it's alive!

The blog, that is. Not the wooden dove.

Happy New Year, dear friends! If you're reading this, I know it means you're remarkably loyal because you've not given up on what maisie knows despite its long hibernation. Thank you. To all of you who've gently said, "I miss reading the blog" or "You must be busy lately," you've made me feel so pleased to realize you enjoy and missed my natterings here.

I hope this first day of the new year has been peaceful and bright. As I write, I'm sitting at home in Boston, cozy in a voluminous flannel nightgown with Isabel the princess kitty curled up on my lap. For the first time, I didn't spend Christmas with my family. Sachi, Erik, and the kids are with my parents in Hawaii, but alas, I couldn't go, for Isabel would have needed to go, too (she requires daily medications yet would bite anyone else who tried to administer them), an impossibility due to Hawaii's pet quarantine requirements.

I've missed everyone, of course, but I've also been savoring the quiet days at home. I've still been seeing everyone via the wonder that is FaceTime. I watched Aidan and Kayleigh open their presents on Christmas morning. Both kids have been more enamored with seeing the kitty girls - Kayleigh tries to pet them on Sachi's iPad screen - than seeing me, which I don't mind at all; that iPhone/iPad video camera is surely unflattering.

I love the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Mostly I've been existing in a state of extreme laziness, doing oodles of non-mind-improving reading, sleeping in and staying in pajamas till late in the day. I had a multitude of projects planned for the vacation, but I always forget while making those plans how much less appealing the projects become compared to alternatives like reading another romance novel.

Fortunately, my usual New Year's inspired cleaning compulsions did come upon me over the past few days, so I have completed some worthy tasks like purging and organizing my exercise clothes and cleaning cupboards and countertops. I've done a bit of baking and cooking. (I made these cupcakes; they required dirtying a fair number of pots and bowls, but they're worth it.) I've also been pretty good about my vacation goal of running more regularly. Running makes me happy. I need to remind myself of that when I'm tempted to make other things higher priorities. Or maybe I need to just put on my shoes and go before I have a chance to come up with excuses.

My other goal was to start off the new year by resuscitating this poor blog. Writing it makes me happy, too.