Yesterday in Richmond

This is how you write "Patricia" in hieroglyphs:

Yesterday started with a bang at 5 am. A big thud, actually, with the horrible sound of breaking glass mixed in. Not a fun sound to wake up to and I knew immediately what it was. Our Christmas tree. Toppled by playing cats is my best guess. Or maybe it was Krampus. We were lucky though. Only a few of the precious ornaments didn’t survive: a dear one from when Olivia was one and another that we had painted together a few years ago. Most that we swept into the trash were the generic colored balls that I can replace. We also have a big pile of santas and snowmen and angels in “surgery” as Olivia calls it, waiting for a touch of glue to repair a broken leg, arm or wing.

And while getting a lesson about the importance of deep breathing and the letting go of material things wasn’t the best way to begin a day, the rest of it was near to perfect. It started with a three hour drive east to Richmond. The first destination was the Museum of Fine Arts. Oh, I love this place! We went mainly for the mummies this time. There was a cool 3-D film and canopic jars and painted inner coffins, heart scarabs and amulets. I could have stared for hours at the hieroglyphs and the sparkle of the lapis lazuli paint. It’s one thing to see it all on TV or in books but another in person. We talked a lot about what the mummies in front of us might have been liked, about their loves and experiences. To look up close at the paintings on papyrus and see the brushstrokes and marvel at the hands that held the brushes was awe-making.

We ate lunch at Two Guys Pizza. Yummy. And made a Trader’s Joe’s run. (We don’t have one in Roanoke so we stock up when we can.) I went next to the mall, to the Apple store, to see about getting my Ipod fixed but it was crazy-packed with shoppers so we went to Pottery Barn instead and made big wish lists. We explored a bit more but the day zoomed by. Before we knew it, it was 7 pm and time for Richmond Ballet’s Nutcracker. It was wonderful, even from the way way back where we were. Thank goodness for the opera glasses Olivia brought with her. And, I was doing some counting during intermission. That show made the fifth time that I saw a Nutcracker performance this year. Fifth! First there were Olivia’s two performances (which were splendid!) and then there was the Netflix version, and the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker which we saw in a movie theater, then Richmond’s. All had enough differences to make them unique and fun. Olivia's ballet love has rubbed off on me, it seems.