Merry Christmas Everybody!

 

New grandmother Abby sent this lovely image from New Jersey.

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The shot on the masthead was one of my first shots of a bald eagle, on a frozen winter day in New Mexico.

Ken had captured one the day before and I wanted to get a shot too.

And I did.

Jeff and Gena are back in their Alaska home for a short spell. 

They left 80° Bonsall for -17° Fairbanks. 

Br-r-r-r.

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I stopped by Renée's yesterday to drop something off and get a slice of pumpkin pie.

Just what I needed, getting overloaded with sweets.

She has great christmas collections, from snow globes to little Christmas trees to angels.

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Ricardo wrote me from Thailand last night, reminiscing of fond memories juggling christmas ornaments together way back when.

Ricardo was my best juggling partner and we had quite a routine once upon a time.

Christmas ornaments are a bit more precarious than balls, clubs or lemons and you are guaranteed to lose a few.

We had a perfect inverse polarity. Shawn and I were always reaching for the same ball.

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I saw a coyote cross the road near Tinker's old place with a big fat black chicken in its mouth.

Merry Xmas Wiley.

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We went to Bill and Jean's place for their annual Christmas eve dinner last night. Bill turned 90 this year. We have been celebrating with them for about thirty years or more.

As you know I have been cooking a lot. 

Couple nights before last I made this chicken picatta with mushrooms, over mashed potatoes, turned out delicious, if I may say so myself.

Anyway I have been pining for a wireless meat thermometer.

Yesterday afternoon I got on Amazon to look for one but the good ones are really expensive.

I never told anybody, including my wife.

Things are short right now and I don't want to spend frivolously.

Lo and behold, Santa Jean gave me this Chef I.Q. Smart thermometer for Christmas.

So nice, just what I wanted!

I see a rare roast beef in my near future!

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RoxAnn sent over a picture of her yummy Christmas brisket. 

She said it cut like butter.

She and Mick have become really good friends.

I appreciate all of my friends and have enormous gratitude for both the friendship and all of the gracious blessings that we have received from everybody, a list too long to enumerate. Barbara, Michael and John, could not have made it without you.

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By my count, Jesus turned 2056 today and I think we all can say that he is still looking very good indeed.

Great genes obviously, no children to wear him out.

Now there is debate over whether he is a Capricorn or Leo but let's leave that for another day.

I wasn't there, were you?

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Laura Ingraham had a waspy conniption over a black Santa and elves the other day.

I was talking about Jesus's birthday with a friend yesterday and he said that people would plotz if they got a load of what he really looked at.

He said that it would be more probable that he looked like Woody Allen than the popular contrived image.

Or even Samuel L. Jackson, son of god forbid.

First thing they did was give him the nose job, right? 

Anyway, I'm down with whatever image you got for the man from Bethlehem, which means house of bread in hebrew, beit lechem. After all, I was once a long haired Jewish apostate myself.

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I join Beth, Miranda and Phoenix on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Ramona this Saturday. And soon we travel to meet Stutz for dim sum and then on to the zoo, with free passes bestowed upon us by our dear friends.

Have a merry xmas day.