frosty!

1. The condition of my back yard this morning, hardy plants and nonhardy alike, which I neglected to bring into the cellar last night as I had intended. Now we'll see how those six pots of spider lilies on the patio handle last nights temperature.

2. The reception I get when I talk to people at the Old North Church. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's that hardy, smalltown, central swingstate character of the good souls and solid citizens who comprise the congregation. No, it's probably me.

3. The back room, aka the Sven den, of our domicile, when I got home from a committee meeting last night. I won't say it was cold, but I chose not to settle into a comfortable chair to read a book, but went upstairs instead and fell asleep on the folded-up futon in our guest room, aka the Gven den.

4. The reaction of a former student when I contacted her about a workshop for the practice that I thought she was interested in. Maybe it's me. Maybe it has something to do with her complicated life, work changes, family obligations, and the normal strains of maintaining balance in life. No, it's probably me.

5. The mugs of Guinness at Claddagh, where an extremely small group of warm, friendly people met this week for a committee meeting and managed to move through an agenda, make a few decisions regarding the upcoming church calendar, and share the kind of personal information that might explain where each of us is coming from in our actions and attitudes toward the business at hand.