After weeks of unseasonably, ridiculously warm weather that made spring flowers bloom in December and brought a garter snake out of hiding yesterday at my daughter's house, finally winter seems to have arrived. Today wasn't the first snow of the year. We've had a couple little dustings down at this elevation already, plus the snow up on the mining claim has been around for weeks now. On this Solstice day, there was a blanket of snow by dawn, and the cold air has settled in for a long stay. I have only checked the short term forecast, through about the middle of next week, but bitter cold is predicted for several days. Other than recognizing that I've gotten my tea olive inside from the front porch just in time (at the very last possible second, really), I think I'm glad it's finally here in full force. The trip to the grocery store this afternoon hurt like crazy, but it was more a factor of not wearing a proper coat than anything else. Welcome cold air! Stay a while. You don't have to leave until March or April.
The snow provided a reminder that the holidays are scary close now, and for all that I started weeks ago on the homemade presents, I am running out of time and I'm not ready at all. I got one present to an out of state family member early, but that was only because I ordered from a company who shipped it for me. Nothing else will arrive by Christmas day. I will be lucky to have things for the local people done by Monday. I'm running out of time and I'm long since out of energy.
We were supposed to go all in on Festivus this evening during game play. I focused on food rather than costuming or decorating. I made a ground beef stew and speculaas cookies (a grain-free version of the ones sold under the brand name Biscoff), and that took me all afternoon. Our old college roommate followed the original plan and found a costume that fit his character well. By the time everyone arrived, I was wearing a long sweatshirt and waffle-weave long underwear, so maybe if you squinted, it would look like I was wearing a tunic and tights that could sort of seem like period costume. But the embroidered "Air Force" across my chest completely spoiled that effect. The others didn't dress up either. Maybe next time we play, we will be able to meet the challenge. Our leader did go all out to make this a special game night, including themed gifts that matched our previous outings and conversations. She even gave us figurines that mirrored our characters as closely as possible. When I saw mine, I ran into the other room and grabbed a paintbrush and red and white acrylic paint to blend, to hint at what mine will look like once it is properly personalized. I'm going to miss getting to play this while everyone has gone to visit family for the holidays. For some reason, I still associate winter breaks with being in high school or college and getting to stay up late playing games all night while no one has to go to school, feeling like we were snowed in, drinking a little extra (that tracks more with college years), and having the time of our lives. It's what winter holidays are for, isn't it? Friends, food, and fun?
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