All of my Christmas shopping is done, cards and gifts mailed. All I need to do is make sticky buns for Christmas morning and that will wait until Friday. My family will visit in the morning and I can relax the rest of the day.
I'll take the tree down either Christmas night or the next day - it blocks the window and I want all those short minutes of gained daylight that I can get! Besides, it's been up since the day after Thanksgiving and it's time to start looking toward spring.
As always, this time of year I find myself thinking back on the past year. Healthwise, it was pretty good, with no major illness or problems. I spent time with my daughter and granddaughter, talked with the Spokane family on the phone and kept in close touch with my parents and sisters.
I only took one major trip this year, to San Antonio, Texas, in March. I went down for a conference and was able to spend some time with my good friend Paula while there. She drove down for a day and took me to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We had a terrific day, catching up on news in our respective lives and enjoying each other's company. Thses bluebonnets along the roadside were the first ones I had ever seen.
We made our annual visit to the Georgeson Botanical Garden this summer and the flowers there did not disappoint us. As always, they were spectacular. The folks at the University of Alaska Fairbanks do a terrific job planting and maintaining that garden every year.
This flower was gorgeous. I took several photos of it, this one and another in macro. It's just one of many varieties there.
In September my friend Mae and I made our annual trip to Denali National Park on the Alaska Railroad. I think I prefer the park in the fall rather than the spring. The colors are vibrant and we generally see more wildlife. We go for just one night, a relaxing getaway from the office, telephones and bustle of our daily lives.
2011 is looking promising. Our good friend Bonnie is retiring this spring and she and Junior, her husband, have invited Mae and me to visit them in Las Cruces. We are going down in March and will drive to Phoenix to see some baseball games during Spring Training. When we return to Las Cruces we will play tourist, visiting the local area and spending catching up with Bonnie and Junior. March is a perfect time to go down. I love baseball, and prefer the smaller Spring Training parks to the big city arenas. After a long winter, the temperatures in New Mexico and Arizona are so very welcome. I look forward to getting some good baseball photos and hopefully some really nice photos of the New Mexico and Arizona scenery. We will likely visit El Paso, Texas, for a day as well.
After that, I'm not sure what the new year will bring - still talking about an Amtrak trip from Seattle to PA, possibly in the fall when the leaves are changing. We'll probably do our usual summer treks to the botanical gardens and around the local area. I'll go to the Midnight Sun Game and enjoy the summer in other ways.
To all of you, merry Christmas, happy holidays and the happiest, healthiest new year.
