I live where it snows, now

 And apparently that means I get to see things like this.

Barry

There was (apparently) a barred owl in New York that drew the attention of people because of her (researchers said it was a her) comfort with humans. She died last week, and the New York Times published a really lovely story about what she meant to the community. 

It's not every day you read a moving tribute to an owl. But I highly recommend. (Also: The photo of her gazing at her reflection is sublime.) 

Snow plows

It's snowing all over the place today (though not where I am). Because I am jealous -- and because they're hysterical -- I was delighted to learn that Scotland names its snow plows, the better for tracking them.

Some examples include The Great Grittish Flake-Off, William Wall-Ice, Sled Zeppelin and Salt Disney. But there are many, many, many more. And they are glorious.

Fresh pasta

I called a friend on a whim as I was driving near her house to see if she might want to eat falafel with me in her driveway. Sounds great, she said, but I'm already making pasta. How does that sound? 

Pretty delicious, actually. Tasted pretty delicious, too. She'd made pesto the night before, so my heaping pile of spaghetti was topped with fresh pesto and a generous helping of parmesan. And she sent me home with peppermint bark, on top of that. 

An excellent detour, and nice to have a tiny bit of spontaneity when it's so hard to these days. 

The sky

Today, the sky was lavender. Probably a combination of storm clouds and sunset. It was vibrant and unexpected and gorgeous. 

Read the comments

I always go into a comment section with apprehension. But seeing this as the first one on a story I wrote this week made me smile so big:

"I knew I'd love this article after the first sentence."

It had multiple likes, too. And as nice as it is to get feedback from strangers, it was even greater to hear from friends and colleagues who thought it was good. Hooray.

Favorite words

One of the options on a press-one-for-X menu I called today included hearing a radio personality say her favorite words. 

So I did! And she did. Among them: splendid and hilarious. 

Surprise!

Somehow, I skipped all of November. Oops!

Today, I'm excited that a friend dropped off a surprise - a tote bag she decorated and some baked goods inside. I'll be having muffins for breakfast the next few days, and that sounds delicious. And the bag is lovely. 

Scavenging

I managed to concoct a lasagna tonight out of cottage cheese, radish greens, and the noodles and jar of tomato sauce that had been hanging out in my pantry. It's not my normal recipe, by a long shot. But it was pretty tasty, especially for something that came together without much of a plan. 

Power

Glad I didn't lose power today, as so many did. Some coworkers had to go to the office because there was no electricity at their houses - where we've been working since March. What a concept - having to go to the office as a backup for the first time in ages. I'm sure it would have been nice to see some friendly faces. But the snacks are better at home. 

Stamps

I got a new batch the other day - American Gardens. I finally opened them to send some letters tonight and one of the ones they chose is Stan Hywet in Ohio. It made me smile to see it there. 

Fortunes

I love fortune telling in all its various forms. So I was thrilled yesterday when a box showed up on my door and it was a kit from a friend teaching me how to read tea leaves.

There's a mug and some loose leaf and instructions about how the whole thing works. But the best part is the list of symbols - what everything means. 

I can't wait to practice it. 

Dessert

For months, I've been craving rice pudding. I had some leftover rice this weekend and thought, aha! Today will be the day! I stuck some milk in my freezer back in March and finally I would use it to make rice pudding! 

As it turns out, milk takes, like, two days to defrost in the refrigerator. So two days later, I finally made my rice pudding, prioritizing it over dinner because I knew if I waited, it probably wouldn't happen. (There was a lot of leftover rice as it turns out, so it may have been a fried rice and rice pudding kind of evening.)

But now the rice pudding exists and is creamy and delicious and I suspect I'll be making it again very soon. 

Errands

I'm not someone who likes shopping, but I had a few errands to run today. I bought stuff online, pressed a button or made a phone call to announce my presence and someone brought it to my car. I know that's how it's been going for a few months now -- but I want to take a moment to be grateful for it, as well as the few minutes I spent driving around during the day.

Pool

I participate in an annual pool with a group of friends, acquaintances and strangers. And today I learned I'm tied for first! It goes until the end of the year, so there's plenty of time for others to pass me. But for now, it was nice.

And I have several friends who are interested in the standings, so it gave me an excuse to reach out and check in.

Muscadines

Muscadines have been growing on me the past few weeks.

Traditionally, I have liked the word more than the fruit. But my CSA had some good ones, and a friend shared some that she picked.

She handed them over in a box she made and her daughter decorated, and it was super exciting to see how thrilled she was to hand them off.

Plus, I'm getting used to them. They're no concord grapes, but they're not half bad.

Tabs

I have a terrible habit of keeping too many tabs open on my computer. But I closed out a whole bunch today while watching meetings, and while it makes me realize just how many there are to go... there's still a sense of accomplishment in making a bunch of them go away.

We're getting there! Slowly but surely.

This weekend

I watched a movie outside, picked some apples, sat around a fire and talked with friends. If not for the masks and the distance, it might have felt like any other October. It wasn't ideal -- after all, there's still a pandemic -- but it was something.

Newsrooms

There's a lot happening today, and it's maybe not something that makes me smile -- but man, am I grateful right now for all the big news days when I've been able to be in a newsroom. No matter the newsroom, it's a group of thoughtful, engaged, curious people who are willing to talk about the biggest happenings of the moment. 

I'm missing it right now, in month seven of working from home, but not in the same way I did when I was home on an election night (for example). Then, I knew the conversations were happening and I was not part of them. Sure, there are conversations happening all over the country. But very few of them are the newsroom conversations I long for. It's not that I'm left out of them. They don't exist. (At least not in my newsroom, today.)

So I'm grateful for all the times I could turn to the reporter next to me and raise my eyebrows and point and begin a tirade or a winding conversation that would inevitably end up somewhere unexpected. I hope I get to have that again. I don't expect it to be soon.

In the meantime: What a hell of a day. What a week. What a year.

Obsessed

I am in love with this batch of five parrots that were all swearing and laughing at each other in a giant, recurring stew.