We are spending Christmas in Santa Barbara with my great Uncle Woody Burns and great Aunt Ann. It is a perfect day, although it started a little on the cold side. After the usual shopping around at Costco, we enjoyed our hot dog lunch with Ted’s Hot Dogs (via Buffalo, NY).

In the afternoon, my cousin Nancy, her husband Sam, and their two kids, Daniel and Teresa, along with my aunt Jean, joined us at the Burns residence. Later on, Nancy and I went on a last-minute hunt for a Christmas tree – no easy feat in Santa Barbara, I can assure you. With 77 degrees (25c) of crisp blue skies overhead, towering mountains behind us, and the ocean before us, Santa Barbara is the perfect place to celebrate Christmas and watch for birds.