Last night, the Christmas tree suddenly fell over. Not sure why, as no one was near it, but we righted it, swept up the smashed balls, and reattached the ornaments. Mike tied it up, so it won't happen again. Later, we put on the top the angel which has graced our Christmas tree for a full half-century. She's now only a ceramic head, with an improvised body of a cardboard tube and one of my silk scarves, but she's up there, having traveled all the way from Jersey, and she looks great.
The sleigh ride was just wonderful. Our driver was Katie, a Lake Tahoe native and expert skier, and our horse was Chance, who can pull two and a half times his weight and has been hauling sleigh-riders for 15 years.
It was great fun. Vivian rode in the front with Katie and the rest of us in the back with thick blankets over us. It was a very cold, but beautiful day--blue skies with hardly a cloud in it and brilliant sunshine. We stopped and got hot chocolate first, then piled in the sleigh and were transported around a flat area, singing "Jingle Bells" and lots of other holiday favorites. It was one of the most fun times of all.
We then went home and Paula put in a luscious turkey breast and a big, spiral-sliced ham. We left those to cook and Vicky stayed in with napping Viole while the rest of us went to the Donner museum. It's only a few miles away and commemorates the tragic story of the participants who were forced-to-cannibalize their fellow travelers during the harsh winter.
Went home to a delicious dinner and roaring fires. It's Christmas Eve and we're ready for Santa!