The Stillness is Here

The stillness is here. This morning seemed to be darker than all the others. It's snowing gentle flakes. The earth has finally frozen. Maybe now that all the excitement and focus of Christmas is passing, I am more still within. The earth seems still without. I am wrapped in a warm woolen blanket with the dog at my feet. He loves this cold weather with his thick wooly coat. He rolls on the ground with joy every time he goes outside, always a new impression for him, he sneezes as the cold air tickles his nose.

Somehow getting in motion on Thursday mornings is the greatest challenge of the whole week. The children seem tired or maybe I lack the energy to get things moving in the same way. Thursday feels like the day after the hump, we've been over the top, now we are down in the lowlands at the bottom of the hill and the hill looks steeper than usual. Friday somehow is easier with more levity, maybe it's in knowing the weekend is before us and we can let go of the weekday structure to our days.

It's baking day in our kitchen. For years we have baked on Thursday, ever since Angus was three and we lived in that 80 foot long house on Capitol Hill with the bright yellow door with a spectacular view of the Philippine Sea. The reason I know it is 80 feet is because I counted the tiles. The house was floored entirely in linoleum tiles, each one a neat square foot. The familiar smell of dough and then bread in the oven has filled the kitchen for fourteen years.  This winter Thursday buns have become Thursday Chicken pot pie crust to top our meal, from this recipe.

It was too beautiful not to take the camera on our walk. I found that the earth is not so still. Nor her creatures.

Once we got in motion, we stayed in motion.



How are your days going?