Today is dreary. The rain started last night and hasn’t stopped. It beats on the roof sometimes heavily. The wind is picking up as I can see the pine boughs bending. Henry had to be convinced that going out was a good idea. It wasn’t but he went anyway. I waited for him as he thinks the dog door works only one way. In a bit, he wanted out again, and off he went. I heard him banging the dog door cover for me to let him in, one of my least favorite Henry things, but I’m well trained. I got up, but, halleluia, Henry let himself in. He was soaked but he didn’t care. He knew he had earned a treat from his Christmas box. I gave him a frosted Santa.

My family always buys real Christmas trees. Last year I bought two, one short and one shorter. I put both in the corner. The shorter one went on a chair. Together they looked like a tall, full tree. On the smaller one I hung all my character ornaments: Mark Twain, Sherlock, Captain Hook, the witch from Over the Rainbow, some Chinese men traditionally dressed which might seem weird but isn’t. They look perfect on the tree. There are others, and this year I’m adding Ruth Bater Ginsburg in her robe and collar. The taller tree is filled with anything and everything, and its boughs bend a bit under the weight. I’m just fine with that. No icicles or tinsel are on either tree. I learned my lesson when I saw one of my cats had a strand I had to pull from a gross part of her anatomy. The icicles never appeared on any of my trees again.

My electricity blinked and havoc followed. The TV went out, and cable hasn’t come back, Alexa can’t connect, probably a good thing as Alexa is highly annoying, and the internet is unavailable. I’ll just keep typing.

Everything is back. Cable took the longest. If I heard Alexa with her red ring tell me one more time something was wrong, I would not have been responsible for my actions. I can hear her now, ” I do not know what is happening. Why am I flying?”

My sisters and I talk, and friends have called to make sure I’m okay. I’m working on that, but it just isn’t easy.

Today is cloudy and rain is predicted for later. It is warmer than I thought. When I went out with Henry, I could smell a wood fire so I stayed outside for a while. Henry impatiently waited. He didn’t appreciate the moment.

Yesterday I rode around for a while and made a couple of stops for the last of the Christmas presents. I bought books for all the grands, a tradition I started when their parents were young. Most are Christmas books but for the older two I got novels. One is Treasure Island. I wanted Little Men as Lexy had read Little Woman, but they only had an abridged version. I mean seriously who would think to abridge Little Men? I forget the name of the other one as it was recommended by one of the ladies at the store. I also stopped to buy chocolate to put into the Christmas bags.

My timetable tells me I need to finish putting the gifts into the individual bags. Starting tomorrow I wrap. My den then becomes Christmas central with bags and boxes all over the room waiting to be wrapped. My Christmas cards are also on the to-do list. I found some great cards this year including my traditional Edward Gorey’s.

In my long conversation with a friend yesterday, we talked about everything, including Mike. She wanted to know if I was spending time with the people in my bubble. She was shocked to find I have had no bubble all these months unless you count Henry and the two cats. I told her I talk to Henry all the time, but he doesn’t always listen. He stands there and looks dog bored. The cats are always bored. It is in their nature.

I actually did my wash yesterday, but the big load is still in the dryer. I chuckled when I realized that my laundry was mostly teeshirts, sweatshirts and flannel pants, the pieces of my usual daily ensemble. I do have a set of going out clothes, almost like my school clothes of old. I put them on, go out and then take them off when I get home. The only exception is when I go to the dump. It only rates my daily ensemble.