Last night when we went to bed it was raining. This morning everything out there is frozen solid and snow flakes are dancing out of the sky, eventually resting lightly to form a gauzy blanket over hard, hard world.
Yesterday, the first day of 2011, Attila and I did a lot of puttering about. As we puttered we watched movies, off and on, as we passed the set. Let’s see, we watched Gunga Din (1939), Music and Lyrics (2007) and Mamma Mia! (2008) (great fun for Abba fans!). It was with sad relief that I ate the last of my stash of cookies and salted nuts! Holiday food is one of our greatest joys, and we indulged ourselves thoroughly this year. I’ve gained some weight, enjoyed every minute of it, and now it is time to get back to normal. So, last night for dinner we ate a very healthy meal, Attila’s Turkey Soup, made with our Christmas Day turkey. Attila’s Turkey Soup is healthy, low sodium, low fat, lots of vegetables. The absolute best thing about it though, is that it tastes great!
One of the tasks Attila took on yesterday was to shovel the snow off the deck. There was quite a bit there, it had slid off the roof onto the deck in a great rain-sodden mass. The deck was clear when we went to bed last night.
Since the weather has turned colder today, Attila is busy splitting firewood for the third firing of the masonry heater that we will need today.
In my fantasy life, our deck protrudes from the peak side of the building, where no snow from the roof will ever fall on it, and Attila will never have to shovel it off. In my fantasy life we have a central heating system that runs on a thermostat, so that the temperature is set and then heat just happens. This would add hours to Attila’s days, and provide us with a lot more freedom of movement. These are expensive fantasies! Perhaps this year the house will sell and we will move into a home where these luxuries already exist!
Having enjoyed Mamma Mia! yesterday on the television, we watched it again tonight. Actually, I enjoyed it in a different way on second viewing; we watched the film with closed captioning! Although I didn’t miss much during the first viewing, a few points of plot became much clearer with the second viewing.
Attila has lit the third fire of the day, Mist is settling into her basket for yet another nap and I am about to snuggle up on the easy chair with my Kobo and see what is happening in pre-Rome Italy, via Lavinia by Ursula LeGuin.
It seems that we are indeed here.