Dark and Cold

I've got a candle near the thermostat, keeping it from dipping quite so quickly.  It's holding at sixty-seven.  It is cold and windy this morning, much like our January weather.  I keep wanting to sing, "On the winds of January, down flits the snow," but that's not right.  Oh, well.  I do love cold and windy weather where opening the shades and curtains is not advisable.  This pyramid was a yard sale find, not exactly German, but it is happy to go along with Roan's children's pyramid.  I couldn't leave it out in the cold. 

I want to immerse myself in all kinds of lights lately, twinkly Christmas lights and candles and pyramids and schwiboggens (have you SEEN schwiboggens?).  I could stare for hours at photos of schwiboggens.  Mike and I went to a Christmas market on Twelfth Night (in Italy--befana everywhere!) before we were married.  I didn't do much looking.  I should have! 

I have the urge to knit the fastest hooded scarf out there, though I am trying to stay the course with all my neck things (shawls?  scarves?).  There's just one leaf-edged scarf left, I think, and maybe a hat.  I've finished and blocked the Paris Shawlette, and I'm just waiting for the darkness to subside to get a photo.  When the sun shines here in Winter, it is a wonderful, warming thing.

I'm in love with looking out over the snow towards the playhouse.  My mother gave us an old wreath with some lights on it.  Roan and I hung it on the woodpile and plugged it in.  Success!  And the twinkles inside!  It's too bad it's so cold out there.  We've got plans involving a space heater and some steaming stew for the Solstice.  We'll have some warmer days before then to get it all ready. 

Have I mentioned that our computer now lives on our enclosed back porch?  It's a room that has a half wall and the rest storm windows.  We've made it into a sort of library with an arm chair and pumpkins piled around.  It is cold, though.  Time to get inside and cast on!