Tag Archives: Christmas

A North Shore Christmas Treat

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Last weekend, we headed up north to Gloucester, on Massachusetts’ beautiful Cape Ann, for a special seaside treat. Just in side the harbor of America’s oldest seaport, a thirty foot lobster trap Christmas tree was erected and we were there for the lighting. It’s a tradition that Gloucester has been doing for the last dozen years or so, but this was the first time that we made it up there for the event or to see the tree.

With traps stacked high and laced with Christmas lights and ornamented with painted buoys it is a cool site to see. The buoys are courtesy of local children who paint them at Cape Ann Art Haven, a nonprofit community art space located across the street from the tree’s location. It is a great tribute to the oldest fishing community in America and the surprisingly rich artistic tradition of the city.

It was a bit of a chilly night but definitely worth the trip. Hadley got to play with some ice blocks in front of the Art Haven and was a bit fascinated.

As the lighting grew closer,  an impressive number of people lined up around the courtyard and across the street from the tree. The event was definitely being recorded. Apparently, the Learning Channel was the documenters for this year’s festivities.

The Big Fall Wrap-up

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Fred has set another personal record! His last Fritzwinkle posting was almost three months ago. The man has been busy. But when he’s not busy, or avoiding other work, he’s unwinding with some Playstation soccer. Our daughter knows the sight so well that she tells me, “Daddy watching soccer game.” She’s kind of a narc about Fred slacking.

Snowman Hat
Little toy

Lovin' the Leaves

A lot has happened since the end of September. For one thing our son is now five months old! He’s rolling over, eating rice cereal and jars of vegetables. Squash and green beans seem to be his favorites so far. He’s a big chunk of a boy, weighing over 18 pounds. He’s pretty solidly wearing nine-month sized clothes. It’s fun to remember what our girl was like at this age…and size, which are very different.

Puppygirl
Checking the Candy

Our daughter has really been getting into the Christmas season. She is starting to enjoy all of the holidays, like her mother. Hmmmm…is there a connection? She started off by dressing up as the cutest witch in the world for Halloween. She walked from house to house trick-or-treating on our cul du sac. Then she really enjoyed getting to eat the candy she was given in her plastic pumpkin. As soon as she learned how to say, “Happy Halloween,” it was time to learn how to say “Happy Thanksgiving.” She picked this up much quicker. In the blink of an eye, we were packing up all signs of the fall holidays in order to make room for Christmas.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Letter to Santa

First Snowman

Our little girl got to mail a letter to Santa this year. She had watched some Christmas specials on TV, so she understood the concept. So after I went to vote in the primaries for our new Senator, we walked across to the big red mailbox that had the word “Santa” painted on the side. She posed for a few photos, and then gleefully dropped her letter into the box. Yesterday we actually got a letter back! She loves the Christmas tree, but has a really hard time not touching the ornaments. That’s understandable since she’s two years old. She’s enjoying eggnog – “This is really, really good!” – and opening a door on her Advent calendar every day after lunch. Her absolute favorite thing about Christmas so far is the music. She wants to listen to Christmas music all the time. Then she walks around singing Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Up on the Rooftop. We have several books with the words, so I can sing along correctly. I don’t know what she’s going to do in a few weeks. I’ll probably be listening to Christmas music for months.

All Dressed Up

I will take this opportunity to wish you all Happy Holidays. Check back in early 2010 to see if Fred has made a New Year’s resolution to keep up with his fritzwinkle posts.