This Week (Fresh Air and Kale. Always Kale.)

My life.

There is nothing like feeling better after being sick for several weeks. Although a slight sniffle remains, my energy is back! Zach and I celebrated on Monday by taking a proper walk— not just the 3.5-mile loop we walk every night in the dark, but a meandering journey down the Katy Trail, along cornfields, through neighborhoods to the library, back home for a quick quesadilla, then over to my parents’ house for a visit. We passed by cottonwoods still fluttering with brown leaves, watched crows picking through the plowed-under fields, and saw the sky fade from cornflower to rose with the sunset. The air was chilly but still, the sun warm on our faces, until night fell and we watched the moon rise in a thick crescent behind the silhouettes of bare trees. I felt like I had my life back.

My garden continues to surprise me: the kale and chard don’t seem fazed by the frosts we’ve had (although we’re getting a hard freeze this week, which might just do them in). I also ate some tomatoes yesterday that I had picked from my garden a couple weeks ago; they’ve been ripening on my windowsill. Who says you can’t eat a garden tomato in December? 

Also, I've been eating yummy stir-fry.

This week, it also suddenly hit me that it’s Christmastime. This might seem to odd to those who know I spend almost 20 hours a week screaming “Merry Christmas” at people, but it’s different, somehow. So far I’ve celebrated Christmas by thinking about making Christmas cards, thinking about Christmas shopping, and listening to the song “Christmas” from The Who’s rock opera Tommy (which is actually quite a depressing song, although I love it). So in the end, St. Charles Christmas Traditions is my main celebration, and that’s okay with me. (Although I’m hoping to go shopping today and break out Joan Baez’s Noel sometime this week.)

Hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday season! Merry Christmas!

~Lisa