IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE

 

 CHRISTMAS!!! In Santa Fe, we have experienced our first snowfall...

 And Cielo Azul is once more draped in a mantle of white......

 And all the birdbaths and fountains are wearing snow hats........

 Karen's house is surrounded by tall elms and looks like a snow fortress..........

 It's also time for parties at the home of friends--like Annabelle's where this festive wreath decorates the door to.......

 The SNOWMAN ROOM!  This is just a portion of the collection........

 And the front room is decorated with a beautiful tree and over twenty nativities............

 Back home, our lives have been turned topsy-turvey by a new addition to our family!--Miss Spiagga" (meaning "beach" in Italian because Giano thinks she looks like a beach dog).  We call her Zsa Zsa.  We were suckered in by this glamorous "Pet of the Week" shot in THE NEW MEXICAN........

 And found her to be a bit scrawnier, more wiry haired, not white, all legs, scuzzie nosed and in short ADORABLE!  Here she is checking out her new digs......

 And getting to know the current residents.  She and Solange have become good friends........

 And attacking the vacuum sweeper--Mei Toy can't believe we have adopted such a country bumpkin..........

But in no time at all, she is part of our family and has a solid place in our hearts...........

 Something else has been monopolizing our time at Cielo Azul.....

 After a two year hiatus--the village is being put up!......................

 So once again, we are in the magic kingdom where Alice can still stroll with Mr. Bachicha.......

 And Baby Elliot can still delight in his first pair of shoes--somewhere between NYC and San Francisco........

 In Washington, thankfully Barack Obama will be spending another four years as our re-elected president. (For the years prior to his first election, I had painted the White House black and red and had renamed it The Asylum For the Criminally Insane.)..............

 In their castle on the hill--besides their showy tree, the Republicans (those clownish gnomes) are cavorting.  That's Newt and Huckabee doing leap frogs and Grumpy Boehner pushing everybody off the fiscal cliff...........

 And there's O'Reiley (representing all the crazies in the conservative press) showing the President his behind!  And showing all of us what total asses they are.................

 Meanwhile in the Latin Quarter, my homies are enjoying a delightful dinner in one of Garland's first minority owned businesses...........

 In the suburb enclave of Mistletoe, life goes on as usual after the white-flight from the urban center--lots of conspicuous consumerism.....

 There are eight million stories in the "Naked Village"--well at least eighty or so.  The village is about half up, so I will be including more stories as the folks from Noel Flats, Holly Ridge, Lake Noel, New York City and Europe take their places and tell their tales........

 Like these fellows from the Garland Community Band that raised funds all year for nifty new uniforms for their moonlight parade through the streets of their hometown........

So you better be good, you better not frown because now Santa Clause is CERTAINLY coming to town....................