What I've been preoccupied with lately...

All you have to do is search my winter archives to find me complaining about how cold it is; as my husband informs me, I'm a baby.  BUT this time, I'm in the right to complain.  This morning's high was 8 degrees.  I think we haven't made it out of the 20's for the past week.  I am SO over it already.  I live in the South not in Canada!

At any rate, during the Christmas holidays we have a tradition of doing a puzzle or two.  Well, actually, *I* do a puzzle or two.  I'd started this tradition hoping to entice the guys to work on it with me - well, actually, Man-Child as I knew The Husband had NO interest.  Surprisingly, Man-Child has no interest either.  He actually claimed that he "hates" puzzles...this seems odd to me given the way Man-Child's brain works...I figured he would enjoy them.

At first, I was disappointed that this was another tradition that was mine and mine alone - along with watching It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve (I have NO idea why all the photos in that post are sideways - or why the guys don't love that movie as much as I do).  But I've come to enjoy spending that quiet time, squirreled away looking for matching pieces.

This Christmas I completed one puzzle and figured that was that for the season.

So what prompted this to happen yesterday?

Well, the table was still up.  I was sick (thanks to my guys.  Or my friend and her family.  Surely one of them was the culprit).  And the weather.  It was too cold to go out and do anything.  Plus, as mentioned, I was feeling poorly.

The Husband asked how I could sit there for hours sifting through the pieces looking for that elusive piece.  Obviously, he and Man-Child do not know how extraordinary it feels to find that elusive piece, pop into place with a self-satisfied, "There!" whispered to myself.

Generally, I confine puzzles to the Christmas holiday because I know how I am - I just spent the majority of yesterday and today confined to that table whispering, "There!" occasionally.  Ignoring the laundry that needed folding, the plants that needed to be watered and the bathrooms that needed cleaning.  During the holiday, I have that kind of freedom.  When I go back to work, I do not.

So, I finally pulled myself away to tend to the things that needed tending and took the time to craft this post.  Because I know where I will be spending the majority of my evenings for the next several days or so...