a gift

Today was the kind of day that made mincemeat of the rest of the soppy, soggy, drippy, coldish, work-packed, tired, gray days of the past week. Grind them up and forget about them! My cold is over and done with! And, for this one day of an otherwise troublesome (weather-wise) weekend, the sun is out!

Isis started his morning "I am bored, can't you be up already?" routine early. Ed usually goes down with him for a while, but on this morning, Isis did not want to be pushed outside and so the two of them came right back up again. Which means that I am, by now, fully awake as neither of them are the silent type once they get going.

And now it is my turn to go downstairs and outside (even though it's in the teens, meaning nippy out there with just a coat thrown over a night shirt). So pretty! I walked the farmette land a bit and I was surprised how much (frozen solid) snow there was around me. Beautiful now in the early glow of the January sun.





When I drive to work, the fields around us seem bare, with only patchy snow. But our own field, carefully cultivated by Farmer Lee come summertime, looks like it's buried in the white stuff.





Something about the day causes Ed to be hungry for a bigger than usual breakfast and I love that! Like vacation! Oatmeal, fruits, yogurts and an egg! On the wee table that we have in the sun room because, well, it is, for once, sunny! (How many exclamation points do I need to convince you that for me, sunshine on a winter day makes this season truly not bad at all, no not at all!!)









The sun room has a few odd plant specimens: flowers that I couldn't say good-bye to when the growing season was over. One such plant is the nasturtium: I wanted to see if I could winter one over in a pot and though in general, I wouldn't say it has been a happy little bugger, it's still chuggin' along and today, it shows me that it can still throw a flower every now and then. So -- a bit of orange by the window, looking out over the winter garden of dried hydrangeas.






And the day continues in this chipper way. A longer than usual yoga class. And, with total determination, I drag out a rather tied-to-a-supine-position-lately Ed for a walk along the Nature Conservancy trail (a mere mile down the road from us).

It's grand to be walking outdoors again! (Here come those exclamation marks...)





The sky is deliciously blue, but with dainty patterns of lacy clouds.





The snow, such as it is, in patches here and there, adds a little winter glamor to the walk...





Even as I'm hoping that we'll get another good cover before the season is over.





At home, I make apple tea. It's not as good as the one I was given in Istanbul (adding sugar would help, but I refuse) and still, on a cold day, it seems so perfect. With a peanut butter and jam sandwich. Which we share. On a plate with a red bird. On a table with a red cloth, by the TV, where we watch more of the ancient Greece saga.


 


No work today. None whatsoever.  A day with so much sunshine in it is a gift. To be used with care.