Good Riddance
Monday, January 31, 2011 at 6:46PM 
I’m celebrating the end of January. After January, we’re on the upside of winter: three months down and three months to go. Our shortest day, back on December 21, was just over 5 1/2 hours long; today was nearly eight. That’s a difference in daylight that we can see.
I used to look forward to the cold, dark days of January. It was a good time for relaxing by the fire and working on a big jigsaw puzzle. But I’ve developed an allergy to pine, the only firewood available, so relaxing by a warm fire is out.
I did start to put together a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of a Van Gogh painting. I made it half way through before the cat pushed a puzzle piece onto the floor for the pup to chew, and by chew, I mean he made it into something that looks like a piece of used chewing gum. Now I can’t decide whether to go ahead and finish the puzzle or not. I only put a puzzle together so that when it’s finished I can spend a few days rubbing my hands across it’s perfectly put together pieces. This one ain’t gonna work for that.
Today there was a wild wind. Youngest son took the dogs on a short walk and came back with his cheeks burning. But tomorrow, the first day of February, will be several degrees above freezing.
It’s too bad the passage of time does nothing for a chewed puzzle piece.
Reader Comments (2)
My son received a Star Wars lego toy for Christmas one year when he was about eight, and our dog was young. She chewed a piece from it and he was devastated. That is so sad about your allergy to pine. I do love to sit by a fire, but if you're reacting to the wood, that's no fun. A lot of people I know have a gas fireplace, but there's just something lacking sitting by one of those.
I do a 100 piece puzzle every day online at yahoo games. Takes about 15 minutes and you can't run your hand over the completed puzzle but the kitty can't knock pieces off for the puppy to chew!