Christmas lights and good company

Photo property of Dionne Randolph. May not be reproduced without permission. 

Last night after our Friday night devotional myself and ten friends hit the streets to check out the Christmas lights, bundling up in coats, scarves and hats, and picking up hot chocolates to keep our hands warm along the way. We walked around for about two hours, and although I generally feel that the weather here is pretty mild, last night I was glad I had worn my wool hat. The lights here remind me of something out of a movie. Each tree-lined street strung with white lights that arc over the street, and each individual tree wrapped in lights that climb up the trunk like a candy-cane. Most of the houses have lights on the eaves and around the windows and doors, but many also have reindeer, snowmen and Santa on the front lawn. One house had a Santa playing a real piano. It is magical and at the same time I know that if I were to describe the scene to some of the friends that I grew up with back in the Mediterranean, they would laugh and shake their heads, not knowing what to make of the massive outflow of energy and money that goes into decorating houses for Christmas here.

Photo property of Dionne Randolph. May not be reproduced without permission.

Still, it IS beautiful, isn't it? And wandering up and down the sidewalk with my friends last night I passed many, many others out doing the same thing, some singing carols, some talking and laughing as they walked. A few people had even rented limos to drive them up and down the streets very slowly so they could take in the sights from the warm comfort of the car! Having so many people out wandering the residential streets at night was evoked a kind of community spirit that I so rarely get to experience here. I really enjoyed being out there with friends and strangers alike--all having such a great time!

Photo property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

How about you, friends? Do people decorate their homes and streets for the holidays where you live? Have you taken the time to go out and enjoy the magic of the season at night with friends and/or family?

Social media and Christmas lights

Photo by Shayan. May not be reproduced without permission.

 It has been a bright, radiant and crisp Friday. I had a meeting downtown this morning and decided to walk, the crackly, crunchy leaves beneath my feet deeply satisfying, the bright, clear blue sky above shining through the now mostly bare limbs of the giant oaks along our street calming and uplifting. The sun warmed my skin and hair, and there was a lightness to my step. I was meeting a client who I am helping with his social media marketing campaign. I have been doing a lot of reading, and a good deal of playing around with Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin over the last couple of weeks, and am really enjoying not only learning how to more effectively use individual social networking sites to the benefit of a business, but also how to link various sites together to maximize the benefit of already existing connections with clients/customers on all the sites that a business is listed on.

I am amused by how much I enjoy the process of helping others work on their social media marketing campaigns. I have not exactly ever been what I would call a *computer person,* but here I am helping my friends expand their businesses using tools that run on electronic devices. I have to laugh at the situation. The more I learn the more interested I become, and the more interested I become the more I realize how many resources there are out there to understand and become adept at working with. Social networking sites may suck up time if I have no purpose or reason for being there, but with a specific aim in mind, it can be quite satisfying and effective in helping a business grow.

It is Friday evening now, and I have one more meeting before my weekend begins. I cannot wait for the weekend. I am really exhausted and ready for a couple more down days. This evening some friends and I are having a devotional gathering. A devotional gathering is where a group of people get together to share prayers and readings from various spiritual/religious traditions and discuss them. It is a great way to end the week, putting everything back into perspective, and reminding me that I am indeed a spiritual being having a physical experience, and not vice-versa. After our devotional gathering we are going to head over to the fabulous forties, a neighbourbood that I have written about once in the last week that is know for its incredible Christmas decorations. My friends and I are planning on getting bundled up and wandering up and down the streets wide-eyed like children (I am hoping with a hot drink in hand!!)....

What about you, friends? What are you doing to wind down your week/rev up your weekend? I hope you have a terrific Friday night!