a sight and wonder of the season

santa was good to us

Santa brought us tickets to Disneyland this year. Think anyone was excited???

naughty and nice

 I'll let you guess if anyone here has ever been naughty.


















But for the most part, we're real nice. Right, Santa???

Merry Christmas! And God bless us, Everyone!

a griswold moment

"Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving throughout the entire year."

Today I felt like Clark Giswold. This is not necessarily a good thing. Remember that time he was trapped in his attic when his family went shopping? He went up there to put a gift for Ellen in a "safe place" and by doing so found one he put in a "safe place" years ago. 

I couldn't find some gifts today! And could I ask anyone to help me find them? NO. no. no. No one was here, but more importantly, no one would know!

There are times one is grateful for not having a sprawling, huge home. Today is one of those days. It put me behind schedule, but after much frantic searching I did locate my "safe place."

Perhaps I should watch Christmas Vacation soon and take some Griswold lessons to heart. I wouldn't want to have another Clark moment.

Bonus:
This is what Nate says every year when we get our tree:
"Lotta sap in here!... Looks great! Little full, lotta sap."
Then generally we pretend things are sticking to us. This year, things actually were sticking to us. 
That tree had a lotta sap!

sweetness

I usually turn out pan after pan of toffee this time of year. This year, each pan I turn out is TERRIBLE!!! I am not sure what the deal is. Perhaps it is time for me to move on. So fudge is my new confection of the year. I have tasted and tested a few and now have my favorite. I will say, the quality of your chocolate certainly reflects the quality of your final product. Thought you'd want to know, because we all know that "knowing is half the battle."

a new reality

The above picture was taken in July, sometime during an extensive road trip. Must have been towards the beginning based on the enthusiasm displayed on their cute faces.

Grace started reading Dickens', A Christmas Carol. This led to a discussion of the various merits of the different versions of the classic in movie form: The Muppets, The Chipmunks, Looney Toones, etc.

Grace then said, "I need to see the real one." I replied, "Sure, we have it." She then says, "No, I mean the Disney one." Ahhhh, I see.

In other news, Jimmy has been singing his own refrain of Angels We Have Heard on High. Instead of sing a long and angelic "Gloria," he sings a long and angelic "Warrior." Try it. You just might like it.

the wilds of the backyard

I live with three budding zoologists, all of which specialize in ornithology. The three are very cute as they peer out the back window with their binoculars consulting the bird books. I like to watch from the kitchen, its safer there - because I know (just as well as you know) that the creatures in the yard (mammal and fowl) are clearly out to get me. It is because of this knowledge that I have fine-tuned my wildlife watching skills.

Who was the first to spot the mouse swimming in the pool?
Who found three Harris hawks on the roof line when she returned home one day (alone and unprotected)?
Who saw the coyote meandering the street?
Who spotted the bobcat slinking through the yard under the citrus tree?
Who ran inside when the Great Horned owl hooted and flew off the palm tree branch?

I'll give you one guess.

I'm still shaking inside. The rest of my crew is calmly and rationally making diagrams, consulting their books, and anxiously awaiting our next wild visitor.

I can only guess who will spot it first.

its that time of year

Usually December has us going from one thing to the next with no rest in between. Life had different plans this year. We've all been sick. Not all at once; instead its been stretched out. We've missed parties and concerts. We haven't baked anything yet (because who really wants a treat baked in the kitchen of a sick family???) And you know what? It has't been so bad.

We've had lots of time curled up on the couch in front of the fire. We've caught up on our Christmas movie watching and our Christmas book reading. And most importantly, we've caught up with each other. We've giggled together, snuggled together, and sneezed together.

It has't been a picture-perfect December, but it sure has been wonderful.

blood thinners

It has been an historic past 36 hours:

1. The heat is turned on in the house! Once it cools below 65 indoors, our furnace kicks on! It is hard to believe that for months and months we were happy if it was 78 in the house while it was 110+ outside.

2. We had a real blazing fire in the fireplace. And we sat around it and had hot cocoa!

3. I found it necessary to put on my wool coat as we waited for the bus this morning. The kids were amazed they could see their breath in the air.

The high today is an expected 63. Its about 39 at the moment. That spells C-H-I-L-L-Y for those of us living in the Valley of the Sun.