Here's the post where I try to be happy about being home from vacation.

 
Coming home gracefully is not my best talent.  My mother is particularly gifted at it, but then she also has Christmas cleaned up by noon on Christmas day with the tree bare and set neatly by the curb.  Different people have different gifts . . .

I am much more likely to still be wallowing in Christmas on January 3 and wondering not only why I own so much stuff but why on earth we thought we needed to buy more . . . but I digress.

It was a wonderful vacation!  

There was quite a bit of this:

Southern Utah's Snow Canyon, one of my favorite spots on earth

My trusty hiking companion, far ahead of me as always and wishing I weren't such a sissy

as well as plenty of splendid Mexican food, visits with dear old friends, and precious time spent with family seldom seen.

There's something quite restorative about sitting down to a plate of pancakes the size of one's head with a friend one has known since kindergarten . . . there's just not a lot about yourself you need to explain to that kind of friend.





And that is worth more than any sightseeing, exciting destinations, or even the best souvenirs money can buy.

So now that I think about it, 

I guess the vacation was simply perfect.  

Today?  Less so.  But that's okay. We need the every-days to help us better appreciate the extraordinary ones.

One of the best things about my trip was getting to see  some of the fruits of the 365 creativity challenge I threw out last year! 

My sister Lisa decided to make a card every day for one year.  Her initial thought was that it would help her use up the tons of paper/trims/ephemera she has accumulated over the years for no particular purpose.  Instead, I think she accumulated much, much more than she started with.

It takes stuff to make stuff, right?
(A motto I live by.)

And her cards were a delight to see!

Her challenge was much more difficult than my Happy Thought -- she actually had to travel with card-making supplies.  But she never missed a day, and sitting in the room with her, surrounded by all that creativity and determination and PLAIN OLD DELIGHTFUL STUFF was absolutely worth a dreaded flight in and out of  Las Vegas.  (And I think I'm guaranteed a pretty great card for every holiday for the rest of my life!  Just sayin'.)

My sister Lisa, basking in the well-deserved satisfaction of her 365 pieces of creativity

She's already on to the next challenge, which is practicing the piano for 30 minutes a day for a year.  Of course that meant practicing at my parents' house while we were all there . . . it was a bit of a flashback to the many years of childhood I spent wondering why on earth my sister had the drive to practice at 6am while I was trying to sleep.  (Love you, Lis!)

An inspiration all the same, and it made me realize that if I can't keep up with her when I'm the one who threw out the challenge to begin with, then I should be ashamed of myself.  So I'm starting Monday.

But first: 

mail, 

bills, 

groceries, 

laundry, 

unpacking, 

vacuuming, 

returning phone calls, 

working out . . . .

Welcome home, Susan!!!

Thanks.  

Good to be here.