Christmas Past

We are now more than halfway through January, but I am still feeling the spirit of Christmas and believe this is going to be a Great Year!  Looking back at last year I have tried to figure out what worked and what didn't work for me.  Remembering the times I felt the lowest, and the happiest times of the year may help me plan this new year to make the most of it.  I have also posted some new photos and a video of Hayden from his school Holiday Concert on my flickr site.  If I can figure it out, I will try to post the video on this page.  But, if you don't see it and are interested, please go to flickr to watch it.  Yes, I know, it is past history now, but I couldn't get things to download in the short time I had in December, a very busy month for me.  I am still learning how to arrange things and make them happen on my blog. 

Our snow is melted, after a couple 40 degree days.  For those of you in Nebraska........I would really like to have some of your snow!  I remember fondly the winters growing up in Nebraska, especially the big drifts and piles of snow next to the driveway on Benton Street.  And, playing in the snow at Grandma's house in Missouri.  I REALLY do LOVE snow.  It is so magical for me.  I think about why this is so and am just not sure what the fascination is.  IT is JUST frozen rain!, but oh so pretty and almost mystical. It covers everything so quietly and wondrously.  I wonder if it is genetic (coming from kin who were from cold climes such as Scotland)?, or the desire to return to childhood, or what?  Any ideas, readers out there?

Well, I am going to hope for more snow!  At least until late March, when it will be the beginning of boating season again!

TIME

Time is going way too quickly.  With my Christmas trip to California with Mike, I did not even get any Christmas stuff posted. So, I am going to go ahead and put some of the photos up anyway, even though it is past. The photos of Hayden's concert are not as good as I would like.  It was a full room, and the program went pretty quickly, without much warm up. The children's voices were wonderful though, and the expectant looks on their faces priceless.  It was heartwarming to see Hayden's smile light up when he saw me in the audience.

Mike and I had a great time with his kids and extended family.  Full houses of happy people, tons of great food (too much), sharing of good times, and some new scenery for me.  We visited the Felton/Santa Cruz area, Manteca (down in the valley), and Yosemite (just for a day trip).  We got to see Jupiter and the moon through a very nice telescope.  The colored bands on Jupiter were awesome to see, along with the moons of Jupiter, and our own moon.  The trip to Yosemite for the day took us from 50 degree weather, rain, sleet, clear skies, and then fresh new snow up in the Yosemite Valley.  During the clear skies we saw El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Falls, the Brothers.  Then back down out of the valley, to the "other" valley (San Joaquin/Central Valley) where Manteca is.  We played Trivia at the local pub with Mike's two older (college age) children in Santa Cruz (came in 3rd) and had a wonderful time walking around the area.  It was a much needed "real" Christmas vacation for me.

It is the first time I have had extended planned time off around Christmas to really enjoy it since ???  I can't really remember when....maybe the year I left school nursing and Rachel and I flew to Lincoln for Christmas (1994?).  I've had other memorable Christmases since then, but with only a day or two off, if that.  There was Hayden's first Christmas, in 2004 when we all went to Rob's Aunt Barb's for a couple days.  That was a nice year, until the tragic event of the tsunami hit the news.  And then all of us except Rachel got sick within a couple days of Christmas.  Share the good times, share the germs! Then there was the first Christmas I was in St. John (2001?).  Rachel flew down and stayed on the boat with Mike and me.  It was a wonderful time, except I had to work Christmas Day, so Mike and Rachel enjoyed the Caneel Bay Resort and beach and cooked me a yummy dinner when I got off.  There are many more wonderful Christmases that I remember, even if I did work through parts of them, but as I try to think back over past Christmases, it is scary to not be able to remember each and every one!  Where do the brain cells go?!!  eek!

The ski photos are from just this past week when Mike and I went to Pine Hill, NY to cross country ski on Belleayre Mountain.  I enjoyed it much more than downhill last year.  The fear of falling is not quite so acute.  Plus, the snow was deep, fresh, and very soft.  No one else had been out on some of the trails, so nothing was packed down.  I've found my sport for the new year.  We only had to drive a little over an hour to get there, and cross country equipment is much less expensive to rent or buy.  Plus, we didn't need lift tickets!  The aerobic workout felt good.  Fairly low impact (unless of course you fall down!) And being in the snowy woods with such quiet beauty was awesome.

Now, as the beginning of the year evolves I try to make resolutions that I can keep and start with a fresh outlook.  And keep that fresh outlook going!

Books!

One of my favorite loves----reading! I read several new books over the past month. One was THE NOTICER, by Andy Andrews. It "had" me from the cover. The quote on the front that read "This is the best book I have ever read in my life." just dared me to read it just to see if that could really be true. And, we could all use "a little perspective", or a new perspective at times in our lives. The writing is very clean and succinct and naturally leads one on to the next thought, page, or chapter. As the story progresses from the opening description of Jones, "just Jones", the reader is given a fresh outlook on seeing things with a different perspective than they may have had before. Jones, a seemingly itinerant person who knows everyone but whom everyone in town knows very little about appears at just the exact crucial time in different peoples lives. Through each interaction he has with the town's people we are shown how our perspective on life and how to lead it may be hindering our achievement of success and happiness. The situations he encounters and the people who are touched by Jones are all very believable. Jones always has great advice on how to make life better, from finding a life partner, keeping the one we have, getting a job, making friends, or figuring out what we want to do with our life. One of my favorite parts of the book is the one in which he explains the four dialects used to convey love. As a "self-help" book, it is far above any other that I have read. Jones imparts his knowledge by being a careful listener, a consummate "Noticer" and a skillful conversationalist. The author has created a wonderfully inspirational and intriguing way to make the messages flow. Throughout the book I often thought about parallels between Jones and Jesus but never felt that religion was a dominating issue. Spirituality maybe, but not religion. The book, for me, though, read more like a novel than a self help book, all the while presenting thoughtful, probing pointers on how to gain new perspectives. It was both an enjoyable and helpful read. The study guide at the back of the book would be very useful for group discussion but is also a good self study guide. It is a book that I will read again and refer back to when I feel "stuck" and need to change my perceptions and perspectives.

Hayden's Christmas Concert

Today was Hayden's concert at his "pre-school". It was so much fun. The kids did a really good job singing holiday songs. They sang some Christmas songs, some Hanukkah songs. You could tell they had practiced. Then after the singing was a visit from Santa. It was heartwarming to see how the kids anxiously awaited their turn to go up to Santa to receive their gift. AHHHH, to be a child again.

December

We had the first snow of the season the other night.  Big fat wet flakes.  Very pretty coming down, and a powder sugar dusting on the trees and hills across the river when I got off work the next morning.  Now it is cold and windy, with winter finally on its way. 

I read my Christmas book for this year.  It is called The Boat of Dreams, by Richard Preston.  It is a very heart warming story about hope and love and a little magic for Christmas.  It was written for a life long friend of the author, who was dying of breast cancer several years ago.  It won't make you laugh out loud, like the Dave Barry book about Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog, but is a great read.  (Richard Preston also wrote, among other things, The Hot Zone, NOT a Christmas book, but an interesting account that you might want to read some other time.)

The weekend after Thanksgiving, I had a great time with Hayden and Rachel.  One day we went bowling and to the new movie "Planet 51", and another day I took Hayden ice skating.  He is just learning to ice skate, so I am not sure he enjoys it as much as I do, but I am hoping if he will persevere he will get to the point where he enjoys it. I think he just needs to overcome the fear of "letting go" (don't we all!).  Learning to skate in a rink, with a railing, is not the same as Oak Lake!

Now I am trying to dig in to my winter projects and have cut the material for the first of the four boat cushions I am recovering.  That and finishing up my meager preparations for Christmas.  Mike will be here on the 15th and then we will fly to California on the 17th to spend Christmas visiting his kids. 

A really cool thing I got introduced to last week is playing Scrabble in real time, on FaceBook.  Great fun to be able to play "that silly game", as Mike calls it, with my friend Celeste in Florida while sitting in my own living room. 

On a parting sad note though, I was sorry to see that both Nebraska and Florida lost their football games this past Saturday!  Florida got soundly beaten by a team with better plays, but Nebraska, to look at the score, was barely overcome.