Early morning Christmas tree as seen from my chair in the den.

The wind has been relentless here. It started on Wednesday, and lasted all day long yesterday. Just when I thought it had died down, it’s picked up again this morning. Needless to say, I’ve had enough. Along with the wind came plunging  temperatures, so it’s very cold out there.

There’s not a whole lot to share with you today. We’re taking it easy, eating some pumpkin pie, watching old movies. We purchased 2 pies right before Christmas, froze one, and pulled it out to thaw on New Year’s Eve. Yummy. I’ve put a few little decorations away, including the Vintage by Crystal figurines. I’ll probably remove the Christmas decorations from the dollhouses next. But the tree and those decorations will stay until it starts to get dry. So far, it’s in spectacular condition! I can’t remember exactly when we got it, but I think it was the 9th or 10th of December. We’re coming up on a month and it is as moist as it was the day we got it.

I’m still reading Orbital – about 6 astronauts on the International Space Station. It’s a small little book – about 200 pages – but it is slow going. I like it, but it’s not the kind of read that moves along quickly. I should finish it today.

Every once in a while, I check in with Eric Idle’s reading blog. He’s a voracious reader. His blog was where I discovered the Slough House series by Mick Herron, well before it was known here in the states. I thought I’d check in again about a week ago and came up with some books I thought were interesting and I ordered them from the library. A series by Adrian McKinty about a detective in Ireland during the “Troubles.” And another book by one of my favorite authors, Edward St. Aubyn – A Clue to the Exit. Don stopped by the library yesterday and picked them up, so I have plenty of reading material on hand. I finished the puzzle and it’s been stowed away once more.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Happy New Year from all of us here at the cottage!

We actually made it to midnight – not on purpose – because we watched a movie which was on the longish side. It was pouring rain so we were spared the sound of fireworks. Today, a wind warning from 3 pm to 10 pm tomorrow. Not a good way to start the new year, in my humble opinion. Who wants to start the new year feeling edgy?

And then it will get quite cold again.

I took advantage of the warmer weather to finish up with my potted plants on the porch, dumping them on the ‘pile’ next to the shed, and then stowing the pots in said shed. We had bluebirds visiting the other day (we’ve sure had a lot of them this year.) I was surprised; they must be migrating at the last minute. Anyway, they flew around the property looking for food, diving into the brush, and I assume, drinking from the birdbath. It was lovely.

We are going to hang out today. We’ve been rather busy the past few days, and of course, Don had a crazy weekend. I’m going to try to finish Orbital  because I have two books to pick up at the library tomorrow.

I spoke with Jan yesterday. She’s in fairly good spirits considering what she’s facing. She is still awaiting test results, so no decisions will be made until she has a sense of the whole picture. In addition to the mass on her pancreas, her kidneys aren’t functioning properly. Joe is keeping me informed. If you’re so inclined, send some prayers her way.

One more bokeh photo:

Oh heck, since the tree is still very healthy, you may get more. We intend to keep it up as long as possible because we need that sparkle.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

We had fog for most of the weekend and Don had to drive in it late at night. He’s pretty exhausted today after performing in three separate gigs and having to do lots of driving. I’m glad he made it home safely.

I received a call from a longtime friend on Saturday, my friend Joe. I just knew it had to do with our friend Jan, who is almost a decade older than me. She was rushed to the hospital on Christmas Eve and tests have shown a mass on her pancreas, as well as other possible complications. Joe and Jan, both adopted kids who have no living relatives, have become each other’s chosen family. The prognosis is pretty dire. Joe was speaking frankly about arrangements being made for Joe to be by her side when the time comes. Needless to say, I was shocked and I’m still trying to wrap my head around this news. I couldn’t quite take in all of the information. Obviously, this sad news took over my thoughts this weekend. Hopefully, I can speak with Joe again in the next few days to learn more –  and to Jan, as well.

Heartbreaking and so very sad.

I forgot to take any bokeh pictures of the Christmas tree until it was getting dark yesterday. But here they are:

The aim is to focus on something in the foreground, in this case, Ling. I set my iPhone on “Portrait” mode. Every one of the photos was slightly different. I can also do this with my big girl camera, but let’s face it, the phone is handier.

I saw Monty’s sad eyes across the room and had to include him.

Trust me, I can experiment with this endlessly. I’ll take a few more in daylight.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.