Epiphany

Merry Christmas to my Belarussian friends!

Our family just (a little over an hour ago) arrived home from four days in Sedona, Arizona, that included an all-day trip Friday to the Grand Canyon.

Twenty-one years ago this April my husband and uncle and dad and in-laws and I backpacked down the South Kiabab trail to Phantom Ranch in the bottom of the canyon and then up the Bright Angel trail out on a four-day adventure.

This was our first time to return since then. And the place still makes me gasp. Photos just cannot communicate how huge that hole is. Ten miles across and infinitely majestic.

Sedona was beautiful, too, with lots of interesting rock formations within fifteen minutes of our condo. We had good weather the first two days, so we got out and about. But we had rain yesterday and today, so we made good use of it by sleeping in, drinking hot chocolate, watching "Amazing Grace," and taking it easy.

It had been a whirlwind month punctuated by this family vacation (much needed, I might add) in Arizona. Nothing recharges me quite like a beauty "fix."

Speaking of beauty, a previous guest in our condo left their Mozart CD, which we thoroughly enjoyed (and I'm still humming). And the previous renter of the Jeep we used left an expensive digital camera. We're working to track him/her down and return it. But in the meantime we did enjoy taking shots like the one you see here!