Another Norman Rockwell Christmas at Kitty Lee and Glen’s

Introducing my Massie grandparents — Layton (Pa) and Lillian (Ma) Massie.  They are my Dad’s parents, and they used to live in Staunton, Virginia.

Although Ma and Pa are no longer with us, most of their kids and grandkids (as well as their great grand kids and their great great grandkid) gather at my aunt Kitty Lee’s home each year to celebrate Christmas.

I enjoy this outing and the chance to catch up with Kitty Lee and Glen (who live in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley), as well as my Dad and the rest of the Massie tribe.

This is the way we’ve celebrated Massie Christmas since the mid-90s.  Before that, we’d all gather at my grandparents’ cozy bungalow at 414 High Street in downtown Staunton, Virginia.

The pictures below were taken December 22-24, 2012.

Christmas Day

We’re enjoying Christmas day at my Mom’s home in Middletown, Pennsylvania, as is our annual tradition.

Here’s wishing you and yours a day full of peace and love!  From Heather, Leslie, Cynthia, Dave, and Shannon.

You Must Have Had Your Weetabix!

Have you had your Weetabix?

Have you had your Weetabix?

I felt like a reindeer just before dawn on December 15, as I dragged two overstuffed suitcases, a backpack, and a fragile gift bag through the streets of Dublin.

I was headed for the 747 Air Link bus to Dublin Airport and Christmas was in the morning air.

A passing man remarked at the sight of my lanky frame tugging its equivalent weight in baggage:  “You must have had your Weetabix this morning!”

I nodded in agreement, though it took me a half-minute more to figure out what he’d actually said.  (At times, the accent still throws me off, and I’m not quite familiar with the Weetabix brand.)

Arriving home to the States, I found Weetabix in the cereal aisle of my local Harris Teeter.

Unfortunately, this cereal is chock full of wheat and gluten so it’s a total “no go” for me… but the sight of it still made me smile, thinking of my morning jaunt through Dublin and that friendly passer-by.

Faculty Lunch Abroad

My last day in Dublin was filled with fun and with near misses.  (I tried to cram way too much into a single day and I ended up missing half of the events I’d planned to attend.)  A high point of the day was lunch with the faculty of Electrical Engineering Systems (EES).

At lunch, I got to joke around with people I had met throughout the fall (like Dave Berber, Colm Murray, Gavin, Kevin, Finn, Dave Dorran…).  I also met Mick Core for the first time, which was a treat.  He came to teaching after working in industry for decades, where he had 400 employees to supervise, so we had fun discussing organizational leadership in relation to college campuses.

I’ve no pictures from the pub where we went after lunch.  But I assure you, we had great fun!  I became too engrossed in conversation with Ted Burke to remember to document the event photographically — before dashing off to an Embassy party that I never found.

I’ve included photos of lunch, though.  You can’t miss noticing the demographics of this group are much different from my department back home!

Chili with Duane and Kitty Kat

Chili with Dave and Duane last Sunday.

Chili with Dave and Duane last Sunday.

Duane Wilson has been feeding Dave and me for the past 13+ years.  Duane was president of the Port Norfolk Civic League when we move to the neighborhood.  There weren’t many others willing to take office at that time; he clearly needed some help.

I was immediately drafted to serve as recording secretary and corresponding secretary (little did I know, these were two distinct and labor-intensive jobs). Duane was thrilled to have help and he has thanked us hundredfold over the years.

He lives just three blocks from our home and he phones us at least once a week with an invitation to head to his house for dinner.  Dave and I have learned to anticipate a call on Sunday night, when Duane is prone to be “cleaning out” his refrigerator.  He didn’t call this week, so we rang him and asked if he had any leftovers on… and by golly, he did!

He’s such a generous person that, in addition to feeding us, he has also:

  • Installed (with Dave and sometimes me) all four copper roofs on our house.
  • Let Dave paint the porch flooring in his garage.
  • Hosted our wedding shower at his house.
  • Taken us along to his daughter’s wedding (as his date — hee, hee!)
  • Thrown my 40th birthday party at his house.
  • Introduced us to dozens of his friends over the years.

Duane and I have learned yoga and opera-appreciation together. Our attendance at the opera is due to his girlfriend Julie; we all enjoy our time with the opera crowd.

It’s wonderful to have Duane, Julie, his Kitty Kat — and others from his group like Ann, Clara and Jimmy, Ken and Sally, Eric and Ann — to count among our friends.

Wrapping up the College Year

gathered together to hear the College Dean/Director, Dr. Mike Murphy.

gathered together to hear the College Dean/Director, Dr. Mike Murphy.

Last week was a swirl of activity, with DIT’s College of Engineering and the Built Environment wrapping up fall classes and me getting ready to spend five weeks back home.

At an end-of-year College Forum, the college’s Dean recapped recent successes and helped crystallize a shared vision for the future of the College.

At the event, I caught up with a few friends (including my planner friend, Ela). And I made a few new acquaintances as well.

Than, I rushed out to do some last minute Christmas shopping. After succeeding in that endeavor, I was headed home laden with bags.

But I bumped into prof. Jim Roche on the sidewalk in front of the Black Sheep Inn.  I accepted his invitation to hang out for a while with the students from his studio who were assembled there. I particularly enjoyed talking with Robert Burns, because he has a clear passion for photography and was excited to learn about the studio we’d just purchased for Dave.

I also got the chat with the Dean, who had passed us on the street and who we’d managed to rope into the Inn.

Shortly later I headed down the street a just few blocks, to Jack Nealons pub, where Ela was assembled with friends who I wanted to meet.

Low and behold, my friend Joan Cahalin was there. She’s been planning to go looking for me at the Cobblestone, but fate must have know to send her here instead!

Fetching Zeke

Dave and Zeke at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Detroit... home of the lovely Port Norfolk Church building.

Dave and Zeke at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Detroit… home of the lovely Port Norfolk Church building.

We have some fantastic neighbors here in Port Norfolk, particularly the ones who live next door.  Thom’s an architect and Beth teaches school.  We’ve known them since our college days at Virginia Tech.

This past weekend, Dave had responsibility for walking Thom and Beth’s little dog, Zeke, and feeding all their pets.

Pinot is one of the only cats I’ve ever met who doesn’t like Dave.  At all.  (In an unusual twist of fate, he tolerates me fine.)

The two chickens are partial to Dave, as they seem to love any hand that feeds them.

And then there’s the scruffy little bundle of energy, Zeke, who needs to walk at least twice a day.  He’s a cute and friendly little dog.  But he goes completely ballistic when anyone walks or rides past — which can make for some truly embarrassing moments!

Playing ball with Zeke.

Playing ball with Zeke.

Home with Dave for the Holidays

There’s so much going on that I want to tell you about.  For now, I’ll just say how wonderful it is to be back at home in Portsmouth, Virginia with my Dave.  I’ll show you what life is like here–very soon!

The home of Dave and Shannon Chance in Portsmouth's Port Norfolk Historic District.

The home of Dave and Shannon Chance in Portsmouth’s Port Norfolk Historic District.

Shannon and Dave visiting friends on the way home from the airport.

Shannon and Dave visiting friends on the way home from the airport.

 

Coloring the World

I love to see colors spread across this blog map.  Today they string all the way across.  They move left to right during the day–in direct relation to the sun.  I wish I got more colors south of the equator, but I’ve only been south of it three times myself, so perhaps that’s why. When Canada and Russia click onto the site, the map lights right up.

Interestingly, my stats always shoot up when I blog about Dave or the nephews.  I guess people like to see cute boys.  The minute I posted about Dave’s studio today, I got 17 views.

🙂

Map View 2012-12-12 at 6.02.25 PM.

Map View 2012-12-12 at 6.02.25 PM.

Pages viewed 2012-12-12 by 6.02.25 PM

Pages viewed 2012-12-12 by 6.02.25 PM