Indeed it has been a magical time of year for me, starting with Advent Sunday. Every year on the first Sunday in December we invite friends and neighbors to come ring in Christmas with us European style. It's a more quiet and pretty uplifting evening. We got around 25 people again this year (this is our 3rd one). We always call it our Christmas miracle that that many people come to our ghetto and brave parking. It's the only time of year that happens. This year I learned to play a song on the guitar, Infant Holy Infant Lowly, and sang too. I also made mint brownies that didn't get burned so it just keeps getting better. The little neighbor kids, Ada and Julio, came over and sang Feliz Navidad, though their heads were bowed most of the time. I guess single adults are pretty scary. It was good fun, and we kept our Silent Night tradition alive at the end of evening. This year, in addition to Spanish, German, French and of course English and Bulgarian, we had Thai, Korean, and Tagalog. It was fabulous.
I also had the great pleasure of visiting Washington D.C. this month with a thirsty little ginger-pants wearing kitten (if you really want to know about that you'll have to ask me, otherwise just chalk it up to word salad.) It was dang cold but one of the funnest trips I've had in a long time. So much space, brick, and stone. I want to live in a brick house. We went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and saw the first plane the Wright Brothers used for their first four flights on Dec.17, 1903 and guess what day we happened to be there? You got it! Dec. 17. Coincidence? I don't think so. At any rate, my abs were well exercised from laughing so much, my taste-buds sharpened from the large quantities of good food, and the hibernating spaces in my brain revitalized with my love for America and what a great country this is. There were still leaves on the ground too. I felt intoxicated by the memory of autumn. I returned from D.C. on the 18th, only to leave for Salt Lake City on the 19th. Also cold here and snowy. It's good to remember what snow looks like but I won't mind leaving it in January. I've enjoyed seeing my family and my new nephew Vincent who could be destined to become an artist or part of the maffia who would then have the nickname Vinny. Either way, we'll love him and probably get good Christmas presents too. We found out my brother Stephen is coming home from his mission in Norway on March 27 and then as our Christmas gift the family's taking a big trip somewhere so we can all be together. Yea. Experiences are greater than anything material anyway.
I have to say it's been an enriching year and one that has seen a number of goals and dreams met. I can't wait to see what the new year will bring. Merry Chrismtas and Happy New Year everybody! Life is Beautiful! And don't go see the movie I Am Legend. It sucked(feel free to contact me for a more detailed criticism).
