it's a rainy christmas eve here - rain is pounding, wind is howling, and in this situation we mostly hope the power doesn't go out. that's because, when it does, i have to go out in this nasty stuff to get the generators going so we can all huddle around and live our lives out of a couple of big orange extension cords.

that's not to say it isn't worse for the power boys, who often have to go out to some remote outpost where the wind has knocked down some pole or wire, and then they have to make sure all connections are true, and they have to do this in nasty snow and blizzard and windy conditions knowing that families like ours are huddled around in the dark hoping they hurry up.

but i want to stress that this hasn't happened yet, so i sit here with my four teens and wife, and four dogs and two cats, watching this rain experience and carrying on with carrying on. my wife is into cooking, and this in general is good - it means lots of good smells in a small house and it's more cozy with the different teens conspiring about one thing or another while we just carry on with the usual christmas routine. most of the presents are wrapped. i'm way late - about a week late - on cards, but i'm finding it fun to write them all out instead of having a single letter that explains all the wretched details and then just putting my name on that letter and a few other notes. this way i feel like i'm actually talking to people. and though they will be about a week late, they will at least be a little more personal.

one puppy has decided that my lap is the place to be. the sounds of people talking are mostly echoes, but i can feel the puppy's heartbeat so i don't feel like i'm missing out on anything. teens for the most part scorn most of my world but when we're all cramped in this small space it's ok, they're respectful and i can sit here typing in peace.

lately i've taken to making fires at night over in the kids' bunkhouse where there is a nice woodstove and of course, i have five acres of dead wood to burn one little box at a time. i start with newspapers and sticks and then put a few logs on there - no question, i'll have enough to last the season - and it's great to be able to use some of the wood for home heat regularly instead of just burning it out in the open where it can catch the whole dry forest on fire. this is a bit-at-a-time, warm-space venture that has to keep being done over and over, but is ok because i've figured out how to keep most of the wood dry and keep it moving so that i have a steady supply.

figuring out how to go through the most remote parts of new mexico around new year, given the possibility of weather and the fact that the eastern plains are the most wind-prone, desolate parts of the whole state. family gathering, up in the panhandle of oklahoma, and i'm likely to see five out of eight grandchildren and have lots of action. by action i mean grand-kid kind of action, where they have an incredible amount of energy but you get to just sit there and enjoy them while their parents do all the disciplining. nothing could be better. if you get that far, you can appreciate that you are getting your reward, just for making it - the reward being to be able to just watch, as the whole world just comes up to take your place.