I could complain about being exhausted but I won’t.  Our 6th Annual Holiday Open House exceeded my hopes for the event.  Each artist sold three works.  I did not keep a guest book for once, contenting myself to greet each person and give the welcoming spiel.  I estimate about 175 folks attend.  Not our largest group, but a wonderful group, including ten or so Rotarians.  We filled the Harvester’s barrel, and collected $250 for the charitable efforts of the Waldo Brookside Rotary with tips the bar.

I’m a good kind of tired today.  I went Christmas-shopping, and even found a boiled-wool hat to replace my beautiful green one which I believe I left in a courtroom this week and have yet to locate.  The new hat came from the same store, and was even marked down!  A sweet clerk, remembering when I purchased the lovely and lost one, went down to the basement to check her stock.  Voila!  Such nice folks, at World’s Window!

Two Snicker’s bars sit on my buffet, gifts from Aneal Vohra.  He brought them to our party last evening and snuck them out of his pocket to surprise me.  My heart skipped a beat.  He knows me well, does Aneal.  He surely knew that his gift would coax out my sentimental side.  One of the bars triggered laughter — it shows what Aneal thinks of me.  The other, ah, the other!  Memories of my favorite curmudgeon. . . Thank you, Aneal.

On the buffet, too, I’ve placed the first few presents for my family-by-choice, the friends who have gone the distance with me.  Tomorrow, I will haul the old fake tree from the basement, along with the  boxes of ornaments.  I’ll cry, and hang angels, and think about the many years that we’ve had that tree here at the Holmes House.  This will be the first year that I’ve decorated it alone.  Slightly bittersweet.  But it’s fine.  It’s just fine.  Life continues.