Besides the Christmas activities, we’ve had a bit of other interest in our lives. We managed to borrow movies from both Erika and from Mona Beth next door. It’s given us a chance to catch up on some movies we’ve never seen, and it’s provided a welcome break from the unrelenting time at the computers all day.
We’ve also had the fun of listening to a pair of horned owls that have been outside our house for several months. We’ve gotten to see them several times by sneaking quietly out the front door when we hear them call. We love going to sleep hearing them hooting softly outside our windows.
Chelsea has been attending church faithfully, but I’ve spent the time writing. It’s easier for me to concentrate when I’m alone, and that hour or so gives me a good head start. For some reason, Sundays have turned out to be one of my most productive days.
One other wonderful thing that happened resulted from one of our visits to see Pat Hair and Debbie Fedeli. Debbie happened to mention that she had just gone through Pat’s shirts and was giving away some that he no longer wanted or would use. Pat is 6 feet 4 inches tall, so he buys “big and tall shirts”.
I had just lost my beloved nightshirt (I got it fifteen years ago in Prague), and I had no idea what to do. It turned out that Pat’s shirts were a perfect length for me to use as a nightshirt. We picked out several other work shirts – a blue/black checked one for me and a beige flannel one for Chelsea, and we have worn those every single day since we got them. Hallelujah for unexpected resources!
One of our big excitements for the last several months has been our infrequent visits to Marceaux’s, the local grocery store. They close at six each night, and sure enough, we’d remember about twenty to six that we were out of something. We’d throw on our jackets, wheel the bikes out the door and head over for the closing rush. We can bicycle the round trip, including buying our food, in twenty minutes.
Sean Gayle, at Patti’s Book Nook, is convinced we are turning into vampires. On the rare occasion that we stop in, it’s always just as he’s closing, after dark, after our hasty trip to Marceaux’s. “I never see you in the daylight any more!” he accused us one day recently. “Let me check your eyes!” We assured him we are merely writing, but he insists he wants to see us in the daylight.
Because of our long days on the computer, we are pretty stiff and sore, so we began taking walks around town after dark. By the time we’d finish our day it was 10:45 or so at night, and it was a beautiful time to go walking. The nights were extremely cold, but we’d bundle up and wander around, looking at the wonderful displays of Christmas lights. The streets were deathly quiet and we loved watching the moonlight and we’d often have fog rolling through town.
The evening walks became something we looked forward to each day, with the feeling of safety and quiet only a small town can give.