It's small things that matter -

I hear the mail carrier laughing at the box at the end of our driveway as she hands Bob the mail. Her name is Vanessa and she is awesome, the best mail carrier we've ever had. She brought me a balloon on my 80th in October, and handed me a beautiful birthday card. Her family came from Trinidad and she grew up in New York City. Not only is she thoughtful in regard to delivering our mail, she is fun to chat with, always has a smile and giggles a lot.

Christmas is about so many things. We try to keep them light and bright. We might be feeling low but we do our best to be the life of the party. Sometimes this is hard. I feel I've lost my way in regard to my blog. You may have noticed how long it's taken me to get back here since my previous post. So much longer than it's ever been in almost 17 years. I haven't shared my Christmas decorations although I did decorate, or told you of the holiday concert which took me back to when my granddaughter sang in that choir. Hearing young voices in a church setting was beautiful and lifted my spirits for a couple of hours. This week I will be in the kitchen baking and making a few of the important holiday snacks and sweets for a small Christmas Eve get together.  

I'm still fighting whatever this latest 'long life' respiratory infection is. All I know is that it's thrown us for a loop since we came home from Arizona at Thanksgiving. . . . . . and Christmas preparations have truly been an effort, especially last week. Bob is doing better whereas I'm still feverish and just keep coughing.

No more for now. Will I be back here in the New Year? I'm planning on it.  

Happy Christmas to each of you, your families and loved ones, and may the coming year be a good one for everyone.

Thankfully November is over!

 We came down with a really mean spirited upper respiratory infection in Arizona.
Perhaps picked up on the flights west, planes are full of germs!

 First me, and within a couple of days I had shared it with Bob.  We were sick

 and miserable. Sightseeing became a chore rather than enjoyment. 

 Falling into hotel beds at night was somewhat comfortable. . . . . however when

 one is sick it's much better when it's your very own bed in your home - you know

 what I mean.

 For eleven days I have sneezed, coughed, blown, wiped and ached into oblivion.

 For Bob it's been eight similar days and then yesterday, after sneezing and

 perhaps rubbing his eye, he suddenly looked strange with a dark blood filled eye

 socket caused by a hemorrhaged blood vessel!  No treatment, time will
 heal - meanwhile he does look odd, like a leftover from a Halloween party! 
Sorry Bob.

   It's not the 'flu, we had our shots in early October - unless of course it's a
 strain not covered by this year's vaccine. Who knows. . . . . . .

Mission San Xavier del Bac

'White Dove of the Desert'

Tucson, Arizona

A comforting spot in the southwest desert.

I have had a second unexpected sad November death in my UK family,

 along with news of serious health issues for other loved ones.

Today, the arrival of December is embraced and I hope things get better.

I've been away from here a week - unusual for me - but what with travel, death,

illness, family issues, and lack of computer access (we will have our new ones

next week), my blog has been pushed to one side for a while.