Christmastime

This year my family drove up to Mt Washington on Christmas Day for a few days of skiing at Bretton Woods. That night we crossed the street from the Lodge to the Hotel for a holiday dinner. There's something about being all dressed up and with my family that makes me very happy. And there was a really nice live combo that played next to a small dance floor in the dining room. Despite the rather warm December, there were a few trails open from the start of our visit, and the conditions weren't that bad. The first night of skiing, the temperature dropped and we got a whole pile of fresh snow! We had a surprisingly nice trip, and I even got to finagle a visit to Miss Courtney over in Bow on my way back home! Gotta love winter break :)

Portland, ME

Very rarely do I get the chance to go to Maine. So when Emmeli invited me up for some fresh sushi and a night out in Portland just before Christmas, I braved the weather and drove North. And we did just that. We ate really great, fresh sushi including a special warm Casco Bay roll. Despite the icy rain, we went out to some of her favorite local spots for drinks and music and dancing. She's got some great friends, who know how to play some great cards :) And she is a brilliant dancer!

Pie in the Face.

As a fundraiser for OASIS at Peabody, my brother and his friends organized a "Pie in the Face" fundraiser. It was messy. It was fun. It made them oodles of cash. It meant that deans and professors got pie-d. And so did Zach :)

In Iowa, you can hear the corn grow...

Because Jeanne and I shouldn't ever go more than a short period of time without catching up, I spent the weekend in Iowa. Yes indeed. Iowa in December can be pretty cold. It can also be a very good time if you've got the right guide! Jeanne picked me up in Cedar Rapids and brought me back to her house in Solon, which is seriously in the middle of nowhere (and that's actually a really nice thing!). After J had opened her bday presents, we decided to make gingerbread cookies with her 'special' new cookie cutters....they all were missing an arm, leg or head!

Awhile before my trip, we'd decided that we'd spend Friday night in Iowa City near the Uni to celebrate her big birthday. We had dinner in town, relaxed for a bit in our hotel room at the Memorial Union, and then checked out one of J's favorite bars, the Piano Bar. It was a late night, but full of adventure!
Over the rest of the weekend, we ate one of the older diners for breakfast, enjoyed some of her dad's fresh venison, watched movies and caught up. We even saw a piece at the local theater, which was all this man's memories of Christmases past. Too bad I couldn't stay longer!

To the ZOOOOOO!

My parents came down this weekend for one of my orchestra concerts, and even though it was a cold, windy day, we bundled up for a trip to the National Zoo! We really liked the pandas on the Asia Trail. The baby panda was hung over. Literally. He was hung over this branch sleeping. It was nuts!


The dad panda was also highly entertaining. He had his whole head in a milk crate, and it sure seemed like he found it quite tasty. We also saw red pandas, which reminded me of ninja raccoons. It was a perfect Sunday!