Ahhhh, Christmas

It was a great Christmas, filled with the goodies a writer/music-lover/reader/gardener appreciates most: gift cards from Starbucks, Borders, iTunes and Capital Nursery. And, yes! Massages too! And from the parents of my son-in-law, a 2-lb. box of See's candy, which Erich and I promptly dove into (and swam around in) shortly before breakfast. In true "Christmas Story" fashion, the four of us (Steve, Maya, Erich, me) finished off the first layer before the evening sky turned "purple and soft."

I also received a small bronze statuette from my mom of a girl reading; she looks like Tinkerbell, and has alighted on my desk, just to the left of my laptop. She's too young to be reading THE COLLECTOR by John Fowles (one of my very early favorites) and too old for the LITTLE HOUSE series. Maybe she's reading GREAT EXPECTATIONS, since it opens on Christmas Eve. I think she will serve as my muse.

Rounding out a great holiday was time spent with my own parents and in-laws; calls from Jena/Jeremy and Pops; and a nap on the floor with Country (Maya and Erich's black Lab puppy), his warm nose buried in my neck. Ahhhh, Christmas.

Happy Belated St. Paddy's Day

Our son-in-law, Erich Kepner, thought it would be fun to wear this golf outfit to work on St. Paddy’s Day. He hit a hole-in-one with his co-workers, who dubbed him Erich O’Kepner!