December 24, 2009 – Hey, Merry Christmas. Maria and I are back from Brooklyn, where we had a blast going out to dinner with Emma. Brooklyn is a lot more expensive than Washington County, New York. Better food, too. We had the greatest time. Emma has a part-time job in a retail wine store – her day job as she writes – and is loving it. I got a bottle of 16-year-old Glenlivet, which I will enjoy.

Maria and I stopped in New Jersey on the way back to do some last minute shopping. New Jersey is getting difficult for me to even drive though, but nothing makes me appreciate the farm more.

Thank for the many, many wonderful messages of affection and good wishes. I am touched to hear this little enterprise means something to others, and you and your messages mean a lot to me, too.

I guess the point of writing is to touch people in one way or another, and a writer who gets people to think and react is doing his job. I will work harder to do better, but it is very gratifying.

Christmas is, to me, about, family, friends, and the search for a deeper sense of spirituality. Hard to do in a country that seems to measure it’s spiritual life primarily in terms of NASDA and the Dow Jones. Yet for all the struggles and challenges, the messages I get are profoundly spiritual and I appreciate them. I am heading out to have Christmas dinner with Maria’s family, and some of us will return tonight for Christmas at Bedlam Farm. We will open presents tomorrow in front of our neat little tree.

I have taken two days off from taking photos – resting my elbow – and hope to pick it up tomorrow. I will surely be blogging. To a meaningful holiday. Check in later. I’m thinking about New Year, and the many goals I have for 2010. The dogs were quite happy to see us, and I did stop and get them all some bones and treats for Christmas.