Good For Them

I don't know why it would surprise me, but I was happy to see the literal signs of acceptance at the neighboring town's Polish club...

Click to enlarge

 

A Few Random Photos From Today's Walk

 Along the frozen and freezing canal...

Sam's Favorite Cinnamon Bread

Today, for the first time this winter, Sam and I decided to bake cinnamon bread. Instead of baking several loaves, as we usually do, we only baked little snowmen and Christmas trees.

The first time I did this was many years ago when Sam was small. Instead of baking an additional loaf, I took some of the batter and I poured it into some molded pans. 

When they were done baking, I put them on the cooling rack. Sam came over and stared at them silently for quite awhile before going back to sit on the couch.

Later that afternoon, out of nowhere, Sam came over to me and said quietly, "That was a cool thing you did with that cinnamon bread." 

It's hard to convey how astounding that kind of comment was, coming from him at that point in time. 

I think about this a lot. And every time I do, I almost tear up.

 In case you're interested, Here's the recipe...

On Today's Walk

 

On the way back from the indoor farmer's market this morning, Sam and I got caught in a snow squall. I like it when things look Christmas-y, but I like it better when it looks Christmas-y at Christmas. 

By the time it approaches mid-January, I'm pretty much ready for spring.

Scenes From My Bird Feeder

Joy

 Some people get into after Christmas sales. Some people don't.

 

Late Evening Walk

Monday evening, for the first time in quite a while, Sam and I went on a walk along what we have come to refer to as our Rail Yard Loop.

This route starts at the rail yard (shockingly), goes across the Bridge of Death, then follows a main road for a little over a mile and then heads back along the canal, across a couple of side streets, back over the Bridge of Death and then back to the rail yard.

All told, it's a little over five miles long.

The part of the bike bath which follows this section of the canal has been closed for much of the fall so walking the entirety of this route was not an option. But now it's open, un-icy (due to a spat of mild weather) and not too breezy (sometimes a problem at this stretch of the canal - especially in frigid weather) so we took advantage for what is probably going to be our last walk there this year (a safe bet considering today is the last day of the year).

Anyway, we ended the walk in darkness, as is usually the case with any of our walks this time of day at this time of year. Sam and I both look forward to walking with a little more daylight as we begin the new year.