Christmas 2008

After Christmas eve dinner here at the house .. a great marinated pork roast .. we took Christmas to my nephew Paul's house, a 20 minute drive south of here. We all prepared a dish or two and 10 adults and 7 children ate a good part of two turkeys and all the trimmings.
Today we all got up early (aaargh!) and headed to the closest mall to have a family photo taken ...

Back Row L to R: Kate held by her dad/my nephew Paul, me, my niece Julie, my nephew Devan and his wife Tracy.
Front L to R: My grandniece Emma, her brother James, Liz (Paul's wife), their youngest son William, my sister Paula and my brother-in-law Sterling holding Hunter, then Tyler and Conner .. the 3 sons of Devan and Tracy.

I sent a three-tiered helium balloon up to the skies on Christmas eve day with a message for Rich ... why didn't I take a photo of it?

December 2008

This photo was taken from my deck and it's the full moon at its perigee .. the closest point of it's elliptical orbit to Earth .. hence it looks quite a bit larger than usual. From my apartment, I have a great view of the rising moon over the southern half of San Carlos township. Population a little over 22,000. It's a nice town with a very welcoming Laurel Street with a slew of places to eat outdoors .. in summer and winter.

I put my little Christmas tree on top of my imitation wood stove which looks very real with flickering flames ... and it has a heater too. Gone are the days of 7' fir trees with their Christmas scent and dropping needles! I've downsized everything but this year the Christmas Spirit lives on! I string ribbons around the top of a few walls and hang my Christmas cards over them to complete my decorations. Easy up, easy down. I also have a string of small Christmas lights on my deck which can be seen from afar.
MERRY CHRISTMAS

Long-time Best Friend

This is my friend Linda and her husband Ivan. Linda and I met when I was 7 years old (she's one month older than me) ... wont tell you how long ago that was! We've been in contact ever since and I haven't seen her for about 25 years. She still lives (a few houses down) on the same street she did when I met her and her sister lives in the old family home. It was funny catching up with her .. we were both envious of the other because we thought they were more attractive! Strange how kids think ... Fortunately, it didn't make any difference to our friendship. Hopefully, I'll be seeing her when I go 'home' next April.
Here's another coincidence, my best friend here in America is English and also called Linda and they had the same last name!