Right Now

The house is quiet. Just the hum of the dryer and the snap of roasting potatoes in olive oil. Kids are playing in various other people’s domains.

Snow total (can I call it that, when it’s nowhere near being finished?) approaching 20 inches for today. Canyon closed. Husband worked at home (in the quiet). Kind of awesome.

I’m looking at the Christmas tree, wanting someone to come over and take it all down for me. It’s not Scrooge-y of me, I just want my sunspot back. The tree is a west-window sun hog.

Thinking about goals. I like to start them a little before the new year. That way, things are already a habit by the Big Day. Or something.

Planning some bribes reinforcements for myself. Fifteen of them. One for each of the fifteen, um, things I need to, um, lose. I’ll post them when I figure out what they are.

I want to start a gratitude journal. I want to do it on paper. I need a little notebook, to dedicate just to that. Sally gave me one in September. I’ll tear out the pages I’ve already written on and use that one. It is very cute, with a flower on it, and it will sleep beside my bed. Then I can write first thing in the morning (except that first thing in the morning, I’m generally most grateful for indoor plumbing, if you follow me…) or right before I fall asleep, or at nap time, or when I climb into my bed to hide from the doorbell. Or whenever I feel grateful.

We’ve been passing around a scratchy sore throat. I took a sick day yesterday (the kind where I tell the Kids to parent each other) and I’m back to about 90%. Can’t complain about 90%.

I’m going to start doing an end-of-month post about what books I read every month. Then you will know just how much work I do not do around here. I read a lot of books. As you will soon see. To prevent jealous fits, I’ll only post the PUBLISHED books I read, not the sneak-peeks that will make some of you pull your hair, or the hair of your nearest neighbor. I’ll start this weekend, but the list will only include this last week of December. Because I’m too old to remember farther back without notes, and I didn’t take any. Notes, I mean.

I can’t see out one of the windows in my bedroom. Well, I can, but only straight out, not down. Because the snow is tall there, on the roof gable thingy.

I made truly excellent peppermint ice cream. Perfect consistency. If raw eggs gross you out, don’t ask me how I achieved it.

Happiness = World Market’s Hazelnut Vanilla Spread. “Spread” sort of implies that I should put it on something other than a spoon…

(Did I mention those fifteen things I need to lose? Yeah. Not easy today.)

I love Christmas vacation when there’s nothing to do, and nobody expects much. And the snow blows in, thick and strong. And the fireplaces all work, and the Kids got a fat stack of great new books that I can steal share.

I have some things I want to talk to you guys about. Stay tuned.

But right now, I should turn on those pretty plug-in candles in all my windows (at least the ones that will still show in all the snow) because it’s my second-favorite way to see my house, with all the front-facing windows winking fake light at the neighbors. (Favorite? With busting-out hanging flower baskets and a porch you have to inch your way through for all the pots of green and growing things. But that will have to wait six months. I’ll take what I can get right now.)