Comfort and Joy in Everyday Ramblings

This is Carlo’s favorite toy on his (clearly by the pulled threads) favorite bathmat. I thought it somewhat festive in a feline sort of way.

We had cold fog this morning but no rain, and no snow, which was also predicted in a maybe sort of way so it is an easy Christmas Eve day here.

I went for a long walk over the big hill this morning and was able to see how many trees came down during the ice storm up there. More disturbing were the banged up and missing guardrails. I shudder to think of what caused those.

Kes and Most Honorable arrived last night just as I was signing out of work. We went for our annual big blowout deluxe super yummy Christmas Eve Eve dinner. We had a good table with an adorable waitperson and the food was all very good. I had a cream of celery root soup, we shared a Roman Gnocchi (which was excellent and new for all of us) and does not, we discovered, contain potatoes. I had part of a local organic chicken and savory bread pudding with carrots and parsnips and of course we had dessert.

We split a normal bread pudding and a piece of Boca Negra cake (it means black mouth because the almost flourless cake is so chocolaty that…well… it makes your mouth black).

I had saved up all my weekly points and eaten fruit mostly the rest of the day but was still way over my Weight Watchers point allotment but oh well. We really do only do this once a year. And I didn’t eat any bread and the chicken was a less rich choice than many of the other offerings.

It is important for the heart I think to continue what traditions we can and this year has been hard on us all because the Seattle branch of the family is spinning in a different orbit these days and that orbit doesn’t currently face us. But for us it has been the center of our Christmas focus for the last 16 years. So our sister is gone, Mr. Finch is gone… it is all changing and shaping itself into something else.

I finally got my hair cut on Thursday and was so happy. I have my crown. I am on the verge of a whole new environment to teach in with an extra class and the prospect of actually making money. I am healthy and my weight though not ideal is good and I am maintaining the loss.

Somewhere on our second drink Kes looked over at me and said, “You look happy.”

And you know, I am!

So many of the demons and the difficulties that have been my constant companions for most of my life have settled into a less adversarial relationship with me.

There is much to do in this troubled world but in the midst of it I am grateful for the opportunity to have these moments of comfort and joy.

May they oh so come your way too.

Last updated December 24, 2016