Once again I have a collection of things that don’t need their own posts. In no particular order, here they are.

Winter has finally descended upon our valley. After a freakishly mild December, we’re finally getting some snow built up. Driving in snow isn’t my favorite thing, but everything else about snow is quite cozy. It’s also very normal for our area, and with everything else so topsy turvy these days, it’s nice to at least see the weather finally doing what it’s supposed to.

It’s been perfect weather for staying home and knitting socks, and I just finished my third pair of the year. Now all three kids have handmade socks and they’re quite pleased with them. My quality is improving, and I’m starting to really understand sock anatomy, enough that I’m able to mix and match patterns a bit. The next step is to experiment with knee socks. I’m taller than average and store-bought socks never go as high as I want them to, so proper knee socks are my secret knitting ambition. Before I get to that, though, my oldest kid wants me to make her a hat and scarf. She bought the yarn and everything. The pattern she wants is crochet, so it’ll make a nice change of pace.

We spend a lot of evenings in the living room, listening to music while I knit and the kids play or read. Most times it’s mixes of ’80’s and ’90’s alternative. I’ve been rediscovering Echo and the Bunnymen, and my oldest has decided she loves the Cranberries. She can never remember the band’s name, but she’s always requesting that “one station with the girl.” Since we also listen to Siouxsie Sioux and Portishead a lot, took me a minute to figure out which “girl.” It’s this one:

Of course, my kids are who they are and they won’t stay quiet for long. My son managed to cut his scalp playing basketball quite badly (he tripped and fell back against the pole) last week. When it wouldn’t stop oozing, we had to spend an hour at the urgent care office getting his head stapled. He was a little scared but he handled it well and he’s actually pretty much fine now. The staples don’t come out until Saturday, and now that it doesn’t hurt so much he’s frustrated that he can’t climb walls or wrestle anyone until then. He kind of wanted a video of the stapling process, but he had to settle for one not-too-bloody picture of the results.

We inaugurated a new president with a minimum of violence, and most of the country breathed a sigh of relief at that. I persuaded my oldest kid to try a silexan supplement for her anxiety issues and so far it’s been a great success. My kids started poking through my old jewelry and decided I might actually have good taste. They stole/borrowed several old rings and pairs of earrings to share between them. I taught the kids Rummikub. I bought some pants on sale.

The pants aren’t even black. Look at me, wearing actual colors. Sort of. Feels a bit weird, to be honest. Not the gray pants, but pairing them with red. And no makeup either? I feel like I’m losing goth points as we speak. I guess it’s vaguely forest witchy, with the flowy top and the Irish wool sweater. I kid. It’s all really comfortable, and that’s all that matters on a snow day, right? I hope that your winter days are cozy, and that in spite of stresses big and small, you have plenty of little things to enjoy as well.