Joyeux Noël!

Christmas shopping, Christmas shopping. Oh, my goodness. I've already received quite a few wonderful gifts and I'm overwhelmed with the pressure of buying and making some lovely things for some of my favorite people, and making it "personal". Mom's gift was shipped to my house and I'm just happy it arrived in time for me to wrap and put around the tree. Dad's is ready but it needs a lot of wrapping paper! Suzy's is wrapped and looks very pretty...Netty's is the only one I'm still working on, and everyone else is pretty much covered. Phew! In the meantime, I'm feeling quite blessed that I'm so prepared this year. I got a surprise gift of lip gloss from a wonderful co-worker and some wine, as well as a Jean-Paul Sartre philosophy book, "On Being and Nothingness," from two other co-workers, which is precisely what I asked for! Lately, it seems people have been really thoughtful and considerate about seeking gifts that "speak" to me. I even received two books of poetry from good friends....Lately, my friendships have been growing more and more...so much so that I have been able to make special presents that tell inside jokes, or regard memories that mean something to me and hopefully the other person, as well. And I've been given presents as well, that I will cherish.

Truly a time of giving, and I'm just so happy to be celebrating this year! It is going to be a wonderful holiday! Not to mention my cousins from The Netherlands are here and we're having a blast...Arjan, Petra, Lex, Lisa...Love you!

Here are some pictures from the Christmas-Hanukkah soiree I threw a few weeks ago. Password is in lower case letters: christmas

http://gs98.photobucket.com/groups/l268/C3GMBB9Y2Q/?albumview=grid