On Sunday Mom & I went to Jim & Liz's for brunch, and loved seeing them and Ellen & Serge and the twins: 
as well as Jamie (and her kitties, Gracie and Mimi.
Jamie is lucky that they didn't go home with me, because I thought about stealing away with them! Last night, we had a special surprise at Steve & Maria's when our nephew's good friend Cowboy Joe stopped by to spread a little Christmas cheer. He brought his guitar with him, and we enjoyed a private holiday concert:
Here is some fun video of the concert -- both Christmas carols:and even a cowboy tune or two!
D and I hope that you are enjoying your holiday as much as we are enjoying ours!!
Royal Albert Hall is best known as an arts venue for concerts, ballet, and opera -- so seeing tennis in the hall was very different. The first match of the day was Pete Sampras vs. Cedric Pioline (Pioline won, to make it into the tournament finals tomorrow). The second match was doubles; Guy Forget & Mark Woodforde vs. Jamie Murray & Wayne Black (Forget/Woodforde won). Here is a view of the doubles match.
As we were leaving the hall, we ran into Mark Woodforde signing autographs and posing for photos with fans. He seemed like a good guy.
After tennis, we walked two blocks up to the Natural History Museum, where there is an outdoor ice rink and a small Christmas market. 
We skated for an hour and had a blast.
It was a 1920's-themed event, so there were a lot of gangster/flapper outfits. Andy's striped suit costume had a hoop in the middle, giving him that perfect rotund mobster profile, too!
Chris was back in town and made it to the party. Here is is, at right, with D, Tanya, and Andy:
We had a great time with our friends. Lots of dancing (awesome band this year), gambling (note all of the chips in front of Mike -- who knew he was a pro at blackjack?!), and general merriment:
