Sunday, January 2, 2011

The end days of vacationing

The coffee maker just beeped out its last afternoon brew cycle for the next several days, this being the day left of my vacation. As much as I'd like to wrap my hands around a warm cup the moment I get home from work during the dark days of winter, experience has taught me that there are enough thoughts floating around inside my head at the end of any given work day that adding a caffeine buzzed soundtrack to them isn't the smartest of ideas. When one is on vacation and has no obligation to maintain a decent bedtime schedule such concerns aren't necessary, so I can indulge my passion for the roasted bean to my heart's delight.

It's cold and blowy today, with intermittent sprinkles adding to the crispness of the air. Granted, compared to other parts of the country where winter is a frightfully cold and snowy season, the 48-degree temperature here might qualify as almost balmy, but in Bakersfield, where we're about three irrigation canals away from being a desert and see summer temps in the hundreds, it's cold enough to make us pile on the Snuggies, light a fire and stay ensconced within the warm walls of the house. I've got a pot of white bean chicken chili on the stove, just for good measure.

The cats have all but given up any hope of enjoying some outside time. Being seniors, they are far more concerned with comfort than adventure and have chosen to cuddle into the warmest receptive spaces they can find.

Darby is less than thrilled with the conditions, since cold, blowy days don't provide much incentive to lure us outdoors. On the upside, having me in the kitchen almost guarantees that he's getting a cut of whatever meat might be magically appearing from the oven. In this case, the smoked chicken helps assuage his disappointment at not getting another shot at the bluffs.

It's a quiet, reflective end to my time off. Though the pace will change again when the (yikes!) alarm goes off in the morning, I also feel a new resolve to more deeply embrace that which brings me joy --- namely, my family (including the hairier ones), my writing and the wonderful folks who encourage me to keep it up.

We have much to discuss this year. 

*As usual, forgive the quality of the pics. While I feel I've got a pretty good handle on the writing side of blogging, I fear I may need to take a photography class to avoid continued embarrassment on the visual side. That, or find a talented person I can con into coming over and snapping shots every month or so (which I believe could be akin to trying to locate the local unicorn king).

6 comments:

Miley said...

Hello!
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and following, I really appreciate it!

What do you mean? I think your photos are fabulous!

Cuddles & licks,
Love Miley xxx

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

I think your blog is WONDERFUL!!! I think your picture is great too!!

I am still learning as well and right now I take photos with the phone on my camera (yeah I know, not too smart!) but I am not that technologically savvy either!

BTW I am enjoying a nice cup of coffee at nearly 9:30pm...I will be up all night!

Cat Chat http://opcatchat.blogspot.com

Vicky said...

Thanks so much for the kind words! Your dog reminds me of a clean, tidy version of mine :)

Vicky said...

Caren, thank you so much! I see so many blogs with truly phenomenal photos that I'm almost embarrassed to post my own pics, but I do love my furry family and want to give them a little public love.

And I kept drinking the coffee until about 6 p.m. I'm going to be one bleary-eyed, sad girl in the morning...

Trixie, Lily, and Sammy-Joe said...

We think your pictures are great! And your blog too! It is cold here too and we are having a tough time convincing our Mama to take us outside. Every time we go out, it takes her ten years to get ready, cuz she needs a hat, coat, gloves, scarf, boots, etc, etc, etc! We want spring!

Vicky said...

See, that's how I know I'm whining --- I don't even own a pair of gloves :)

 

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