Again and again I am awed by this little community we have landed in. Tonight, we joined several dozen of our neighbors for a Christmas party and tree lighting. We were asked to bring cookies to share, so Swee and I baked with Gramma last night and prepared a plate of little sugar snowmen, carefully decorated by little fingers. The planning committee was to provide hot chocolate, and they were going to read a story for the children before lighting the tree, which sounded like a splendid evening. I was blown away to discover that each family got to take a copy of the story home, and then the Big Man in Red came with presents for everyone. As we waited in the cold for the tree to be lit, a spontaneous rendition of Jingle Bells made me well up a little. I can’t help but feel that we have found a very special place.

*I’ve always liked Rhonda’s tradition of sharing the interesting things she has found to read during her week. I don’t know that I’ll make it a regularly scheduled thing, but now and then I might share some things that caught my eye. I’d love to know your thoughts!

– A neat story about a family of strong Maine women working for change

– Tips for surviving winter as the Norwegians do

– So glad we can see stars like this in our new home