Party time -- excellent!

After a year that was great in so many ways, and also
hard in some, it feels wonderful to be going to holiday
parties. But it's hard to have the fun I know we
deserve and manage to finish preparations for
Christmas too.

Tonight my son and his girlfriend decorated the
tree while Steven and I went to our neighbour's
delightful party. We had great discussions about
politics and movies, comedians -- you name it --
the kind of party discussions that keep you
laughing, arguing and generally having a
great time.

So... forgive me, but I have not painted today.
The tree went into my studio. I must get
back to a couple of things, and I can't now.
I did buy art supplies for a commission I'm
doing in a couple of weeks. So I was in an
art store, dazzled as always by all of the
options, which seem especially tantalizing
at this time of year.

Here is a photo of an amaryllis. The flowers
are almost as abundant here at Christmas
as poinsettias. We haven't got them yet
this year -- but tomorrow we will. We have
the tree, and it's decorated. When I wasn't
out at the stores today getting supplies,
I was baking dozens and dozens of cookies.

So far, they haven't all been eaten by the
local tasters.

Have an-enjoying-it-all-even-lineups-and-traffic day.