Music and Cats

Last night, Paul mentioned that he wanted to give me one Christmas present early, so that he wouldn’t have to schlep it to Houston (and I wouldn’t have to schlep it home). He brought out a nicely wrapped package, and set it on the coffee table.
“I hope you’ll like it. I know you’ve wanted one […]

So the shortest day came, and the year died,And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white worldCame people singing, dancing,To drive the dark away.They lighted candles in the winter trees;They hung their homes with evergreen;They burned beseeching fires all night longTo keep the year alive.And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awakeThey shouted, reveling.Through all […]

Tonight is crisp, cold and clear in Seattle. The half-full moon and city-bright stars are out, and Orion’s belt is pointing toward the roof of our house.
I’ve been waiting for this night for three months. It’s the longest night of the year, and here that means more than in any other place I’ve lived. […]

This morning I made preserves again. The Cranberry Cherry Almond Conserve with Orange Liqueur that I made last Sunday was so good that it called for repeating. As I was going about the process of ladling the conserve into jars, I accidentally knocked over a full but uncapped jar. While it did not escape onto […]

Sergei’s nose is as black as his coat. Given his striking white whiskers and chin, his nose does not stand out in his face, but reads as part of the field of black. His nose is most noticeable when he is deeply asleep, because our sweet Sergei snores. Sometimes I mistake the sounds of his […]