December 14th

How about this:

On the 14th day of December my true love gave to me:

Five gold streaks of sunshine,

Four French hens (plus Unie),

Three kinds of berries,

Two burning (fake) candles,

And a bowl of my new favorite granola (Hudson Henry maple walnut).

The air is full of music. My head is full of song. That's the way some mornings are -- buoyant and lyrical.

Good morning, animals! Happy to see that our evening prowler (an opossum) did not get into the coop. Chickens all accounted for. Cats fed. Time to focus on those inside the farmhouse.

Breakfast, with a second candle added to our faux hygge world.

It's gorgeous outside! One of those isolated flings of sunshine and warmth (50F/10C!). We bike our loop. Not for super long -- we're both insanely busy right now, but still, you cannot ignore all that brilliance.

And very quickly the time comes for pickup.

The schedule is a little different today in that I am to picking up Sandpiper at the end of his school day as well...

And with all three, drive over to my daughter's house. The kids find activities, their mom and I talk. 

This is so rare: she and I see each other constantly, but time to chat without a child tugging at the sleeve is really not so easy to find. Today we made the time for it. Not long, but still, lovely.

When I return home, I find a package from an old Ocean friend. A retired artist (though do artists ever really retire? Do singers stop singing? Do writers stop writing?), he has occasionally gifted me some of his work. This time, I'm the proud owner of three beautiful pieces, done of the older kids. You'll see them over the years as I position them in their new spaces. Though here's a glimpse...

Thank you, Dan.

Chili for supper. I thought the weather would surely call for it, but hey, I make chili in the summer as well. Nothing fills you more on a busy day.

And a partridge in a pear a little girl in a Christmas tree...