Welcome to our humble home in cyberspace.

I'm delighted to once again send my holiday message to one and all, this time in a slightly more fanciful way, and along with the rest of the family, using my limited html abilities (my constant fiddling around with the page (a line break here, a text alignment there - just call me the cyber-tailor) has led to this being sent a little later than I'd hoped, but fun nonetheless. Please pass this onto anyone left off the list (with over 100 folks that I sent it to, I'm afraid of who that might be!), and for those with loved ones who aren't computer-friendly, please print this page and share it with them as well, if you dare!

To begin, it is no doubt obvious from the email address and the image above that Flamingos loom large in my life, and around the Grunwald-Waxman (or is that Waxman-Grunwald) home. The story behind the majestic bird and its place in our lives is moderately interesting - ask us about it some time.

Now, on to the highlights of the year that is fast drawing to a close. Notice that you will not see the dreaded M-word appear here, as it is, in my opinion, not occurring for another year. Personally, I prefer to think of the end of 1999 as the world leaving its teens. Perhaps that means we will start seeing a little more maturity and understanding in the world around us.

On that very subject of the teenage years, certainly the high point of '99 was the grand event in October of Micah’s Bat Mitzvah. Since we Jewish mothers must proudly show off our wonderful children at any provocation, here are some great pics of the Bat Mitzvah girl, looking quite magnificent, I must say. It was a wonderful celebration with friends and family, and those not able to be with us in person were certainly there in spirit.

Watching Micah go through all of the experiences of approaching adolescence (not to mention experiencing them in the town where I grew up, and at the same school with the same teachers) has brought back a lot of fond memories. Okay, MOST of them are fond, but then again, that's the wonder of adolescence, isn't it? Seeing her running around this week, picking out stuffed animals and other little nifties for her friends, took me back to similar exchanges of gifts, a few of which still turn up in boxes of treasured tchotchkes from time to time. I'm glad that there are still quite a few of you reading this who can recall these times along with me (not to suggest any of us might be losing our memories - yet - just the fact that there are still so many of you whom I can count among my friends who go back that far), and I hope my daughter - and all of our children - is lucky enough to keep those friendships she is making now, and in the years to come, as strong and lasting as those that I share with all you who are reading this. It is truly the friends we make along the journeys of our lives that make it worth the trip.

That was my "Hallmark Greeting" section for this year's message. Now, back to the news...

Our other big event in '99 was finally escaping our evil landlady of the past 3 years. I can once again sing the "Play Troupe Christmas Carol" with pride (those of you scratching your heads right now, don't worry, it's way too inside a joke to fret over). Moving to our new digs has been wonderful indeed and close to everything we need. If I could just figure out how to hook up a washer/dryer on the roof, I'd be in heaven.

Finally, coming up on the horizon in February is my often-promised-and-never-fulfilled ('til now) trip with Abby to the UK and Ireland. It will be one of those whirlwind, cram as much as you can into twelve days, deals. Many of you reading this have been part of one or another of my various amusing and bizarre voyages to the land of Shakespeare, Joyce, and Guinness (both Sir Alec and the other kind). I expect that getting back across the pond for this trip will be a wonderful experience, as I'll be getting to show the country to Abby for the first time.

I now turn the page over - if but briefly - to my dear Abbeleh, so she may regale you with her wishes for this festive season in her own inimitable style.

Take it away, Abby.....

Okay, so I've had a request.

The holiday season and all that jazz.
The merry, happy & the "watch your cash".
(I know: coal in my knickers this year)

I'm writing to put a little humour -- (nah, not really - this family has quite enough in that department) in the familial page. Every family has an odd duck, right? I think Janet's brother Howard & my friend Stefan would have been awfully disappointed if I'd not put a little "goose" back into the (J)Oy of the Seasonal Salutations.

As Janet has now told the ENTIRE Waxman-Grunwald list of family, "family" (pardon the quotations, but you all KNOW who you are, don't you?) and various and sundry interested parties... there's really bloody little I can say to any of you regarding my utter joy, shock (major shock), & excitement about our upcoming excursion to the Land of My Dreams (literally).

So, I'll just have to get back to all of you on that.

But, before I depart, I thought you'd all be happy to know that on December 18th, at appproximately (I'm sorry, I hadn't had all that much coffee yet!) 10:15 a.m., Micah gave over her life to a newer -- and certainly NOT bluer -- baby imac. In this colour. Please write & congratulate the proud parent, & the somewhat stunned grandparents (Micah, what's that thing glowing in your room?!) and share in the joy of Bas Mitzvahs past.

Thanks you guys for helping this happen, we think.

Post Script - The Chanukah Fairie brought me a fountain pen this year. Thank you, Chanukah Fairie. For all of you who only know what it's like to type on a computer or a typewriter (remember those?), please avail yourselves of the meditational joys of being forced to slow down and actually have to consider what you are thinking and writing.

(I got Janet to write this. I'm too hooked on my fountain pen!)

Happy Merry; Crimble, maybe.

Thanks, darling. I like that "meditational joys" part. Folks, whether you have a pen in hand or not, stop and look at the squirrels in the trees, the people on the street (so long as you don't make them nervous as you watch them), listen to the rain (or for you lucky ones, the snow) as it falls. Just don't forget to see what's going on around you and be aware there's a big world out there to appreciate outside of the day-to-day stuff we all have to suffer through.

But wait! Abby has more to say (quelle surprise!)....

Now that I've had a few days to reflect a little more & get my bearings, I feel the need to add a line or three. (If Tony is reading this, he'll be laughing out loud right about now. I've been forever calling him back after we've just hung up & saying that "I've just remembered what I'd forgotten to say...")

Okay, so here I go yet AGAIN!

This life is a relatively short one. Pleasure and pain seem to find us with the everyday humdrum-ness of work & bills and b.s. that we all are forced to muddle our way through on an everyday basis.

I have been given the gift - truly - of a wonderful family and some exceptional friends. I consider myself blessed for the first time in my life. I never thought to have any of this. The road has been, for me, exceptionally long at times, and excruciatingly painful.

Not to Bum -- it gets better...

I have learned, this year in particular, what it means to try to live with one's past whilst making a life for the here-and-now and the future. Most of us "older folks" (sorry, but I mean older than the young'uns most of us either have or are around on a regular basis) have our ghosts of pains past... and we come to have to live with them and how they effect us in subtle & not so subtle ways every day. I have learned to give of myself, to screw up and apologize and make amends, to love & laugh & appreciate the "right now" because, sometimes, it's all we have - like it or not.

I have asked Janet to type in a poem I have been carrying around in my heart since first I read it, a few years ago. It has particularly meant a lot to me in the past year.

For Whatever it may Count For - plop in leaf piles, watch those squirrels (as Janet recommended), smell the pillowcases when your loved ones are not near you, hug your children more often than they'd probably like, tell the ones you love that they matter. Don't put things off.

This life is a gift -- share yourself & your joys & yes, sometimes your troubles as well. Don't forget to breathe deeply and take a minute or two to let go & smile. Just for the hell of it.

Be Kind.

A little more kindness,
and a little less creed.

A little more giving
and a little less greed.

A little more smile
and a little less frown,

A little less kicking
when a person is down.

A little more "we"
and a little less "I,"

A little more laugh
and a little less cry.

A little more flowers
in the pathway of life,

And fewer on graves
at the end of the strife.

Thanks again, Abby. I agree - we all need to take time for the things that may not bring us more tangible, material possessions, but will fill our lives with something more important in the long run.

And now it's time to turn the page over to the ever-charming Micah, so she can share her thoughts on the season....

Hey, everyone! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I guess you all heard about my baby, the imac! 22 pounds, 11 ounces - lol
So...my life... well--let's see--
My Bat Mitzvah was in October, and there was big $ there, and I thank all who contributed!
Some other new editons to my life are a playstation...
and a BOYFRIEND!!! His name is Ian.
And that's about it!

I hope you have a nice holiday ...
and a very, VERY not 'MILLENIUM' new year!
love to all!
~MwAh!~
Strawberry <3
(aka me)

Ahhhh, youth. So simple, so wonderful, and so very, very frightening (okay, so her thoughts are a little commercial, and she used the M-word, but at least she uses it in the right spirit)! By the way, the moniker comes from her current hair color - hey, if this is the most rebellious she gets, I'm way ahead of the game!

Finally, it wouldn't be greetings from the whole family without including the fuzzier members' sincere thoughts. Since their little paws are less than adept at the keyboard, I will let their photos speak for them.

Bean, Buster, and Puck wish to express their wonder, amazement, and total disinterest in the holiday season, respectively, to all of you.

So we come to the end of this long and drawn-out pageant of seasonal cheer, as we look forward to good and exciting things ahead for the coming year, for all of us. With a clink of glasses, wherever on this planet you are (and the list is far-reaching), here's hoping your homes know laughter, your hearts know joy, and your world knows peace in the coming year - thanks for being part of ours.

With Love,