the busy heart

Merry Christmas!  This is the first time we've ever decorated our house for Christmas.  Sam's mom sent us ornaments that Sam's received every year since he was a baby, and it was cool to see him remember them and be excited.  I don't think of him as the type to get terribly excited about things like Christmas, but, well, he was terribly excited. So were the kitties.  As soon as we set up the Chirstmas tree, they assumed positions beneath it, which is precisely where kitties belong.  When I was a wee lass, we had a kitty named Smokey who was always beneath the tree at Chirstmas time, swatting at bird ornaments.  (If you look closely in the top picture, you can see little Sprout to the right of Meatsock under the tree.) And here she is up close.  And the tree in its glory. And my favorite ornament. Sam's mother also sent us a gorgeous nativity that Sam's great grandmother made.  It's so beautiful, so so beautiful, and...

this is honestly my idea of a vacation: you go to a beach. you sit on the beach.  you read a book.  that's it.  that's all i need.  in mexico, in addition to that, we had the perks of comfortable chairs and sun umbrellas and people bringing us fresh limondas and "coca lights."  we had big plans to go parasailing this day, but once we realized we'd have to actually  stand up , we opted to stay put and read some more.                                                  [cool. dude.]                                      ...