And to all a good night....

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I went to my brother in law's famous Swedish smorgasbord yesterday. 7 hours of an eat-and-drink fest. You start out with glugg, the next course is accompanied by red wine, then the next by a dark beer. After that, you drink Aquaveet, and if you make it past that, you drink your favorite of the four. I got punished yesterday for eating the Swedish meatballs before I finished all the fish dishes. The punishment? 3 shots of Aquaveet, which is like a vodka infused with the flavor of caraway. I would have preferred a spanking, but I quess the aquaveet was the next best thing. They all laughed at me later, as they said I had a rosy glow that only comes with imbibing the nectar of the Swedes. Personally, I think it was my hormones set off by the drink, but who cares. I was relaxed and laughing for the first time in days.

Larry always dresses up as Santa for the little children, and they and the adults alike are thrilled when he makes his magical appearance and hands out stuffed teddys, nutcrackers, candy canes and chocolate.

I did not get to bed till 2 am and thank God Megan and Alanna slept till 9 am. We take hours to open presents, which is fun. We each open a present at a time, and Larry, being Santa, usually goes overboard. I am thrilled with new music, DVDs and CDs on meditation (do I need that),art books, and art supplies. He knows I have big art plans this year in between everything else in my life, and he likes to keep me well supplied and in a good state of mind, therefore the bottle of Patron (when meditation is not enough, you need some medication!)clothes, silk nightwear and lovely lotion. (this girl has GOT to have her lotion!)

It is late, the guests have all left, I am fried, but I want to dig into my books and read, or else watch a movie. I was blessed to have spent quality loving time with my daughter; I don't even want to think that is could be the last holiday together, but it was hard to keep the dark shadows away---each time she was sick. But her attitude is great, she is in love with a guy who adores her and I hope that it lasts for a while.

The photo is of my house. It always looks so different in photographs; more magical, bigger, and cleaner than what I see through my own eyes. It is like seeing it through a different set of eyes, a different perspective. The camera captures the light, the mood, the essence that we sometimes don't see with our subjective familiarity of the place or person. I wish I could see the world like that all the time. How interesting that would be?

Tonight I am seeing through the eyes of a child, the eyes of youth, and the eyes of a woman with many experiences. And they are all good as they bring something different to my being.

Good night, be safe, Patti

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