Christmas, Jeanne, and Shangri-La

Just winding up last-minute Christmas stuff. This year was a far, far cry from the weeks of choosing, buying, wrapping, sending, baking, decorating, planning, and so on and on that comprised my Christmas season for so many years. Do I miss those days? Not really. I certainly miss having my children around me, but the rest of it would be difficult for me at this stage of the game.
I was delighted to get a beautiful gardenia plant from the Singapore contingent. Now that I'm in California, I hope to be able to nurse it along for years, if not decades. Got a darling original Santa card from the Tokyo Trio. It's a droll little stand-up and has a cryptic note inside: "of Christmas with (then their names and K.'s "signature" 3 of 4." The last mailing I got from them was for my birthday and I won't open until tomorrow, but I'm puzzled at what this means. Will report here when I find out.
Got a call from Jeanne Dollard Painter. She's still with John in Florida, but they're leaving for Jersey today; some problem with his tenants (I told her I had the best tenant in the world). Jeanne wanted to know if I remembered Carol Marendino and her father, a doctor. Carol and Jeanne were contestants in the Miss Atlantic City Pageant contest millennium ago when we were young. However, I never even heard of Carol Marendino, let alone her father. No relation to Don Marandino, the religious fanatic, I'm quite sure. Anyway, Jeanne's brother, whom she characterized as a hypochondriac, was treated by Dr. M. years ago and, for some strange reason, wants some information about the treatment so he can tell his present doctors at the VA. Gaga. Jeanne herself has some kind of vision problem, but luckily, it's being treated adequately, it seems.
Got a thank you note from my sister-in-law, Lois, to whom I sent that old copy of the HSHS Spotlight, which featured her late husband, Mike. It always strikes me as so strange that her children and mine are first cousins, but have barely ever seen each other. Her daughter just got a Ph.D in some science field, granddaughter has passed the bar in NJ and Pa, but can't find a job, grandson (who was born without eyes) is now in law school, too.
Got a call from Ellen and we had a long talk. She was cleaning the house for the party today. She and Greg went to the school Christmas party last night, which she said was okay, but nothing special.
It actually rained in the afternoon, a momentous event here. However, it sure wasn't enough to assuage this long-standing drought. After it stopped, I took a drive to Poli Street and saw incredible views of the ocean and-- far off, rising from the mist like Shangri-La, the Channel Islands. So eerily beautiful and I took several pictures, but for some reason, can't get them onto the computer. Will charge the batteries and see what happens.