wednesday's words and wonderings and wanderings

'Twas the week before Christmas and...

Last week we met with some friends in the Detroit area for some Christmas cheer. Todd and I made a stop in Frankenmuth, a Michigan city known for its Bavarian-style  architecture and charm. The name Frankenmuth means "courage of the Franconians." It's a bit tourist-trappy - after a while you see a lot of the same souvenirs in the stores but it's a pretty little town. The weather was pleasant for strolling outdoors and looking at all the Christmas decorations. We enjoyed looking at and sampling quite a few freshly made German baked goods.

We spent four hours exploring Frankenmuth and then headed over to Rochester, Michigan for a Christmas tour of Meadow Brook Hall. It was built between 1926 and 1929 by the heiress to the Dodge automaker fortune, Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second husband, lumber baron, Alfred Wilson. Meadow Brook Hall is on the grounds of Oakland University and is one of the finest examples of Tudor revival style in America. The 88,000 square feet home has 110 rooms. We oohed and ahed as we walked around the grounds and through the house.

Once we got home it was a lot of last minute to-dos before the kids began to arrive for the family Christmas. I prepared some meals so as not to cook every single day, finished my little grandson's Christmas stocking one minute before the Cleveland clan arrived, and did some last minute grocery shopping. I laughed out loud when I saw these socks and almost bought them for Todd...he had a cold 😁. Enough said.

My 2 1/2 year old grandson and I baked cookies, read lots and lots of books, his parents brought the Elf on a Shelf and we had fun seeing what kind of silly antics Cookies the Elf would do, and of course opening the Christmas presents was so much fun. The joy and excitement that the little guy exuded was contagious. To once again see Christmas through the eyes of a child sure makes one feel young at heart.

"One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly."  ~ Andy Rooney

Merry Christmas from my house to yours!