Those Days In Between Christmas and New Years

I thought that the holidays this year were going to be difficult. I miss my family down in Florida, and we couldn't afford to go back so soon. I assumed that Thanksgiving and Christmas would only heighten my loneliness.

Instead, I found myself feeling grateful to have a family that can make me feel special and loved from halfway across the country. And so happy with the life that we are slowly building for ourselves here. We had wonderful friends to host us for both holidays. They weren't the same as they had always been, but isn't that why we came?

And the snow..! It is just stunning and the fun of it is not yet losing its appeal for me, even though I can barely keep my balance on the ice, and even though my husband almost died this morning when he spun out and crashed into the guard rail. He would say I am melodramatic, but I am not. I knew as soon as he was ten minutes late this morning that he was in a ditch somewhere, and he was.

The car does not look awesome, but he is fine, so who cares.

I learned to knit this month! I've knit four dishcloths and am moving on to a scarf! And otherwise accomplished very little. Almost nothing, really. But I did mail my Christmas presents on time.

Happy November!

And then I blinked, and had lived in Minnesota for six months! Almost seven! Today I cast my first ballot as a Minnesotan! FYI: NO and NO.

Planned accomplishments for November: Write a novel, make some friends. Entertain my sister and niece, who will stay with me for four days.

Up next in December: learn to knit, finish another quilt block, and mail my Christmas presents on time.

Doot, doot doo….

This is a very dark place. In Florida, even in the winter, you don’t have very many of these days that are just gray all day. More often, either it is raining, or it is sunny. Very little in between. Also, the difference in daylight between summer and winter is not so vast as it is here. This will take some getting used to.

Still, my home is a cozy place, and when it is darker earlier, it is more fun to look into the windows of the bus. You see all the people in there, going home from work in the dark!

I am working from home these days, and have a prime window seat, spying on the comings and goings at the Dean’s Circle. I feel very fortunate to be here, with steaming tea and my little dog napping at my feet. I am just feeling such gratitude for my life right now.