Miscellanea

Nine arugula leaves do not a salad make, but these are what I got.  This is the planter which I'd so hopefully seeded with assorted lettuces and greens last spring and which was raided over and over by birds and the ground squirrels that invaded the deck.  How these two plants survived and why they waited until now to come up is beyond me.  It's a case of "Take what you get and be glad that you got it."  Now I wonder if they will make it through the temperatures that have dropped to near freezing. 

The Christmas tree box went back to the shed, but the UPS box was full of cat (Celeste) and so stays in the living room.  Celeste is watching Ralph, who is hiding under the ruffle on the slipcover and waiting to attack.  That happens to be a multipurpose ruffle.  Bessie Anne uses it to dry off after an outing on a damp day and she's tucked up one section to allow the cats better access to their tunnel.  What with the bark bits scattered across the carpet, I've quit apologizing for my unique home decor, courtesy of the house critters.

After several grey and rainy days, it was nice to see a sunset, any sunset, again.  It had been a sunshiny day, but cold.  It was a day to bring more wood to the porch (rain is predicted), keep the wood stove going, and get a handle on holiday baking.  Carols playing, the house warm and filled with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg, it was a good day.