christmas listening 1

 

I have about 90 Christmas albums in my music library. One that's currently on heavy rotation is this one by James Taylor, and this is my favorite track. 

 

christmas reading 1

One of the sweetest Christmas books ever. I love Richard Scarry books, period, but this one is probably my favorite of all.

a thankful heart

Today I'm thankful for...

Our home.

Freedom.

Hands to hold.

My five senses.

Protection.

Memories.

And for all that I can hold in my hands, and in my heart.

I'm wishing everyone a good Thanksgiving, wherever you might be.

chocolate guilt

 

Pure Chuao, 55% cacao dark chocolate.

Regular plain Bernachon chocolate bars are 6€ each, but this one is 7.50€. For a 150g bar of chocolate. That's $10 for 5.3oz. of chocolate.

It tastes like heaven, and I don't mind the price -- it's a pleasure I don't indulge in often. I just can't help wondering if the cacao farmers were fairly compensated.

fall

Fall is my favorite season of all. It always has been. I love the colors of fall, the textures of fall.

In the countryside not too far out of Lyon, we found lots of tactile evidence of the fall season.

It's fun to walk on the fallen-leaves carpet. We could feel and smell the moist ground underneath. You have to watch your step, though -- this carpet can be slippery.

We found bumpy little acorn hats and lots and lots of pokey chestnuts. The moss on the tree trunks were velvety to touch.

Ah, fall. It's a good thing that you come around every year.

a space of one's own

My "office" is a small corner of our living room, essentially a desk with a laptop.

I love the setup -- the room is bright, and I've got a comfortable chair. But the space is not just for me, because it resides where the TV, along with my boys' Xbox, is located. In fact, I alway end up shutting my computer up and moving elsewhere when they come in to play games, because I can't think or write with all that game sound booming next to me.

It's not a serious complaint -- the issue comes up only when my husband and son are home during the day, as in during weekends and vacations. But it gets me thinking. How is it that I, who spend greater amount of time in this home than either of them, do not have a dedicated space just for me?

My husband has his office (with a door that closes!), and my son has his playroom (which actually is a spareroom/guestroom, but we don't have guests that often). But moi? Just a small desk in the corner of our shared space. Is that fair???

I mumbled to my husband, and his response was, "You have ALL the space in this apartmen ALL to yourself during the day!"

Well, he's right. And he didn't say, "The kitchen is where you belong," either.

But in the next home we live in, I'm going to set up my "office" away from my boys' entertainment area, where I can be mostly alone and not bothered. That should not be too much to ask or too hard to accomplish. I just wonder why I have this feeling that it will be in the kitchen.

*I have a small mirror sitting behind my laptop, leaning against the wall. Occasionally I look up from the monitor and catch my own reflection -- shoulders slouched forward, eyebrows furrowed. I straighten up right away. I highly recommend this self-posture-check system for anyone who spends a lot of time at the keyboard.