This year for Christmas Jonathan and I stayed in Phoenix with our pets and were fortunate to have some family visit the valley. We had a few decorations about the house indicating a bit of holiday cheer but as of Saturday, Christmas eve, we were still without a tree. In keeping with our non-Christmas tree tradition we opted for a Christmas Mexican palm that will eventually be planted in the front yard. We hung a select few ornaments on the tree, enjoyed a crab cake dinner and did a little last minute preparation for our Christmas guests.
Christmas day arrived with such high particulate matter levels (aka: polluted air), that all weather services advised against outdoor exercise. So, determined to get some sort of exercise in, I set up my newly acquired bike trainer and got to cycling while Jonathan took Mr. Jackson for a nice little walk. Finally it was time for our gift exchange, but first, a little back story. I had been waiting patiently to give Jonathan a gift that I'd kept secret for over a month. The day I was able to start the gift purchase I loaded the appropriate website and sat poised for the clock to click over to 9:00 AM. The very second ticket sales became available off I went. I clicked, waited, refreshed, waited, clicked again, got set back a page, failure to load. Curses! For 48 minutes I clicked and waited and back buttoned and Ok'd my way through purchasing two 4 day passes to the Telluride Blue Grass Festival for June 2012. Rarely before have I felt so accomplished as when I finally received the email confirming my ticket purchase. Fully aware that there wasn't much time to spare when it came to making hotel reservations I booked our stay within hours of completing the ticket purchase.
Ok, ok, back to gifts. I handed over a creatively self crafted cardboard banjo which contained the tickets as well as some info on our hotel stay. I'd be lying if I didn't find the images of the massive hippy crowds from years past a little overwhelming, but we are both very excited for our future Telluride adventure. Jonathan did a great job with my gift and went above and beyond the item I'd asked for. Originally I'd asked for a GPS watch to track my running mileage, but Jonathan took it one step further by getting me the newest, latest and greatest watch as well as the corresponding components for my bike to track cycling mileage as well as cadence. Since Christmas I've been on 3 runs with my watch and its amazing! Previously I'd used the stove clock (quick look before my departure and quick look upon my return) to see how long my estimated distances took me to run, but now my watch does it all. Times me, paces me, measures my distances accurately, hands down fantastic!!
Later Christmas day Jonathan, Jackson and myself headed to Scottsdale to enjoy dinner with Jonathan's aunts, uncles and cousins, including his aunt and uncle from Florida. Dinner was tasty but the company was my favorite aspect of our visit. Time spent with Jonathan's Floridian family is often few and far between, but as always, I enjoyed the splendid, impeccable wit and wisdom of Jonathan's uncle Jed as well the familial warmth of the whole gang. Around 8:30 we made our departure to pick up Mr. and Mrs. Hupp from Phoenix International Airport. Thankfully our timing was impeccable since we arrived right as the Hupps were already at the luggage carousel waiting for their bags. Despite an initial protest from Jackson, thinking some strangers were loading into his car, we hugged our hellos and headed home. A lovely Christmas indeed.
The day after Christmas, as well as our adventures in the Phoenix botanical garden to come soon!
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