Friday

Today's weather reminds me a bit of December in central Europe. Cold. No Arctic blast, but just at freezing. Gray. Damp. Cold.

That's okay. I have a morning of appointments, groceries and chores. Out and about. Heater's working in the car. The outside world is just that what I see through the windshield.

Well, and when I go out to feed the animals. (Pepper, on one foot, to avoid the snow)






When I finally see my doc, we talk about strategies for shaking a cough that appears to be nothing more than a terrible hangover from a bug long gone. She suggests a medicine that she is sure will help.
There is a problem with it -- she tells me.
Oh? What? (I'm thinking I'm in no mood for a rerun of GI issues.)
It makes some people grumpy.
Seriously? A cough medicine that makes you grumpy?

Now there's a dilemma! To cough, or to snarl at my beloveds? Eh, I can control the grumps... Can't I?

Breakfast, before the grumpy medicine.






Indeed, it's not hard to stay in a stellar mood when you pick up your granddaughter at school and then, along with her mom, you go to the University Forestry Department to pick up the big Christmas tree for their house.






We ask Snowdrop which tree she likes. In the past, this was a silly game. You ask which one, the kid points to some tree, you say"great!" and take the one you really like. But this year, Snowdrop gets really stuck on her choice.






I suggest another one, just a tad bigger, fuller. Her mom looks at me -- why don't we just get the one she really likes?





Sometimes your kids can show you the forest, even as you're too caught up in the search for a perfect tree...


Our next stop is at Clasen's Bakery. For the chocolate covered gingerbread cookies. For the gingerbread house to admire.






These holiday traditions have been with us for decades. We stock up on the cookies!

At their home, Sparrow is just waking up from a nap. Since both kids are full of playfulness, we decide it's a good time to try to get a holiday photo out of them.  I mean, the big tree will go up tomorrow, but the little tree in the living room is plenty nice. And the kids are just so disarming...

I'll post several photos -- none of which are in in the final run (I'll save that one for the young family's use), but all of which I love anyway. Because with those two grands, you just can't lose!
























Evening. Still cold. Still cloudy. Still lovely. Am I grumpy? You could ask Ed, but I doubt he'd have noticed. We're snuggled on the farmhouse couch eating popcorn and watching a movie. And I'm coughing a lot less. And that's such a good thing!