Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Second Home for the Holidays

It is an embarrassment of riches, choosing which home in which to spend the holidays.  It is also a bit of a difficult decision, because both Tucson and the Colorado Rocky Mountain cabin have much to recommend them.
This is how Christmas in Tucson looks
In Tucson we have lots of friends, La Posada, the Pastorella, our giant dried agave flower stalk to decorate, the fun of our volunteer work at the Desert Museum with folks visiting from elsewhere, and the distinct possibility of a sunny and warm Christmas day.  Our traditional New Year's Eve is spent sitting on the west side of Gates Pass, perched on a boulder, watching the last sunset of the year.

This is how Christmas at the cabin looks
This year the cabin is winning out.  We have good friends we are looking forward to spending time with as well as family we hoping to see in Colorado.  We need a cabin fix to see us through until next summer, and its cosy space and wood-burning stove would be most welcome.  We're hoping for a slightly white Christmas and bracing weather (please not the minus 13 we had last year), and enough good days to get out and do some hiking.  Our plans include a Yule Log with our hopes and dreams for the future, as well as some things we'd like to let go, written on notes and attached to be burned New Year's Eve (though midnight is an unrealistic expectation for us).  We're even looking forward to the four days on the road -- we do road trips together well -- and one of our resolutions on that Yule Log will be to do better at the transitioning from one place to another, and to FULLY be wherever we are.

Here are some images of Christmas last year, our first at the cabin:

First dinner guests at the cabin, our dear neighbors from across the lake
The ubiquitous Stellar's Jay, waiting it out near the feeder
A walk in the snow near the cabin
The view from the hilltop behind the cabin
We hope that your holidays are spent where you most want to be with those whose company you most desire.  May the New Year bring you health, happiness, and fulfillment.