Happy Holidays - Happy Winter Solstice

I'm emerging from an epic cold that's been with me for a little over two weeks. It couldn't have come at a better time as I've been looking forward to a little "down" time and I was relatively free of obligations. Still, it's nice to be able to breathe without coughing and I never did master the new, cough into your elbow protocol. I understand the principle, but I think my arm is too long, so I end up coughing at my elbow, allowing the germs to escape all over, which is what we are trying to avoid, right?

Outside the rain is relentless - up to an inch an hour, hour after hour, causing problems for all sorts of people and flooding my mailbox. This means that the holiday cards that were waiting to be picked up were soaked and had to be thrown out and redone. Now my mail waits inside a plastic envelope within a tarped mailbox.

So, with all of this going on, why am I celebrating? Today is the shortest day of the year. After today the hours of sunlight grow longer, and the light grows stronger, and there will be more natural light to paint by and this thought makes me very happy.

This is not to say that I've been minding the shortened days that much. It's been a good time to dream, and to count my blessings. I've enjoyed home improvements, new kittens, painting breakthroughs, sales and new collectors, travel and connections, and friends; both vintage and new. It has been a good year.