The Christmas decorations have been taken down, stowed carefully in their boxes, and then carefully stacked in our crawlspace. It's one big day and at the end our little townhouse looks miraculously larger than ever before (for at least a few hours). We are going to make every effort this coming year to have our next Christmas in a larger home, one where I can walk gingerly to the garage to retrieve and stow those boxes. I'm sure we'll look back in a blink and see these as the good old days, but right now they're the cramped days. These are uptown problems to be sure -- everyone is warm, has a full belly, and has plenty of clothes.




It was -21 for a few days. Then it snowed well over a foot. Followed by a few days of 40 degree temps. It's back in the 20s now, we still have piles of snow, and all the lakes are still solidly frozen. Let's stay above zero and enjoy winter and the growing daylight.



Everyday is a Lego day around here. As for Piper, everyday is a bear day.