Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Happy 7th day of Christmas 

& New Year's Eve!

Z & I celebrated a quiet, cozy

holiday that included a couple of church services,

savory artichoke, olive, & onion pizza,

& homemade pasta and creamy basil tomato sauce

with shrimp & scallops for Z.

We also went with some of Z's students

to the famous Casa Bonita,

which was definitely an experience

we will not soon forget.

Now Z is off to the Orange Bowl

with some good friends, 

so we had to eat our New Year's

black-eyed peas & braised greens

before he left.

Happy New Year everyone!

It's beginning to look..

a lot like a white Christmas.

Over the last couple of days

over 14 inches of snow fell here, 

and there are massive drifts all around,

over 2ft on our deck!

Inside the house, though, 

things are all decorated & cozy.

I love our little tree...

it's tiny, but we didn't

have room for a large tree.

I think it's adorable.

oooh..holiday bokeh time.

Almost all of our Advent chocolates

have been consumed...

Christmas is almost here!

Thankfully the sun is out with clear skies today, 

so the snowy mountains are amazing!

Family photo

Just another photo I like

from the recent visit

with Z's family.

We took a day trip to Estes Park

and I snapped this shot of the 4 of them.

It makes me happy.

Party like Bernie

Oh my, I have been a terrible blogger...

how is it already almost Christmas?!

These last few weeks have been filled

with juggling work, crocheting & making gifts, 

cleaning, throwing a little get-together, 

decorating our tiny Christmas tree, 

interviewing (more later), 

& shopping.

Whew!

Also, I had a little issue with my

camera that's made it difficult to 

actually take photos of all these

goings-on.

I did use Z's iPhone to get a few shots

of the open house we had for 

Z's students.

Of note:

1. Our tree is so small that Z's head completely blocks it out

in this photo.

2. It's obvious that we know how to party...

Z is reading to everyone.

 They were all so tired from exams that

they were happy to sit, drink warm cider, 

and eat some holiday treats...

oh, and of course there was the 

first annual Christmas viewing 

of clips from

Weekend at Bernie's II

& the subsequent demonstration

of the hit dance craze, 

The Bernie.

Yes, holiday cheer & tradition abounded.

Anatomy of a sunset

Yesterday Z & I took advantage of some warmer weather

by getting outside. I took a lovely hike, and as I waited

for him to return from his long run, 

I chronicled the sunset's progression on his iPhone.

It was simply stunning.

And this morning...SNOW!