Christmas 2012

We had a very enjoyable Christmas. Les' parents flew in on Christmas Eve. We feasted and relaxed all day on Christmas! I made French Toast casserole for breakfast and turkey with all the trimmings for dinner. I was too busy visiting, cooking and eating to take a single picture on Christmas day!

On Wednesday we visited the Ronald Reagan Presidental Library here in Simi Valley.  It has been over four years since Les and I had visited, so there were a lot of changes.  It's an emotional journey walking the halls of the library, reading the many quotes by President Reagan and thinking about the state of our country today.

Bill and Dolly with Ronald and Nancy

The Oval Office

One of my favorites - the Bible that belonged to President Reagan's mother, Nelle.  The pages are faded, but you can see hand written notes.  I would love to turn each page!  This Bible was used when he was sworn in as President of the United States.

We got to walk through Air Force One.

The Presidential Cadillac

This quote reminded me of Kelley Highway and her many "Visiting" posts.  You cannot read them without shedding a few tears.

"If you ever start feeling sorry for yourself, try visiting hospitals." ~ Nancy Reagan

One exhibit that was completely new to us was the room dedicated to the Cold War, communism, and Reagan's meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev, including his famous words, "Tear down this wall."

President and Mrs. Reagan loved horses and their Santa Barbara ranch!

The sun was setting as we made our way outside to visit a piece of the Berlin Wall.

And the final resting place of President Ronald Wilson Reagan.

We spent Thursday at the J. Paul Getty Museum.  Les and I had never been there - it's quite spectacular!  I didn't take pictures inside due to restrictions.  It sits high on a hill, you can see downtown Los Angeles looking one way and the Pacific Ocean looking the other way!

There is a special exhibit called "Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance."  There were paintings from the early 1300s. The pieces were mostly paintings of the birth, life and crucifixion of Christ.  Of course there was heavy emphasis on Mary, the mother of Jesus as well since the Catholic church was "the" church of that time.

Source

There were paintings by Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh's Irises.

I missed blogging, but I sure enjoyed living this week!