It's beginning to look a lot like

I posted on Facebook yesterday that I was dreaming of a white Christmas. I don't know if it will still be snowy on Christmas, but we certainly got a lot of it overnight and today, not to mention big winds to go along with it. Ajax (and Kali, not shown here) sat in the bedroom window and surveyed the scene but didn't want to go outside. They used to go out in all kinds of weather when we lived in our other house but they have been more skittish here.

I think I have a romanticized notion of snow and the white Christmas thing because I really did not enjoy fighting the wind and slipping around in the snow and ice today. I'm borrowing a friend's car while she's out of town because mine is "unsafe to drive" at the moment. It needs new tie rods and we've been waiting for the shipment to arrive. We live on a hill; after work today, I managed to get most of the way up before sliding back down. Luckily I did not hit anything (sorry, Jeanette, if you are reading this--nothing happened, really!) After recovering my senses, I parked at the "mall" and trudged up the hill on foot. Rich then trudged over to get the vehicle. Of course, he had no trouble getting up the hill. It's still snowing and blowing so we will see what tomorrow brings.

It may be snowing but we have lots of cherry tomatoes in our aerogarden. Nice! Just a little taste of summer when it's cold outside.

This is Donald, whom I've known pretty much since I moved to town. He joined the Marines after graduating from high school a couple of years ago and just finished a tour of duty in Afghanistan. That teenager I knew turned into a fine young man, funny how that happens. We worried about his safety, sent him a couple of care packages and tried to stay in touch while he was there. Last Saturday he came home for a four day visit before returning to Japan, where he's been stationed. I was so happy to see him and to know he made it out okay. And let me tell you, there's nothing better than a small town to do up a homecoming right. The high school band greeted him with the Marine Hymn. The Scouts formed an honor guard and saluted him. The mayor spoke and presented him with a key to the city. Family and friends showed up in droves to hug him and pat him on the back and shake his hand. Those of you who know me know that I am not nationalistic nor a fan of military adventures, but this was personal--one of our own had come home. It wasn't about politics. And many of us had great big tears in our eyes.