Motorcycles at the gym; Mochi and Monaca;  The gym Parking Lot 

Time to take down the 2015 Christmas Tree.

Margaret does it.

Monday Lunch... A Special Time

Dick and Jim...Ben, Irene, and Dave...Ginny and Dick...Margaret, John, and Ginny... Bill and Ruth

Start the day right... THE CHRISTMAS MOON was full for the first time in almost three decades... Today it's a waning moon, hiding behind whips clouds coming into a beautiful, blue sky ahead of a late afternoon, early night rain. I got the moon and all the pictures today with my cell phone camera...
I stopped for the bay pictures on the way back from taking John and Carol Baker to the airport for their big trip to Antartica. The afternoon was a treat for me: the children of my friends from Gomper's Secondary School... almost grown up... made my visit to the San Diego Zoo a wonderful experience. I watched Nikko, from Anchorage, in the play area of the zoo going round and round on a special instrument... I expected him to stumble drunkenly after jumping off...  He didn't miss a beat... jumped off and walked, not stumbled, to another play machine in the area.

I couldn't resist aiming my cell phone camera in the direction of two of the zoo's vipers: a rattle snake from the California desert and a poisonous snake that hangs around cocoa and coffee trees.

Sunday after Christmas...

Jeremy, David, Margaret, Nancy and I did a tour of some of the most interesting exhibits at the San Diego Museum of Art...  David, who knows Asian Art, did the docent tour.  We learned about Mahayana Buddhism.  Bodhisattva is the Sanskrit term for anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. A Bodhisattva is not, however, a Buddha. I particularly liked the sliding Japanese doors with peacocks and a chunk of white jade that had been carved into an elephant.  Wow!  After Asian art we went over to the new section at the museum of music in art.  Another Wow!  My favorite painting in the exhibition is the one by Jean-Baptiste-Camile Corot of the ancient story of Orpheus and Eurydice.  The painting shows Orpheus leading Eurydice, his bride, out of the Underworld returning her from the land of the dead to the land of the living.  He is forbidden to look back.  Somewhere along the way he glances back and she disappears. Corot made a decision not to include the end of the story... A different decision was made by several musicians who have been intrigued by the story.

CHRISTMAS DAY... The family gathers around the Christmas tree... followed by traditional breakfast of chocolate gravy and biscuits, sausage and eggs.  The family breakfast gave way to a mid afternoon dinner with the Lanoiselees.  Jeremy and Lucky... and everybody else... I've got to learn to play a harmonica... Life is good!

THREE CACTI IN THE DAVIDS' BACKYARD... "Twas the night before Christmas and we had a party at The Davids' house... Before we went over to North Park, Nancy and I took a trip to Tuan Phat grocery store at the top of our hill.  I got the pictures of fish and a crab in their tank.  Later before the party Nancy gave her Mother an iPhone lesson...

December 23rd, two days before Christmas, and I can’t resist using a picture I didn’t take for my BLOG.  This is Utsu Bear, moving back into the remodeled home of Dave and Clyde.  Dave Yoshida took the picture.  Good anytime, but perfect  two days before Christmas. Also perfect two days before Christmas is Irene making her special Christmas breads.  In the Chula Vista Mall we went to see the new Star Wars movie...Good Show... and a good place to take passion Flower photographs... and also a good place to get pavement writing that means something to people who work there but nothing to people like me.  I can't resist taking a picture.