Early December

With just the cat and the chicken and Bob and me at home, the pressure's off. The Thanksgiving horn of plenty and the lady pilgrim candlestick holder are still laying about and the frig still has ubiquitous leftovers that are now likely headed for the compost bin. We're thinking about decorating for the holidays and perhaps a little simple entertaining.

We attended the Messiah Sing-Along last Monday, Dec. 2, at Grace to the Nations Church. We warmed up with some carols led by the Tucson Boys Chorus conductor. Last year we arrived late and sat with the tenors and I sort of kept pace with the sopranos seated right next to us. This year, we went with the soprano section, and guess what I've learned I'm an alto. We snagged a new copy of the libretto. This year, the bass recitative "Behold, I tell you a mystery" caught my ear. "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be chang'd in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." The chorus chimes in with two pages of "we shall be chang'd, be chang'd" and indeed, that pretty well sums up this year in every way.

I attended Adrian and Febe's wedding in Agua Prieta yesterday with my friend Laura. It was a charming wedding and lovely dinner, and we had a great time catching up on the drive. The minister did a lovely job of reminded the couple and the congregation what it takes to tend to the marriage over the long haul. We were all amateur photographers and took many shots of the beautiful day.

It looks like we really do have to produce our passports in about 6 months to cross, so I've got to get mine renewed. In the meantime, my faded, but certified birth certificate got me through our very thorough crossing guard. We stopped again at a Border Patrol check on the north side of Sierra Vista. One wonders what changes may take place.

This evening we drove across town to Nick and Mary's tree trimming party, an annual tradition for many moons. I walked in and brutally thought, "who are all these old people?" Oh, it turns out that they are us, though now there are kids of original guests coming.

Mary always slaps a nametag of a famous person on your back and you ask questions of others to guess your identity. I was a dead male Arab - it turned out to be The Prophet Monammad and Bob was Helen Keller. The theme was persons who 'rock hope.'
Mary asked us all what the highlight of the year was. Hmmm, I thought about it and decided doing a handstand on my own at the wall was pretty wonderful. It took me about 6 years to actually pull it off. Bob and I also agreed having the house to ourselves was also pretty nifty. We do miss the girls and wish they spent more time with us, but there's a simplicity we enjoy.

A tip from Mary on tree trimming....she had 3 or 4 bouquets of baby's breath for the final glory instead of . It tucks in beautifully.

Hannah sent photos of snow in Denver. It looks like she and Matt will stay there for Christmas this year, but they may visit afterwards and sister Laura is planning a visit out to Denver in January.