I am waiting for my coffee to drip, hopefully a little bit faster than the drips in the picture. It is a picture Jess took on her trip and I am hoping she visits soon so I can ask her more about her blog on South America. I did have an e mail from two friends,Joyce and Ken, who are spending some time in Ecuador. They are finding it different but much to their liking. They found that Christmas is celebrated with comradery and laughter. In the little village where they are, sixty people got together in their friend's shop. These people come from all over the world and do not speak the language . . . Spanish I think, were fortunate to have those that were bilingual translate for each other. It was so much different than any Christmas they had celebrated in the past with no packaged gifts but gifts of friendship. I can well imagine that they told stories about their own Christmas traditions and because they found an exchange of 'self'' they found the true meaning of Christmas. What a cacophony of noises must have permeated the room. Joyce and Ken are enjoying their fantastic trip and who knows, they may decide to stay.

They left Brookings in late October and came to see me before they took off for what I would classify an adventure of a life time. They packed and stored all of their belongings and went through a myriad of paper work before they could travel there. Joyce worked all year getting things ready for this trip and was happy to be joining some friends who have been over there for some time. They came by to say goodbye and I hated to lose them as they had become good friends, you know the kind that drop in and have a cup of tea after their daily walk around the neighborhood. Unique folks with a panache for living and I miss them.

From what they have written so far, the village is small and there is a central location to pick up their mail which is then posted on the outside of the building for them to check and pick up when a letter arrives. Joyce had not gotten the letter I wrote well over a month ago. Lucky she has found a way to e-mail so she can keep in touch. I wait for news as I am curious about the place and the people. She tells me it is quite hilly and high elevation so I am reluctant to take up the offer to come and visit them. Oh, how much I would love to travel but it takes good feet, time and money all together.

I hope the New Year brings an opportunity, or two, for you to travel, and if you cannot get to an exotic place, remember that beach walks, fish and chips, home cooking and a good scrabble game await you here. If you were here I'd share my coffee, I can smell it and I am ready for my first cup of the day. Make yours a good one. I might walk to Freddys and see what the after Christmas sales are like just out of old habits, but on the other hand I got the Sarah Palin book for Christmas so maybe I'll curl up in my chair and see what she has to say for herself.