Grey is November, 
except
by the bright fire
with a story,
a cushion for the cat,
the dark shut outside
and the light in the flames
where mysteries lie
and we dream.

~Around the Year :: Elsa Beskow

November is going out with the same grey it brought in. I feel similarly, just somber and dull.  I guess my melancholy has got the better of me.  I've been reading The Hobbit this week, some of it even to the children, until it got too adventurous.  I'm not sure that was the best idea, though my father read it to me as a child.  I do love the imagery of ancient times and peoples and their magical treasures.  And Beorn--he always fascinated me. 

We'll spend our Advent with the stories from Christmas Roses, which are pretty fantastical in their own right.  I can't help but look for something beyond the usual stories, and I really enjoyed them last year when I read them to myself.  It seems the more I grow, the more fiction and fantasy appeal to me, as do the stories of people from long ago.  Anything but now, it seems. 

Here's a little soundtrack for your day, whether sun or clouds.