Looking Forward into 2016

Welcome to 2016!  My first Friday Fave Fives of the year.  Thanks to Susanne for faithfully hosting Friday Fave Five every week.  How long has it been? [I just checked--I think my first FFF post was in September 2008.  That's amazing!]

How can I choose only FIVE?

1.  Having Daughter #1 and New Boy (he's certainly not new anymore--he's nearly eight!) for 10 days was wonderful.  New Boy is turning out to be a great lover of 'walks'.  Nearly every day, we walked our usual three mile route around the neighborhood.  We also spent one day at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and another day at the Huntington Library and Garden in San Marino.

2.  Son #1 and his wife and PAL joined us for two days!  Oh what fun!  I adored watching the cousins interact.  Our son has revived the family tradition of baking limpa, a Swedish Christmas bread.  He produced enough loaves to provide every family unit in our extended family with one.  We sent them across the country, near and far, to nearly twenty households.  The feedback from family was very positive and appreciative.  Here is PAL enjoying her first taste.

Now that she walks runs, there's no stopping her and nearly every photo is simply a blur of motion.

3.  Son #2 flew in from the East Coast where he is working in a post doctorate research position.  Since he is a Stanford alum, he decided to bless his dad with tickets to the ROSE BOWL!

As you can see, they are wearing Cardinal colors.  I quickly grabbed some red yarn and knitted up two hats for them.

4.  Alas, even wonderful Christmas season must come to an end.  We dropped Daughter #1 and New Boy off at the airport and decided to alleviate our acute feelings of 'missing them already' by 'walking it off' at Will Rogers State Historic Park.  After a short visit to Will Rogers' home (no photos allowed), we hiked up to Inspiration Point where we could look over Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and out to the Pacific Ocean.

5.  Now it is very quiet at Willow's Cottage.  That can be good, too. We are focusing on those little projects that we put off during the semesters.  The Christmas decorations are put away.  The candy is completely consumed.  We are walking every day.  I do love New Years because it brings with it a refreshing anticipation of what this new year will bring.  As I wrote in the previous post, this year I have chosen SIMPLE as my word.  Simple exercise, simple food, simple wardrobe, simple schedule.

Have you considered your hopes and goals for the year?  Have you chosen a word to focus your thoughts and actions in 2016?  Have you considered the amazing blessings you experienced during the Christmas season?