Hic Sunt Dracones

The Tran Clan is blessed, or challenged, depending on how close you get to the firebreathers, with not one but TWO dragons in our lair. Both my sister, The Elder, and my mom, Six Queo, are dragons in their own right.

One is a fire dragon; the other water dragon. Both are courageous, strong, intelligent, and sharp as dragon claws.

I, on the other hand, am Ky Mui -- a lowly Earth Goat (or, Ram, if you want to claim Chinese roots). I am supposedly the artistic one, but I think the dragons have got me beat on that score.  Their creativity astounds me daily... My mom with her amazing skills, my sister with her whipping wisdom. Like the goat, I often have my head to the ground, losing sight of what is truly important.

On the old Borgia maps, you can find cute little serpent dragons that symbolized uncharted territories containing untold terrors.

As we sail into the year of the dragon, with or without our maps -- and whether unbidden or invited -- I am reminded that these two women are my role models, and they are nothing like those dragons of Borgia maps. However, much like the swirling dragon-serpents on those old maps, these two dragons do indeed show me the way, the path, to take.

To them, I turn for guidance, encouragement, and reflection. When lost, the goat seeks out the dragons. And, surprisingly, when things become a bit scary and uncontrolled, this Goat is reassured when the Dragons say:

Here be dragons.

In bloom

2012 begins auspiciously for the Tran Clan. Travels abound for all parties involved, and we begin to think there is a bit of give in the strings that tie us all together. Not too much, but not too little, either.

Winter weather has gentled compared to last year, but despite our relief, I see too much climate change to feel completely at ease. See the amaryllis? Beautiful bloom, but it reminds me daily of how fragile life can be -- at once resilient and fleeting.

We moved from the Lake house into the Niebuhr house... Down the block, around the corner. We moved on the 27th, the only day that snowed during that two-week period.

All the plotting and planning to avoid snow, and yet Mother Nature teaches us once again the difficult lesson of preparedness.

C'est la vie.