My holiday walks are happening with all the whimsey of the weather gods in attendance. Yesterday, wet and cold, I stood under the sinewy arms of the Madrona tree and wept for all the unnecessary horror let loose in the world right now......

Today, I stood laughing out loud with the jolly garden hotei, his upraised arms holding a wild red poinsettia and a delightfully silly reindeer nestled at his side. And I turned my face to the brief appearance of the sun, soaking it up and feeling if only for a moment that I had done my candle-lighting solstice duty as eldest daughter and perhaps the light would return for another year.....

The challenge is to do what we can to spread that light around a bit, I guess.....