Partridgeberry of Sleet

It was my turn to drive over to Dragonfly's house to visit. It snowed a little bit as I was driving, but the sun was shining too, so the snowflakes had a very magical, sparkly quality. Dragonfly had asked me to wear my boots so I wouldn't slip and fall on her driveway. I wore them as a courtesy to her, but thought "pooh, I don't need this." She was right, though. Her driveway was very slippery. I think it's a feature of the terrain, which sends every drop that melts right down the driveway so it's impossible to keep clear. We had a good visit. The tiny kitten she and the Minister adopted shortly before the Minister's death has already grown into a handsome tuxedo cat, very curious and vocal. We went out to eat, and Dragonfly kindly bought me lunch as a belated birthday present. I took the dessert home with me to share with the Sparrowhawk. It was strawberry flavored creme brulee, which may sound odd but was delicious.

When I got home, I saw that I had a call from a friend. I thought it would be merely a procedural matter, involving an invitation to come over on Sunday, but it turned out to include personal news that required fairly extensive sympathy and consultation. Medical news continues to surround me as well. A friend had a heart attack (survived and is back home, apparently none the worse for wear), two friends are looking at potential spinal surgery, and Tron has embarked on five years of estrogen suppression, which I doubt will be much fun at all. I hope and pray the side effects will be mild and manageable.