I still have ups and downs. At times I bury myself in reading fiction and don’t emerge until finished—or until Sophie needs a meal or outing. But all in all, we are both thriving in this emptier house.
Last spring I planted geraniums in the porch planter. They were very unhappy all summer. Too hot. Too much sun. Mostly they hunkered down and struggled. Certainly they didn’t bloom.
But three geraniums are still there, still hanging on. I always thought geraniums to be more feeble, more fragile, but here they are, insisting on staying alive.
And one of them is actually thriving in these freezing nights and warm days of New Mexico December. Something about the bricks in that corner of the porch that hold daytime warmth. One plant decided to bloom and hasn’t stopped.
I have a lot to accomplish before New Year’s Day: sorting and storing sewing goods from the room I’m going to be renting, drafting the last pages of Quantum Quest, doing an end of the year house cleaning . . . I’ll let you know how all that comes out.
Here is Sophie right beside me, eternally vigilant to her duties.
May all your holidays of choice bloom for you.
Kate Harrington 