Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

If you celebrated Christmas or Hanukkah, I hope you had

an enjoyable and meaningful time with your loved ones and friends.

Sunrise, Today, on Almost New Year's Eve

Aurora, Colorado USA

December 30, 2022

Terry and I had lots of fun at home on Christmas Day

and then a lovely time with his sister Noreen, brother-in-law Cathal, and their grown "kids."

Terry, Early Christmas Morning

Aurora, Colorado USA

December 25, 2022

Me, Early Christmas Morning

Aurora, Colorado USA

December 25, 2022

As for "the reason for the season," the birth of Christ,

I listened to a sermon given by my blogging friend, Jeff,

who is the pastor of two small Presbyterian churches (Mayberry and Bluemont)

along the Blue Ridge parkway in Southwestern Virginia.

Jeff and I were blogging friends for several years before I knew

that he was The Reverend Doctor Jeff Garrison.

I had suspected that Jeff was a minister because of his interests and activities,

but at the time he was keeping his personal blog separate from his religious life

(as far as I knew).

It's no secret that organized religion and I have had our differences

and that I have some unconventional beliefs ~

Okay, I probably would have been burned at the stake as a heretic in the past ~

but Jeff is one of several special people who keep me connected

with my Christian roots.

I claim to be an agnostic, but I do believe in a Spiritual Presence,

a Creator who is beyond anything we can imagine as human beings.

Quantum physics is one confirmation for scientific me.

This Image Illustrates an Atom

Wikipedia

NASA’s Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet

"Webb’s image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground – and reveals thousands of galaxies in a tiny sliver of vast universe" ~ NASA

Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

Meanwhile I find spiritual meaning and hope in Jeff's sermons and musings.

If you enjoy engrossing stories and poems, excellent book reviews,

the great outdoors, philosophical discussions,

travel adventures, and thought-provoking sermons,

I highly recommend Jeff's blog From A Rocky Hillside.

🌠 🌠 🌠 🌠 🌠 🌠 🌠 🌠 🌠

On Friday I like to participate in Rain's Thursday Art Date and Nicole's Friday Face Off,

even if my main post topic is about something else.

Rain's theme this week is New Year's Eve Party!

Sadly, I had to go back to 2015 to find party photos.

We were at our favorite restaurant Parkway Bar and Grill.

My camera was having a great time (and perhaps a little tipsy)!

Terry at a New Year's Eve Party

Parkway Bar and Grill

Aurora, Colorado USA

December 31, 2015

The truth is Terry and I usually stay home for New Year's Eve.
We think it's too dangerous to go out,
especially with people distracted, drinking, and driving,
sometimes in bad weather or with dicey road conditions.
We'll chance an evening at Parkway, but we don't like driving,

even a short half-mile distance on the road.