The Frozen North

Time for a spell in my Wisconsin hometown. It's been a good seven years since I've been there in the winter. At 4:30 p.m., it was was nearly dark; on a day when the temperature hit 30 F, everyone was commenting on the heat wave. Oh, that cold that makes the under-layer of the skin ache!

But the warmth of being with family and friends more than made up for the chilly outside. Every day was filled with holiday festivities and/or quality time with loved ones. My mom and sister took my nieces to The Nutcracker ballet, everyone dressed to the nines.

My sweet, loyal high school friend S and her daughter, S, came to visit…

…as did my long-time friend L (currently a Madison resident), who graciously played all kinds of games with my sister's kiddos--including the one we made up where nephew O pretends his body itself is a board game for us to play.

There was gingerbread house decorating at the country club…

…which is also a fantastic place for amazing decorations that just ooze holiday coziness.

I volunteered one morning in my niece E's second-grade classroom, which--crazy but true--was also my second-grade classroom…29 (ahem) years ago. So strange to see my sister's kids prowling the halls of the same elementary school I went to--and to see it so largely unchanged.

There were movie nights with the family, which were almost as entertaining as watching my cousin R polish off an entire pre-movie pizza by himself.

And then just general other family goodness. Playing under the tree…

…eating way too much sugar…

…and creating more sugary treats.

Thanks for the fun cookie-making afternoon, Aunt P!

Plus so many other get-togethers with friends that I totally failed to document. I'm so grateful for all the efforts so many people made to spend time, including drives from Kenosha and other exotic 'Sconnie locales. Also, a special shout-out to loyal blog-reader H.F.E., whom I sadly missed my chance to catch up with at my mom's annual Christmas Coffee, lost in the shuffle of so many people to catch up with. Next time!!