By PHK
The full moon over the Sandias at night.
Downhill skiing on six inches of powder snow on a sunny week day when the kids are in school and the Texans in Texas. The oboe, the right reed and a great teacher. Family and friends. Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul and Other Colors. Finding autographed copies of Tony Hillerman books at Page One – Albuquerque’s largest indy book store. Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” Part Five. (Beautiful oboe solo. Sorry couldn’t find part five on Youtube.)
Doves nesting in our Hawthorne tree. The bobcat duo sunning themselves on our back wall one January afternoon.
Gian Carl Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors’ “Shepherd’s Dance” (great oboe duet from a wonderful 20th century opera commissioned for television) performed by the Santa Fe Symphony at its December 2007 Christmas concert. Danae Kara’s performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Three Piano Concertos” (1997) on CD. Now available again in the U.S. via Amazon. Rachmaninoff’s “Vespers” performed by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale August 2007 and just released on CD but not yet listed on the webpage. Robert Greenberg’s 48 lesson series “How to Listen to and Understand Great Music” from The Teaching Company.
Ray Orley and Kristen Loree in “Duet for One” at Albuquerque’s Sol Arts Theater. This performance should be repeated. “Cities of Light: the Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain” produced and directed by Robert Gardner and shown on PBS.
Friends and colleagues from the World Affairs Forum and WhirledView.
That “ah ha” moment when a post finally comes together. The satisfaction of being quoted in the MSM on a story I had first written about five months earlier. E-mails and letters of encouragement from friends and long lost friends who reconnected - usually via WhirledView. The gradually increasing acceptance of blogging, blogs and bloggers as legitimate sources of information, influence and opinion even by some in the MSM.
Tomatoes from my garden that lasted into December. Zucchinis that grew far too big. Lesson learned by this amateur gardener: zucchinis hide out in camoflage on the ground underneath the huge leaves. Strawberries and iris that take over the garden in spring. 
Snow on the Sandias in winter. Organic rasberry jam from Heidi’s sold at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. My two amaryllis bulbs which refuse to bloom in winter but do so profusely when I set them out under the Hawthorne tree in summer.
And, finally, the Santa Fe Plaza and the St. Francis Cathedral Basilica at night during the Christmas season.
To all of WV readers, thank you so much for your comments, your tips, your help and your continued interest and support. Season’s Greetings, Happy Holidays - and to all a good night.
Photo credits: All photos by PHKushlis.