Even a fox

Anticipation was in the air as the three of us walked down Bannock Street in Denver. The clock hadn't yet rang 6 o'clock and people were milling around the City and County Building waiting for someone to set the holiday lights aglow. Vendors sold glow-in-the-dark merchandise and flashing "sun"glasses among other goodies. Bundled up, citizens walked past heaps of snow and up to the nativity scene, looked up and stared at darkness.

As we neared the end of the block, lights still unlit, one of us spied a tiny fox. Its feet painted black and its tail whipping about, the little critter hopped alongside the building, seeming to be filled with excitement at the firing up of the lights, but we all knew the shy creature was just plain scared. It was searching for a tree or bush to hide behind, yet too much action was going on nearby and it was evident the fox could not relax.

Still, there it went - Hop! Hop! Hop! - not even letting the fact it only had three legs (the lower hindquarter was missing) slow it down.

Snow days!

I've been home all week anyway, but over the last two days I couldn't leave the house if I wanted to.

Denver was buried under 2 feet of snow and blizzard conditions for about 36 hours, ending earlier at noon today. But now, the sun is out (until it sets in about 15 minutes) and our driveway and neighborhood streets are still covered under drifts up to 5 feet tall.


This was a view from our master bedroom last evening. Yes, that is a street in our complex filled with mounds of snow. I think the plow truck got stuck; at least that's what it sounded like last night.


By the look of it, the sun has a lot of snow to melt in the coming days, including the massive amount on our rooftop.

Lest anyone worry, C. and I have plenty of food, drink and stuff to do. To wit, he has been playing a Tom Clancy game on his Xbox while I've been uploading photos, updating this space and sending e-mails to friends far and wide. Yesterday, I baked 11 dozen cookies and 16 mini loaves of lemon and pumpkin bread, wrapped them in cellophane bags and prepared to pass out the holiday cheer. I think a game of Scrabble might be in the cards later. Today, I even have done a bit of crocheting and knitting. (Below: Thanks, G., for the new Ballband Dishcloth pattern! As you can see, I'm loving it and almost have two scrubbies completed! Thank God I buy the kitchen cotton almost every time I'm in the craft store. It's so inexpensive at just over a buck a ball.)



That is all for now. I hope you and yours are staying warm and safe!

Holiday update

So it's 14 days to Christmas and I've got nearly all of my shopping done. Greeting cards are out and all but one package has been sent. I just have to finish crafting a couple of gifts before I'm done for the holidays. This is much better than last year :)

And I do have plans to do a little baking. Can't wait to fill the house with good smells of pumpkin, banana and lemon bread! Now I'm hungry.

Countdown!

I've decided to make my countdown ticker (above) into a regular feature. I guess I'll have to find new reasons to count down to an exciting date! (My birthday could be the next one, for instance.)

Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

Holiday tidings

With my Christmas tree twinkling across the living room walls and holiday music in regular rotation on my iPod, I wish thee a very happy holiday season!

P.S. My goal is to do the remainder of my Christmas shopping online. The mall just isn't worth it.