Holiday cards are addressed, stamped and ready to post, the tree is lit and decorated, almond biscotti is toasting in the oven... We are ready for Christmas. 

Some years are a blur. Everything happens so quickly, details skewed or forgotten without an event to anchor. Yet, others remain tangible and certain, like Polaroids with notations jotted on their white frames. In retrospect, 2018 was a bit of both, affirming a calmer calendar. Or maybe it is just the genesis of a more peaceful, patient self. This is progress - the one firm hope I hold every year.

We have visited many beautiful venues during the festive season over the years. Sometimes it is gratifying to take a moment and recollect these magical places captured in snapshot memories...