tomorrow morning. He's just getting over a cold so no one is going to want to cook. This is the best way to go right now.

Have to get better real quick because the Van Halen concert is Fri night & we're all 3 going. At least it's on a wk-end. Bad enough we missed the Rolling Stones the last time they were here because we were sick. That won't be happening again.

Jan & Julia are always such perfect hosts, & their home is so warm & inviting. It's always nice being there. Virginia is a beautiful place. The summers are especially gorgeous (& green). But it was nice to get back to warmth. The cab driver even had the A/C on !

We wish all of our friends a healthy & happy Thanksgiving.

Hugs,

Candace (Lewis, Alex & Sparky too)