Hello, dear friends. I have not fallen off the face of the earth, as may have been feared. Sometimes, wild gooseberries are just that…we wander off the beaten track and enjoy adventures and then find our way back. So, here I am, finding my way back to tell of what treasures December 2009 had for me.

First of all, it was my 41st birthday on the 6th. I still feel like I’m lying when I tell my age. I think I have one of those eternally young souls. I don’t like the phrase which I often hear “I refuse to grow up.” That phrase smacks of rebellion, immaturity  and shaking fists at the sunrises and sunsets and the seasons that make up our sense of time. No, it’s not that I refuse to grow up. I don’t grow *old*. I have grown up and try to handle myself and household responsibly…but growing old just has not ever been a thought or an option. I still play, still delight in finding the first shoots of green plants in Springtime and in the wonder of Nature in general. And…I still love surprises. So, imagine my delight when I went to work the day after my birthday and received this beautiful surprise from the family I’m Nanny for…

The mama and little girls made this lovely cake for me and had a beautiful little celebration for me that evening. I just felt so loved and appreciated.

Also, the day before (my actual birthday) I was on my own. My husband was in Idaho, enjoying snowfall and doing his best to pass Tank Commander School for the South Carolina National Guard. (he did pass, by the way.) So, instead of feeling too sad about being on my own, I was thankful he was in Idaho and not Iraq (which he had been on previous birthdays) and went out to find myself a treat. Look at what I selected…

A chocolate cup! It was filled with a coffee flavored chocolate mousse and the whole thing was edible…even the cup and spoon!

hee hee!

My husband came back from the frozen Midwest and we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on the 22nd. Lots of wonderful times, some hard times, too many deployments and subsequent lost years together. This year brought us our most difficult times. But we came through on the other side of deployment stress, still in love and still best friends.

Then it was Christmas. I had some much appreciated and needed time off to catch my breath, to enjoy being in my own home and to rest.

We had the most perfect, absolutely triangle shaped tree imaginable.

(please forgive the quality of the next two pictures. Either my camera was not feeling well, or it was dazzled by the beauty of the Christmas tree.)

Appreciative of it’s natural beauty, we opted to forgo all of the decorations we have and simply put in colored lights…

While we decorated, John Denver and the Muppets kept us company on CD. Here is a video of my favorite song from the album, A Christmas Together, The Peace Carol…

The day after Christmas, my sweet husband took me to the Moroccan restaurant in Savannah, the Casbah (a Moroccan Hideaway, the sign out front whispers.) It’s like going on a vacation to the exotic land of Morocco, to go into that restaurant. It’s always a surprise to leave it and find myself back in Savannah, Georgia! Afterward, we walked along River Street (named because it runs along the Savannah River) and were treated to many wonderful surprises by the street performers there. Then, we discovered Leopold’s Ice Cream shop, oh yum!

These were just a few of the wonderful surprises December had in store for me and for us this year. Now, I look ahead and wonder what delights lay ahead…come along with me as we discover them.

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