The Warm Side

Today, as I look out the window onto our front lawn, there is frost on the ground. I don't recall a day since moving here that this has happened. Just yesterday my wife and I were talking about how it doesn't really feel like Christmas yet, even though the celebration of the birth of Jesus is just five days away. I'm sure it will happen eventually, but right now living in Oklahoma where, for instance, the high today is supposed to be 60 degrees, it's just not the same as being surrounded by snow up in Minnesota. So yeah, another difference about living here that isn't necessarily good or bad, just notable.

Last night we had some friends over for cards, and I don't know about you, but spending an evening playing Spades, Pitch, 500, or even Hearts is a great way to pass the time. Sure I like me some video games, movies, going on walks with my wife, working on stuff around the house, and other things like that, but getting some friends together and playing some good old-fashioned card games is where it's at. I'm not into poker, because though I understand that the financial element of the game adds a certain level of intensity and engagement to the proceedings, it also elevates things just past the point to where the game is a little too much about competition as opposed to just having a good time. Last night our game of choice was Spades, which I used to play religiously on the weekends in college, and it was great to sit around the table, munching on junk food just playing some cards. In a few days we're heading up to Lincoln for Christmas (where there is snow, from what I'm told) and I'm sure there will be plenty of evenings that involve card games until the wee hours of the morning. Awesome. :)

We've been doing lots of little improvements around the house lately, and it's nice to not only have the sense of accomplishment that comes from a job well done, but it's just cool to be able to fix things up here and there. Even little things like the towel rack we put in on the bathroom wall, the mantle we installed above the fireplace, or a lamp that we fixed up with a new shade and new table to set it on, are nice to get done because each one makes this place feel a little more like home. I guess it could be that when we have more of ourselves personally invested in our surroundings, those surroundings begin to take on a more personal and familiar air. Next project is mounting our TV above the fireplace, and the mounting bracket should be here sometime this week, so let's hope that works out.