what a storm! the weather last night had me briefly wondering if now would be a good time for an ark... it felt like all of november's record-breaking rain coming down in the space of about 10 hours. mom & i left the office at 5pm, earlier than planned, because power was already going down in the north end and we knew traffic would be bad. the wind was gusting so hard in downtown seattle that it was shaking the car. lightning lit up the sky regularly, though i never heard thunder. traffic was not as bad as expected, and we were grateful to make it home quickly.

our lights flickered all evening. i camped out in my studio to work on my poor, neglected christmas journal, with our coleman camping lantern next to me - so i wouldn't have to grope through the darkness if the power went out. the winds howled outside. the cats howled inside. the rain came down... and down... and down... but the power stayed on. we quite were surprised.

as the wind wreaked havoc on the outdoors, we'd identify the sounds we'd hear... *craaaack*... "tree limb!"... *budum budum budum*... "garbage can!"... *thud... thudthud*... "chairs off the back deck!" (whoops!)

and sure enough, i went out to inspect this morning to find two garbage cans toppled, two loose limbs laying below the pine tree, and two lawn chairs laying prostrate in the backyard, not to mention, a few loose fence boards and the gate to our backyard wide open. at least we didn't ever lose power!!

so, i thought i'd share a photo from my home every (week)day through christmas, because i have this anal-retentive thing about trying post a photo in every entry and i have an abundance of photos of my christmas decorations at home. :)

this is one of my favorite scenes right now, because i'm so in love with gold and red:

the roses are leftovers from my grandmother's wedding, the golden vase belongs to my mother - but i'm not giving it back until after christmas, and the photo is one of my favorite things: my aunt, at 4 or 5 years old, opening a brand new doll at christmas. i love her very-1950's outfit, the very-1950's christmas tree in my great-grandparents living room and my very-1950's great uncle next to her with a very-1950's bowling ball on his lap. but the best part of this photo is the look in her eyes - the expression of a child who's just received a gift that was more than she could ever imagine.