Merry Christmas!

What a week! It's been nice to be out of the office, because my social life has been way too busy to allow for work, too. I'm not typically a social person, but the Christmas holiday options have kept me hopping.
On Monday, I took the 7:58 bus from Duvall to Bellevue, bumping into my friend Shannon O'Donnel at the transit station. We nearly walked into each other, as we were both intent on the next part of our respective journeys, but we did have time for a quick hug and wishes for happy holidays before parting. She was on her way to her first day on a new job, and my first stop was the Barnes and Noble a couple of blocks from the bus station.
I really didn't intend to buy myself a gift...but found a really cool new field guide to trees by the National Wildlife Federation...they had the bird, wildflower, and insect versions, too, but I only got the one. I really like the way it's laid out, and I think it will be a big help with my Kamana homework. Tree ID is still hard for me.
My next stop was in Kirkland to help Ellen Haas finish some Christmas cookies and set up 100 luminarias at the park. We watched the firemen set the bonfire ablaze, enjoyed the caroling from the Christmas Ship as it sat off the shore in Lake Washington, then went back to her house for cookies, a nasty rum punch, and general merriment.
I napped on the couch while we waited for the lunar eclipse to begin. Jonathan woke me up in time to run out on the deck and see the beginning of the penumbra. Now, Seattle in December is not the best time to view an eclipse. While it was not raining, the clouds were thick. Still, the sight was worth waking up for. We went out several times to look in awe at the natural phenomena.
On Tuesday morning, I make biscuits and sausage gravy - Ellen says she'd never had it before! She cooked up a nice omlet, and Jonathan joined us before heading off to visit his family in Idaho. I used my new field guide to identify the tree that Ellen had cut - it was a nice Noble Fir. Ellen said I was correct, and I was really impressed with the new book!
Ellen and I went back to the park to pick up the luminarias, and found that some of the candles were gone from the paper bags...then we started to find them burried under the leaves...one tea light holder was chewed, with half the candle gone...squirrels, we decided, were at work. I pooped out before our planned trip to see the trumpeter swans land at Bob Heriman Park, and chose to catch a bus back to Duvall and go to bed early...I slept 10 hours straight!
On Wednesday evening, Shondell and Darlene came (with home-made egg nog) and we shared a rotisserie chicken and watched "Lethal Weapon", my favorite Christmas movie.
Last night was for Christmas Eve services, and early to bed...this morning I opened the package mom and Susan had sent, and was delighted to find, among other things, an autographed copy of a book of cowboy poems of faith!
Life is good here. Merry Christmas to all!