From our house on Bluff Street, to our friends on Daily Kos around the world:
So here's my lifelong wish,
My grown-up Christmas list;
Not for myself,
But for a world in need:
No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
Everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.
(music by David foster, lyrics by Linda Thompson-Jenner and Amy Grant; performed by Amy Grant) (Not performed by the Bluff Street Festival Singers, seen above)
Our (virtual) doors are open to all--so please come in and have some hot beverages with us!
Our tree is lit....
This is our main Christmas tree, 9 feet in height, with ornaments from all over the place on it, ranging from our Harry Potter ornaments to variations on the Three Wise Men.
Both of them....
In the library, we have our short Christmas tree, with antique ornaments dating back 60 years, to the earliest years of her parents' marriage.
The mantle also....
Nancy found glittery antique Christmas cards to decorate the garland with. She liked it so much she didn't add any stockings!
Things we are grateful for this Christmas Day:
- Nancy and I are home together for our fifth consecutive Christmas.
- We will be with her family, also for the fifth consecutive year.
- Both of us are healthy; after Nancy's scare with Crohn's disease in April, which landed her in the hospital, it has been in remission.
- Finances are tight--but all debts were paid down this year. The one credit card left with a balance has been paid down also. We've even started saving for a future trip to England!
- This amazing 108-year old house we live in, which I'm running pictures of today.
- Our friends, here on Daily Kos and beyond, and for the fun times we've had together.
- We both have good jobs and a steady income. Neither job is perfect, but in the present economic climate, we'll take it.
- Our 65 million+ countrymen who voted with us for Obama, and on a related note, the end of the Shrub Administration.
Our dining room is ready for you also...
Some neat stuff we got to do this year:
- Campaign 2008! I was in Springfield for the introduction of Joe Biden as Obama's running mate; O'Fallon, Missouri, to see McCain and Palin (though the Concentrated Stupid laid me low); shook hands with Howard Dean; and worked with the best-organized and led campaign I have ever worked with.
- Travel! Nancy went to New Mexico to meet a longtime online friend in person for the first time; I went to San Diego for a veterinary conference, and renewed my ties to a city I lived in back in the 1980s; both of us went to Chicago to the Terminus convention, bringing together Harry Potter fans from around the world.
- Meetups! In San Diego, I had dinner with San Diego Dem, whom I hadn't seen since Yearly Kos 2007; we both met jnhobbs for the first time just last week, on tour with Vince Gill and Amy Grant, and at the same time got to see birdbrain64 and schwede for the first time since YK'07. A great time was had by all, and I hope we all see each other again soon.
Some more sights around Alton:
One of the many historic (and large!) homes on Henry Street, in the uptown district. Each Christmas they set out luminaries on Christmas Eve.
Some other homes in the Uptown district.
This six-chimney beauty is on George Street.
From our house to yours, we wish you a wonderful holiday, no matter which one you celebrate!