Christmas Eve In Newport

Just got in from an afternoon at Brenton Point State Park, just down the peninsula from downtown Newport. What a gorgeous place. Windy, but gorgeous.

Riley, 10 years old and an East Coast dweller all his life, had never before seen the ocean. You may recall that he's not a big fan of water, plus he's pretty neurotic and easily distressed in general. But he was awesome today. Perhaps his adventurous attitude was stirred by the wind, the nip in the air, the smell of the salt water, the Christmas spirit... who knows.


But there he was, off leash, eagerly hopping rocks, dipping his toes in the tidepools, ears perky and eyes shining. Made me proud, I tell ya. He could have passed for a young and agile doggy.

Newport sure is pretty, though I'm a little disappointed there's no chance of a white Christmas. After all, we're only here one winter, and then it's down to Florida where people live their whole lives without ever seeing snow.


B and I are spending the entire holiday season just the two of us, since he burned up all of his leave in between Norfolk and here. That's alright, though. Low stress that way. Besides, I'll be seeing my parents in mid-January, when me and my mom head to Jacksonville for house hunting (booked the trip yesterday). We'll have a good time on our own anyhow. We sure won't be skimping on the Christmas dinner part. Brendon's making a salt and mustard encrusted prime rib with horseradish sauce, and I'm making sides and dessert - marinated portabellas, sweet potato casserole, and Paula Deen's chocolate bread pudding. Yummy! And I'm sure wine will be involved. Fantabulous.

Oh, and since this is a knitting blog, I guess I should mention my current WIPs. Actually there's just one - I finished all my (very limited amount of) Christmas knitting pretty early this year, at least by my standards. And by Tuesday I'll be able to post pictures. Since then, I've been plugging away on Brendon's Leo. I've got about 14-15" of the front. 16.5" and I can start the armhole shaping. Whee. No pictures right now. It looks like a big cinnamon colored rectangle, okay? (I will be so happy when this sweater is done. It's The Project That Never Ends.)