Happy Boxing Day!

Juniper Trees in California Desert

 For years, I thought 26 December was Boxing Day. I also thought it was so-named because that was when folks traditionally boxed their gifts and delivered them to friends. So I looked it up yesterday and .... I'm maybe partly correct. Check out Boxing Day.

Yellow Bellied Marmot, Palouse Falls, Washington

   Christmas at this house was low-key, quiet, and great fun. The amount of gifts under the tree for moi was insane - and marvelous! I will share with you later what all I received, and maybe even some pictures. The highlight was the Wii my son, daughter, and grandson bought me. We played a few games, then set it up so I can stream movies from Netflix! I have discovered some of the movies they have can only be seen via streaming. It was great fun to watch an old fave - Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday, with Lee Marvin, Oliver Green, Strother Martin, and Robert Culp. I laughed as hard this time as the first 6 times I've watched it.

Moon Over Stelling Ave, Pt. Charlotte, Florida

   We had a total lunar eclipse the other night, and, of course, my skies were full of clouds. A friend said she saw some of the eclipse as the clouds parted for a bit, but I didn't stay up to see. This is a shot I took while living in Florida. (Now, why did I leave Florida? You know, Florida with all the warmth?
   Our snow is gone, and the temps are warming up to nearly 50, but it's damp out there, and the damp makes it colder.

   I hope all of you had a marvelous Christmas and spent it exactly as you wanted. I certainly did!

My Gratefuls:
* My family of genes and my family of choice
* The goat donated to a worthy cause in my name
* My Wii
* The Gift Card to my favorite book store
* My nook

What I'm Reading:
* Finished Over the Edge of the World - by Laurence Bergreen, and am now about a third of the way through his Marco Polo. If you like adventure stories, give Over the Edge of the World a try. I wrote Mr. Bergreen the other day and told him how much I enjoyed his writing and received a response!
* Read a few more poems of Darwish last night. Heavy stuff, but very interesting. Of course, how much is his writing, and how much is the translator's, I'll never know. Either way, the writing is beautiful.
* Still reading The Flag of Childhood, the book of poems edited by Naomi Shihab Nye.

What I'm Writing:
* Back to Jibutu. My writing group has given me excellent feedback and sent me off on an unexpected journey in the writing world.


Quote for this Post:
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

My first thought on hunting for a desert quote was warmth - and then I remembered, I live in a desert, and it be darned cold!


Have a wonder-filled day;-)