I have to say, I think it was a good call on Cal's school's part to have this little two-day week and then BOOM, the weekend. We needed it. Re-entry is a bear, man. We had to celebrate those exams Friday night, and Callum chose wings, of course. The Dirty Buffalo is a great local wing joint that is as much home for families as it is for the local college crowd. It's my boy's all-time favorite restaurant. I'm happy when he's happy. After dinner, a neighbor of ours stopped by for a drink by the fire and a chat. Wings for the kids, Tequila for the dads. (I had wine) Not a bad trade.

Saturday morning we all SLEPT IN. Callum heard me go downstairs after seven and he called out, "You slept in! Congratulations!" He promptly fell back asleep. While I went to the grocery store (and really, this was a miserable part of my weekend: forgot my list, they were out of the stuff I did remember, the store was packed, and traffic getting home was awful) Neel and a bunch of other neighbors, including several of the kids, helped Tequila Bill (the guy who came by on Friday) get a dresser up to his 2nd floor bedroom... through the 2nd floor window. I missed all the fun! They only broke one window! Tequila Bill made wings for everybody as a thank you for helping out, and we all sat outside talking (just in time for the Grateful Dead Concert Hour on Sirius) on one of those gorgeous days that January can sometimes steal from the spring. What was even better was when I said, "The only thing that would make this better would be a Bloody Mary," and then one magically appeared. Life is good.

Cal spent the afternoon and evening at some basketball games, so I spent the day fighting battles with some website stuff. Maddening really, but I'm sure this kind of thing has never happened to any of you, right? Neel hung some lights that he got for Christmas and once it got dark, we spent all evening looking at them. Sunday we SLEPT IN AGAIN! I could get used to this! Neel and I ran some quick errands (including back to the grocery store for the things I didn't get on Saturday) while Callum did homework. It's been gray, gray, gray here for days and days, which I don't mind, but if it's going to be gray and cold, it may as well snow. Seriously.

People, I know I'll regret saying this, famous last words and all, but so far I am thoroughly enjoying my 356 Project. I tried a Project 52 (a photo a week) last year, but it didn't captivate me nearly the way this has. I like thinking about the pictures I'm going to take and being intentional about them. I had thoughts about what I wanted to do on Saturday and ended up with something entirely different. And Sunday? All day I knew exactly what I wanted to do; I just had to wait for the light (and the lights). (I'm editing it in that last photo in the collage.) I can see how a process like this can really push you, and I'm ready for that. This doesn't mean that I won't get tired or sick or bored or totally cop out at times, but right now? It feels good, and I'm happy. How was your weekend? Hope yours made you as happy as mine made me!

Well, it's never any good when everybody leaves, is it? When my mom left on Tuesday, at least we had Christmas to do pretty much as soon as she pulled away. There's nothing like opening a boatload of presents to cheer you up, right? My dad stayed on a few more days, and while he was here we did some of our standards like an amazing meal out and lunch at PF Changs (to both of which I wore MY NEW COAT!). We had extra snuggles and cocktails at home and abroad (And now we know we can make a French 75 here in our own kitchen, which is...good, right?) When my dad finally left, it was rainy and cold, and we all needed to recover. I took to my bath, Lucy took to the fire and spent all of Saturday afternoon reading. Callum went to watch the hapless Eagles at a friend's house on Sunday while Neel and I took a tour of the tile store, soaking up some inspiration for the next bathroom project. So much to think about, you know?

I'm soaking up some inspiration for some upcoming cooking. Some is just regular weekday cooking and some is a bit more fun that that. I'll tell you more next week. And poor Cal. When he was at his friends house, their beagle bit him on the toe. It looks worse than it is, and it looks much better now that's he's had a bath. Still, he was pretty skeeved out for a bit. And that boy loves his dogs. As I'm writing this, it's Sunday night and we're snuggled up to watch some football. The dogs are cuddled up (finally) on their new bed. Violet, who has been to the doctor more in the past two weeks than I have all year and is on more meds than a grandma, is starting to feel much better.

It's almost the New Year. What do you think of that? I'll pop in tomorrow with my annual resolution list, and then I think I'll sign off again until Friday. Ease back into things. I am seriously (foolheartedly) considering a 365 photography project, and I have some other plans for the upcoming year. Both in this space and all my other spaces. I can't wait to share it with you, my lovelies. Mostly, I feel so grateful that you've been here on the journey with me. What would I do without you?

weekend-gram recap, january 7 edition

weekend-gram recap, new years eve 2012 edition