The Life and Times of a Fabled Flower

I had something I was going to blog about this evening, but now I don't remember what it was . . .

So, a random list of 5 things I'm worried about that have nothing to do with work, my kid, or money . . .

1. I'm worried about the bats. Seriously. The bat population in several states has taken a huge hit. Arkansas hasn't had a problem yet, but, with three endangered species of bats that call us home, the parks service is thinking about pre-emptively closing the caves to protect them. Which is one of those sort ironic "not good" things, since seeing them in caves and learning about them there is the way that most people become aware of the facts about bats.

2. I'm worried about vampires. No, I'm not sleeping with a rope of garlic around my neck. What I'm really worried about is that the explosion of chick-lit vampire books has got publishing houses convinced that paranormal romance and ONLY paranormal romance sells.

I'm also worried that the vampires are a symptom of how rabidly anti-aging our society is becoming. We fill our fantasy lives with creatures that live forever and never, ever, ever need botox or Olay regenerist or anything. As I get older and my grays really start to come in, I worry that "looking your age" if you're over 30 is going to become so passe that it impacts you professionally and personally. Doesn't being a little older give you a certain amount of gravitas, a certain air of authority? I know in my profession, the more you look like the students, the less respect they give you. But if we're going to reach a point in our society where being 35 is okay as long as you LOOK 22, I worry about what that means for our priorities.

3. I'm worried that all this rain in April and May means that we won't get any in July and August. That's pretty self-explanatory, I guess, as long as you know that I live in the South.

4. I'm worried about a statement I heard on the news about how actors make good politicians because they're comfortable in front of an audience. I mean, I suppose that's true to a point, but shouldn't the majority of our public servants come from backgrounds in which they have experience serving? I'm not saying that Val Kilmer won't make a good governor for New Mexico or that Gary Sinise is a bad idea for a "new face" for the Republican party, but, seriously . . .

5. And I'm worried about whether I should be worried about the baggage retrieval system they've go at Heathrow. (bonus points to the first person to comment and tell me where that's from).

38 weeks.

That's how long it's been.

38 weeks later and most of my life has taken a more serious downturn than Citibank's stocks.

Ah, well.

That which does not kill us only serves to make us wonder if those around us would be better off if it had.

More later, since I've rediscovered this thing - and remembered the account.

For the last two days - and tomorrow - I have been attending New Teacher Orientation at the Hot Springs School Board office. And, I just have to say, WOW. So this is what it's like to work in a district that not only HAS money, but puts that money to use where its mouth is. Again, just WOW.

Naturellement, the meetings have been nigh on unspeakably boring, but that's par for the course with these things. What has been GREAT WOW WOOT YAY is that I have already developed good working relationships with several of my upcoming colleagues, including the new school librarian and a thoroughly awesome geektress tech teacher.

It's going to be an exciting year.

Back to the title of this entry - I just have to muse a bit on life's weird little coincidences. You see, our new librarian has never been a librarian before - he was a band director. Slightly odd career change, but he's a really great guy and has a genuine desire to see our out of date library become a vital working part of the school again. What's fun about the whole thing is that I HAVE been a librarian for the past five years and, in fact, was just trained not three months ago on the new automation system that he found out TODAY that we're getting. So, basically, I have a built in ally in the library from moment one and so does he. This is a major good thing for an English teacher.

On top of that, my class load is going to require me to put ALL of my degrees to work, since I'll be teaching Freshman Comp as well as High School. I met with the principal yesterday and he told me how excited he was to have a member of HIS staff that was able to teach it rather than having to count on the apparently witless adjunct faculty that the local community college usually sends. Icing on that cake? I have a very good friend who not only teaches community college comp, but is ALSO her college's liaison with the local high school, so she's already lining up teaching resources for me.

That all being said, I can't wait to really get started on this school year.

Moving is mostly complete. We added yet another member to our already burgeoning menagerie when the princess's father finally admitted that he could no longer handle his dog and if we didn't take him, he would send him to the shelter. NOT the fate I wanted to see Gabe suffer, so now we're in the process of attempting to train a neglected, HUGE, six month old husky to actually be a decent house dog. It hasn't helped that (or maybe it has because we're stuck inside with him so we're spending more time with him) the weather here can't seem to top out at anything less than 100 for the last week or so. However, aside from a few accidents and some unfortunate stress-induced doggie poop trots, Gabe's doing pretty well. Fortunately, he's a very loving and loveable puppy. Now all we have to do is teach him not to jump on us (60 pounds of puppy HURTS) or use us for chew toys. Oh, and somehow stop him from howling, which he apparently learned to do last night.

That seems to be the wrap-up from here at Casa Sensational. More later, I suppose.

Top ten things I would rather do than pack and move

10. Use tweezers to remove every hair in my nose.

9. Perform dental surgery on my cat with no anesthesia - for either of us.

8. Flush my head repeatedly in a NYC dance club urinal.

7. Shoot myself in each of my extremities with a staple gun - TWICE.

6. Go to the DMV.

5. Try on swimsuits in a store with clear glass dressing rooms.

4. Attempt to make 15 different, very specific, orders in the McDonald's drive-through.

3. Walk ten miles in 6 inch heels that are 2 sizes too small.

2. Spend a week in Antarctica artificially inseminating penguins.

And the number one thing I would rather do than pack and move:

Be waterboarded with pickle juice by Dick Cheney himself.

Beginning Monday evening and culminating last night, we had an extra cat in our house. A stray kitten, probably about 8-10 weeks old, ventured into the apartment while the door was left open as I moved things and rearranged things. Now, normally, this would not really be a problem, as I have a fairly good rapport with cats and most strays can be handled with the the judicious use of bait in the form of a can of tuna, chicken, or cat food.

But, alas, THIS kitten had other ideas. After chasing it around the living room, during which time it climbed the curtains and repeatedly vertically leaped several FEET up the walls, I briefly caught it. Briefly, because it immediately demonstrated my friend's old axiom: Be careful of kittens, for they are pointy on five ends. Basically, the little monster ripped and bit and ripped and bit until I just couldn't hold on. At this point, it ran under my bed.

When we couldn't get it out from under the bed, I tried to raise the mattress and box springs to get to the space in which the kitten was hiding. Naturally, by the time I got that done, the kitten had vanished. Hoping that the vicious little beastie had run back out the front door, I put my bed back together - slamming my pinkie finger between the frame and box springs in the process - doctored my wounds and went to bed.

The kitten, however, had NOT gotten back out of the house. Throughout yesterday, I could occasionally hear it meowing, but couldn't locate it. There is an open attic access in the top of my closet, so, even though I couldn't think of how it might have gotten up there (we had closed the door), I sort of assumed that it had gotten into the attic and I was likely going to have to locate some professional who could remove it.

As I laid down to go to bed last night, I heard the kitten AGAIN, Come to find out, it was NOT in the attic, it was behind the dresser next to my bed. I tried to remove it, as it clearly believed it was stuck, but the moment I reached for it, it realized that it was not so stuck after all, and dashed BACK UNDER THE BED. Buggers.

Long story short, I finally managed to extricate the wee beastie from hell. Unfortunately, its attitude had not improved in 24 hours, so it launched another razor-toothed, needle clawed attack on my hands. I got it wrapped in a sheet that was laying nearby and got it out of the house, but not before it bit so deeply into my right thumb that the pad is swollen and the knuckle is actually bruised.

So, now, instead of packing like I should be, I'm nursing a nigh-unusable thumb, which throws a major monkey-wrench into my ability to do just about anything. Gah.

Oh, and the kid can't really pack either, because she fell off her scooter yesterday evening and has two of the worst scraped knees I have ever seen.

I hope, dear readers, that all your weeks are going better!

Most of my readers know ('cuz I posted it all) what the results of the last week or so have been. It's all been so fast and furious, I've barely had time to process the enormity of what can happen in just a few days. So, for those of you who have been hoping for something for a year and wondering if it's possible for it all to break loose, here's a recap and example.

Monday, June 23 -     10:00 am: venture to Hot Springs High to hopefully introduce myself to the principal. End up sitting down and chatting with the assistant in charge of the English teacher search. Find out that the job advertised is NOT open, but that they've just had a teacher leave, so there IS a job. Stress to the asst that I have no problem staying in town if necessary when he mentions the possibility of getting me in to have a "preliminary interview"
                                        2:00 pm: assistant calls to schedule an interview for Tuesday morning at 10 - much rejoicing ensues.

Tuesday, June 24 -     10:00 am: Walk into principal's office to discover that "preliminary interview" is a full-on group interview with 3 admins, the International Baccalaureate coordinator, and the English dept coordinator. Stumble through answering questions fired from all sides. Leave interview convinced that they will NEVER, EVER call me. Head to Wal-mart to pick up Shel for lunch.
                                         10:45 am: get call from principal asking to meet me at the superintendent's office to meet HER. Principal informs me that he intends to recommend hiring me to the school board, which is meeting THAT NIGHT. Begin shaking and repeating OMG OMG OMG over and over.
                                         11:15 am: meet superintendent. Explain why I want to move to Hot Springs (leaving out desperate desire to move in with Shel, of course) and answer a few questions for her. She seems suitably impressed at the ways that I have bent over backwards to be of service to my current school and approves of me. Head out of super's office to spend the rest of the day wondering if there is any reason the school board might NOT vote me in.
                                           4:30 pm: Meet with potential landlord at potential house. Discover that house is AWESOME and that we wants it, my precious, oh yes we does. Inform landlord that we will have a decision from the HS school board the following morning. Landlord is clearly happy with us, as he offers to sign lease contract with no background/credit checks necessary.

Wednesday, June 25 -    9:00 am: manage not to sound sleepy when principal calls (mostly because I'd barely slept anyway) to tell me that board voted me in - pending Arkansas reciprocal certification (which is a no-problem).  Principal informs me that I need to be BACK at HSSD offices for paperwork and fingerprints at 9:00 on Friday. Spend rest of day floating on air until time to drive back from HS to Ruston (gah, I hate that drive).

Thursday, June 26 - Spend day running around Union parish handling resignation paperwork and collecting Morgan's education paperwork and shot records. Meet up with Mom, who asks awkward questions about Shel's "lifestyle". Explain to Mom that Shel's "lifestyle" is no different from mine despite her "alternative orientation". Leave it at that for now (I like the closet - it's where I keep my shoes!). Drive BACK to HS in time to get a decent night's sleep before morning meeting.

Friday, June 27 - 9:00 am: Meet with asst super at HSSD to fill out reciprocity paperwork and get fingerprinted. Dash back to apt to collect kid, and head for the high school to meet with the IB coordinator, who explains that I get to teach IB English (yay! smart kids!), 11th grade English, and probably Freshman Comp 1 and 2 (woot! my degrees are going to get use!).  Spend well over an hour with her while she explains things and gives me a tour of the high school. Leave wondering what I've done to myself to switch from a 1A school to a 5A school.
                               4:00 pm: Meet with landlord at house. Begin filling out lease paperwork. Landlord accidentally writes rent figure $25 lower than he quoted us. Honestly point out mistake to landlord, who decides to just leave it and charge us the $25 less (more wooting!) Get keys to house, write ENORMOUS check for deposit and 1st month's rent. Spend an hour at the house after he leaves making sure everything works and just soaking in the fact that we NOW HAVE A REAL HOUSE in a really good neighborhood. Do the "new house" celebration thing of dinner followed by a long trip to Lowe's picking out paint colors and new door handles for the bathroom.

TOTAL TIME IN GETTING AND CONFIRMING NEW JOB AND GETTING NEW HOUSE: FIVE DAYS

Saturday, June 28 - spend the day picking up Shel's nephew from our hometown to help with the moving. Locate and put a down payment on dining room chairs (my grandmother gave me her table, but no chairs).

Sunday, June 29 - begin packing up Shel's apt.

Monday, June 30 - meet with principal of elementary school where we hope to send Mo. Find out that the ONLY slots available are in the second grade, so we're IN with no trouble (more wooting). Come back home Monday evening (pout).

Tuesday, July 1 - Go to my old school to pack up my classroom. Turn in my keys. Spend drive home trying not to cry over leaving my students and colleagues. Begin some packing at home and discover that there is nowhere in this apt to stack boxes (thank god for a storage building). Notify landlord that we are moving.

Wednesday, July 2 - Have lunch with Mom and Dad. No awkward questions this time. Dad agrees to let me borrow his truck (yay). Take load of old clothes to Goodwill. Pack more boxes, note how final the feeling of packing up books and taking pictures off walls is.

Today - More packing, more paperwork, more of the same. No work tonight since it's the annual fireworks display for the 4th. Shel and Eric can begin hauling stuff from the apt in HS to the house. It's officially ours today.


But, what about the diet, you say? I haven't really been sticking to it, lately. But . . .

Weight (home scale): 170
Waist measurement: 36 inches
                                        

Well, it appears that having the scale half on and half off the rug was what was throwing it off. Getting it flat on the tile floor seems to be a bit more accurate - DUH.

Anyway, spent the weekend out of town, but was still careful-ish eating. Shel says she can already get her arms further around me than she could before, so I guess that's good news.

Bought a bunch of produce at the grocery store yesterday - I think I'll never get sick of grilled meat and fresh steamed veggies, but I suppose it's possible.

Walked the dog again last night - only one lap because it had rained a good portion of the day and the walking trail was a mud hazard. I suppose walking the grocery store counts as a bit of exercise, too.

Have spent today scrubbing the bathroom. Not quite finished yet, but it looks a HELL of a lot better.

Diet-wise, I have almost completely cut sugar out. Funny thing is, now, when I have some sugar, it makes me queasy. I should probably take that as a sign.

Supper last night: stirfried chicken, squash and broccoli.

Lunch today: ham, lettuce, tomatoes, provolone and mustard on a whole-grain bagel and baby carrots.

weight: (home scale) 175
waist measurement: 37 - OMG that's SMALLER!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!

It all started with a pair of jeans I found in the bottom drawer of my dresser that I haven't been able to wear since I got pregnant . . .
Those of you who know me IRL know that I am a, well, full-figured girl. I'm a good solid size 14/16 from the waist down and 16/18 from the waist up. Lately, I've become a bit concerned with what I see in photos and the mirror. I appear to be shifting a bit from "full-figured" to "chunky". This is not only not a good feeling to have, it's also beginning to concern me heath-wise.

However, there is some debate about how much weight I actually need to lose in order to bring myself back under the top limits of "healthy weight range". The scale here at home reads between 172 and 175. The scale at the doctor's office reads between 182 and 189. The ranges, based on height and age, say I should top out at about 163. Ideally, I'd like to hit somewhere below 160. I'm not unrealistic. I know I'm frightfully curvy and anything below about 155 would be too much - I'd stop looking like me.

Thus, the big question is, am I 10 pounds overweight, 15 pounds overweight, 20 pounds overweight, or a bit more?

Experts - being the two people who see me naked on a regular basis - disagree.

SO, I've been issued a challenge. Lose the first ten pounds and see if I'm happy. If not, I can keep cutting back and lose more. If I am, then I can find the happy medium that doesn't put on weight but doesn't really try and lose any more.

Ten pounds isn't hard, right?

Ok, here's the starting points.

Weight - we're gonna settle on 178 - an average between the scales at home and the scales at the doctor's office (Home scale says 172)
Height - 5 foot 7
Bust - 47 inches (WOW)
Waist - 39 inches (yikes)
Hips - 43 inches (shouldn't this be more like the bust?)

Today, I walked the local park's longer walking trail WITH the dog for two laps. I also folded a ton of laundry - housework counts, you know.

Breakfast: smoothie made with Instant breakfast, a packet of strawberry banana protein water mix, a cup of 2% organic milk, and a handful of ice.
Lunch: Roast beef sandwich with provolone cheese and mustard - on whole grain white bread
Supper: Steamed squash, zucchini, onions, broccoli, and shrimp - seasoned with Tony's, a shot of sesame dressing, and lemon juice - and it was NUMMY. (I didn't really limit the portions on this except for the shrimp because NO ONE can tell me that I have to limit my portions of fresh vegetables)

Things that have to go bye-bye: cokes, fried food.

This is going to be my weight-loss diary - Your support would definitely be appreciated.

1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.

2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.

3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.

4. Every piece of bread you eat brings you nearer to death.

5. Bread is associated with all the major diseases of the body. For example, nearly all sick people have eaten bread. The effects are obviously cumulative:

99.9% of all people who die from cancer have eaten bread.
100% of all soldiers have eaten bread.
96.9% of all Communist sympathizers have eaten bread.
99.7% of the people involved in air and auto accidents ate bread within 6 months preceding the accident.
93.1% of juvenile delinquents came from homes where bread is served frequently.

6. Evidence points to the long-term effects of bread eating: Of all people born before 1839 who later dined on bread, there has been a 100% mortality rate.

7. Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as a teaspoon of dough can be used to suffocate a lab rat. The average American eats more bread than that in one day!

8. Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low incidence of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.

9. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and being fed only water begged for bread after as little as two days.

10. Bread is often a "gateway" food item, leading the user to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.

11. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.

12. Newborn babies can choke on bread.

13. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.

14. Most bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.

In light of these frightening statistics, we propose the following bread restrictions:

1. No sale of bread to minors.
2. A nationwide "Just Say No To Toast" campaign, complete celebrity TV spots and bumper stickers.
3. A 300 percent federal tax on all bread to pay for all the societal ills we might associate with bread.
4. No animal or human images, nor any primary colors (which may appeal to children) may be used to promote bread usage.
5. The establishment of "Bread-free" zones around schools.

So, I've been wondering about the Showtime drama Dexter. Not having Showtime, I was about to commit petty internet larceny and download DVDrips of the show, when I discovered that many, many shows are readily available in streaming media without any registration or commission of a crime!

The best site I have found is TVfreeload.com. However, there are literally scads of streaming sites available. Which leads me to wonder just why people think they need to either purchase special equipment or to pay for premium channels to watch these shows?

At any rate, if you want to catch up on a favorite show, check the internet! Of course, it won't help if you're one of those people panting for next week's episode of Heroes. Then, you're just gonna have to wait!

Hee Hee. Poor Dorrie.

Here's the link at Icanhascheezburger

So, today we got early for snow! In March! And I didn't get to go to Hot Springs for the weekend!

Needless to say, I'm sulking.



Well, I took a break from sulking during the panic attack on the drive home at noon with the snow blowing at me. Ever since I had that ice-storm wreck back in December, I hyperventilate any time ice hits my windshield. So, that was a white-knuckle, barely breathing experience.

This is what the parking lot looked like when I left school:



But I did get back home in time to go pick the princess up at school rather than having to negotiate my way to her after-school care and get her there. This was a good thing - her elementary school is about 6 or 8 blocks (city distance) from where we live, so it was smooth sailing after that.

I had time to see the "pretty!" in the snow when I got us home safe. The driveway:


What I'm wondering is how the global warming advocates are going to explain relatively heavy snow showers in March in the South as part of the climate change phenomena. I'm sure they'll link it in somehow, but as it is 33 degrees outside and it should be 60, I just can't see how anything is actually getting warmer here.

Ah well, at least the kid got to build her first snowman!

Okay, so I'm really bad about keeping up with getting my hair trimmed and when I finally do, I have to get a lot cut off to get the dry, dead stuff gone again. And that's what happened this time as well.

So, for my own edification, I'm taking an informal poll. I hope that the Legionairres will chime in here and give me their various opinions. Oh, and the real people, too!

Old hair style: Mid-back length


New Hair Style: barely shoulder-length



Both pics are pretty terrible, but the question remains -

Grow it back out? Or keep it short?

Help me out here, folks!

Tonight begins the yearly weekend of music and memories. The 8th Annual John Simoneaux Memorial Jam. This weekend I will see people I only see once a year, people who have driven or flown in from all over the country to gather, visit, play the blues, and remember my friend.

Johnny was the big brother I never knew I needed. He was one of the best. After I broke up with my abusive boyfried, he listened to me for hours, putting in his two cents now and then to make sure that I understood that not all men were like that. He was gentle and kind when it was right to be so and didn't hesitate to tell me to pull my head out of my ass when I needed that, too.

I missed Johnny's last live performance. It was "just another Tuesday night Jam" after all. Would that I could go back to that Tuesday night and hear him play one more time.

Still, his music and his influence live on. His love and laughter will ring out tonight as old friends reunite and remember. His passion for his music will drive us to raise another year's worth of money to contribute to the scholarship fund we have had endowed in  his name (last year we raised $16,000). 

It'll be a hard weekend. It always is. By Sunday, I'll be emotionally and physically exhausted. My ears will ring for days. 

But, just like every other year, I can't wait!

Alrighty then! I'm going to combine ze bloggie things and only write in one. Since most, if not all of my readers are here at LJ, I will be using this one. Some entries will be friends only, others will be public.

Shout outs to the Substitute Legions! Come on over here witcher bad selves!

I am basically putting the same entry in this blog as I am at my blogger site. I have this idea that I want to actually start blogging again, but right now, I seem to have many more blogs than I do entries. So, I'm debating which one to use where. So far, it seems like this one may be easier to use in terms of typing, image insertion, etc. Plus, there's a whole crazy band of YABSers to make comments here!

I have taken up painting. Acrylics, that is. I have this crazy notion that I would like to have original art (by me, the kid, people I know, etc) on my walls instead of crappy cheap Monet prints. Not that Claude no longer rocks my world, but I've had those prints since FOREVER and it's time for a change. 

Funny thing is, neither of my first two paintings are actually for me. 

The first one is for Shel. For Valentine's Day and our First Anniversary.

And this one is for the silent auction of the 8th Annual Johnny Simoneaux Memorial Blues Jam.



Next up, though, are a pair of flower paintings for my bedroom walls. I've got the background laid down - an airbrush-y mix of a greyed lavendar and a wedgewood blue that looks much better than it sounds. 

Been managing to get in a good bit of reading lately. Here's some recs: 

Lauren Willig: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and all its sequels. This series basically provides a set of "sequels" to The Scarlet Pimpernel couched in a modern, chick-litty frame story of a History Ph.D. trying to research the Pimpernel's successors in the exciting world of early 19th century British espionage. Don't read it until you've read the Pimpernel. If you, like me, are a fan of this time period, however, this is a fun, fun series. Note: NOT regency romances! Very little bodice ripping and no throbbing members. 

Stephenie Meyers' Twilight Series: There's a real reason why the 14-18 year old girls can't put this series down. And it extends to us older girls as well. If you're a vampire fan at all, and especially a vampire fan who's sick of reading sex scenes involving Anita Blake and some random guy, have a gander at this. The action, adventure, and romance are there, minus the NC17 rating. 

Scott Westerfelds' Uglies, Pretties, and Specials:Great stuff, post apocalyptic without being heavy-handed. Also YA novels, like the Twilight series. Nice examinations of what it means to have a choice and what it means to be the person required to make choices for others. 

More from me later!

Does every life have a soundtrack?

Is it an orchestra, rising and falling, playing a majestic John Williams score as one adventure ends and another begins? Are fears and nightmares accompanied by Danny Elfman's jarring minor chords? Are quiet moments underlaid with solo piano, joyful times by splashy fanfare?

Or is it a rock opera? Meatloaf screams "I would do anything for love!" in the background as you cling to the one person you can't bear to let go of. Pink Floyd drones about bricks as you plod to the office for another day of workplace monotony. You watch a friend playing video games and their total absorption is that of a deaf, dumb and blind kid.

Perhaps it's a corny broadway musical. Rogers and Hammerstein even. Falling in love means "I must have done something good." Breaking up is time to wash your hair. One too many beers makes you "a girl who cain't say no".

As the year winds to a close, we're all forced to share in the soundtrack of the season. Everywhere, from every public speaker. Will it break the rhythm of the music that already accompanies our lives? Or will it complement our own personal soundtracks, connecting them and creating a new symphony that harmonizes our soundtracks one with the other?

As you hear the snow crunch and see the kids bunch, as season's greetings ring out from every silver bell, may your own soundtrack be enhanced by the sounds of the season and by the harmonies of those you love.

Happy Holidays, my friends. Thank you all for adding to my symphony.