Candy for the Brain

I've had a bad case of A.D.D. lately when it comes to reading. I shouldn't say lately, because I feel like I've been like this for years now. I've only had the attention span for magazines, if that. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't finished the 6th and 7th Harry Potter books yet. TV (and I have to say, bad TV) has been my vice lately.

That was, until about 2 days ago, when I started the book, Twilight.

Mickey chose the book to read for her book club after my niece had raved about it. I knew it was something I wanted to read eventually, but didn't give it much thought as I picked up another magazine or flipped to a rerun of Gilmore Girls on TV. I ended up throwing the book in my cart on one of my pre-Christmas outings, and still didn't think about it until 2 days ago.

I was pretty skeptical about the book in the beginning. If you don't know anything about it, it involves a teenage girl and a vampire. (That's all I can really say without ruining it for you.) The teenage thing doesn't bother me, in fact I really like young-adult fiction, but the vampire thing I could do without. Boy, was I wrong.

The way I have been devouring this book the past two days proved that I couldn't do without it. I was up late last night reading and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I haven't been this engrossed in a book since The Firm by John Grisham came out. I was in college, and while I abandoned every responsibility I had until I finished the book, Karen kept threatening to tell me the ending.

I think the appeal has something to do with a chase in the book. Something that has pulled me in when I read The DaVinci Code, and also most of the Harry Potter books I've sped through. Twilight also has that appeal (again, I won't say anything more).

So now what? You ask. Well, thankfully there are four books in the series. And wouldn't you know? Those sneaky Twilight marketing folks put a little excerpt from the next book in this one.

I'll be at Borders today if you're looking for me...

Into the Light

I've been paying attention to light lately. This winter has been unusually brutal already, so any signs that we may get out of it are welcome to me. About a week ago, when Stein commented that it was the first day of winter, I couldn't help but reply abruptly, "And the shortest day of the year, which means that the days are getting longer now." Even though it's only a few minutes more of light each day, I take stock in the hope that this brings. These days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and then some early signs of spring like a robin or a daffodil will also be folded into this hope.

While the days are getting shorter, we are all so busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, that we don't have a lot of time to think about the darkness. But now that those holidays are over, the dark tends to sink in. This, mixed with the grey days of winter, really makes it seem dark. That's where I tend to grab onto any light that I see and cherish it. Even if that light is coming from the brightly lit Christmas tree, or candles around the house, or the fireplace, it doesn't matter.

This morning it was nice and sunny, so while I sat and wrote this post, I took notice of the different places around the house where the light came to play. The blue sky outside was especially nice to look at too. Thank you light, for giving us hope in the darkness of winter.

The In-Between

We're having a great break. I say we, because Stein was off Thursday and Friday too. The thing that I've enjoyed most during the Christmas season this year has been gathering with family and friends and then having quiet, relaxing moments with just the two of us. Having these in-between times has made the gatherings with family and friends more enjoyable. Nothing has felt rushed this week. I feel like we got to spend quality time catching up with some of our favorite people, and most importantly, catching up with each other.

There has been a lot of reading, watching TV, and napping during the in-between times. Last night we took in the twinkling lights downtown as we walked around and looked in shops along the way. We also tried a new restaurant we've been talking about for weeks, and were home just in time to assume our outstretched positions on the couch.

The weather has been cooperating nicely too. We had a White Christmas, thanks to the leftover snow from the snowstorm the week before. Yet, just as we were getting tired of talking about how cold it was, the temperatures warmed up. The snow is almost gone, and last night it actually felt balmy as we walked downtown. It's been a nice reprieve from the brutal temperatures we've been enduring for weeks now.

I feel lucky that I have a whole week off ahead of me. It feels decadent, actually. We're heading to Chicago mid-week, where I'm hoping that there will be moments of relaxation in-between the visiting with family and friends.

Reflections

You all know how I get. Give me a few days off, and I get all reflective and nostalgic. Well, here I am with days off behind me, being all reflective and nostalgic. Don't get me wrong - that's not the only thing I've been doing. I have fallen into my vacation sleep patterns, finished my Christmas book and started another book, and have thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted with my old friends on daytime TV. But in between the relaxing has been reflection. Oh, and the nostalgia? Well, that will have to wait for another post.

I keep thinking back to the last day of school. I had the fifth graders in the morning, which normally goes really smoothly. These are the kids I had last year while student teaching, and also some of them were in my summer school class. So, we have a history, and we respect each other. Everything was going along swimmingly, in fact, Mr. Crumpled Paper (remember him?) even finished his math on the computer which I wasn't anticipating. Then we moved into the library.

One of the kids who is kind of an outsider spent most of his time trying to hide from me while he stirred up trouble around the library. I just ignored him, as this is his M.O., and it only eggs him on if you pay attention to him. At one point, I heard what sounded like cracking wood. I looked up and he was throwing crayons at an empty bookshelf. When I confronted him and asked for the crayons, he ended up leaving the library and standing out in the hall. To make a long story short, the Principal saw him in the hall, brought him back in the class, and we all had a talk together. As the class left, I said to the Principal, "Wow, I really haven't seen behavior in him like that since last year." She said, "Well, I just found out this morning that they are having a rough time at home. They're not even living in their house right now. We have to remember that some kids are not looking forward to the break. In fact, they're dreading it."

Wow. That hit me like a ton of bricks. I heard this last year from Linda, but forgot about it in the midst of the holiday bustle. I assumed all kids were like me - ready for a break. Ready to watch TV 24/7. Ready to read books (well, that's my fantasy for all kids...). But never would I think that kids are dreading being home for a break. That is so foreign to me, and so disconcerting.

I don't want to be Debbie Downer on Christmas Eve. But as you spread Christmas cheer to those around you, be sure to take some time to think about those people who are having a tough go right now. The Christmas season unfortunately brings out unhappiness for some people. You may know someone personally, or you may be that person who needs the positive thoughts. Whatever the case, send some positive thoughts to those people who need them most right now. I am thankful to be surrounded by family and friends who support me if I do ever need them.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village

Last year, sometime in November, Stein called to see if we could get tickets to the Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village. The woman on the other end of the line laughed. "We've been sold out for months!" She explained. Wow, it really must be something special, we thought. This year, we were smart. We called sometime at the beginning of October to get tickets. We went this past Saturday with Doug and Susan and their son Ben. And yes, it was something special, for sure.

If you're not familiar with Greenfield Village, you can read about it here. Each time I go there, I am impressed with the foresight and generosity that Henry Ford had in acquiring and moving so many historic homes to one place. It's amazing to me to be able to go inside of places like Thomas Edison's grandparents' home, or Noah Webster's home, George Washington Carver's home, or the Firestone Farm. And in each of these homes (there are many others, too) there are people who are dressed in period costume, and are willing to tell you all you want to know about the place or the historic period.

For the Holiday Nights, all of these homes are open, but are decorated according to the historic period, complete with a display of all the holiday foods. On the streets, there are pedestrians walking and wishing Merry Christmas to everyone they encounter. On almost every street corner, there are groups of people singing Christmas carols. Model T Fords cruise the streets, as do horse-drawn carriages. And there are a lot of booths set up along the way with food for sale.

A blazing fire at one spot had a spit of beef where you could have some of it sliced onto a bun for a sandwich. A roaring fire at another spot had a huge kettle that held Butternut Squash soup. There were chestnuts roasting (on an open fire!), and hot cocoa to sip while we walked. The other thing that kept us warm, besides the hand and toe warmers we had in our shoes and mittens, were the huge bonfires set up at various spots around. Some had benches where you could sit around the fire, others were in decorated steel drums. These really helped in the 20 degree weather!

One of the best parts was the finale. We knew there were going to be fireworks, so we positioned ourselves in the place where we could watch. Before they started, all of the people in period costumes trudged through the snow in the field in the middle of the town holding lanterns on long poles. Women in long dresses and coats didn't seem to mind that their clothes were dragging in the snow. Once they were all in a line across one end of the field, they walked toward the crowd, where they eventually stood on the steps of the "Town Hall". There they started a Christmas sing along. The fireworks started shortly after. Stein and I decided to watch the rest of the fireworks as we walked back to the car. What a fun night! We'll definitely go back next year. Here are some pictures:

Trying to Forget the Cold

Man, is it cold outside. The wind blowing through the sieves that we call windows is a constant reminder that the temperature is in the single digits with a windchill below zero. So let's take a look inside the house, okay? Where warm lights and bright colors of red and green take our minds off the frigid weather. "It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas" around here. And good thing - it's only three days away!

The Man Loves to Shovel

Seriously. Anytime snow falls, Stein enjoys, really enjoys shoveling our sidewalk and driveway. When I took this picture yesterday, he was clearing the snow left by the snow plow. He even ventured across the street to our neighbor's house to help her clear her driveway and sidewalk. One day last year, this neighbor said to me with a perplexed look on her face, "He really likes to shovel, doesn't he?"

People have told us to get a snow blower. But we really don't have a lot to shovel, and Stein loves to do it. Our neighbors have a company that comes out and clears their driveway and sidewalk. One day while Stein was shoveling our driveway, they came to clear the neighbors'. The guy yelled out the window, "You could have us do that for you!" in an effort to get our business. Stein just yelled back, "And take this away from me?!"

When we had our snow day the other day, I decided to shovel the driveway so Stein could put his car there when he got home. Our little driveway took me two hours to clear! Stein called that afternoon and asked what I'd been up to. "Shoveling!" I said with enthusiasm only he could have. "Why?!" he asked. "Don't worry, I left the sidewalk for you." I knew he would do it immediately when he got home. And he did.