Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Year's end


December was a mild month, when we were able to take outside walks, both near my small college on the hill to visit the bench we dedicated to my papi's memory, and in our favorite pond park.


Christmas came and went, rather quickly, and this year I resolved to be more organized than in times past when I put away our decorations, some of which are decades old.


After Christmas, we drove to Memphis to be with my family and enjoyed a wonderful fried chicken dinner at Gus' Fried Chicken, which is one of our very favorite places to visit. Papi used to love it so we always make a point to go all together.


My sister, who always gives me the greatest gifts, gave me a set of PJs and a cake slicer in animal print. Very chic!


My dear neighbor, meanwhile, gave me these. They're quite whimsical and I actually wore them to school.


All in all, 2014 was a mixed year. It started scary and hard with so many troubling health issues, but it ended well. And all is well that ends well, I agree.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

December, in a whisper


December has gone so furiously fast that it's not even funny. The month hasn't been bad, weatherwise, though they're now forecasting a wind storm for Christmas Eve, which will be a new one for us. All in all, December has been mostly gray (so this day of blue skies and crows on a tree was definitely different), and the sun has been a welcome surprise when it was deigned to show its face.

Early on, we decorated our live spruce on the back of the house with lights, and it's lovely to see them sparkle in bright colors in the early nights that fall in December (though now that the solstice is over we are looking forward to the lengthening days).


I have a tiny live tree at our house in the small city and the tiny fake tree in my home-away near my small college on the hill.


I'm trying to get all the Christmas shopping and organizing done while at the same time trying to finish the grading so I can have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to enjoy. I don't like the fact that grades aren't due until the 29th since it really does mean many of us are working through the holidays. Many colleges I know finish classes, exams, and have grades due before the holidays, which I think is much better. As it is, I often find myself (as likely will happen tomorrow) grading on Christmas, which is no fun and feels simply wrong. Here's what I say to that: Bah humbug!