Holiday Fun

This is the Christmas tree at the St. Julian Hotel in downtown Boulder, looking very regal and festive.  The hotel was the second stop on a recent night out with my friend Inger, which started with dinner at the Boulder Chophouse.  We skipped dessert and instead walked over to the St. Julian bar which is quite elegant and cozy on a winter's night.  When the bar tender realized that Inger is a whiskey connoisseur they got into a spirited discussion which led to a small whiskey tasting while I sipped my Prosecco and enjoyed the ambience. 

Later in the lounge we sat by the fire....

...and listened to a very good jazz group play.

There was more music in store on Saturday as Inger and I met Paula and her mother at CU's annual Holiday Festival concert which featured many of the university's music groups including several choirs, orchestras, and small ensembles.  The music was wonderful and the variety and pacing made the time fly by, but what I loved the most was the creative use of lighting throughout the concert. We weren't allowed to take photos of concert so I've borrowed this press photo to give you an idea of how pretty the decorations and lighting were.

CU Press Photo

I also loved the carolers that sang outside before the concert began.  The whole experience reminded me of all the years I sang professionally in churches and how much I loved the Christmas music in particular.

Our friends Sandy and Gina were in town from Virginia over the weekend and we celebrated by going to Frasca, a Boulder restaurant highly recognized for its excellent food and wine and service.  We go once or twice a year for special occasions and I always enjoy it.

Sandy and Gina are planning to relocate to this area and it occurred to me that our move here precipitated several other moves of family and friends.  Ben's brother and his family came in August, my quilter friend LeeAnna is moving from Maryland to Denver this weekend, and now Sandy and Gina may end up here in a year or two.  According to a recent news story 223,000 people moved to Colorado in 2015.  This didn't make everyone happy; 193,000 moved away, presumably to avoid the increases in traffic and housing costs that came with the newcomers.

How do you like my new short haircut?  Our friend Lotus calls it the "two week cut," meaning that it looks good two weeks after you get it.  And it's so true; I got it two weeks ago and now I'm thinking it's pretty okay. 

Last night I joined my little group of fellow art quilters for a holiday dinner in Longmont.  One of them surprised me with this baseball hat embroidered with "Queen Bee," which is the job I hold in the Longmont Quilt Guild.  It's an easy job --I just keep a list of all the small quilting groups (known as "bees") and submit a brief annual report on their activities to the Guild board -- and it has the best name.  How could I resist being the Queen Bee?  And now that I have a hat!  Well, I may just keep this job forever!  

My little group had decided that we'd make arty fabric postcards for our gift exchange.  I had so much fun making them that I ended up finishing three cards.  One went to the exchange, but I still have the other two, now propped up in the middle and on the right side of my window ledge.  The one on the left is the one I received last night.  Isn't it beautiful? All those roses were hand stitched!

The next few days are a break from all this holiday fun.  After so much activity it's good to take time to regroup before the next wave!