Are you crafty? Have you ever worked with glitter? If you have, then you know you cannot work with glitter indoors without finding it in every crevice of your home...for the rest of eternity. It is simply impossible to get rid of.

Remember those body washes and facial scrubbers with those little tiny micro beads in them? Entire city water systems were shut down in an attempt to remove the sediment left behind that consisted of...tiny micro beads.

When we bought our new recliners, the plan was to take the old ones over for the the grandkids to use. But, it was raining....for a whole week. Then it was too cold. Then we had to mow. Then they were working shift work. Then Covid started spiking like crazy. As time stretched on, I couldn’t imagine how I was going to fit the Christmas tree in the family room with all this extra furniture. Finally...yesterday was gorgeous and the kids had the day off. They came out to pick up the chairs and we had a little socially distanced visit sitting on the tailgates of our trucks.

OMGosh! The longer I have this new kitchen toy, the more I absolutely love it! I was skeptical when I saw the picture of the golden brown, perfectly roasted, crispy-skinned chicken in the little cookbook that came with my Ninja Foodi. I mean, who hasn’t had trouble getting a product to come out looking like the photo on the box, right? Well, I am here to tell you, I made the BEST roasted chicken last night for supper and it was a “piece of cake”, so to speak.

One of my bonus granddaughters lost her beloved Lulu yesterday when she got hit by a car. Fur babies are such a part of our hearts and as much a member of the family as their little two legged siblings. It broke my heart to hear her tears over the phone as she is such a strong young woman. I know her heart will heal with time, but Lulu will always be a part of her heart. 

No, no...not me. I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry. Last night, Mr. FixIt and I watched the Veteran’s Day tribute to the final episode of MASH. Oh...I really loved that show. The first episode aired on September 17, 1972. I was in my second year of radiology training. But, I don’t really remember watching it until the late 1970’s, probably because I spent the middle of that decade in England. 

Yesterday was probably the last day till spring with the thermometer hitting 80 degrees. Rain was scheduled to arrive in the wee hours this morning and with it come the more seasonable temperatures. This late stretch of warmth afforded us the opportunity to finish up a few more projects around the Ponderosa. 

West Virginia is lush and green with annual rainfall that rivals a tropical rainforest. Consequently, plants grow like crazy here and if you don’t stay on top of it, you can soon feel like Jack and the Beanstalk. Such was the case with the North end of our house. We have a huge hydrangea bush that took up a full third of the wall and wrapped around the front corner. There is an old television antenna and, unfortunately, a combination of wild grape and Engelmann Ivy climbed it to the top with abandon. The base of some of those vines were a full three inches thick and woody.

I was up bright and early yesterday...padding into the kitchen, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I hit the button on the coffee grinder, filling the water reservoir to the whirring sound of the burrs. As the coffee drip, drip, dripped, I stared out the kitchen window at the beautiful, crisp morning. 

I carried my coffee into the office and quietly closed the door behind me. Mr. FixIt was still snoozing and I didn’t want to disturb him. My laptop is not terribly old, but I don’t use it very often anymore. I do all my writing on my iPad. Every time I need to start that laptop, there is invariably 20-30 minutes of updates that slow it down. But, once it’s up and running, everything works great. 

I’m in transition. It’s not quite winter, not quite fall...and it feels a little like summer. We went out midday and started mowing. I really thought it was behind us, but you could definitely tell after the first swath..it needed cutting again. At this time of year, I always hope it’s the last mowing of the season and...hopefully...this was it. As I was coming up through the near field, I had to stop and take a picture. The sky was absolutely perfect, the temperature was 78, and the trees beyond the two-lane out front still have some color clinging to the crowns of the trees. It was the kind of beautiful that takes your breath away.

I debated with myself all day yesterday whether to even mention the election or not. I’ve been largely staying away from it over the last few weeks. I know I danced a little close to the fire a few times and I got a little singed around the edges because of it. That’s ok...I’ve got broad shoulders.

Without getting into any specifics, let me just say this...I know what it feels like to be on the short end of the stick and it doesn’t feel good. I raised my children with the caveat that character is shown not only in how you lose, but also in how you win. Gloating is impolite and does not build bridges with our opponents. Neither does petulance. There is a lot of heat and passion involved in this election, and it isn’t going to disappear overnight. But, hopefully, we can give each other the chance to listen with open hearts and minds, to build trust between us, and to work together toward a bright future.

I met Nicole in one of the many hot springs pools lining the steppes at the river’s edge in Glenwood Springs. It was getting late and it was very cold...just a few days before Christmas. I had dinner earlier...alone...at the restaurant where Mr. Virgo and I were married. It was only the second time I visited Rivers Restaurant since his death and this one didn’t hurt as much. Nearly four years had passed and my life was on a new trajectory. I was healing.