Lone Tree in the Mist

Sunday morning dawned misty and white, and one of my first acts of the day was to run outside and take pictures of the fog all around our little neighborhood. This is one of my favorite trees; I like it especially when it is winter bare. I took this shot in monochrome, and then put it into a filter called vivid warm in Photos. This was the result, and I liked how strangely it turned out, almost sepia tones.

Thank you for the birthday wishes. This day was my official birthday, in which I turned 54 years old. I was born in December 1964, child number five out of full set of six in my family; one of the last of the Baby Boomers. I like to say that the Beatles and I arrived in the same year. :-)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and I also arrived the same WEEK, as the beloved TV special was first aired on December 6, 1964. I would have been home from the hospital by then, and I probably slept right through its first airing. But it pleases me to think of Baby Me, in my crib, with big round eyes, watching Rudolph for the very first time, thinking what a strange and marvelous world I was born into, a truly MAGIC world, in which reindeer might even learn how to fly!

My husband and I had made plans to go to a local state park on this afternoon, but the fog never really lifted and we didn't feel overly motivated, so in the end we stayed home and watched movies and had steaks on the grill, fresh French bread with butter, mashed potatoes and gravy, a small Italian salad, and asparagus. I spent much of the day snug and warm, curled up under the blankies with a book and dear Dexter, which is always a treat.

In other strange news, my watch with a purple face, that I've been wearing pretty much constantly for the past 10 years, recently started behaving strangely - it began running in double time, we hope not a bad portent for my birthday week.

My husband took it apart and changed the battery, and the watch kept great time while lying on the kitchen table; but when I put it back on my wrist, it goes back to double time! I'll try not to read too much into it, but on a certain level, you can see why this might seem a bit alarming.  :-)

I have a some good news, though, too. The adorable Mini Chef dryer that arrived the weekend before this, and that began to make a strange rubbing noise in its second hour of employment with us, is fine, and makes nearly no noise now!

My husband took the back off and messed with the dryer, and we used it to dry several small loads of wash on this weekend. It is working like a champ, we love it, and it is going to stay! (And so Dexter gets to keep his marvelous box - hooray!)

There was a strange misty whiteness to this morning that was very impressive. So I'm going to pick a song by Great White. Here is a favorite, Save Your Love.