The First Day of a Quick Trip to Williamsburg

I am up in Williamsburg, Virginia for a few days to celebrate my mom's birthday.  Last year, we went to Charlottesville, but this year, it made sense to meet in Williamsburg because my mom had a concert last night as part of the Williamsburg Choral Guild.  They had a great concert of songs from the American Songbook.

Earlier yesterday, we went to the older part of town to make sure we knew where we were going and where to park.  The Kimball Theatre is historic, but small, and it was cool to be able to see a performance there.  We had tickets to a sold out show.

We ate lunch at a French restaurant, the Blue Talon Bistro.  I ordered an appetizer as my main dish:  fried oysters served on a bed of red onion slivers, grape tomato halves, and tiny cucumber rounds.  It was all drizzled with a spicy mayo kind of sauce.  I could have eaten 10 servings.

We also went to Joann's for the liquidation sale.  The prices I saw weren't much better than normal times, and in fact, less good than some of their 40% off sales.  Maybe it's too early in the liquidation process.  I bought some Christmas fabric for 40% off, which it might have been anyway.  I bought enough to back one of the quilts I'm making.  It's less Christmas holiday, more colorful snowflakes on a black background kind of fabric.

I may go back to get some more.  My cousin's daughter who will graduate from high school in the next few years, and she loves Christmas.  I have a vision of strips of cloth sewn together (not a very helpful description, I know).  When I was there, I was a bit overwhelmed:  should I only choose the red and green fabrics?  Should I get a wide variety trusting that the theme will help them cohere?  

I decided not to buy fabric for that project--plus it was just too busy to make me want to linger.  I did take a cruise around the store, just to be sure that there weren't other supplies I should snatch up.  I am surprised by how the beading department has changed.  Back in the days I first did much with beading (2005-2007), I remember boxes of a variety of beads sorted by color.  Those don't seem to exist anymore. My sister bought some yarn, and then we headed off to lunch.

It was a beautiful day yesterday, so we went out for a walk in the late afternoon after my mom left to be at the theatre early for a rehearsal.  Just a few hours later, the weather had turned.  We left the concert to blustery weather, a cold wind that cut through us.  It was good to be at my mom and dad's, with their lovely gas fireplace.

Today will be one of the few Sundays that I'm not preaching and presiding at Faith Lutheran in Bristol.  We will go to brunch and relax.  It will be a different kind of Sunday, a brief rest before Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday.