the merriest of days to you

'twas the night before

Off to spend the holidays with my Virginia sweetie.  Merry Christmas all y'all!

mind full? mindful?

May you notice the small joys of the day.

take my hand, I'll teach you to dance

The Broken Spoke has been on my must-do list since I moved to Austin and last night, I finally got to learn how to Texas Two Step.

SO. Much. Fun.  

And great exercise to boot~please notice the bad Western pun there.

 

This place offers an hour dance lesson and then whichever band is playing comes out and then, it must be said, the joint really starts jumpin'.   Was lucky enough to also finally hear The Derailers live.  V. fun band.

And then the owner of the place sang a song~and when he finished, he came over and shook my hand.  A most excellent way to kick of my vacay.

with thankful heart and joyful mind

Wexford Carol has long been a favorite and I've been enjoying this version on Yo-Yo Ma's Christmas album.

Just one of the little gifts with which I've inundated from sweet students this past week.  Methinks this is the perfect size to hold a passport and hit the world.

A serene Solstice to all y'all.

winter's walking

Sassy little dude stocking his pantry for Christmas dinner.

 Loved this trio of trees.

I'm sorry, but slapping a dapper bow tie on your los Muertos bird does not make it festive nor joyful.

Even the trees in the hood are doin' it up right in reds and greens.

Goldilocks of poinsettias

 Received two plants this week~wish I had thought to show scale.  The above flower is about 3' tall and the one beneath?  Is the size of a corsage.

Perhaps today I shall receive one that is in the middle!

note to selfie

Found an intriguing quote in reading Counterclockwise last night:  "Rather than try to learn from experience, we might be better off to experience learning."  I rather like the twist on that thought.  And in continuing that theme, stumbled upon this on Slate: note to selfie.

Here's to a peaceful day of experiences~may there be few lunatic SUV drivers on your path.

full moon rising

how could it be so?

lucky girl

Got a random survey in the mail regarding my TV viewing habits.  They included two crisp dollar bills.  And for that, I was happy to tell them that I think American television is for the birds.

And while I was flooded with sweet cards and gifts after all the recitals this weekend, the true blessing is being witness to my student's miniature struggles and triumphs in learning music.  Being a musician can be a precarious and tough existence, but I would not choose another path for myself.  Merry Christmas~a bit early.

it's begining to look a lot like

One of my miniature sopranos is belting out the title song for her recital today~so, the lyrics have been hanging out in my head.  Perfect words as I wandered the very fun 37th Street.

Most of my shots didn't turn out, but this display of the Stuffed Animal Rescue Project won points for most whimsical.  You fill out a brief paragraph about why you should adopt a certain pet and they will decide who wrote the most creative adoption application.

Gotta love a city where an entire display of stuffed animals is safe to leave out for three weeks.  Stay tuned for visits (yes, plural) to the Trail of Lights!

graciousness

Even though I was at Target by 11, the lines were insane.  I had one little item and the woman in front of me insisted that I go ahead of her.  As I paid, I thanked her again and she said that it was her delight to offer that as her Christmas gift to me.  

What a gracious thing for us to offer each other~a bit of pause in the seasonal insanity.  To pay attention to the human in front of us.