It's been raining here since last night, the winter storms in southern California have arrived! It's been drizzling all day so the sun is hiding and it's gloomy outside, but I have been enjoying listening to the plopping of the raindrops. I'm home by myself so I spent the day cleaning the house before beginning to work. It's difficult for me to concentrate on my work if my work area is too messy. What a wonderfully slow and restful day.

Yesterday I went to Linda and Ronnie's wedding. Linda looked gorgeous in a lacy spaghetti strap gown. It was an outdoor afternoon wedding at the Craven Estate in Pasadena. They had a big Lord of the Rings theme going on. The music score from the movie was played throughout the ceremony and the tables were named after places in the book with a quote about each place. They are even going to New Zealand for their honeymoon.

After the wedding, Erik and I went to our small group Christmas party in Huntington Beach. This year we decided to buy gifts and food items for needy families instead of doing the elephant gift exchange so we brought our gifts and wrapped them altogether. There was a bumper pool table at the house and I was surprisingly good at it. I beat Erik and Rachel but then lost to Joanna, who is only nine years old.