Happy New Year Everyone! We have been back from our Christmas Cruise for a few days now and I am getting used to the real world. Truth is, I have been off visiting friends, taking in the after the Holidays sales, and thinking of New Year’s Resolutions that I should make, but don’t because I know I won’t keep them.

I highly recommend Cruising during the Holidays. It is the most relaxing and pampering way to go. Our Christmas morning, was on our balcony with a special champagne breakfast. Fresh fruit, smoked salmon, a variety of rolls, and crab quiche.

Seven days at sea was just the get-away I needed. The entertainment was spectacular, the Casino generous, and the sun shone all but one day. Who could ask for more. No wonder I am still basking in the delight of this pleasurable week aboard the Island Princess.

I took a ton of photos that need to be sorted and lots of e-mail to answer so guess this will be a short post and I promise to get back to blogging soon.

To our wonderful blogger friends and family,

Wishing you the warmest of holiday greetings. This year our card reflects a few of the highlights from our travels.

Looking back on 2006, we are grateful for each other’s companionship, good health, and the love and support of family and friends.

May the New Year bring to all of us peace, prosperity, and good will .

Thank you all for taking time to visit and comment on our blogs. You are the greatest and your support of our blogging efforts is most appreciated.

Maria and Bob

P.S. Bob and I leave tomorrow morning for a Christmas Cruise to the Mexican Riviera. This is an old and familiar sea route for us, but an exciting new ship called “The Island Princess”. We are looking forward to our room with a balcony and time to write and work on our computer projects.
I doubt if I will be back on line before our return. Perhaps, I will be able to connect to the internet aboard ship. If so I will post at least once. However, I will be able to read your posts by way of my blackberry. Oh what a technical society we are! See I miss you already

A package arrived for us a few days ago from Mary and Jay. Mary is well-known for her blog, Momma’s Corner. What a delightful surprise to find three jars of homemade jams. As you can tell from the photo, we took no time in opening the first jar.

“These folks need to go into business!” Bob commented after his first taste of Tart Cherry Jam.

I am in complete agreement. What a delicious, delectable treat. Tasting the jam brought back memories of the Midwest and the canning that was part of my childhood.

For some stupid reason of youthful rebellion, I refused to learn the canning skills that my mother would loved to have passed on to me. Believe me, I could kick myself now for my lack of enthusiasm.

Mary, if you need a winter break, you and Jay are welcomed to bask here in our desert sunshine. While you are here, I would be delighted to turn my kitchen into a learning center for friends and family who need a few lessons. I, of course, will be first in line for learning the wisdom of ” homemade is always best”.

This is a special day for Bob’s daughter, Dee. You may remember that I posted a request for prayers and thoughts in November as well as a plea for personal information about Guillain Barre Syndrome. I am happy to report that her bout with this devastating illness has run its course and she is moving from the isolation of the ICU unit at USC to a regular hospital room. Dee no longer needs a respirator or feeding tube. Although she still has a long road to recovery, this first step is a miracle for which we are most grateful.

From the hospital, she will move to an intensive recovery program at a nearby center. Knowing Dee and her determination, she will be an excellent and motivated client. Again thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and for sharing your knowledge of this puzzling malady.

Funny how something so insignificant as a hairline crack in a favorite china cup can cause such a feeling of sadness. That is what happened yesterday. In the scheme of living, it would be considered a minuscule loss in a much wider design, but that little cup symbolized a lot for me. It was a sweet guardian of times past.

The cup is bone china. and made in England by a company called Dunoon. The art work on it entitled “Alley Cats” is a whimsical design created by Cherry Denman. As precious as this makes the cup, it really plays an insignificant role in my appreciation of it. What dominates the cup’s importance is that my daughter, Kristi, presented it to me at a time when we were particularly close and shared so much of our lives with each other.

It was at an especially hurtful time in her life. In spite of the cup’s bone china beauty, it was for her, a reminder of a betrayal of friendship and love. So since I admired the cup, she willingly passed it on to me. Good riddance for her and a valued treasure for me.

The cup soon came to epitomize trust and acceptance between a daughter and her mother. I viewed it as a tribute to our ability to talk and listen with respect and appreciation for each other. I took pride in the knowledge that I had a daughter who shared emotions and dreams with me and who trusted my wisdom and enjoyed my company.

Sadly, life is fluid and change inevitable. Over the years, Kristi and I have both seen many shifts. We have found new life partners, different relationships, and busy lives. Add to these, the miraculous roller coaster events of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. for her, and retirement, marriage and travel for me. Whirlwind changes in our lives that have been both exhilarating and challenging.

I rejoice in the new babies and I am ecstatic for Kristi as I watch her dream of motherhood becomes reality. I applaud her busy life and I am grateful for my healthy grand babies. In spite of all my enthusiasm and joy, there remains a fleeting wistfulness and sorrow for the loss of that special closeness, and in spite of my happiness, I yearn for the daughter of the days of the china cup. I grieve the loss of the little vessel that held sweet recollections and affectionate memories. The ones I loved to savored as I drank my morning coffee.

So I am on a quest . It is a search for a bone china cup. Preferably, one that says, “Nana” on the side and in which cherished new memories will rise to mix with the steam from a fresh cup of morning brew. I will lift this brand- new cup to my lips in recognition of change and in anticipation of memories to cherish and life lessons learned.

I haven’t the will to throw the old one out. It will make a great pencil holder and it will have a place of honor near my computer. The cracked cup will be my reminder that life changes and the old memories which warmed my heart, will always be here. If not in a little cup, tucked somewhere safe in my heart.