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PierceSleet of Ember
Dec. 11th, 2019 10:59 pmThis morning we went to the garden store and through the brightly decorated part to the big sliding door that opens into the freezing cold room where all the Christmas trees are waiting to be chosen. It feels exciting! We didn't get a tree yet, but we did choose a wreath for the door, a swag for the archway to the living room, and a bunch of bright holly. The Sparrowhawk went out to have lunch with a friend from his former work. I had a whole list of things I wanted to get done, but somehow everything took longer than I expected. I carried the vacuum cleaner upstairs, and my laundry downstairs, and put it in the washing machine, and looked up recipes for gingerbread, but realized that I didn't have all the ingredients. I texted the Sparrowhawk, who was picking up a few things on his way home, but too late. I'll have to go to the store tomorrow.
I had some tea and writing time. I didn't have to light any candles today, because the sun came out! It was bitterly cold--18 and felt like 5 because of the wind chill--but the sun shone on a thin layer of fresh snow, and white clouds decorated the pale blue winter sky like frosting squiggles on a cookie. I thought about going for a walk, but holy crap, 18 degrees . . . no thank you. I went so far as to pick up the snow shovel so it wouldn't get run over, and bring the trash cans in, but that was it! The Sparrowhawk rented a carpet cleaning machine and started cleaning the rug in the finished room in the basement. The waterproofers tracked a lot of mud onto it. Poor him--it is slow work. He says that he's picking up quite a lot of cat hair. Surprise, surprise. Shadow was very fond of the Lumberjack and spent a lot of time downstairs snoozing on their bed when he and Tron lived there. That carpet is an old wreck, but I hope it will be nicer and fresher in that room when they stay there over Christmas.
He wanted to get some takeout for dinner to save time, but we had some frozen fish that needed to be eaten, and I had taken apart some chicken remnants to make broth. I made fish soup with onions, carrots, leeks, and potatoes in it. I went out in the back yard and cut a bunch of parsley that was still out there. My hands went numb in just the few minutes it took to scrape aside the snow and dead leaves and access the parsley. It was frozen, but still green and fresh, so I chopped it up and put it in the soup. It only took half an hour to prep the soup--less time than it would take to go pick up the takeout. It was delicious, if I say so myself, and with some toast and cheese made a fine dinner. The Sparrowhawk went to finish up the first half of the carpet, and I intended to vacuum the bedroom. However, my spirit failed me as I contemplated wrestling with the vacuum cleaner, and I went back downstairs to write a few Christmas cards. Twenty-four, to be exact. I noticed myself getting very obsessive about them--worrying that I'd use the wrong address or put the wrong card in the wrong envelope, or send someone a card they wouldn't like. But I persevered! Only to discover we have no more Christmas stamps. There's a job for tomorrow.
I had some tea and writing time. I didn't have to light any candles today, because the sun came out! It was bitterly cold--18 and felt like 5 because of the wind chill--but the sun shone on a thin layer of fresh snow, and white clouds decorated the pale blue winter sky like frosting squiggles on a cookie. I thought about going for a walk, but holy crap, 18 degrees . . . no thank you. I went so far as to pick up the snow shovel so it wouldn't get run over, and bring the trash cans in, but that was it! The Sparrowhawk rented a carpet cleaning machine and started cleaning the rug in the finished room in the basement. The waterproofers tracked a lot of mud onto it. Poor him--it is slow work. He says that he's picking up quite a lot of cat hair. Surprise, surprise. Shadow was very fond of the Lumberjack and spent a lot of time downstairs snoozing on their bed when he and Tron lived there. That carpet is an old wreck, but I hope it will be nicer and fresher in that room when they stay there over Christmas.
He wanted to get some takeout for dinner to save time, but we had some frozen fish that needed to be eaten, and I had taken apart some chicken remnants to make broth. I made fish soup with onions, carrots, leeks, and potatoes in it. I went out in the back yard and cut a bunch of parsley that was still out there. My hands went numb in just the few minutes it took to scrape aside the snow and dead leaves and access the parsley. It was frozen, but still green and fresh, so I chopped it up and put it in the soup. It only took half an hour to prep the soup--less time than it would take to go pick up the takeout. It was delicious, if I say so myself, and with some toast and cheese made a fine dinner. The Sparrowhawk went to finish up the first half of the carpet, and I intended to vacuum the bedroom. However, my spirit failed me as I contemplated wrestling with the vacuum cleaner, and I went back downstairs to write a few Christmas cards. Twenty-four, to be exact. I noticed myself getting very obsessive about them--worrying that I'd use the wrong address or put the wrong card in the wrong envelope, or send someone a card they wouldn't like. But I persevered! Only to discover we have no more Christmas stamps. There's a job for tomorrow.
