This Christmas is Dedicated to Henry.

Here is my Christmas Tree. It doesn't have any ornaments; they knock the poor thing over. All and all I think he's pretty happy. A friend suggested I buy the smallest, ugliest tree I could find, otherwise no one would buy it, and it would be sad and lonely for Christmas. Merry Christmas little guy.

Christmas celebration number one. These are two happy people and one happy tree. Look at those smiles. Happy Happy :)

Nick in Freiburg! We had a wonderful visit. He made it in time to catch the last two hours of the Christmas Market.

He danced in front of the Rathaus, even got a few spectators.

Beer in my kitchen.

Beer at Schlappen. It's called Bananecolaweizen, a sweet beer with banana and sprite.

It's delicious.

Unfortunately this picture fails to capture everyting festive about Christmas Eve. A friend hosted a dinner party with an incredible spread, merry wines, and a lovely tree. In the least, here are two satisfied dinner guests.

Oh my gosh it's Erinn! :) Also a delightful visit. What a beautiful beautiful familiar face.

I'm not sure where to start with Switzerland, but this being the start of the ski day, seems like a good spot. You have to take several cog-train rides, each one anywhere from 10-50 minutes, to get up to the slopes. The ride is gorgeous. The whole experience is gorgeous. I spent more time standing on the slopes and looking around than I did skiing, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Train station number two. Very first run, still quite low in the mountains, not quite yet above tree line.

Village in the mountain. It's amazing, people can take twenty minute runs from the top straight to their door. Or favorite pub. This picture was taken at the highest accessible point in this region of the Swiss Alps. I traveled train to train to train to three lifts, then two gondolas, to reach the top during an ever worsening storm. When I got to the top, the avalanche warning was at it's highest. The temperature during the very last gondola ride alone, which was certainly the shortest, dropped 18 degrees F. The board above is a showing of the Swiss Alps that are supposedly in front of me. They had mountain guides to go down with you if you were alone. I decided to get a meal, mosey around, and enjoy the blizzard. The buidling is on a rock at the top of the mountain. There is one exit point: a narrow door out of which you ski. I finished my meal, retrieved my skis, and walked to the door at the very moment they closed it. I was literally the first person they closed the mountain on. I was six feet away from the exit and closing in, and they shut it down. This was depressing. I slumped down on a bench along with six or seven heart-broken others, and waited until they determined the wind was calm enough to send us down in a tram. I hate to think about all the skiing I missed in transportation to and from this stupid rock.

Of course my attempt the next day proved much more satisfactory :).

Ahh. That's a little better.

This is the last stretch to get to the top. It starts at the top of that rock in the distance. Really not that great of an altitude change, it's impressive how much the temperature can drop.

mmm white mountains. Here are some views from the top. I stayed for two hours or so before I skiied down. I could have stayed longer, only skiied one run the rest of the day, and would have been just as happy.

Die Sonne probiert! Die Sonne probiert! Proclamations from one happy woman. The sun's trying!!

Coolest walkway ever. I felt like Bruce in Pulp Fiction approaching the ring for the final time. The next few pictures document my run.

View just out the doorway.

noch mal. Nothing but powder before me, nothing but powder in front of me.

Looking back at the top.

Re-entering civilized skiing.

This is the converging point. Out the peak door there is a narrow trail everyone takes, then you split and find your own powder for a while :). Here's the slow comeback into a trail.

Finally blue skies.

pretty.

woohoo!!! :) Dad and I right off the Schilgrat lift, Mürren.

noch mal.

Bottom of Schilgrat lift :).Ein schöner Ausblick.

Once again, what a cool village. This is where they filmed the bond film "On her Majesty's Secret Service," in case you've ever heard of it. I hadn't.

All the visits were great. Nick and I celebrated Christmas together, with a tree, presents, carols and all. I got to show Erinn my favorite Sunday morning brunch spot. Her, her friend, my father, and I were all able to have dinner together at my apartment. Nick and my dad got to see each other for a solid hour or so. I certainly do not underestimate the value and luck in being able to share my current spot in life with friends and family. I couldn't ask for more. My father and I got to visit many of my favorite restaurants, walk through a good deal of my daily life, and vacation in Switzerland together. He also got to meet a couple of my friends here, as did Nick. I didn't want anything more than that. Sharing my life with the people who are important to me, that's what it's about. Leading your own way, and having people who will smile and be happy for you when you say hey look, look where I am, that's pretty cool.

Aside from the gaping lack of Henry on the slopes, there's one other reason he comes strongly to mind. It's actually not him but Jone, his mom. Nick Mon and I had a few people over for a dinner party on the 25th. We used every dish we possibly could to serve everyone. It will be a while before I forget what my kitchen counter and table looked like after everyone left. To be honest it was one of the most satisfying sights I've seen, signs of life in the form of emptied plates and cups, every last one we owned. We cleaned for 2 and a half hours. After off-target attempts to find the right dishwashing music, I landed on Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen. The album brought back stark memories of the Kenyon kitchen and mama Jone. Cleaning dishes with HankTank in the quiet night at the Kenyon household is as much a summer night routine as is playing Mile Davis or Dexter Gordon albums, or playing frisbee in the street by city light. Henry's kitchen, Jone's territory, is one of my greatest homes, as are Jone and Henry. Suffice to say, the album was perfect.

Greetings from a few of us in the program here. This gathering was a great kick off to the holidays.

Here's to a relaxing and refreshed merge back to the runnings of things. Happy day everyone.

:)