The merry week is almost over. Can you believe it?
Just a handful of hours, so I better get my holiday wrap up photos loaded here pronto :)
I had a lovely, curious, strange week.
I sort of relapsed, and got sick again, clearing that hawrrible stuff out of my system.
The doc said this would happen.
(the horrible B vitamin my body rejected - tale a couple posts below)
It really messed me up, so I missed Christmas.
Well, I missed venturing home for the 24th and the 25th.
Instead, I was ill.
But cozy with my boys to hug.
All 3.
On the 26th I felt a tiny bit better, and was too sad to miss the festivities altogether.
So, I asked Mister Lovee to please drive me home.
Packed up quick...
And, off to the family pad we went.
It was great.
It was like it was still Christmas.
And santa had left all my goodies in the same place he has my whole life.
That Santa.
I had gifts for everyone, and they for me.
But most important, we all just wanted to see each other.
So, we got to visit and open treats, and eat good food, and be together.
Mombie's decor was silver and gold this year.
Here is a past Christmas visit link, you might recall, the red year.
It was very sparkly, and so warm and glowing too.
I love the santa moon...
I tried to take lots of pics to share, mostly in the day actually.
Mombie puts out so many pretty things.
It's a good combo of cute and sweet, mixed with elegant.
I like that meshing of treasures.
The big tree!
Of course, we mustn't forget the fairy tree in the other room...
There has got to be over 100 fairies in there.
I asked Mombie where she gets them all.
She says, she just keeps her eye out at little shops and such.
She showed me some of her faves, but I told her she shouldn't pick faves.
Or the fairies might pull some shenanigans on her ;)
There was lots of delicious munching.
Baked ham and potato salad.
Tamales.
Beans.
(I rarely/never partake in the beans and tamales, weird right?)
And a whole bunch of other things, I can't recall now.
Lovee and his coffee.
Beheaded. He likes his privacy ;)
Also, lots of Pan Dulce.
Mexican sweet bread, yumm.
One of my gifts to my parents, below...
I found this ceramic/clay owl, all in clay brown.
And I saw major potential, if painted.
Lovee was like, meh.
But then once I painted Owlie, both he and I had a hard time parting with him.
He is about 20"+ tall.
Also...
There is a story that makes a white owl relevant to my mom, dad and me.
You see, when I was a little girl (about 5) I heard a ghost in my room.
I went to my parents room, and my dad said, no, no ghosts, go back to bed.
I went back to bed, and I heard the ghost again.
I went to their room, and dad said hogwash.
So, Mombie went to my room with me, and she heard it too.
Oooooooo, ooooooooooooo...
Mombie told my dad he better go listen for himself.
So, my dad went to my room with me and laid on my bed.
There was no sound for a long while.
Then, ooooooo, oooooooooooo.
The funny thing, it wasn't as much a "whooo whooo."
It was really more ghostly.
My dad got wide eyes when he heard it.
He said, it's coming from outside.
So, we went into the back yard.
And on the telephone pole, was a HUGE white owl.
Just looking at us.
Then he spread his huge wings, and flew over us.
It was amazing, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
My parents had (still have on their wall) a giant white owl painting.
Which always made me think of that owl ghost night.
But, once I painted this ceramic owl, it was like, the owl from that night came to life.
My mom and dad both were jaw dropped.
It was him, in statue form.
So, that was a neat holiday thing.
We sat around the big table and told lots of stories.
I peeked around Mombie's 3 table huge village.
We also took out a bunch of our childhood photos and albums.
That is always fun.
But at the same time, it is weep worthy, to see how much time has past.
How fast life swooshes by.
Wow, it's really something.
I laughed at the never ending photos of me hitting pinatas.
There were soo many.
I snapped pictures of a few.
Plus some faves, like biting into cake - which I think I shared before.
Sis, Mombie and me on the top right.
And, my first Christmas meeting Santa...
Soooo many pictures, albums, memories.
As I get older, it seems like so very long ago.
It was a lovely time.
I hope you had a lovely time too.
For those of you who love landscapes + Arizona, I took a bunch of photos on our return journey.
I love the moon getting brighter as night loomed...
If I looked to the right, I saw this...
And if I looked ahead, this-
Heading back to Tucson...
I could see the observatory pretty clearly...
Just outside of Tucson, some saguaros, and then a hill full of them...
As kids, we knew Tucson was close when we could see the saguaro filled hill.
And then, entering Tucson - with a view of downtown Tucson.
I basically live on the other side of those mountains you see below.
You sort of wrap around the left of them, to get to the other side.
You don't go through/over them.
And now, we await a new year, hooray!
Here at the country pad, pink tufts hover over our mountains.
Snow tops, and rain on the way.
Do you have any plans?
I personally like a low key New Year's evening.
I've already done the young discotheque nights, boys shaking champagne bottles at midnight, getting soaked.
Champagne and pieces of confetti covering you.
Hair ruined.
Smooshed between people.
Freezing, dancing all night, catching a cold.
It was fun, a blast even (at the time), however...
Been there, done that, no thanks ;)
I think we should come up with a list of hopes and reflections this year, you?
Hope is something that is very important in my life.
It's the thing I look to for everything really.
And I have lots of hopes, as I am sure we all do.
I am dreaming of a hope tree....
Love, V
