Signs of spring are all around! Trees are budding, flowers are blooming, temperatures are rising, and our cat is mating. Yes, our beloved little kitty is apparently "in heat" right now. So perhaps we'll have some kittens running around come April. (No, we haven't had our cat spayed yet and yes, she become an out of doors cat. And yes, we are horrible, irresponsible human beings.) 

Latin class is going very well. It's very challenging, but in a good way. Translating sentences is really fun because of all of the declensions - it's like a puzzle that you have to piece together, with little clues to guide you along the way. We had our first test two weeks ago, and both of our tests came back with "optime" written on them because both received an A+! We have another test this week and I'm really hoping we'll both get an A+ again. Which reminds me that I really should probably be doing something other than writing this blog. Valete! 

If there is any more rain, we're going to have to grow gills. Yesterday it rained steadily from dawn till dusk and more rain clouds are expected to head our way over the next few days. We don't mind though. Last night Paul and I put on our water-resistant jackets, pulled the hoods up over our heads, and took a stroll around the downtown in the midst of the down-pour, feeling a bit like little kids (minus the splashing in puddles and picking up worms). This morning we went for a walk around the neighborhood and I took some pictures of the effect El Nino had on our little 150 year old town.

Today Paul and I went thrift store shopping and it was so much fun! We got so many useful and unique items in great condition for a fraction of what we would normally pay - I'm totally sold on thrift store shopping now (Paul was convinced long ago). I still don't really want to wear someone else's old clothes, but I'll use their gently used dishes and furniture in a heartbeat. The chair pictured above has a tag on the underside of the seat from some fancy schmancy Scandinavian furniture store in San Francisco and the turquoise creamer is from the 1940's. We picked up some other stuff too, but those were my favorite.  We also went to this used bookstore called Odyssey in Novato that is going out of business and has therefore slashed their prices to 80% of the already marked down price. It was amazing. I did the math and on average we paid 93 cents per book (and two of them were N.T. Wright books that sell on Amazon for over thirty dollars). Even though we spent money, we paid so little and got so much that it felt like we were somehow being good stewards. I guess if we had just stayed home we wouldn't have spent a dime though. Oh... but if we had stayed home we wouldn't have given our charitable donation to the Boys and Girls Club or the Hospice of Petaluma!  

On another note, Paul and I start taking Latin at the Petaluma junior college on Tuesday. We're both super excited. Perhaps we'll be able to read Winnie Ille Pu by June! (I'm kind of being facetious, but that would be cool.)      

I am so grateful for Saturdays - especially when one is sandwiched between a two-week vacation. =) Today Paul and I have been feeling a bit under the weather, perhaps due to the raininess and cold that apparently is part and parcel of Petaluma's winter season. But, since it's a Saturday, we were able to laze around the house, letting the Nyquil work its magic, watching movies, cleaning, napping, doing laundry, and baking up some treats for coffee hour at church tomorrow. Now the house looks clean and orderly, we have freshly laundered clothes to wear, the smell of brownies baking is in the air, and we're feeling better overall. Even Kitty Johnson is enjoying the day, as you can see.  

Paul and I just returned to Petaluma after spending four very busy, but very fun days in the East Bay for Christmas. Saturday we celebrated Christmas early with my parents, cousins, uncle and aunt, and great-aunt.  We basically played Scrabble, gorged ourselves on swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes, and exchanged gifts. On Sunday Paul and I went to Bay Books, played more Scrabble, enjoyed some delicious food and drink and some rowdy college football fans at the Englander, and drove around to look at Christmas lights. Sunday was a quiet, restful day before the second round of Christmas hoopla began. On Monday afternoon we rode out to Ripon with Ken and Tess for "The Johnson Family Christmas Eve." It was quite the extravaganza with 33 Johnson family members in attendance - we sang a lot of songs, participated in a pirate gift exchange, and ate a huge potluck meal. Afterward the four of us stopped in Livermore to see the legendary Deacon Dave's Christmas lights, which is where I took the photo of the jailed deer. (My photos of the lights didn't turn out very well, but you can get a glimpse of it here.) Then we attended an 11 o'clock Christmas Eve service at St. Clare's Episcopal Church in Pleasanton. The service was interesting - everyone who read spoke with an affected British accent, the choir members wore ruffled collars up to their chins and sang in an operatic style, and the organist was a knight. It all seemed a little pretentious in comparison to our church, but it was still a good service and Paul and I determined that attending a church service on Christmas Eve is the one tradition we intend to keep above all others. On Tuesday, we spent the morning at Paul's dad's house for a delicious pancake breakfast and exchanged our gifts with him and Tess, then we stopped by Tess' family's Christmas celebration, followed by a brief visit to Paul's grandpa and grandma Johnson's, and, finally, we were off to Paul's mom's house in Pleasanton for Christmas dinner. And what a Christmas dinner it was - melt in your mouth prime rib (like, seriously), mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffed mushrooms, breadsticks...yum. Following dinner, we opened presents, and had yet another Scrabble match. 

All in all, Christmas '07 was a fun time filled with family, food, and...Frabble?        

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. I hope Paul doesn't kill me... 

Click here to see what I mean: Merry Christmas from the Johnsons 

Thanks for the inspiration uncle Kent and aunt Jeanne! =)

Merry Christmas from Harvest Christian School! We're all smiling so big because there are only four and a half more school days until Christmas vacation - or perhaps it was the Bear's Lair merlot we imbibed.