Good morning, day of Eve! My, what heavy fog you're delivering for us! Never mind, I can see my way to the barn. Good morning, hens, cats, and the birds that eat up scattered chicken feed.
Bread. A staple for this week. Favorite bread bakery is closed, but second favorite, Batch is open. I have a reserved pie for Eve and I want to get there early so that I can grab their last warm baguette for Eve dinner, and their last warm sourdough loaf for tomorrow. And a treat for breakfast.
The fog is so dense now that I cannot see our skyline driving in. A white cloud over a warm and unfrozen lake.
At Batch, even at 8 a.m., a line has formed, but it moves quickly. Too quickly! I could take in the fragrance of that place for a good half hour! At least!
Home again. Breakfast with Ed amidst beautiful winter colors.
Eve day. Music is going non stop now. Ed does not complain. He's working on putting life into his suddenly dead computer. I sit back and think about this day. This week. This year. Next year.
We go for a walk in our local park. Wet, damp, near record highs expected today, tomorrow. And no snow, No rain either. We're having a winter drought. And here's a surprise: on the drive to the park we encounter cranes. Not just one, not just a pair. Why haven't they left? Will this group overwinter here?
At the county park we take pleasure in the damp earthy smells, the forest quiet.
Friends stop by with a homemade nut stollen. It is exceptionally delicious -- not too sweet, very yeasty. Perfect for Christmas Day breakfast.
Milestones that are not Christmas related: one friend is celebrating a birthday, another is attending to a father who is very very old and not well at all. This is what we do, every month, every year: we attend, we pause, we celebrate, we listen.
Toward evening I go to my daughter's house.
It's our tradition for me to cook dinner there tonight. Ed stays home for this one, as there is nothing in the main meal that appeals to him. Beef fondue. So un-Polish! (Poles do not really eat beef and certainly not on the Eve). But so us! I've been making sauces for Eve beef fondue (cooked in a spiced beef broth) for many decades.
And pie for dessert. From Batch. Cherries from Door County.
And everyone in their pj's, and cookies for Santa and definitely an extra helping for poor Rudolph who has his work cut out for him this year in Wisconsin.
Time to say goodnight...
And drive home. Ours is on the farming edge of a small suburb of Madison. This time I drive through the heart of the community, where I come across this very large house with a very ambitious holiday light design.
I like it (though I'm also glad he is not my neighbor). And I also like the smaller displays...
... or homes with nothing at all outside, and yet I know there to be lights inside.
And maybe some, where the light is entirely in the heart.
It's all beautiful.
with so much love...
