A long december and theres reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I cant remember the last thing that you said as you were leaven
Now the days go by so fast
- counting crows

The morning fog and thick wet blanket air  rolling around today are precursors of an oncoming storm.  I’ve read we can expect another three to seven inches of snow by Sunday.  This has been an unusually usual winter so far.  “Usual” is a term used by old people to describe the weather before first hints of climate change were upon us. The amount of early snow this winter has been a surprise.

Happy Holidays to everyone out there.  Each year at this time as is the habit, I tend to look back over your passing year around the holiday season.  This year although I have done many new and exciting things, I sit here now thinking that today is much like December twenty-second of two thousand and six.  Although time is always moving forward sometimes one maker in the road seems very much like the next.  To many I know this consistency is a form of comfort and security.  Humans love to know their slippers are right where they left them.  I think in some ways I feel that too.  However, I think it’s also good to feel the passing of time and the wind in your face, to know that you did something that made this year better than the last.   In review I’d say 2007 has been in many was a tremulous year in my own little world.  Yet today it feels more like I’ve been surfing in one spot more than making any distance.  Something I’m sure I’ll be spending much time considering over the coming weeks and months.

Some of you blogger types out there have been discussing a gathering of sorts at Canoecopia this coming year.  Sounds good to me.  I’d love to hear more about that.  Are we all going to gather over large pints of ale, or is there a more formal plan in mind?  I’d certainly be happy to talk to the powers that be about time and space. Not that I wield any great influence.  I wonder how many paddle bloggers are planning to attend?

I’d like to note too, that some paddlers are a long way from home this holiday season. Freya in New Zealand and Simon & Phil in Madagascar to name a couple.  It would be nice if we took a moment to wish them a happy holiday as well. I’m sure they would appreciate it.

I’m sure you’ve noticed some changes here at Quix.  I’ve tried not to mess things up too much, but I found the sidebar menu was becoming about 10 miles long. So I’ve changed the layout and added a left hand bar as well.  Hopefully this will help avoid some of the scrolling.   In case you’ve lost it, the video clip section is still here just moved as is the wallpaper sections.  I’ve yet to add Wes Boyd’s section on paddling for the “bigger” folks.  My goal is to do some research and come up with some updated content as much of the gear and boats he described have changed since his original website.  If you have information there you’d like to contribute just let me know .

Over the coming days, I’ll spend a bit of time looking back at 2007 and of course leap frog to 2008 and what the new year may hold in our small but growing paddling community.  Be sure to let me know of your plans for the new year so I can share them here.  That has always been one of the fun bits of this site, sharing other paddlers trips and adventures.

Well,  as I’ve written this my black lab has been jumping and scratching at my door.  She hates it when I’m not paying attention to her.  My Winter Solstice CD has played three times and my coffee cup is empty.  Now I either need to organize the troops to go finish up a few last minute Christmas purchases or. . I can try to slip silently out to the steps and spend some time watching the geese fly and chatter through the fog.

A Long December Complete Lyrics – Counting Crows

A long december and theres reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I cant remember the last thing that you said as you were leaven
Now the days go by so fast
And its one more day up in the canyons
And its one more night in hollywood
If you think that I could be forgiven…i wish you would
The smell of hospitals in winter
And the feeling that its all a lot of oysters, but no pearls
All at once you look across a crowded room
To see the way that light attaches to a girl
And its one more day up in the canyons
And its one more night in hollywood
If you think you might come to california…i think you should
Drove up to hillside manor sometime after two a.m.
And talked a little while about the year
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her
And its been a long december and theres reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I cant remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
And its one more day up in the canyon
And its one more night in hollywood
Its been so long since Ive seen the ocean…i guess I should