Silicon Valley Christmas

We had a pleasant Christmas at home with family this year. My parents adopted two young Siamese cats. My daughter Jessica came home from Carnegie Mellon University for three weeks. My two brothers and their families visited for almost a week. We drove north to San Francisco several times: to sing Christmas carols on the cable car and see the city lights, go to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, gather for a family dinner at the Beach Chalet, and just visit.

We hosted three parties (Christmas, Jessica’s 20th birthday, and New Year’s). Unfortunately, our family photo server got sick and eventually died, so I am just now able to post this blog entry…

John and Jessica and I went to San Francisco Federal District Court on 19 December 2008 to hear attorney Victoria Hall present to Judge Jeffrey S. White on behalf of Dr. Bob Jacobsen the latest on JMRI and the KAM Open Source dispute.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church had a children’s Christmas pagent, and the craft fundraiser for SAMA (St.
Andrew’s Medical Assistance). Sun Labs held its Holiday Cookie Exchange (to which John Plocher sent his famous peanut butter K Bars).

On our evening walks around our Willow Glen neighborhood, John and I admired the Christmas lights. One neighbor programmed a wonderful yard display that lit up different parts of their house as well as trees, bushes, and figures (candy canes, a seal, snowman, bear, and igloo) exactly timed to the movements of Christmas tunes. My favorite music was the Vince Guaraldi theme from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. John and I stood in the rain the hear it twice.

We finally finished glazing and firing all of the ceramics we brought home from camp in August, including three tea cups by Jessica. My best Christmas present was one of a set of three beautiful and
well crafted ceramic cups my son Paul made at school: one each for John, Jessica, and me.

Borte and Khan