On my birthday, Bill and I had breakfast with Jll, Dagny, and Maggie Faith. Alastair and Addie had long since left for school, since they are on their bus by 7 o’clock every morning. We sat down at the counter, and I casually told Jll that Bill and I would be unable to attend the music concert that Dagny and Maggie’s school was holding the next night at Thomas Jefferson High School because of a scheduling conflict. I didn’t think much about it until I looked to my left, and saw that Maggie was silently crying, literally with tears rolling down her cheeks. Her parents were also going to be unable to attend, and she was so sad that she wasn’t going to have a big audience to see her performance. Jll told us that the dress rehearsal was that night, and we all agreed that we would attend the dress rehearsal. That cheered her up a bit.

The performance was not simply a Christmas musical concert; it was sort of a musical play with a holiday theme. The story took place in a magical forest, and featured a variety of forest creatures, not the least of which were the rabbits. And Magnolia was a rabbit extraordinaire…..

None of us are quite certain as to why her bunny ears were not sticking straight up as all of the other rabbits’ ears were, but it likely has to do with the fact that Maggie Faith does now and will evermore STAND OUT.

The dress rehearsal, while truly a rehearsal, was tons of fun, and Maggie’s rabbit scene was not surprisingly the best of the show. As for Dagny, she chose to act as stage crew. No need for the spotlight for Dagny Tess.

Have a good weekend.

There’s kind of a funny phenomenon around Colorado. When the weather talk turns to snow, the grocery stores start to empty their shelves.

Except it doesn’t seem to have happened this time around. Well, except for me.

The weather people began talking a few days ago about a change in weather. While we’ve had mostly a mild fall and early winter, the somber meteorologists began talking a few days ago, first, about a drop in temperature; and second, about measurable snowfall.

Rats. Bill and I had sort of hoped this kind of weather would hold off until after Christmas so that we would already be settled in nice mild-temperatured Arizona when the snowflakes made their first serious appearance.

The snow was scheduled to start falling anywhere from late yesterday morning to just before Tuesday rush hour. In fact, the first flakes didn’t begin to fall where we live until around 9 or 10 o’clock. Monday’s weather forecast said four to six inches would fall in Denver. Enough that we were going to have to pull out our snow shovel. Rats again.

Except that didn’t happen, again, at least not here. This morning when I got up, the grass is barely covered with a bit of snow. But it is as cold as a family dinner with the Trumps and the Clintons.

I made a point of getting to the grocery store yesterday morning sometime around 9 o’clock to beat the egg-and-bread hoarding crowd. The temperature was in the low 20s, but the sky was blue as a robin’s egg. But apparently the fear-of-snow phenomenon was limited only to me because the store was practically empty of people but full of eggs, milk, bread, and eggnog – all of the blizzard staples. But I didn’t care because I wanted to be at home, nestled in my easy chair when the first flakes began to fall. And I was. Long before, in fact.

There are a couple of kinds of people in the world. There are those who like sunny, warm weather, short-sleeves, flip flops, and gin-and-tonics. That would be me. Then there are those who like cold temperatures, snow falling, snow boots, and hot chocolate. That would NOT be me. And it would not be Bill. Despite both of us having grown up in the Midwest, we each groan when we hear that the temperatures will be freezing or lower. And we tear up when we hear that snow will be falling.

The only thing good about cold weather is cooking. While I love to grill, after a few months of chops and steaks and burgers cooked outdoors, I yearn to put on a pot of soup or place a tough cut of meat in my Le Creuset Dutch oven and let it simmer until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender.

I love heating up my house by baking bread or cookies or roasting meat in the oven.

Because the fact of the matter is that our house is COLD. It is a two story, built-in-the-early-70s sieve. So, during much of the winter – at least when we are here – we have cold noses and chilly toes, even when we turn up the temperature.  We have taken to really looking like old people with our cardigans or sweater vests.

When I awoke today, the temperature was in the single digits. The high temperature is predicted to be 13 or 14 degrees. But that’s okay, because I went to the grocery store yesterday. So I will nestle into my chair today, just as I did yesterday, try to stay warm, and think about the mild temperatures coming my way soon.

This post linked to Grammy’s Grid.