The "Year Ender" Countdown Begins...

For those of you that have been wondering what's happened to and the Family Buick over the last week, I'm happy to report that I'm back in California after a healthy and happy Holidaze in unseasonably warm Northern Wisconsin. I was a bit too pleasantly preoccupied with stuffing my face and showing off Maya to get all snarky about the constant drumbeat of goofs from the Bushies over the past few days. I'm sure the NSA is happy to have had me off their watch list up through Festivus. But since I'm psyched to be both back on this horse and supplied with broadband connectivity, I've put up a few pics to start showing Maya's reaction to my homeland's snowy Seasonal beauty. Maya seemed to wholeheartedly sync with the 'Sconi vibe, played well with her cousins, and generally charmed the long underwear off those we encountered along the way. The weather was approximate 60 degrees warmer than last year (highs right around freezing), which allowed for some outside time and no discernible loss of digits. Highlights included a sleighride on a local farm with the whole famn damily, delicious local "delicacies" (venison, pheasant and lutefisk, just to name a few), our traditional Christmas Eve service at my family's Methodist Church in Spirit, Wisconsin (an ACTUAL place, I assure you) and loads of quality time with Grandma, Grandpa, and the whole cheery clan back yonder. At the moment, Maya, Sarah and I are in Santa Barbara, doing the same sort of special bonding with the other side of the Family Tree. Expect plenty of shots from this festive mix to be posted in the next few days to balance the Holidaze punch.

As we're heading to the end o' '05 and prepping for the Delightful Backside of the Aughts that begins in '06, I'm putting a few thoughts together for my Traditional Year Ender Missive meant for family, friends and interested observers. If you'd like to receive a copy or worry that I've lost your email since you got out of jail, send me a quick heads-up to be included in the distribution list. I won't post the Year Ender here, but I'll be happy to include you in this hopefully entertaining summation of '05. And I'll also peg you for future mailings that will showcase all the updated features I've got planned for '06. Hope your own Year End lists are filled with reasons to look forward with unceasing glee. Rock on.