hand in hand

On this, my last night to cuddle with my niece, I stared at her tiny hand as she slept, firmly clasping my own, more weathered and less lovely one*
*incidentally, the lighting of this photo is due to an attempt to capture the moment without awakening the little one with the disturbance of a flash. . . and only afterwards did I realize that I liked the consequential effect of the photo's color cast :-)

hair and there

tonight i was touched by the peaceful air of these two as they sat, my niece and her uncle. i was also, incidentally, amused by the contrast between full and not-so-full heads of hair :-)

the evening mood

she seemed fittingly serene as i enjoyed a christmas eve cuddle with my niece . . . so at grandma's bidding, her uncle grabbed my camera to capture the moment

. . . by the chimney with care

i am blessed. thanks to my brother's marriage into a most amazing family, i am enjoying a welcoming "home"coming for the holidays. and one small example of this is tonight's project: here i caught a moment of Mom at work on my stocking. she has not yet missed one family member, in her traditional handwork, and i, even as a grafted member, am no exception.

as if . . .

. . . she needed to give her auntie an excuse to capture another moment of her "grace" :-)

heaven

my perfect niece and her lovely mama :-)

from where i sit . . .

. . . i watch the snow fall over the Sound, happy to be on the inside looking out. the great thing about traveling is reconnecting with old friends. so tonight an old college friend and i take refuge from the cold in her lovely apartment. we dine on fine pacific fare, listen to seasonal music, and enjoy the warmth of fellowship on a cold day in december.

the end

As a good-bye gift, under the supervisions of my dear friend and coworker, the students all put together this book, into which each one contributed her or her unique portion. I have been sentimentally savoring it, amazed at their creativity and humbled by their thoughtfulness . . . is this the end of the chapter or the end of the book?

aflight

Since arriving in this area, I have been fascinated by the beauty of the Cattle Egrets, wanting to have my camera in hand each time I see them. So I was excited to have it while driving over to the nearby farm with Jill. As I stood outside the car to take this photo she assisted me by honking on the horn and startling the birds . . . and causing them to oblige my up-to-then vain calls and whistles :-)