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).