How pleasant it is to be home with the whole family; how quickly it always passes.
This year, I was particularly grateful to have such an extended amount of time with Grace, whom we now get to see only a few times a year, owing to the fact that she lives in Germany.
We got to meet sweet baby Covin, our second cousin.
Eden was strangely good and cuddly.
Cheers for the new year.
The Christmas holiday was different this year: quieter, more somber. But still good and full of peace and joy. We are thankful for our families and miss the absent members profoundly.
We had a lovely Christmas holiday with both of our families in North Carolina. Part I!
Part II coming shortly…
We spent a peaceful holiday week-and-a-half with our respective families in North Carolina; it was difficult to come back home. We do love them so much.
There was dear brother Win:
And general family merriment at my grandparents’:
I was able to spend an afternoon with Emily in Asheville before she flew back to Amman, which was a wonderful gift in itself:
Plenty of lounging occurred.
And there was the presentation of this year’s Christmas miracle: “Ziggy + Seahorse,” an original by Grace Farson, which we are excited to prominently display in our home.
An ideal vacation, an ideal way to close 2012 and welcome 2013. Hope you all had equally enjoyable holidays.
We took a very short weekend trip to the tiny mountain town of Thomas, West Virginia, so the boys could visit Mountain State Brewing Co. (Liz and I were able to find a coffee shop, to our amazement, which provided some respite from the bar.) We narrowly survived the seemingly endless switchbacks and hairpin turns and the little Versa even trucked it up there. A fun and very different way to spend the weekend; more photos on Flickr.
Snax:
Longform’s Best of 2011. The best long-form journalism from last year. I really want to read all of these. I love a good, thorough, and fascinating article. (Longform)
The 25 Greatest Epigraphs in Literature. I love a good epigraph! This is a great and comprehensive list. Have you read any of these novels? Do you agree? (Flavorwire)
World’s Biggest Websites at Launch, 1990s. Wow, Amazon. Looking pretty rough. And Google, that exclamation point? Garish. (Retronaut)
Best Correction in New York Times History. This takes the cake. You have to admire their commitment to accuracy. (Best Week Ever)
Christmas Time with the Family. Grace’s touching recap of our (lovely and goofy) family holidays. (Como Say What?)
Most Anticipated: The Great 2012 Book Preview. Wow. Apparently, there are a lot of great books set to come out this year. I’m looking forward to reading many of them! (I’m especially excited about Marilynne Robinson’s When I Was a Child, I Read Books.) (The Millions)
Dallas Calligrapher: Fabulous Forty. Now that is impressive calligraphy: Flexible nib with white ink, slanted, on a hot pink envelope. I’m jealous of her skills. (The Lefthanded Calligrapher)
Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Cary Grant’s Intimate Bromance. Thoughts on the beautiful and peerless Grant and his versatile loves. (The Hairpin)
Here’s some stuff I did over our Christmas break. Now I need to catch up on work… clean the house… nap…
All holiday photos on Flickr. Maybe later I’ll talk to you seriously. And then debut my top 10 (fiction) books of 2011!
Early Darkness
Louise Glück
How can you say
earth should give me joy? Each thing
born is my burden; I cannot succeed
with all of you.
And you would like to dictate to me,
you would like to tell me
who among you is most valuable,
who most resembles me.
And you hold up as an example
the pure life, the detachment
you struggle to achieve–
How can you understand me
when you cannot understand yourselves?
Your memory is not
powerful enough, it will not
reach back far enough–
Never forget you are my children.
You are not suffering because you touched each other
but because you were born,
because you required life
separate from me.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Merry Christmas, everyone! I’ll be back at the blog in early January. Until then, I am going to enjoy a blissfully computer-free vacation down south. Hope your holidays are merry and bright.
Warmly,
Abby
Thoughts to distract me from tinnitus, which I recently contracted and recently discovered may have to live with for the rest of my maddening, whooshing life:
… In the end, it all just disintegrates into dog thoughts.
Whew. What a lovely, busy holiday vacation we enjoyed in the great state of North Carolina. A brief photo recap:
(More on Flickr!)
It’s hard to transition back into the real world, but we did have a magical holiday. Guion, however, is now sick again and I have probably the busiest week ever at work–which is why this post was written in advance.
Snax with leftover holiday honey-baked ham:
This Is Insane. Snow kind of makes me cranky when I have to travel, but I have to look on the bright side: At least we don’t live HERE, wherever this is. A time-lapse video of a blizzard. (Dooce)
Frost (24). Winter in France. (Flora Douville)
Satomi Kawakita. Such delicate, beautiful jewelry. If only I had $1,180 lying around for a ring… (All the Mountains)
Making Amends with the Guy Upstairs. The sweetest–and possibly most heart-breaking–prayer from a child. (FOUND Magazine)
The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas. It’s just… amazing. I have no other words. Childhood Christmas memories illustrated in MS Paint? It’s the greatest. (Hyperbole and a Half)
Hark, a Vagrant: 292. Hunks in the war and The Yellow Wallpaper! I am endlessly enthralled with Kate Beaton’s work. (Hark, a Vagrant!)
Pomeranian puppies. Don’t like little dogs, but these little fluff-balls are killing me. When they bark? Just sounds like a flock of chickadees. (Cute Overload)
Quote, a Waste of Eliza Dushku’s Talent. I love the Hylton family. (Mixed with Gold)
Holiday Slideshow. Slideshow of the annual door decorating contest at UNC Press, where I was an intern my senior year. I really miss these people. (UNC Press)
Natalie Portman in Vogue: Behind the Scenes. I think she is one of the most beautiful women alive and I love hearing her talk. I’m also looking forward to seeing and being thoroughly creeped out by “Black Swan.” Anyone want to go see it with me? (Faye Dinsmore)
Lars Wastfelt. Absolutely gorgeous and sweet family photographs from, of course, a Scandinavian photographer. I know, I have a type. (Miss Moss)
We’ll meet again soon, and I’ll start talking about my Top 10 Books of 2010. I know you’re thrilled.
Little Stories 