I will not attempt to catch up.

I will not make any attempts to catch up since the last time we posted. Instead I am just going to start from where we are at right now on a grey December day with mountains of snow around our house.

My most memorable accomplishments of the week have been:

1. Making mayonnaise from scratch.

It all started when my rather thrifty husband noted that we were out of mayo, and decided that it would be cheaper and better for the environment to make it ourselves rather than driving to the store to get some more. I was a little skeptical, but watched with interest as he found an online recipe, quickly scanned the ingredients list, dumped them all in a bowl and began whisking. After some significant whisking time he had a lovely looking oil and egg yolk soup. Thoroughly intrigued, and spurred on by my competitive tendencies, I took a closer look at the recipe and gave it a second try. The key - add the oil drop by drop. Time consuming? Yes. But the results are so exciting in a science experiment sort of way. And yummy. I think I could eat it with a spoon.

2. Finishing and sending off report cards.

I won't elaborate on this point. It's done. Thank goodness.

3. Staying warm.

I have a hard time at this point in the year. It gets so dark that I just want to hibernate in my bed all day, and when the first real cold hits I feel chilled for weeks even when I know I shouldn't be. I don't do well in the cold. This year has been better than most for a couple reasons. First of all, Scott has done an amazing job of re-insulating the house so that we are now snug as a bug at home without turning up the heat much. It's lovely. And secondly, I have decided to simply not allow myself to get cold. When going outside I take no chances. I pile on the sweaters, long underwear, 2 winter coats, scarf, mitts, hat and hood. I did learn a thing or two from living in the arctic. I am now warm. Do I look a little ridiculous? Yes. But I am warm.

4. Solo restaurant eating.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about things she had never done on her own. It got me thinking. There are a lot of things I have never done on my own. For those of us who are married, life can become a bit of a complicated ballroom dance where we navigate new experiences in life together - and while there can be great beauty in this when we are in time with each other, we can also find ourselves moving carefully so as not to step on the other's toes, or becoming outright clumsy as we try to navigate the other in a direction they may not want to go at all. What we don't realize is that it's ok to let go and try on our own. The key is knowing when to reach out and fall back into step. And so yesterday, while waiting for Scott to set up for a show, I took a cold walk through the snowy streets of whyte ave. As I passed by the window of a cozy looking restaurant it occurred to me that I have never eaten alone in a proper restaurant. Not a tim hortons, but a place where you get a real tablecloth and cutlery with some heft to it. So I went in. Being about 3 pm it was empty, but the sign said "Please wait to be seated" and I did. "A table for....?" "One" I responded. I pulled out a book while waiting and then ate slowly with my substantial cutlery, watching the snow swirl outside, savoring the simple beauty of being alone in that moment.