Christmas

I could not bear leaving my pups behind, leaving them home alone, when I know how much they like to be out and about, so I took them along on what is our local tradition, a walk up Canyon Road, lit up pretty in the traditional way with faralitos, tiny tea candles placed on dirt in brown paper lunch bags. Those little lights line the streets, the walls and the roofs and make for a festive atmosphere. Small bonfires attract crowds that once inebriated enough will burst in to Christmas songs and merriment.

With an early start before dark, I encountered no Christmas carolers, none, but did come upon three drummers banging out a Samba rhythm to the disbelief of a roaming, ever growing crowd.  They left a wide comfortable trail behind that was easy to follow for my pups, my little guy in ever more danger of getting stepped upon, of which he stayed blissfully unawares.

We did see some vibrant passionate art work by a Canadian woman painter, a delight. Some art galleries chose to stay open for the occasion and offered welcome relief from a fairly cold night. (It made me long for a Russian fur hat, coat and muff. I used to own a silvery fur coat I had bought second hand and then had a hat and muff made for me by my dear friend.) We did taste some sweets and cider. Some folks stopped to say hi, some hugged even though they were strangers and many smiled and more wanted to say hi to the four-legged ones. Sorry, I got no photos to share from our walk. A camera would have been way too much to use in that crowd with my furry companions on lead and challenging road conditions. The photos included I took very recently with Christmas in mind.)