Another Road Trip, Christmas in Connecticut

7:05

Chautauqua, One Year Ago,12/18/2012

Up at my usual time, 5:35.  Looked outside and was shocked---it looked like the snow had melted, as there appeared to be bare spots on the lawn.  I went outside and discovered it was just shadows from the full moon, playing tricks on me. It's 6:30 now, we are both up, ready to take a quick shower, pack our things in the car, and head off to CT, to spend Christmas with our daughter Beth Albarran and family.

Yesterday, like most days before taking off on a trip, was filled with the little jobs that you have failed to get done the previous three days, like canceling the paper, making sure you have all your electronic devices and power cables to charge them.  And for those of us who are retired, don't forget the small, plastic box with seven openings, for your daily pills, just like your parents who you used to laugh at. Not so funny now.  On trips to our grandchildren, Evie always makes lots of goodies, this time baked ziti, lots of cookies, and some bags of pre mixed cookies, to make with the grandchildren who enjoy baking with her,  like Mrs. Snavely's coffee cake, a family favorite for eons.  I did my part, by volunteering to drive to the Lighthouse to pick up a chicken, so Evie would not have to cook dinner, just make a salad.  I did shovel the parking area, two to three inches of snow, but heavier as it's getting warmer outside.  When I drove to the Lighthouse yesterday at 3:30, it was 30º out, by far the warmest day in ten days.

The afternoon was relaxing, doing some packing, getting our ducks in order, thinking about packing the car tonight before we go to bed.  My interest and joy in my book, The Lowland, increases at each section as things might turn out better than expected.  We can only hope that Lahiri does not throw a wrench into the mix before ending the book, which is her style.  For some reason, I feel more confident in a happy ending for her, probably because much of the book is not filled with baskets of happiness, mostly 'quiet desperation' though that may be too strong.  Nothing like sitting on my couch, a cup of Turkish tea on my coffee table, a light snow filling the air, Terry Gross on NPR, and a good book, a computer at arms length in case I want to look up something like who are the Naxalites, a Marxist/Leninist group in India in the early 1970's.  No waiting to go to a library to look it up in an encyclopedia...just type it in Wikepedia and go.  Time to get ready for our departure.