A new calendar. One of my favorite activities is getting out the new kitchen calendar for the year with its blank squares, and filling in the birthdays for the coming year. The fresh new one reminds me of Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.’s saying that “There are no stains on the pages of tomorrow.” As I look through last year’s calendar to get all the birth dates I also see the appointments, showers, special events, etc. that occurred last year and remember some with fondness and some, like those dentist’s visits, with something less than fondness. One more of those to go before getting back to regular visits. I also see my once-a-year appointment with my regular doctor is coming due. Ugh!

Christmas is officially over. We took down the decorations today. I had meant to do it Jan. 1, but we were all doing different things and just didn’t really feel like it then. When we put up Christmas decorations, I store the regular decorations in the Christmas boxes and then put them back out when we put the Christmas ones away. All the boxes are back in the attic and I am missing two heart-shaped doilies and the little topiary made of pink roses that I have shown often here. I hate to think they may be still back in those Christmas boxes and I just missed them. I don’t have the energy or mindset to go look for them just now.

Almost back to normal. Jim and Jeremy started back to work last week, Jesse starts back to school Monday, Jason is visiting his girlfriend in OK, due back Monday, then has to check in and buy books and such before classes start on Thursday. In some ways I am ready to get back into a regular routine, but I am not ready to start setting the alarm again and having all the busy activities starting up again and remembering what day Jesse needs his piano music and when’s the last time he brought his gym clothes home to be washed (current answer: before Christmas….they’ve been stuffed in his locker for weeks. Should be about ripe now!)

A Valentine’s idea… ArtsyMama had a post about a swap, which is now closed to participants, but the basic idea was a darling one that I am thinking about using this Valentine’s Day.

Do you read in the bathroom? Doesn’t everybody? Not that we ever really talk about it, but by the reading material you see in other people’s, you’d think so. Whenever people say they don’t have time to read I want to ask whether they read in there. Bet linked to a funny an interesting article the other day about reasons to read in the bathroom. I liked that one guy called it the “Fortress of Solitude.”

May you have some solitude this weekend to rest and regroup!

Updated: I did find the missing decorations tucked in other places, so I didn’t have to get back into the Christmas storage boxes, and this morning as Jesse was leaving for school he pulled his dirty gym clothes out of his backpack — they had been there all along! 🙄