“Your girlfriend stabbed me in the back with lefty scissors”

I went to breakfast with my son at The Overlook Hotel in the middle of a giant wind and rain storm early this morning he took a photo of this startling giant hawk at the beach seriously this is the largest hawk I’ve ever seen and she was clearly fishing low down like that because all the best fishermen know that fish rise in the rain after that he drove back to Seattle but he called to tell me there were state patrol officers and the fire department and coast guard and an ambulance on the bridge that connects our island to the mainland and that divers were hitting the water where the Stillaguamish River meets Possession Sound that salty fast body of confused water is running high almost up to the road in this storm tidelines have been extremely high all week probably a boat capsized I hope everyone is okay it’s cold out there

I love that I know the servers and the chef’s names at the cafe now and again they all came out to talk and gossip about the other patrons I always go early enough to be alone in that gorgeous empty lodge with its spectacular view of The Saratoga Passage and the old growth forest all around sitting at my own table up close to the kitchen I had the vegetarian hash again red jacket potatoes with fresh spinach roasted red bell peppers onions zucchini mushrooms and feta along with a home baked English muffin and two poached eggs that they get from Jack The Egg Man as usual I ate the poached egg on a muffin half two bites of the hash then brought everything else home in a little cardboard box 

my depression left the building almost as quickly as it entered and I was straight away just as obnoxiously Christmassy as I've been since the first of December yesterday I drove out to Mount Vernon to see the now shorn cornfields which are full of Snow Geese white white handkerchiefs flung against the gray sky and dun earth they are stunning here early because it’s been so oddly warm as it is everywhere that or oddly cold

today I made a double batch of sugar cookie dough which is in the refrigerator so I can roll them out and cut them tomorrow and I’m also baking more challah then I will take a little welcome parcel to my new neighbors who are actually a half mile away but this is the time of year that I moved in and I remember how cold moving was and how new and often desolate and how without my stuff just overwhelming boxes everywhere out here in the forest all my Christmas presents are wrapped except for the gorgeous German lefty scissors I bought my son which arrived by UPS as I was typing this he will be back on Christmas eve I watched the debates last night and after the wine cave vs wind cave talking points were made and all the candidates started down bragging about who was getting the least amount of money in donations I gave up that’s it for me for politics for now I’m going to go read a book

be well Darklings hold on to good cheer and hope if you even only find the smallest spark tomorrow is the Solstice my high holy day and the days will grow longer and nothing can stop them