FOLLOW YOUR STAR
We are going to start packing up the Christmas decorations this weekend. Our "tradition" is we do this the first weekend after Three King's Day. Ok, really our tradition is that we are lazy. But also, once all the bother of putting up the tree and all the trimmings is over, I truly delight in them! Especially the tree, lit up at night: so beautiful. And I don't start feeling that the decorations are unseasonal until, oh, say, close to Valentine's Day.

These little blobby snow babies actually have quite a bit of personality when you look at them closely. I like the hopeful but not entirely confident expression on the face of the baby holding up a star.

BOOK GROUP
My book group just read Wuthering Heights, a revisit for most of us. I noticed that we each had a completely different edition (those who'd brought the book along that is.) The actual words of the novel were the same, but that's about it. And we all had very different reactions to the book as well! I wonder if the formats had anything to do with that?

I do enjoy discussing books, but truth be told, the real fun of the meeting is connecting with the other women in the group. The modern equivalent of the 1950's bridge group or 1960's coffee klatsch? Those women-getting-together-and-talking groups were belittled for so long, but I think people are now realizing how actually important they are. Hence the proliferation of book groups. Reminds me that when I was in Mexico a decade and a half ago, we visited a town with a communal laundry washing area. I was surprised at how many women were there, both old and young. I asked my aunt who lives in the area if this was because they had no running water in their homes. She laughed and admitted that actually every home had running water now, but the women liked to get together and talk and this lavandería gave them a reason!

ZEBRA
on my windowsill. Whenever I see a zebra I think of the saying When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. Meaning the simplest explanation (or diagnosis) is probably the correct one. This precept is also known as Occam's Razor. I do think it is generally true. But when in life you have had a few presumed horses turn suddenly into zebras... you learn to keep one eye out for stripes!

CUTE
I have been eager to post this shot ever since I took it on Christmas Eve a few weeks ago. But I couldn't think of a hook, or a reason, other than simply "Isn't this sweet?" And that is not really my style. Luckily, today's Moody Monday theme is "Cute" - so hooray! Here is my chance. This little girl is a distant cousin on my husband's side. She and her equally adorable sister wore matching taffeta and velvet dresses: like a left-right punch straight to the heart for a mother of three boys!

BUTTON, BUTTON
who's got the button? I was sewing a button on some boy pants earlier today. A chore made fun by getting the chance to play with my button collection. My father's mother was a very fine sewer and I inherited some of her button collection. I didn't really know her well, she didn't live near us and she died fairly young, so I like to pore over these little links to her history and imagine the tales they could tell.

TWO HEADS
We went for a family bike ride earlier today because the weather was so incredibly warm. It hit 71 degrees Farhenheit (that's about 30 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year!) Shorts and tee shirts in January? Creepy. We stopped by one of our favorite visiting spots, the head-drying grounds behind Saint Joseph's University art building. My husband Paul was joking around a little and I could not resist taking the picture. I prefer the head on the right, don't you?

CHICKEN SISTERS
Interspecies bonding in the chicken run at a friend's party a few weeks ago. Not sure what the hens felt about being so petted and adored, but the girls sure enjoyed themselves.

GONE IN A FLASH
Henry is home from his school for a long winter vacation. One of the errand destinations I can usually take him to fairly easily is our local Trader Joe's, a grocery chainstore. It is a small sized shop, brightly lit, with cheerful cartoon signs all over and I guess the feng shui is good because we can usually get in and out pretty quickly and smoothly. Unlike bringing Hen along to the local supermarkets at which Paul and I have amassed many a blood-curdling tale: having to abandon carts midway the expedition due to Hen's sudden terrors or rages, apologizing for knocked-over displays and the startling of elderly folks and babies. Well...OK, enough about that. Trader Joe's often gives away balloons to little kids. I sometimes get one for almost thirteen year old Henry (still a little kid in many ways.) He bobs it around delightedly in the store and carefully carries it into the car to take home. But INVARIABLY, as soon as home is reached, he opens the door and quite deliberately lets it go.....

We watch it ascend into the heavens. Then he gets upset when it doesn't come back. How to explain?

RESOLUTIONS

a new year and people
laugh cry make resolutions-
winter berries gone by spring

A ROCKING BREAKFAST
at the Autism Cafe this morning. Henry "asked" me for (handed me the containers of) leftover egg noodles and vinaigrette and ketchup (a piquant morning combination) and sat down to eat. But then he got distracted by the music playing on the kitchen CD player. Swept up in rocking and listening he did not eat a bite until the song ended and another, less spiritually gripping one, came on. The song that spoke to him was Baloo, Lammy by Bonnie Rideout, in case you're interested!