1. Morning walks. With the snow and ice, in places these have been pretty risky, and I’ve been rerouting to cleared sidewalks instead of getting to go by the river. Even so, they are still one of my favorite things.

2. Christmas lights. One bonus of being up and out before the sun is we get to really see all the lights. Today there was a yard that has a whole row of pine trees along their back fence that they’d strung full of white twinkle lights. So pretty. We’ll probably get our tree this weekend and I’m looking forward to sitting in the living room with nothing but the lights of the tree.

Our tree from last year. Merry everything, happy always.

3. Writing with friends. Writing is typically solitary, and as an introvert I love that, but it’s nice to have the company sometimes too.

4. I don’t have a job. The holiday season with Eric being on break is making me appreciate it even more. I will work more eventually, but for now it’s nice to have the time, the space, the quiet, the calm.

Ringo likes to lie right next to the vent under the kitchen sink and steal all the heat

5. My tiny family. It was really nice to have Eric home last week. I’m looking forward to having him home even more over winter break, getting to do some more fun stuff together. Ringo has been doing really good with his vet visits he’s had lately, and Sam is as sweet as ever, turns 10 years old this week, (as a rescue, we’ve had to guess at his exact birthday, choose December 10th). I think both dogs are enjoying having me home more, even though most of the time they are just napping.

Bonus joy: clementines, getting most of my Christmas shopping done, getting all the laundry washed and dried and folded and put away in a single day, good TV (I recently watched Westside on Netflix, “A cross between a reality show and large-scale music video, the series follows a group of young musicians trying to hit it big in Hollywood”), good books (I’m finally reading Night Circus), good music (listening to Summer Walker’s Over It this morning), sitting in the sauna (which is going to be closed next week – *sob*), sticking up for myself and getting support, yoga, meditation, writing, sleeping in, clean sheets, a warm shower, sitting under my heating pad, getting my office mostly in order, candy, coffee with hot cocoa (I’ve heard it called “cowboy coffee”), cuddling, taking a nap.