Holiday Fun; Prezzies! The Red Guardian; Great Weather

It's been a busy holiday season, with multiple dinners with our gourmet club and other friends. Out of town visitors are especially fun. Here we see Michele Uss and Suzanne with Michele's sisters, Marlene and Randy over for a visit. They and Suzanne had a great girls' gabfest on spiritual topics while I nibbled on some of the yummy Christmas cookies, fudge, Silverbells, and cheesy crackers that had shown up from special friends (thanks to Lynn, Reve, Donna and Jan!)








Christmas also brought more opportunities for Rudy to help open presents. It's almost as much fun as chasing squirrels. Suzanne's mom Ruthie was most appreciative of Rudy's help in opening her gifts...















One of my favorite surprises was from Mike and Beth Pasakarnis - The Thinker's Thesaurus, which provides "sophisticated alternatives to common words"... such as "hugger-mugger" instead of "confusion", or "villipend" instead of "disparage". But my favorite word to date is "opsigamy" instead of "marriage late in life"... the book goes on to elucidate the usage by describing the situation (I'm also thinking of some past-65 Villagers) where honeymoons would not be in Buffalo or Niagara Falls, but Sunset City or Viagra Falls. My Lovely Bride will be ecstatic when I use this abstruse and gelastic verbomania...

Speaking of desirable presents, I only get My Lovely Bride the most exotic and special gifts. One of my favorites (and hers too, I hope) was a new down sleeping bag for our six week hike (pilgrimage) next year. Don't worry, it wasn't her only present. I also got her a compass so she won't get lost if we're not  together...


 

Her favorite gift to me is shown here. I asked her to model this ultralightweight rain poncho, because she's getting one also. Seems it rains a lot on the Camino in October, and we'll be doing 15 mile days, potentially in moderate to heavy rain for hours at a time, and these ponchos are critical in keeping dry. ("Suzanne, wouldn't a taxi do even better?" Smack!)

In the background of the above photo, careful observation reveals a new painting hanging just to the left of our front door. Titled Red Guardian, our good friend and spiritual artist Barry Mack out in Portland, Oregon, painted this piece recently, and when Suzanne saw it online, she fell in love with it. At that time, she didn't know what Barry had written on the back regarding its meaning... "The Red Guardian stands by the Aspirant, Patiently assisting them in their passage Into the doorway to Higher Consciousness... With the Red Guardian we are able to ascend And realize that all conditions or circumstances are subject to Divine Will. We discover our Path is protected and The Light will prevail." It is fitting that it now hangs just outside the room in which Suzanne gives readings and meditates ... the doorway to Higher Consciousness.  For more on Barry Mack and his exceptional art, see www.BarryMackArt.com

Just as an aside, here is how the Red Guardian arrived at our door - packed in an enormous wooden crate, safe from the most difficult roads and airline turbulence imaginable. DHL even gave us a 30 minute heads-up so we could make sure we were at home to sign for the delivery. And even better, I got to use my power tools to open the 69-pound crate, which was sealed with 16 long wood screws.

While walking the puppies along the shore of Lake Sumter the other evening, we were blessed with a lovely sunset. It was also a pleasantly warm evening, and as we witnessed this rose-colored sky, we thought of our friends in cooler climes like Alberta, Colorado and Minnesnowta, and hoped that our 70 degree weather continued for a few more weeks. We know that winter will eventually come, but it's been ages since I've seen that snow shovel...