reading!

i always write short messages on this kitchen chalkboard, hoping the little girl might be just curious enough to attempt to read them. and today, she was. and she did! 

deep freeze

glanced at the temperature on my way home tonight to find it was a balmy 16°. this after two days of bone-chilling cold. single digits during the day, negative numbers at night and a biting windchill. cold at work, cold in the car, cold at home. my car groaned and turned in the morning before it finally sputtered to life. the windshield frosted up on the inside. the kitchen faucet spit water even though i left it dripping overnight. pipes in the basement froze. i wore fleece and scarves by day and flannel and socks at night - and a snuggie! i made cookies just to heat up the kitchen and i piled the bed high with down comforters and quilts. it was so cold!

so tonight, sixteen degrees is comfortably bearable. it's a bit like a heat wave, new england style!

pick a winner

here's the sort of process i go through to make what i know are ridiculously simple decisions. in the background, the shower curtain in my green and old red bathroom. in the foreground, fabric swatches for curtains. whaddya think? i obsess over matters like this and analyze them to death, particularly where money is involved. then i spend a small fortune on return shipping when i inevitably make the wrong choice! sometimes it's just easier to not change, to leave things as they are. but then, that's no fun!

sad times

there has been so much bad news these past weeks. the shootings. the tragic death of a colleague. grave illnesses for friends. the hospitalization of a neighbor. families so sick. the prayer list grows by day. and as it does, it makes the wondrous events even more so: a friend is pregnant, another recovers from complex heart surgery, a healthy baby is born, an old classmate has been declared cancer-free.

these sad days, i'll take a little bit of joy any way i can.

winter birch

it's just pretty, after today's snowstorm. 

all day long, soft wet flakes. that really quiet, beautiful kind of snow. 

no birds, no mice

this winter, in an effort to keep down the mouse population inside this old house, i have not been feeding the birds from the lilac tree outside. rodent-wise, my plan is working (i think). but i sure do miss seeing winter birds right outside my door. after years of being entertained by nuthatches, woodpeckers, and blue jays, i have seen nary a chickadee, all winter long.

shift

with an odometer ready to turn over to 60,000 miles, tonight i discovered, quite by accident, that my steering wheel is adjustable. no more peeking through or over the wheel for me - i can see!

a bright shiny new year

i believe this is the earliest i have ever taken down a christmas tree. ever. it still smelled piney fresh as i took off ornaments, which made me feel worse about taking it all down so soon. usually, it's christmas around here for a lot longer than only two weeks. don't get me wrong - the holidays were wondrous in their own right, with the little girl's boundless excitement, with cozy christmas festivities at the girl's family's long-awaited and lovely new home, with lazy days and a respite from the responsibilities of work. but i think i'm ready to be done with the holidays now. i am so curious and so excited about this new year and all that i anticipate it will hold. but right now, i'm looking forward to some routine and stability, to predictability, to quiet and calm. just for a little while.

this also seems a fitting time to thank you, so much, for your readership this year. it's been an odd year for me blog-wise, and i do so appreciate your patience and understanding with that. it still makes my day to find a comment from one of you. truly.

blessings to each of you, and to those you love, in this bright and shiny new year.