We went to church in Asheville on Christmas Eve, arriving shortly before the service was due to begin. I think we got the last three contiguous seats for that very popular candlelight service.
David and John didn’t want their pictures taken first thing Christmas morning, but they agreed to put their feet near the stockings.
We rushed to church midmorning, but there was no need to hurry to the church in Clyde. Most people stayed at home. The pastor must have counted the people as he made announcements, because he said we could all come up to the altar together. It was a cozy time of worship.
Things began to liven up as Belle and her friend Rita from Sylva and our new neighbors came for dinner. After they moved in, we met Marla walking her dog as we walked to the creek. They were originally from Indiana but had spent some years on the other side of the mountains in Tennessee. They brought lots of goodies – fresh fruit with a dip, cookies, candies, a grape salad, and a fruit dip with Graham crackers. We also had two dips, spinach and salsa, followed by a chicken casserole, vegetable casserole, lemon lime salad, frozen cranberry salad, and the flamed Christmas pudding.
I thought the refrigerator would be emptied after the meal, but it was chock full of leftovers. I took a photo, because I’d never had a fridge that full before.
The day after Christmas we had no plans. We moseyed to Waynesville, walking up and down Main Street. The town was crowded with others, like us, in shirt sleeves or wearing light sweaters. I particularly enjoyed going through Mast General Store. They had all kinds of things displayed on three levels. As we drove home, David asked if we could eat lunch on the porch. He cleaned the table while I put the meal together. Can you believe we sat there eating without sweaters or coats on the 26th of December?
