Dragonfly Ranch

Can you tell she’s happy?

Don’t know how long the Caravan will hold up, so Phil was kind enough to accompany me to Madera to pick up this little 2014 RAV 4. Will take a bit of getting used to, size wise, but it sure is a pleasure knowing I can get from point A to point B without fear of a breakdown!

Sent from my iPad

Juleribbe (http://www.norskeklubben.ca/juleribbe/), potatoes au gratin, and red cabbage.

As Betsy prepares to attend her fourth Christmas party of the week…

Our (almost) daily walks start out with 3 humans and 4 canines. Betsy and her pups go back in while Phil and Fritz and Arlin and Chester continue on down into the little valley. This little road is so picturesque.

As I’m sure everyone knows, last Monday was the 225th anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Because this is probably the best excuse I will ever have, I’m using it to justify doing something I’ve wanted to do all my life — take an extended trip to Europe and see (or revisit) some of the places where he lived and worked.

So Arlin and I are leaving in early February to spend three weeks, mainly in Vienna, Prague, and Salzburg. We have plane tickets to Munich and a rail pass that will get us from city to city.

And we already have tickets to see Don Giovanni in Prague on February 14, in the theater where Mozart conducted the first performance in 1787: http://www.estatestheatre.cz/et_history.html

Betsy’s photo of the crèche a few days ago didn’t do it justice, in my opinion. Here it is in all its glory — including the tarantula on the roof.

The aliens are arriving in their space craft while Santa waves them in. I may have to get a bigger stable soon, what with the multiple Marys and Josephs, not to mention three babies in their mangers.

Sent from my iPad