I half-finished a purse. Mostly we talked, and ate, and drank, and pet the cat, while the wonderful smell of Jake’s Polish soul food cooking in the kitchen drove us to further distraction.

Canon ink cartridge shipping material. I saw these happy dude faces the minute I laid my eyes on them. Not everyone sees them right away, though.

Not done yet. We’re going to IKEA this weekend for the finishing touches. Boy, am I glad those curtains are finally up, sewing them almost killed me…

We’ve been staying inside during this frigid week. Warming by the fire, playing with Legos, watching shows, deep conversations, preparing meals, drilling holes…feeling quiet and buried. Snuggling in.

We had a lovely Saturday night date during a big snowstorm: sandwiches at The Blue Tusk, followed by a $5 movie at The Palace Theater. I wish I had known that The Palace doesn’t actually heat the theater in winter. I watched most of the movie sitting sideways in my seat, my stockinged feet in John’s hands and the rest of me buried deep inside my down jacket.

A cold Sunday afternoon with friends. We caught some serious air on the jumps, Jack. We sledded until dark, and then fifty percent of our family fell asleep in the car on the way home.

A cold Sunday afternoon with friends. We caught some serious air on the jumps, Jack. We sledded until dark, and then fifty percent of our family fell asleep in the car on the way home.

The Christmas cookie project took us from daylight to darkness. But we could feel those extra few post-solstice moments of light.

I spent our snowy winter solstice indoors, watching the snow fall out of the corner of my eye as I crafted last-minute gifts. All under the watchful eye of one feverish director, that is.

I hung this windsock off of our back deck months ago, on a late summer afternoon, right before a family barbecue. I couldn’t have known then how much it would brighten up a very gray day in December.