It has never happened to us before!

Believe it or not, we got snow for Christmas! When Christmas is usually defined by showers, pouring rain, or cloudy, we had snow. Not a lot. Not by most people's definition. But enough to coat the plants, shrubs, and lawn. It snowed for about 2 hours. Then later in the afternoon, it did what it usually does around here. It rained and melted the small accumulation. It was fun while it lasted and was a pleasant way to spend in the kitchen preparing the holiday pies and turkey.

Christmas started with a rousing shout of "Merry Christmas" at 6:30 a.m., the time negotiated by Offspring to begin the festivities. Never mind that some of us were sound asleep. Some family members, who have visited us over the holidays before, would say that we positively sprinted through the opening of presents as we finished before noon. That does not mean we have that many presents. It just means that Offspring opens a present, plays with it, builds it, reads it, before moving on to the next one. One year it took him three days to open all of his gifts, much to the amazement of just about everyone, but that is just one of the things that make Offsping special. This year he opened all of Santa's presents before building the first Lego set. Nothing can capture those smiles of pure, unadulterated joy that a longed-for present brings. Nothing is so wonderful as to be on the receiving end of one of those thank you-hugs.

In the coming days I will try to post photos of our tree and some of our special ornaments and other holiday decorations.

We hope that you have had a most magical and wonderful Christmas day, filled with the love and generosity that celebrates a little boy's birthday.

Count Your Blessings

This is the time of year when we all count our blessings. Good health (never to be taken for granted), good friends, a good job, family that is always there and supportive, food on the table, a roof to keep out the rain, blankets to keep us warm, enough money to spare for presents, faith that keeps us going in a world filled with selfishness and evil.

But not everyone is celebrating. A dear, dear friend lost her husband of many years yesterday. While it is a blessing in disguise (he was declining mentally and was legally blind), she has lost her life's companion. And her children, grown though they are, have lost a father. And a wonderful father at that. So their Christmas is going to be less than merry. I would say anything but merry, however there are little children in the picture and not much keeps the joy of Christmas away when there are children in the house. At our house, the list of missing family members is far too long. Last year at this time we were dealing with a death of our own, my beloved's mother. And I cannot help but ache for all those families dealing with the loss of a family member to the war in Iraq. Even if it has been more than a year or two, those wounds must still be too raw to contemplate. To all those mothers who have lost a child, be it newborn, stillborn, or one old enough to be a grandparent, may your empty arms find solace in the embrace of another who cares and listens.

While I am in the comfortable position of having a computer and internet access, while I am one of the "haves" in society (only in the sense that we are not poor), there are far too many who struggle day to day to meet the needs of their families. For them the merry in Christmas is going to be laughter and, hopefully, having a day of rest to spend with family. Everything is relative, I know. There are many people who have far more than we do and many, many others who are quite poor in comparison. But this I know: I am immensely grateful to my family, especially my significant other and my offspring, who fill my days and nights with love and appreciation, and to my God. Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Lord of Love. Without that constant presence, without those tiny moments of wonder and joy in creation that is all around us - in nature and the people of our daily lives - I cannot imagine life. That spirit of generosity, of saying "yes" to God, and putting fear aside is what the season is all about.

Merry Christmas to all, and, to all, a good night.

A Little Too Busy

When the offspring implored me to start a blog, it took forever. Then, once we got everything set up, school started and homework took precedence over computer free time. But the Christmas break is fast approaching so there may be a chink in the dark shroud of "have-to's", "shoulds", and "I need it for tomorrow's".

What have we been "humming" about? Halloween costumes-Ghostbusters X 2, for one. They turned out really well and were a hit as the offspring and a friend went trick-or-treating. But that seems so "yesterday".

How about feeding a black rhino? What do you feed a rhino? I'm sure anything he wants, but we gave him sliced apples. Yes, there were bars between us.

Once again the offspring will be having a solo for the Christmas program. He is just fearless! He certainly didn't get his confidence from me! Such a clear voice. Too bad that his peer group does not think singing is cool. But as I told him, gifts like that are not to be hidden. With Christmas music filling the air, he is in heaven. We joke that he is a lounge singer in disguise because he can sure sing variation after variation. When he gets sufficiently skilled on that clarinet, I see jazz band in his future!

And that offspring is finally growing. His knee went through the PJs so I better get sewing!

A New Adventure

After many, many, many months of our HP asking, pleading, begging to start a blog, the cosmic tumblers have clicked into place and we are giving it our best shot! The summer is winding down, of course, which will give fewer opportunities to post entries, but perhaps the limited time will force us to choose our words and topics more carefully. So, Aunt Garnet, you are ultimately responsible for how this adventure turns out!

Our blog title derives from several points. (a) Our HP provides a running soundtrack 15/7, as anyone who visits can attest, and is always moving, even when reading or sleeping! (b) The steady stream of hummingbirds that visit the blue salvia outside the kitchen window provide regular entertainment. (c) Two of us seem to always be busy, often burning the midnight oil well past midnight. (d) And two of us so regularly have new ideas for projects and what we want to do that it is hard to turn off the brain each night and go to sleep.

So welcome to our new endeavor. We may be slower using new technological tools, but we hope that this forum is enjoyable for you.