Christmas 2012

After many years of  feeling either sad or stressed or just plain "Bah Humbug" during the holidays, I feel so blessed to have gotten back into the groove of Christmas.  I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the holiday season this year - from the food to the lights to the music and all the rest.

Our holidays started with Larry participating in "Hymns of Thanksgiving",  a Boise tradition that has been bringing sacred music to the community for 10 years now.  He had been invited to sing in the choir last year, but didn't feel he was ready for it then.  This year when he was asked again, he decided to go for it.  I'm so glad he did.  The choir of over 250 voices along with a full orchestra gave a stunning performance on November 18, and set us into the mood of reflecting on our blessings as we entered into the holiday time of year.

Then for Thanksgiving day Larry and I chose to stay home to have a quiet feast for just the two of us.  We had invitations to share the day with others, but this time we wanted to celebrate in our own house in our own way.  We spent the morning out at  Eagle Island state park romping along the trails with the dog.  It was a lovely, sunny day, just chilly enough to make a jacket feel good.  We had a nice time walking along the river talking about what we were grateful for.

Then we went home to prepare our feat - roasted Cornish game hens,  brussel sprouts, yams, jello salad and pie.  I admit we bought our pie from Costco rather than make it ourselves, but our goal was to have a relaxed and easy holiday - not spend all day cooking.   Most of what we did make came out really well except for the double corn spoon bread.  I got busy talking / laughing / dancing in the living room with my man to an old Elvis Presley CD, so I was distracted and somehow missed a step with the cornbread....left out half the milk.  It was pretty awful, so that dish ended up being the dog's Thanksgiving treat.  Morgan seemed to appreciate it and we certainly had more than enough food for just the two of us.

Later that evening my brother and his wife came over for pie and music.  Larry and Andy played guitars and sang songs while Kathy and I visited.  So it was really a nice blend of quiet, peaceful time with just Larry and I, yet still having family connection to savor as well.

Once December came we somehow seemed to find just the right balance of celebrating ---participating in enough festive traditions and events to keep our hearts light without trying to do so much we would ever feel frantic or overwhelmed. 

We put up our fake Christmas tree that we've been using for many years now. In true "Charley Brown" fashion it always starts out looking lopsided, bedraggled and rather pathetic but then turns out pretty once it's all decorated with our ecclectic baubles and the lights are on.  Sometimes I long for a real tree, but this one works just fine as a place to hang ornaments, and it's nice that it's all pre-wired with lightst.  Besides, my beloved says "I  only kill things I'm going to eat."  In a way that makes sense.  It does seem a shame to cut down a perfectly good tree just to decorate it then throw it away after a few weeks.

We got out my collection of many, many Nativity scenes.  I have big ones, little ones, elaborate and fancy ones, humble ones ... a hodge podge of wood, porcelain, metal, glass,  gathered over the years.  Some I have purchased.  Many have been given to me as gifts.  They are always a special reminder to me of what Christmas is all about.

We went to hear the Boise Chordsmen and others put on a Christmas variety with our friends Carolyn & Henry.   We also went to the annual concert of the Boise Institute Choir with pals Carma and Emery.   We had our Nampa friends, Larry and Judy, over for an afternoon of playing cards while our house was all decorated and Christmas music playing.  That was a lot of fun.   Then we went to the Boise Botanical gardens with my friend Katrina and had a blast taking in all those sites. We took plates of cookies to neighbors and went caroling one night with a group of friends.

We went to see the musical "White Christmas" produced by the Nampa Civic Music Theater.  For the past two years we've had season tickets for all their productions and have very much enjoyed them.

 (Photo from Idaho Press Tribune http://www.idahopress.com/a_e/top_story/unwrap-a-white-christmas-this-weekend/article_0fa20338-3ffe-11e2-b5e8-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=image)

As we did last year, we went to Arizona to spend Christmas with Larry's sons and the grandkids there.  We also visited with my mother's cousins who live in Arizona and connected with some dear friends of ours we knew from back in the day when we lived in Ohio.  We had a very special time with them.   The whole time we were in Arizona was a really fun trip.

Before we left town we had my brother and his wife over for a holiday dinner of roasted turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, special stuffing and all the works. We had a very sweet visit which reminded me all over again that one of the reasons we moved to Idaho was to live near family, this being the one and only place both my beloved and I would have a sibling near by.

So all in all it was a very nice holiday.  We enjoyed special time with family.  We had fun savoring  the sparkle and glitz.  Through it all we reflected on the birth of the Savior and what it means to us to have strong testimonies of Jesus Christ.

I suppose to some extent I will always think some about loss during the Christmas season.  Having both of my parents die in December made me associate everything to do with Christmas with funerals instead of joy for a long time.  Nevertheless, Christmas is no longer a time of grieving for me.  These days the holidays truly are a celebration of  fun, laughter,  love and light.

For all it's magic, I admit it feels good now that it's all over to have everything packed up, taking down the tree, putting away all the decorations--sending them  back up in the attic where they will belong till time to get it all out again next year.  I'm ready to have things cleared out and get back to a regular routine. Still, even though the holidays are over and we are now marching our way through January,  I'm still walking with a spring in my step and grinning with the spirit of Christmas.

 When we put everything else away, I decided to leave out just one of the many nativity scenes from my collection so  I could continue to see it and enjoy it all year long.  This particular one I chose to keep out is one I received as a gift this year from my dear friend Carma.  I just love it's simplicy, classic lines, and beauty.   It reminds me of faith.  It reminds me of friendship.  It reminds me of how much there is to be joyful about, not just at Christmas, but every day of the year.

Truly, I had a very Merry Christmas in 2012.  I have no idea what this New Year will bring.  But I do know this: I have a great deal to be thankful for.   I'm especially glad to be living in Boise, Idaho   I loved traveling over Christmas and spending time with people we love.  We had such a good time.  Yet, when it was all over, I was very ready to come back.  Arizona will always be a special place for me - the place where I grew up and where I still have lots of family and friends.  But this is home.

That, more than anything, has been the best gift of all.  I feel at peace here.  I feel home.

Idaho Aquarium

My beloved and I had an opportunity to go to the Idaho Aquarium recently.  It's not very big, but what they do have is well presented.   Just one more reason to love living in Boise.

Heart at Half Mast

With much of the rest of the country and the world, my heart is breaking today  over the senseless slaughter of children in Connecticut.   Like many, I tend to have a visceral reaction over the death of children.  But any death by violence, no matter what the age, is a a hurtful thing for which I  mourn.  I am wracked with sorrow for each of the families affected and for every person, especially the children,  who feels less safe in the world as a result of this mean, despicable act.  My mind reels at the wrongness of this tragedy.  Though I may not be personally acquainted with any of the families who lost loved ones today, an atrocity like this wounds us all.

Still, I try with all my might to hold on to the words I wrote to a friend on 9/11/2001 in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon building in Washington DC.  Those same words seem to apply more than ever today.

This is what I said back then:

My thoughts are with you on this awful day - when the world seems to be coming unglued.  I feel the need to reach out to those I hold dear to be sure the people I love are safe.

The tragedies of the the terrorist attacks in New York and DC were awful, but in a way the impact was made even worse by all the endless talk and images on the news, playing the horror over and over again.  I was torn between feeling the need to be informed and needing to seek balance in the type of energy I surround myself with.  Throughout the day I would check in with what was happening, but then I would turn it all off- take deep breaths, put on soothing music, pray, and look out my window into the beauty of the clear blue sky.

I kept reminding myself that every single day we choose where we will focus our hearts, minds and hands.  No matter how much the world may say "the sky is falling", and even indeed when all hell does break loose, each one of us has the opportunity and the responsibility for our own response.  We can get caught up in the current of the chaos or we can stand our ground - and remember to experience and express kindness at levels that take effort and commitment.  Our world needs that energy right now more than ever.

I am not suggesting turning our eyes away to avoid having to deal with the awfulness.  I believe it is important that we recognize the full scope of this and other horrors in order to respond in an appropriate way.  Only by letting ourselves truly know it is there can we reach out to do anything about it.  However, I am convinced that as individuals we can acknowledge the pain, yet still hold on to peace in our own way.  While the images of this awful attack were so prominent in our vision today, every day there are hundreds of people in the world who are dying from starvation or hunger related diseases.  Every day there are families ripped apart by AIDS, cancer, violence, natural disasters.  Every day there is pain and horror and anguish.  We just don't generally have ourselves bombarded with the deaths.

Just as every day there is tremendous pain in this world, every day there is beauty, laughter, kindness, peace.  I choose which of these I will focus on.  I do not have to be an ostrich hiding my head in the sand to choose peace.  I can see the pain and horror.  I can know of its reality.  My heart can reach out to those being affected in compassion, and when appropriate I can reach out to take action.  But even in the face of very real catastrophe,  sunsets and flowers, a baby's smile and true acts of generosity and tenderness between friends and strangers are just as valid and just as real.  I choose which to hold on to.  I choose kindness.  I choose peace.

Even when my heart is breaking for this sad, sad day I choose to remember we are God's children and we are blessed.  I will not allow myself to be consumed by rage.  I will grieve.  I will give blood.  I will donate to the Humanitarian Aid fun of my church.  I will look for ways to reach out.  But through it all, I choose peace.

I will remember all my many blessings.

One of them is you.

LJB

Bobcat near Boise

My sister-in-law and I went to McCall and back yesterday to pick up some stuff that was needed and enjoy a nice drive through the mountains.   The fall colors were ever so lovely and the colors of the ever changing sky were stunning as snow began falling above Jughandle.   As usual, we saw the typical wild life on the way - deer, hawks, pheasants, etc.  However, when we spotted this guy sitting in a field around 55 and Dry Creek we were very surprised.  The photo doesn't do much to show scale, but this cat was BIG.   I've heard there are bobcats around, but this is the first one I've seen.  Amazing animal.

Autumn Color

After I got off work these evening Larry and I took Morgan the Wonder Dog out for a walk along the the Boise River greenbelt.   It was a lovely evening soaking in the autumn color show, listening to the crickets chirp and ducks quack and smelling the crisp fall air.  The pictures really don't do it justice.  I absolutely love this time of year.

Birthday in Baker City

Outside Photo of the Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City from City Data

For my birthday this year my beloved took me to Baker City, Oregon.  We had a great hike up in the Anthony Lakes area then came back into town for some really good Mexican food and a romantic night in a scrumptious suite at the historic Geiser Grand hotel.  Built in the 1800's to be "the finest hotel between Salt Lake City and Seattle" it's still a pretty classy place.