We’re back from our holiday trip to Elkhart, Boston and Portland…we gathered great memories, some thoughtful Christmas presents and ten pounds of willful indulgence (who says no to wine, sugar and wonderful meals during the holidays?) that are making our jeans feel tight snug.

A major perk of living the campground life for so long (OMG 18 years now) is that we have two sets of families…an extended, adopted one full of  colorful aunts, uncles and children who drop in from May-October and an equally assorted set of siblings, nephews and in-laws whom we re-bond with during the holidays…In my next life I’m going to be a writer and put all of this on stage ’cause life is stranger than fiction…but that’s another story altogether.

My only regret of the holiday season (acknowledging that world peace was out of my control) is that we missed the big snow storm between Christmas and New Year’s Eve…by the time we walked around the Shores this morning, we were easily stomping through a few inches of crusty snow and marveling at the ice crystals strewn along the pathways.  I brought my camera along to show you:

For those of you interested in statistics, WordPress informed me that over 70,000 people read this blog last year…thank you to each and every one of you…I love imagining you sitting in your corner of the world looking into mine.