Hanging in the Hood

I have learned not to be smug about having a mild winter. What goes 'round, comes 'round.

 

In other words, winter has hit! Gorgeous, sparkling snow. And very cold temperatures.

I went down to the Ditch to see what it was looking like. Judging from the ski tracks, it was clear I wasn't the first.

Someone had plowed a path to the ducks. They seems more content than I would be, splashing in the frigid water.

Earlier in the week, my longtime friend Suzanne came from London, Ontario, to spend a few days. For us that means our favorite Mexican restaurant, late Christmas celebrating (see, there is a reason why I don't get my Christmas down till Lent), catch a lot of movies ("Whiplash," "Love Is Strange," "Art and Craft") and have fun. She even joined us for our Cork Poppers (post coming soon!)

There is something supremely satisfying about spending a few days with a friend who has known you forever. We've been through parent deaths, life-changing experiences, jolly good times. We're pushing 50 years of friendship and a lot happens in those times. But we stay constant. We're our own two-person book club and share memories of people that even those closest to me never knew. All good.

And we still look kind of the same -- a little older, a bit more fuller figured and with different hair. But you'd still know us in a pinch!

But all good things come to an end. So, on the snowiest day (and yes, we told her she could stay, we didn't brutally kick her out into the snow!), she took off for home.Of course, there was digging out of the car -- and later I learned what was normally about a three-hour trip took five!

So, it's back to the real world. A little nap. Then back to my work project. Back to catching up with life here -- cleaning the art room/office, getting the rest of the holidays taken down (more or less), catching up with my bloggie buddies.

 

And back to the Ditch.

Sometimes I wish I liked winter more. Because when it's not a pile of slush and ice, it sure is pretty.