'Tis the Season

for Office Christmas parties! I've had the chance to attend some lovely ones here at Winthrop University this holiday season. The first was for the CVPA - the College of Visual and Performing Arts. It's the first time I've been to an organized event here that I felt like I was walking into a room of friends. Indeed, I'm starting to make some lovely ones. Here is Karen (our Chair), Liv, and Elisa (the Music Chair). Live created a performance art piece for us to interact with. The clear marbles have a QR code for you to connect with folks...it's part of a bigger project she did that went viral nationwide called The Touchstone Project. Stan and I had a fun time talking with everyone in what was a very relaxed atmosphere (we were all celebrating submitting grades and such along with the holidays!) Two days later, President Mahoney threw the annual party at his lovely home on campus.Each year this beautiful old southern home is decorated to the hilt for the holidays.

I had fun hanging out with my peeps - here are Michelle, Robert, and Whitney; the second photo is of Wanda, Anna, Maura, and Stacy - all regular attendees of "The Wanda Show" - where we gather and catch up most mornings.
The President's wife hid little gnomes in each of the rooms for us to find, which offered a nice excuse to wander around and say 'hi' to folks. Here is the Provost and a colleague in front of one of the gorgeous trees (almost every room had one).It was a lovely affair and I look forward to seeing what the decorators (maybe Kelly) do with it next year! What a nice way to get in the holiday spirit!