Winter Doldrums

It is still winter, no doubt about that! The snows have stopped for now, but it is chilly and the inversions have come to our valley.

This is the time of year I love to take stock of my life and reorganize and take on deep cleaning projects. I have a number of cupboards in my house that could use a sprucing up.

But for today, I'm feeling lazy. I have a slight headache and tired eyes. Maybe it was because I watched "The Notebook" yesterday while I had an afternoon to myself. My friend, Fashionista Girl, recommended it. What she failed to tell me was that it was a three-hanky movie! Of course, I like three-hanky movies, but they do tend to make me a little puffy eyed for a while!

As part of my reorganization, I spent a long time planning out a food list of things our family can eat. Laughing water cannot have soy, and only a little in the way of beans and nuts. I have shown up with allergies to dairy and eggs and sugar. Now, I'm a vegetarian and am quite capable of cooking vegan. But, when one has to take out dairy, soy, and limit beans and nuts, it gets a little dicy. So I spent some serious time thinking and planning and making a list. I left the list on the table while we went to church and then on to other activities last Saturday. When we came home, The Mighty Hunting Hound had eaten about 1/2 of the list! Grrrr!

Last Wednesday, Laughing Water had a piano recital. I must say that I was delighted. I had heard her practice, but was amazed when I actually heard her perform. She put a lot of feeling and dynamics into it. I'm told that she has a guitar recital coming up on Feb. 3. Since Mr. Blueberry Eyes takes violin from that same teacher, he will also play in the recital. That should be interesting since he has only just begun his journey into strings. He is to play, "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Both of my children perform with more ease than I did as a child. They get nervous, but do play well. It is just so nice to be in the sixth year of lessons with Laughing Water as she now prefers to practice on her own and does a good job of it. She does like it when her Papa plays her guitar lessons with her, though. I've even pulled out my violin to have practice time with Mr. Blueberry Eyes. My sound is pathetic, but it encourages him to play! - Nanette