There are several “End of Year” items to post, so this time I’ve got a mixed bag:

December is a busy month. The first 24 days zoom past in a blurry holiday drive-by. Shopping. Wrapping. Mailing. Planning. Kvetching. Returning. More Shopping. Cooking. Baking.  All in the cold and the dark.  We all get caught up in it to various degrees. It's not December at it's best. Oh, Christmas morning is great, but the other 30 days?

My Favorite Day of December:

However one moment of joy that I look forward to has nothing to do with the holiday. It's actually more of a psychological moment of pleasure dealing with the transition out of the dark days and into a new beginning. Not the New Year, but the Winter solstice. I look forward to it each December.  Since the time-change around Halloween, we're all forced into an ever increasing inky existence.  But come December 22nd 2011, the worst is officially over and there’s a certain pleasure in knowing that the light begins to regain its fair share of the day.

I've mentioned this before, but one of the niceties of getting in an early morning hike is that come winter, you can catch the sunrise with out changing your morning schedule. I took this picture on the solstice morning (Dec 22nd 2011) at 6:30 AM. It was a very nice morning on the trail with Virginia before turning our day over to the office cubicle. Skies pure and clear. No wind. A crescent moon. The trail above town is quiet, except for the small birds that peep in the bushes. Not sure we could find a better way to start the day.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Our wedding anniversary is Dec 24th, Christmas Eve.  How to celebrate?  Chinese food with family:

Yeah, the expression on my face: “Did I really eat all the Orange Chicken?” We had a great dinner at Gourmet 88 in Burbank. And I actually did NOT eat all the orange chicken.

Our 2011 Christmas Card:

2012 is Nearly Here. ARE YOU READY??

Sure, why not.  We hope you have a great New Year. Lot’s of health and happiness.  We hope to catch up with you soon!

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A rough ride, hard drivers seat, no rear window visibility and a lethargic gas pedal just to name a few negatives regarding my rental.  Goodbye Fiat 500, you little tin can, I won't miss you a bit.

In what seemed to be a marathon extended auto insurance claim process, I was finally able to get confirmation that I was not liable for the crash, then later (What, more waiting? Seriously??) that my Ford would be totaled & I needed to start looking for replacement vehicle quickly.

This all sounded so familiar when Virginia went through the same accelerated car shopping experience.

Her Toyota has turned out to be such a great used vehicle, that we used that strategy again:

So, life is finally feeling like it's getting back on track. Big exhale. Now on to the holiday pandemonium. Merry Christmas!

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