Saturday, January 07, 2012

Another shiny new January

Happy New Year! I have this problem, see, the beginning of the calendar never much felt like a new year. It's really the start of September that feels like the beginning of the year. It'll likely take another 20 years to wear off. And maybe bad dreams about school will stop by then too.

We had a very quiet Christmas; my mother was visiting and the Love Monkey & I didn't travel anywhere, which was WONDERFUL. I like visiting people but airports at Christmas are not my favorite. It's bad enough with just car traffic; I saw probably about 3 near misses in December. After the first one of those, I drove slowly and cautiously and got there eventually and without drama. yay.

I also had a cold for Christmas, and a new one for New Year's. HO HO HO! Jolly! We did get a tree this year. Usually we don't, since we're always away. I feel a special kind of environmental guilt getting a real Christmas tree; it feels like getting expensive cut flowers except it takes years longer to grow and moves out other, more useful crops. But I very much enjoy the fragrance and presence of a real tree, and at least it was a local one. The grower's probably getting 10x the amount for this tree than if he were to raise, oh, cabbage. Frances the cat fortunately has never been a climber, although she seems to prefer the tree water to her own. Yes, I just went and cleaned out her dish. Maybe she savors the piquant flavor of pine.

Did I mention I got a new job? I got a new job, in November. I am no longer an official slacker, although it severely cuts into my dyeing and sleeping-in time. I got lucky -- there was a space opening up where a lot of my friends are working, and it looked interesting and they were interested in me. Lucky, especially with things how they are right now. Lucky, so I gave a birthday present (what, don't I get to give presents on my birthday?) to Sisters of the Road, who does a good program of feeding people who need it in a way that keeps their dignity.

It is past the solstice now, and maybe in another month the sun will be up past 4:30 in the afternoon. Just have to make it through black February (the one-two punch of darkness & Valentine's day is not my favorite). I am already daydreaming about long summer afternoons and bright mornings. And peas. Hopefully this year will be a good one for peas. And raspberries. Damn, I better stop right now.

The cat surveys her twinkley-lit domain