Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

Last night I slept extremely poorly. I had eaten a banana and taken my magnesium tablets before bed, but this was still one of those nights where my legs woke up about every half hour. Then I had something to do this morning earlier than I'm usually up. So I'm a little tired.

But after running various errands (which took longer than planned, partly because one step just took longer, but mostly because I had unscheduled but very enjoyable conversations with cool folks), I'm home again, trying to decide whether to tackle the other things on my to-do list that I have to go elsewhere for, or declare it the start of the holiday.

I came home and was greeted by Perrine, who shortly thereafter went and curled up on one of the chairs under the kitchen table. I checked my mail, realized I was very hungry, and went into the kitchen to make pancakes. And I noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet. A quiet of the serene sort. It feels like a snow day (we had light rain when I went out, heavy rain while I was out, and we're back to light rain for the moment ... it's not anywhere near cold enough for snow). That blanket of calm that descends when snow muffles everything? I'm feeling and hearing that on this warm and rainy Christmas eve. So maybe the house really is more quiet -- there's still traffic on Lombard and Fulton, but it could be a little less than usual (despite the extra noise of tires on wet roads). Or maybe it's me that's quiet.

As I started the pancakes (waking Perrine briefly to let her lick the fork with which I whisked the batter, which she appreciated), I realized that part of the quiet was that I didn't have the radio on, and I'd been listening to a pleasant selection of holiday music on WRNR in the car. So I tuned in WRNR and the presence of music did nothing to make the house feel any less quiet, so I got to have my music and my special quietude at the same time. *whew*

I've got a lot to do. But I'm feeling too mellow to race around doing it. So I'll get done what I get done, and hope to be sortakinda prepared for tomorrow by the time tomorrow arrives, maybe pour myself a glass of wine, maybe even read a book -- something I have not slowed down enough for in too long a time -- and take this evening as my religious contemplation part of the holiday. Tomorrow I'll be at the home of my brother's in-laws (where I've mentioned before I feel quite comfortable), and that'll be really nice, but much less quiet. At least not this kind of quiet. Rather than try to shoehorn something like this into an already scheduled day, I'll take it now, having found it by surprise. I still do have some things I really have to do, including figuring out whether I'll be going to my mother's house in Bowie before we all assemble in Rockville tomorrow, and finding out whether my brother will be bringing a guitar amplifier, but I'm going to try to devote most of the rest of Christmas eve to thinking, enjoying my surroundings and the company of my cat, writing on LiveJournal, reading, and playing guitar (and maybe some mandolin and recorder). Peaceful things. Maybe I can finally kick this sometimes-background-sometimes-main-event headache that's been dogging me the past week.

I can think of things that would make this day even better -- if the cars on Fulton Ave. were just a little quieter, if I could get WRNR in the office and/or bedroom, if my fireplace were already restored so I could sit by a wood fire, if I had a glass of Scotch I can't afford (Balvenie Portwood), if certain people lived closer -- but all in all I can't actually complain about this day, at least not the way I feel right now. I'll spend more time away from the front of the house, I'll wander into the kitchen when I want to hear a song or two, it's not cold enough to need the warmth of a fire (the furnace isn't even on today), I can make a glass of wine last as long as a glass of Scotch and it's still a pleasant sensory experience, and I'll see some of the people I want to see over the next few days (and try to figure out when to see the others), so I think I'm in decent shape to enjoy the afternoon. And basically, I don't get very many days that feel like this, so it's a ball of goodness. I've got my Christmas lights plugged in in the blue bedroom (I never take them down; I just had to plug them in) for that Christmas mood. I never did set up the full-size artificial tree (nor clear out the living room), but I moved the itty bitty tree (about a foot tall) to the stereo in the front hall that currently serves as a mail-and-keys table. (I took a photo of Perrine in front of it last night, which I'll get developed someday.) So officially I've decorated, so there. I finally feel Christmassy. A little late for getting everything done that I needed to start two or three weeks ago, but in plenty of time to enjoy feeling like it's Christmas.

Joyeux Noël, tout mes amis!