We Had a Very Merry Christmas

Looking back on the whole Advent season, it's nice to realize how calm and happy it was. Sure, we didn't get our Christmas cards and letter started by the 25th, and didn't do our Christmas shopping until the 23rd, but that may just be why we didn't feel stressed. We had a great season of concerts (singing and in the audience), special events at church, fun parties, and good times with friends. On Christmas Day, we had a great time with almost our entire family, small as it is. With Tim and Mary Ann arriving from San Antonio on Christmas Eve, everyone was at our house except for Sam & Jenn who were up north.Here's a picture of the three siblings (Jane, Tim, and Tom) together for the first time in a few years. Other photos of the Christmas season can be found by clicking on the posting title or just looking at the December 2008 albums on our Kodakgallery site.

Winter Has Arrived

The Winter Solstice arrived well before sunrise yesterday morning but "winter weather" actually arrived last week when a cold storm blew snow onto lower elevations in the Southwest that had not seen that much in nearly thirty years. On December 18th, Las Vegas got 3.8 inches of snow and the I-5, I-15, and CA Highways 14 and 38 were closed when the Cajon and Tejon Passes were covered in snow. Even the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu got a little bit of the white stuff. It was amazingly spectacular but according to the record keepers (of whom I am one) almost twice as much fell in December of 1979. I woke up to a soft rain this morning and am thankful it was clear and dry over the weekend. I got about a third of my spring bulbs planted between recovering from my cold and preparing for our Choir Christmas Concert. These are a few shots of our local mountains after last week's storm cleared.Click on this photo and look closely; you'll see some of the strawberries that survived the rain and cold and are ready to be harvested.