Arrived home tonight feeling a tad grumpy. January just does this to me...bright shiny holidays providing endless excitement, color and magic come to a screeching halt with a drop to the minus column on the thermometer. 31 days ahead of me - life in the Illinois tundra, colorless sans the blinding white. Sunny skies telling a bright shiny lie as the inside of my nose freezes shut while I tremble in shivers, the simple act of spilling gas into the car a painful chore. If I had a dollar for every time I cursed the month of January I'd be able to fly to Jamaica.

Isn't it kind of funny though how January provides us with what we need after the holiday mayhem? Dark falling early, though a minute or two of daylight bought for a chilly price gained with the passing of each frigid day. The season calls us to rest, stay in, hunker down. Our pace slowed by the weatherman's forecast.

This cold winter night finds me tucked in my home, snug as a bug. At the ring of 6 bells my work clothes were quickly traded for the warmth and comfort of my favorite flannie pants and a soft sweatshirt. Batches and batches of baking granola are scenting my kitchen with an oatmeal cookie note. The words of my latest audio book playing out through my little sony - and what a good story it is: Angels of Destruction by Keith Donohue - a winter story for sure. I'm hanging off every word. For those in my book clubs, don't be surprised if you see this one on one of our reading lists somewhere along the line.

Long blustery story short, I find myself, as always, feeling pretty rich. Ridiculously blessed. For my warm home. For my Midwestern life. Summer will come soon enough and of course we'll all be grateful. But it's nights such as this, and days such as the one in the photo captured above (taken from my back window looking out into the yard), that keep me feeling fine. Watching the snow soften the lines of a cold winter night, my cat Tosca who hates to be held curled in a warm cat circle upon my lap...I am happy and in peace.

My fingers are crossed in wish and want for a snow day tomorrow...

-t.