The most used letters

Occasionally I run across a listing of the most-used letters in English. All I have to do is look at my laptop's keyboard to know the top ones.

My laptop and I are old friends (sometimes we quarrel) and I've worn off the following letters: E and A are practically gone. S and T are in terrible shape. D and N are followed closely by O and C. That surprises me a bit. L and F are showing wear. The SHIFT key is graying. I and T have tiny smudges smearing them.

And I know it's 4 days until Christmas. This should be a Christmas message. Or at the very least, a complaint about the winter solstice.

Just think: after tomorrow, the days start getting longer again.

And I wish everyone the Christmas of their dreams.

BRRR

I am not a cold-weather sort of gal. I can handle 60s and a whisper of brisk in the morning air, but I'm really fond of 75+.

So the last three days of sub-32 have not gone over well. All I can say is, at least it's dry! The drizzle from Wed night which is on our second-story north windows gives proof to the bad news of wet and cold since it is 1) still there and 2) has made lovely ice crystal patterns. Lovely to look at--now be gone!

And hope is on the way. It was a blistering 34 on the patio earlier. Maybe the cats' water bowl will defrost and they can start drinking again.

Another good note: It's post-solstice. The days are getting incrementally longer.

Now, if I can just wait until April.

It finally feels like winter

It "northered" Sunday night. Sunday afternoon temps were in the 70s and the air was very still, as if the atmosphere was just waiting for the Next Big Thing. None of us were disappointed when it arrived. Rain, like buckets from the sky, then wind, and a temperature plummet. Monday was viciously windy. The temps may have been in the 50s, but the wind chill was far below that. Today the wind was less, the temps a bit higher, but my Texas bones would still call it cold.

The ginkgo lost the rest of its leaves. The roses continue blooming. Ah... autumn in Texas, where it feels like summer one day and winter the next.

The amazing amaryllis

While I would like to report that Little Girl is safely situated back at her home, I cannot. We've seen nary a whisker of her. I do appreciate everyone's kind thoughts and comments and tales of animals returning home. I'm still hoping she's on an incredible journey back to us.

Also, today we have had a milestone in the year. The winter solstice is come and gone which means the days are now getting longer. Hooray! I don't care if it is minute by minute, there's more light now than there was a week ago.

But the subject today is an amaryllis. I have grown the bulbs for years, usually a red one for my spouse who prefers it and a multi-colored for me. This year's pink and white entry has truly outdone itself. They usually have two bloom stalks with 4 blooms each, which is how the red one is behaving. But the star of the show has six--count them because I'm posting the photos--SIX blooms on the first stalk. It became so heavy with the first four open that it cratered onto the counter. I cut it off and have placed it in a bulb vase and it has proceeded to bloom the other two.

My photos hardly do it justice, but take my word for it, it is magnificent.

Merry Christmas to all and may the blessings of the season be yours.