2009
Written by patty on January 1st, 2009It’s ten degrees outside. Even without that hard bit of data, I knew it was damn cold as I padded across the pine kitchen floorboards this morning. Thousands of dollars on insulation and new windows later, our home remains a drafty old farmhouse. I let the dogs out into the snow and felt the arctic blast, realizing too late that the tank top and flannel pjs that felt so reasonable between memory foam and blankets were no match for this morning’s deep freeze.
I closed the folding doors to the basement and the pantry, eliminating some of the draft. I built a fire, hoping to get the living room cozy and warm before my boys awoke to greet the new year.
Even the goodest good boy is now by my feet as I sit a few feet from the fire. Blessed with the thickest coat I’ve ever felt on a dog, he usually avoids all sources of external warmth. He is stretched out on the rug, his broad back soaking in the glow. My husband is giggling in the next room as he reads a text (“happy new year motherfucker”) from a friend, sent long after we fell asleep with bellies full of seafood and Veuve.
Last night, I closed the door against the chill of 2008 as we indulged in part of our annual New Year’s feast: homemade buckwheat blini with creme fraiche and caviar. Nodding to the sorry state of (our) economy but upholding the longstanding tradition, this year’s menu included an ounce of Osetra and an ounce of faux-ish American something-or-other. Delicious. Joy in the rich brine, comfort in the tradition.
I am not one to make January resolutions; instead I usually change when it’s time to change. My reactions to 2008 caught me unprepared, helpless, unsteady, unable to change. I took long months to… well, to just be.
I close the door against the chill, warm the house, build the fire. No more chill; just warmth in the new year. That’s my resolution.
Peace, joy, prosperity, health, warmth: these are my wishes for all of you.
Love,
Patty
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LOVE THAT! Warm New Year to you!
For Myself’s last blog post: Breathe In…Hold…Breathe Out
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happy new year to you, patty.
i’m salivating after reading the blini. is that pathetic?
ingrid’s last blog post: happy new year!
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I’m desperately ready to have the warmth of something good again in this new year.
Welcome to 2009…
foradifferentkindofgirl (fadkog)’s last blog post: all is quiet on new year’s day? where. I want to go there.
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I hope you’re keeping warma and enjoying the fire.
Carolyn Online’s last blog post: I heard Kathy Griffin say "nipple" and "dick" on CNN last night and that has nothing to do with this post.