Hanukkah with Family in New Mexico

Happy Hanukkah.  

We're outside of Albuquerque with family, enjoying the crisp sunshine the day after a major storm has passed through the area, headed for the Midwest.

We drove into Albuquerque yesterday evening to pick up our daughter, Julia at the airport.  The snow was still falling.  Between when we left the house here, ate inner at a bistro, picked up Julia, and returned to the freeway - I-40 - it had been closed.  We snuck back home via old US Route 66.

This morning, it was spectacularly beautiful in the crisp (10 degrees F) mountain (7,300 feet) air and bright sunshine.

Here are two images from near Judy's sister and husband's house:

Snow laden evergreens:

Twelve kinds of bananas, from an ethnic market we visited yesterday in Albuquerque:

Judy and I are fortunate to be members of a loving, extended Swedish-Jewish-Norwegian-Cambodian-Icelandic-Scotts-Irish family, with members spread right now from Indonesia to Massachusetts to Houston to who-knows-where.  This is our first Holiday season outside of Alaska in 17 years, and our first Hanukkah with one of the Jewish branches.

 And, as today is the first day of the Festival of Lights, you might consider joining Jewish Voice for Peace.  Judy is a member, and we're making a donation today.

Here's where you can do that too.