Welcome! Much anticipated, appreciated, beloved even -- the new year.
We greeted it at midnight. This is late for me (if not for Ed), but in return, I promised myself a later wake up hour. That was not to be. Ed had allowed Dance a new year's night at the farmhouse. She came up to our bedroom just as the night's darkness began to recede. Seeing movement underneath our quilt (we do wiggle, after all), she jumped up and took to the task of chasing all the "mice" she was sure were frolicking under the bed covers. A foot moves, Dance pounces. Again and again. After a half hour of this, Ed took her back outside, but by this time, we were wide awake.
It is true that those who rise early are often amply rewarded. Here's our predawn view from the bathroom window:
You could say, therefore, that we began the new year with animals in our midst.
(There is a lot of moisture in the air. It feels chilly, but on the other hand it makes for a lovely landscape. All the twigs, crab apples and pine needles are covered with a sparkling thin layer of ice crystals.)
Breakfast. This is who we are on January 1st, 2021:
I light a new candle called Montana Forest and indeed, I get an occasional delicate whiff of spruce, pine and cypress, with a base of moss and cedarwood.
And now I drive to my daughter's house to help her with taking down the Christmas tree and with readying the house for the new year. The kids help as well...
(Snowdrop has set up an assembly line, whereby her brother takes off the ornament and hands it to her. She hands it to me, I wrap it up and put it away. hmmm...)
Well, they help until I bring out the vacuum cleaner. Watch them scamper at the sound of the sucking monster!
I'm back home now. There is still time for a quick ski run with Ed!
(Deer, everywhere)
We finish just as the snow begins to fall once more.
The kids and their parents are with us again, this time for a New Year's Day dinner.
(Montana Forest...)
Turn on Portal: happy New Year, beloved Chicago young family!!!
(Messing with Ed...)
(Shrimp taco dinner: Ed's in charge of the corn tortillas.)
I heard from friends far and wide today and I have lingering messages in my head and images of many smiles, of hopes for spring gardens and blossoming lives -- all lovely stuff, from good people leading good lives despite it all.
[Pause here for a totally absorbing, feel good movie, with popcorn. Fighting With My Family. About Professional Wrestling. I had never known this theatrical wrestling even existed. 2021 starts off with me learning something new. How cool is that!]
I hope you have plenty of reasons to smile in this fresh new year! Big grin, gentle upturn of a mouth, loud and happy, quiet and appreciative. If you have it in you -- pass it on to a friend or a stranger.
With love.
