life is a journey

The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises.   -Ecclesiastes 1:5

blue skies and good-byes

You can take a girl out of the islands.

But you can't take the islands out of a girl.

joyeux noël

If all goes well, I'll soon be on a long, long journey to be somewhere really, really far from France.

So here's wishing everyone everywhere a peaceful, restful Christmas. May you all be surrounded by love and blanketed in comfort.

I'll be flying back on the night of the 24th -- I'm hoping that perhaps, just perhaps, I'll be looking out of the airplane window and see a certain sleigh led by a group of reindeers.

first snow

We were decorating the church when the children came in and told us, "It's snowing outside!"

The light, fluffy snow melted as soon as it touched the stone pavement. As I looked up to the sky and watched it fall, the word that came to my mind was "forgiveness."

We sang carols (my favorite part was singing "Silent Night" in German), chatted with friends afterwards, and headed home with a cup of vin chaud in hand.

which way to bethlehem?

Mark doesn't say anything at all about the event. John's account is abstract and figurative.

Matthew mentions the Magi but not the shepereds. Nothing about the manger, either.

Luke doesn't discuss the wise men, but gives the poor, lonely shepherds the big honor.

And did anyone really say anything, anywhere, about the inn being overbooked? Guess it's time to find out.

marché de noël de lyon

I love outdoors markets, especially the seaonal ones.

I've been to many Christmas markets in my life, but Marché de Noël de Lyon may just be the best one I've ever been to.

Seriously.

I've already been there twice, and I'm planning at least one more trip down there.

And why not? Even if I don't buy anything, it's so much fun to just walk around and look. Of course, it's hard to get out of there without buying anything!

There's plenty of food, and if it gets a bit too cold, there's vin chaud. Ahhhh.

The prices tend to be high, but these are all artisan stuff. Beautifully made, beautifully packaged.

The vendors all display their goods very artistically. Again, it's fun just to look. Can I go around one more time?

No, my son says. I have to bribe him with food. Would you like crepe, soup, or German sausage?

These chocolate chunks with wooden spoons are for chocolat chaud -- one for 3€, four for 10€, or ten for 20€. Guess how many I bought?

You can read more about Marché de Noël here. The market is right outside of Perrache station, and there is a nice playground at the square if you're with little ones and they get antsy. You can watch them play as you sip that cup of vin chaud.

mele kalikimaka

She's come a long way, from the Christmas market at the Mission Houses Museum in Honolulu, all the way to France. That's half way across the world.

I wonder if she misses home. I sure do.

come, christmas

Our front door, Christmas version.

I thought about hanging a wreath, but there seems to be a rule enforced by the homeowners' association in this building, that says "heart-shaped ornaments only on front doors."

So, no wreath this year.