Rather a Miserable Kind of Day

You know you're lucky to have the brother you do when you step in front of him in the hallway and say, "Thanks for your cold," and his very sincere reply is, "Oh, I'm sorry!"

I was rereading Padma Venkatraman's Climbing the Stairs this morning. It is really such a wonderful book -- heart-breaking, infuriating, hilarious, and important.

It is a very miserable day but William and I will play Mancala together. He's played about five games and is already an expert. We'll probably read Coraline too. He loves it so far.

I hope the weather is sunnier or snowier for you than it is here (very gray and damp, with the wind howling like a wolf).

~Emily

The Peachy Little Things

This picture shows some of the best parts of my hospital stay. There's the spry batch of red-and-yellow carnations my mother and brothers brought to me. If you look very closely you might see the Harry Potter book peeking from the lower right-hand corner. On the left shelf sits the package of The Vicar of Dibley DVD's and, on the top shelf, the Oragami penguin my brother Ben folded for me.

It wasn't all bad.

Well, yes it was. But the flowers and penguin were great.

~Emily

Snow and Tea!

It's funny how the house smells different, first thing in the morning, when snow has fallen overnight. Is it because the natural scents we take for granted are muted somewhat? I don't know ... but I love the first snow of the season, and it happened last night. It's still coming down outside.

I have a hot cup of apple-chamomile tea sitting before me. I feel good.

~Emily