Battening down the hatches.

We did some autumn into winter chores today--drained the cooler, put on its winter coat, turned off the outside faucets. I did laundry from upstairs and down. Washed dishes. Cooked and ate porridge and cleaned up after ourselves.

Read the paper, all the terrible news. Talked to Scotland.

We ventured out for our late-ish doggy constitutional at about 10:30. The wind was wild, and you could feel a cold edge to it. Cold and getting colder. The last few nights, the stars have been brilliant. Perfect sun in the day, piercing stars at night.

I graded and graded today. I'm not caught up--please. But I can see the possibility of being caught up now. Beyond that, I can just see the thin selvedge of the end of the semester. It is scented with Christmas tree and has the tiniest sparkle of twinkle lights, even when it is weeks away. Also? Wedding cake.

One of my friends said to me once that, anymore, he was all and only about the small saving graces. I can appreciate where he's coming from. Tonight, I made a frittata and some steamed broccoli. We watched The Good Wife and two episodes of The Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt (it's a miracle!).  Clean sheets. Talking to my kids. A snug house. Those clear stars.

Around us, all about us, so much falling apart. Maybe it's always falling apart, we're just noticing more.

(These fragments I have shored against my ruins)

The facts about today.

Bruiser woke me at 4 a.m.

Wrote.  Ate a bowl of Kix.

Woke the historian and climbed back in bed at 7.

Awoke three and a half hours later.  

Cleared my head, got dressed, ran some errands.

Found this, this, this and this in the piles of cds everywhere.

Bought lipstick and Sundance tickets.

Wrote some more.

Asked myself this question:  What connects grief and the will?

Read.

Made red lentil soup. Laundered. Waited for the historian to get home. Walked Bruiser.

Tried this and viewed this. (via kottke)

The Jazz beat Indiana.

That is all.