Cardinal and Squirrel

     We've had this plate in the front yard, and Mom usually places some seeds and treats in it for our wildlife guests, who you can see above in this photo.  It's a cardinal and a squirrel friend, coming to call.  We've got all kinds of friends though, all sorts of different birds.  Some are permanent residents, while others are just passing through, migrating south to warmer weather.

     Tonight we had a nice dinner, although Maddie's salad seems to be a bit disgruntled.  Afterwards, we were back at taekwondo after taking a week off for musical rehearsals, and it is as if Maddie never left.  We're racing towards the end of the year, and she's still got her black belt ceremony to go.  But there's more testing upcoming and more with a different sort of choreography and rehearsal.  We're all a bit "go-go-go!"

     The weather is colder, but our hearts and hearths are warm with a fake fire in the fireplace by the fake tree.  Of course, none of it looks ridiculously fake - the trees look really nice, especially with the tree skits now in place and the whole presentation very nice.  We have the artificial fireplace in the one room, but our actual fireplace will have a real fire in it soon enough.  We certainly have enough wood right now, but before we begin with that, the hope is to hire a chimney sweep to come in and do a bit of cleaning.  There's one in the neighborhood, and I'm hoping against hope that he has a cockney accent.  We'll see!

     Mom has planted the amaryllis, and it's on its way already, starting to pop up out of the soil.  By Christmas time, we'll have those four blooms making spirits bright in the house. Also making spirits bright are the Christmas vinyl records we've been playing lately, just adding to the feel of Christmas.  It's a busy time, but we're making space for Christmas along the way, and that's been nice.

     We read tonight, and we said our prayers, and after that got to bed once more.  We've been watching Christmas specials and movies like "Prep & Landing," and even another version of "Miracle on 34th Street."  With the tree up in the living room, it's been nice.