So far, 2014 has much to recommend it. My husband the chef made me omelettes, the mimosas are fresh and delicious, I have an excellent book in hand (The Golem and the Jinni,) and there is a promise of snow on the horizon. Outstanding!

Just before midnight on this Christmas Day
I’m reminiscent of my childhood Christmases.
Some years there was a gumdrop tree on the buffet in the dining room, spiced gumdrops like sparkling jewels on the thorny branches cut from the woods, oh so tempting to tiny fingers (the gumdrops, not the thorns).

At night we lay in bed, listening to the rustle of stockings being filled, the red mesh kind with candy cane striping around the edge. And in the morning, a giant Big Jim candy cane would be tucked in each one, big enough to last for days.

Some years the porch was rimmed with chunky colorful Christmas bulbs, and some years the train set ran around the base of the tree.

After church the deacons would stand at the front doors of the sanctuary, which opened out into blinding white snow, and hand us each an orange (a special treat in those days) and a candy cane as we headed home.

It doesn’t take much to enchant a child. Merry Christmas, everyone!

The wind is whistling around the corner of the house, rattling the shutters and bouncing acorns off the roof.

Today I spent six hours blowing and raking leaves to the curb. The giant oak drops a mighty carpet of leaves each year. Tomorrow I think I may find them all back in the yard once again.

This morning began with a sleep-in, listening to the wind and rain. I love a good thunderstorm! The leaves from the maple trees were plastered against the windows.

Now the afternoon is balmy with blue skies, and the maple filters the sunlight.

Tonight I’ll celebrate with family and friends. Turning 50 isn’t so bad–and as both my husband and my father have reminded me, it beats the alternative!

This morning when I left the house the rising sun was filtering through a variegated canopy of oak leaves.

This evening when I returned the aptly named flame maple, which just yesterday was mostly green, was glowing red in the setting sun.

The house is peaceful, with a candle lit on the mantle and leaves drifting by the window. A doggy snore or two breaks the silence, but otherwise I am enjoying the stillness, which is so very rare and so very good for my soul. Felix is leaf-watching too.