It's the kind of day that makes you wish we were, say, in the middle of February already. The cold is penetrating, the somber tones outside are dark and ominous, the winds are fierce, the day is short.
My walk is brief.
Our breakfast, however, is warm and long, perhaps to compensate for yesterday's aborted meal.
Much of the day is spent on figuring out how best to connect to my younger daughter's home over the holidays. In keeping to our "stay safe" guidepost, we wont be spending any of the holidays with the Chicago bunch and so we are looking at alternatives and one that comes to mind is linking our households via a video screen. Not just the static one of FaceTime or Zoom, but the moving adaptable ones that are now on the market. They're not expensive and they give you a view of the room and the persons in it, tracking the motion of those who move around (for example Primrose!). Here are two screens from today's experimental run:
Okay, they are set on their end. Now Ed and I have to learn the technology (fine, Ed has to first learn the technology and then teach it to me) that will put the farmhouse in a similar fashion on their TV screen. It's a fun project because it makes us feel connected. Anything that brings them closer to us is a beautiful thing.
In the meantime, a Sunday is a Sunday and so I once again cook up the seafood pasta that has been a constant dinner request from the young family. I take it over when it's super dark. No stars, no moon, just a cloudy and cold November night.
On the bright side, November 15th does have some celebratory value to it. It's my mom's birthday -- 97 today! She is, of course, in her own Assisted Living bubble. We do talk daily, but visits are not in the cards for now. Still, I hear there were some balloons in her day today. And singing. She's not a great fan of celebrations, but I'm sure she'll take our wishes for a brighter, more peaceful year ahead.
