Apparently it's arrived early this year! :-)

Robb, Jared, and I went to Asheville on Friday afternoon/evening. We spent the afternoon wandering around the downtown area (window shopping and exploring), and then that evening we went to the Decemberists' concert. We had a really good time. I didn't really know many of the songs in the first half of the concert (their latest album--which I've only heard a few times), but the second half was full of songs that were more familiar to me.

This was a pretty exciting event for me. I hadn't been to a concert like that since...Jr. High I think! And it was good to do something unusual and different.

In other December-y type news:
I got the choir started on the Christmas cantata before I left for AR. I gave them a 'homework assignment' before I left. They were to practice the two sections we'd started on that evening.

So yesterday evening we had choir practice. I was all prepared to go through and review what we'd done before only to discover that they didn't really need it. So I had Jared turn on the CD and off we went! I was quite impressed. It wasn't note/rhythm perfect, but it was much further along than they've done before! There is even a rhythm in that song that they have always had trouble with that I was sure I'd have to go over repeatedly, as usual, to fix. But to my astonished delight, they did it perfectly every time!!!

It was great. If learning the rest of the cantata goes so well, we'll be in excellent shape!

...Now I just have to figure out how to do the narration...

~The Bunny

Well, Jared and I got home last night from a trip to AR. The trip was at a time almost exact to the trip we took last year for my sister's wedding. This trip was for my brother's wedding.

The wedding was Saturday and was, I think, the shortest wedding I've ever attended. The ceremony consisted of only the vows. The lady who did the wedding was very (VERY) nervous. It was her first wedding. In her nervousness (I assume) she spoke very quickly, and very obviously mispronounced several words, including my brother's name. After the ceremony there was a dinner/reception. There was tons of food. We sat and chatted and such for a while before going back to the motel.

Mom was exhausted by the time we got back t the motel. In addition to that she was bitten all over her foot by some ants--not fire ants, but ones that were very aggressive if disturbed. Her foot was all swollen within just a few minutes of being bitten. I think she was doing better the next morning though.

Sunday we drove back to Mom and Dads and basically just vegetated for what was left of the evening. We did play a game of Shanghai Rummy--which I lost rather spectacularly!

On Monday Mom, Papaw, Jared, and I went to a nearby state park. We attended a "Heron Watch" next to the White River. We saw 3 herons, but they were all up in the trees. They refused to come down so we could get a better look as they fed in the river! Stubborn birds! The one did give us a pretty good look at himself up in the tree though. And at least we saw some! After that we went up to the visitor's center and Jared took pictures in the gardens there--he got some good ones of some butterflies. We looked around at the museum-type exhibits and the gift store inside the center. Then we went out on the deck to see the view. While there we got a chance to hear the horn that signals that the generators are coming on (the horn warns fishermen/women further down river to get out of the water before it rises), we stood and watched as the generators came on and the water level rose. We watched a small island in the river disappear in the rising water in about 15-20 minutes. It was interesting to watch. Our 'outing' ended with a picnic. That evening we played another game of Shanghai Rummy. I think I came in second that time--Jared won, and he was rather excited because he "never wins" that game!

Tuesday we took it easy. Mom gave me a crocheting lesson and I worked on that. Mom did a bit herself and then smashed gnomes. We played some more cards that evening while watching some TV.

And that was basically this year's 'vacation.'

It is good to be home, but rather sad as well. I miss my mom. We have a good time together and our visits never seem long enough. It's especially hard when she, as she did yesterday, cries during the good-byes. She's very lonely right now and still struggling to get a semblance of 'normalcy' back in her life. Things will get better; I'm sure of it, but the getting there is hard.

~The Bunny