Signs of Winter

Yesterday we took our annual trek to Jefferson, New Hampshire to visit Santa's Village, while the two younger boys are still young enough to enjoy it. They had a lot of fun, but I found it telling that neither of them complained that we didn't have time to wait in line to talk to Santa himself.

There has been very little snow here in the Lakes Region, but there was a fair amount on the ground in Jefferson, and it was snowing when we arrived and on and off for most of the time we were there. It wasn't enough to chill our enthusiasm, and it certainly wasn't the coldest trip north we've experienced, but it did remind me that winter is fast approaching and I'm not really ready for it.

I'll have a few snow-free days in the upcoming week, but as often happens, those will also be the coldest days, with highs only reaching the upper 20s. Brrr.

Last week the boys went to a craft-making fair at the children's center they attend one day a week. The contrast between the two boys was interesting. William wanted to make every project, and did so pretty much on his own while I followed Danny around to see how many things I could get him interested in. In the end Danny did pretty much all of the projects, but only after I guided him away from the many distracting toys at the center.

Today we celebrated Danny's 8th birthday, though it actually comes tomorrow. But Karen will be working until close to when the boys should be in bed tomorrow, and Thomas wouldn't have been able to make it at all. As it was, I had to duck out right after dinner for rehearsal. It's getting increasingly hard to get us all at the same place at the same time. But occasionally we get lucky.

Thomas seems to be doing okay, as well as I'd expect a bachelor out on his own for the first time to be doing, especially now when pretty much all of the work out there at entry level is part-time work I keep bugging him to write a blog about it, and I'll provide a link on our front page if he ever does.

Meanwhile I'll keep writing when I can, and trying to get you as many pictures as possible. The time may be hard to find, but at least I'm never at a loss for interesting material.