The tree sculptures—many of them still with brightly colored leaves intact and perfectly preserved—were breathtaking.

Wow. It's December. Are you in disbelief as I am?

It's not the how-many-days-til-Christmas thing that gets me; I'm really not much of a consumer. I don't shop, or at least try very hard not to. If you're on my gift list this holiday, you're more than likely getting something I made or found rather than something I spent a lot of money trying to impress you with. (I'm sorry if you're into expensive gifts, but I'm just not your girl.)

No, I'm just more shocked that 2006 is almost behind us. And glad.

2006 has been a little rough to me. As you know, we made the difficult decision to take PLAYBACK:stl Web-only. It was a good decision and I don't regret it; it just wasn't the way I'd envisioned things going.

We lost two pets this year, too; that's always hard. And then there's just the little, random, nagging things that bother you and drag you down.

Let's just say it's been a challenging year, and I am very much looking forward to 2007. Hallelujah.

We didn't lose power with this most recent storm, thank god. I know a lot of people in town are still without, and with these frigid temperatures, I feel for them. I felt pretty sorry for myself in July when the temperature in my home surpassed 90 degrees. But hell, it was just heat; it was highly uncomfortable but liveable. This cold stuff? Ugh; don't even think about it.

Still, the ice was awfully beautiful that first day, wasn't it? I had an inordinantly high number of dog walks on Friday, but I enjoyed every one of them. The tree sculptures—many of them still with brightly colored leaves intact and perfectly preserved—were breathtaking. And I'm glad I was out to enjoy them.