We are incapable of moving. Slugs. Sugared-out.

I said to Don as we returned home from Rick and Doug’s: “I can’t wait to get back to our routine.”

We find that the older we get, the more we cling to our routine – some might say, boring – days. We like them. There’s a comfort in them.

But we had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas coffee cake was devoured:

Stella did a bang-up job, as usual.

Presents were exchanged. Records were played.

Eventually, we arrived at Rick and Doug’s for a light repast. Our mutual friend Russ was there as well. Russ made vegetable soup that was delicious! Rick made popovers that were light as a feather. We brought pies – pumpkin and lemon meringue – that we ordered from a local restaurant. We had a lovely time. Then we came home and crashed from too much sugar and watched the Ellen Degeneres stand-up comedy special on Netflix and an episode of Monty Python.

I’m ready to cut out almost all sugar from my diet. It’s time. I go through these phases and I always feel better once I’ve done it. As of January 1st: bye, bye sugar.

Thought you’d like to see a picture of Sam. We love him.

I hope you had a lovely Christmas. Happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate it!

Happy Wednesday.

We do have a wee bit of snow on the ground that will melt during the day, but nothing like this. This was taken last year and it remains the perfect photo for the holiday.

Don and I want to wish everyone who reads this blog a Merry Christmas. Thank you for taking time to read the posts, leave comments, cheer us on, and thank you for being there when we needed support during tough times. As the writer of this blog, I can’t begin to tell you how much you all mean to me. I thank you with all my heart.

This Christmas, I pray for all those who are feeling alone, who are scared, who are ill, who are grieving, who are lost. I pray for those who live in war zones, who live in fear. I pray for all those who have suffered loss due to natural disasters that have changed their lives in a second. I pray for the thousands of children who are being held by our government, who should be with their families. I pray that they are reunited as soon as possible. I pray for all those who seek a new life in our country, remembering that Mary and Joseph were refugees seeking shelter and security. I pray for justice, for a return to compassion and love and doing what is right. I pray for our country. I pray for new leadership, leadership with a strong moral compass. I pray for all those who feel the sting of intolerance, for all those who feel marginalized, who feel the weight of hatred and oppression. I pray for all those families who have lost someone to gun violence. I pray for all the animals who are mistreated, who need a home, who are routinely subjected to the violence of man. I pray for the animals who feel pain and suffer because we continue to see them as sources of food, cutting off their lives in a violent manner so that we can have some veal or a steak. I pray that we can see all God’s creatures as equal.

I pray that everyone feels love and is loved, that we live the lives we are supposed to live. That we send love outward. That we abandon hate. That we never again let someone who is filled with hatred and intolerance hold any sort of public office. We are better than this. Our citizens and the citizens of the world deserve better.

That we realize that love is all there is. All there is.

Merry Christmas, my friends. May your Christmas Eve and Christmas be filled with love and laughter. May you have quiet moments of joy.

Much love to you,