I'm a little late with this as the light snow pretty much disappeared yesterday even though it was about 12 this morning when I got up. The weather mostly went around us again.  I'm grateful. I went to sleep in my sweats last night, too lazy or tired or both to get another blanket out for the bed.  Before I turned in I went out on the deck and looked up at the sky.  Clear as a bell and a zillion stars in every direction.  Our local owl was performing its vocalizations.  I could hear the noise of the little stream that runs across the front of my neighbor's yard by the sidewalk.  No other sounds.  I was really glad I'd insulated myself up in my wool socks and heavy bathrobe and gone out for a look.  It puts winter and days of freezing temperatures into perspective.

Fresh Snow

It's been a quiet week. Two days of warming and the seven inches of snow disappeared and then today it began again. The small maple across the street has kept its red leaves through the surprise early snow and freeze.

Looking up I see snow sticking to the tiniest of branches.

The bell in the backyard totally still, no wind at all as everything turns white again.

Nightfall and the neighbor's Christmas lights are on, the first on the block. More snow tonight says the weatherman. May all travel safely home this evening.

First Snow and Thanksgiving

It was 27 and white when I got up this morning. It isn't exactly a blizzard and for that I'm thankful for that. One son lives on a farm and slogs down to the critters every morning to feed and get them water that isn't frozen; the other has an hour commute each way to his workplace, so this is plenty for us. I meant to get this sedum (I think) into the ground some time ago but I forgot about it until this morning when I stuck my head out the backdoor for a look about. And the lawn furniture is still sitting out. I have a list of things I was going to finish yesterday. For whatever reason, I decided it was a fine day to nap and read, and overeat, and nap some more. Sooner or later I will dress in my winter coat and go brush the fairly dry snow off the van and head for the grocery store. I did shop yesterday but left part of the list at home, the one with ingredients on it rather than the usual bread, eggs, and milk. My brain was traveling in bookish places rather than around my kitchen.

I'm working on making diabetic tolerant accoutrements for the big family dinner a few blocks away. Could be a big dinner, and we certainly are a big family. I found a recipe for low fat, low carb gravy that tastes good. Ditto for a dessert, a Waldorf salad, and I'm bringing a big green salad as well. Some of the guests have troubling high blood sugar. It's hard to eat tiny amounts of the regular stuff, avoid bread and stuffing and not feel deprived, hopefully this will help and no one will go into a coma later. Maybe it's time for a post meal walk as well.

Meanwhile I'm grateful for the love of my family and friends. Very grateful those in the family who lost their jobs have new ones, three people ending a very long stretch of unemployment. I'm grateful for the smiling faces and the hugs of my grandkids and my grown children. We are housed, fed, and dressed. I am thankful for Medicare. And also, I'm grateful I lost about 30 pounds over the last year or so and because of that my feet don't hurt any longer.