Winding Down

We're enjoying a sunset of the shortening days tonight.
The light is weak and the shadows dark.

It's so strange. Last week at this time, I was just finishing up my semester.
We had a Shiva (house of mourning) call to make in the evening, and Bruce informed me that he'd have to work the next day, Friday, because he was hard-pressed to finish a report for DOE New Orleans. Bruce works a 9/80 schedule, which means that he works 80 hours in 9 days, and then takes every other Friday off. So he worked last Friday, which was his "9/80" day off. He then had to take the day off by Thursday this week, or lose it.

We were pretty frantic, sad, and tired at the end of last week. We didn't consider how really well putting off Bruce's 9/80 day would work out. Sandia takes a week of "energy conservation" shut-down for all non-essential personnel during the week between Christmas and the secular New Year. They combine all of the normal Monday holidays throughout the year to get this week off, taking the official Christmas and New Years holiday. That shut-down occurs next week.


Bruce took today off as his 9/80 day, and is taking tomorrow as a vacation day.
The report is finished, reviewed and submitted. I am done with papers, presentations and finals.

We are winding down.

I had my husband home all day today.
I cleaned and polished the floors.
Yeah, I know. It's work. But for me, after weeks of neglecting taking care of my house due to grad-school work, it's a form of winding down.

Bruce read.
Lily was overjoyed to sit in Bruce's lap and listen to him read Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution aloud to her. She's a Geek-dog.







Before we were supposed to go to Taekwando, I took a walk around the house to take some pictures of the sunset.

As I turned to get the sun-glare out of my eyes for a minute, I noticed that my shadow was dark on the bay-window west wall of the house.
So I snapped a picture of it.

I thought that was kind of cool, my shadow taking a picture of my shadow taking a picture...
It's nice to play around a little in a winding down sort of way.




N. is winding down, too.

When I came in to tell him to get ready for Taekwando, he asked it we could stay home tonight.
He was cleaning his room.
He was really into it.
He was rearranging furniture. Putting up his milk-crate shelves.
Even the dogs got involved.

Nes gadol hoveh po. A great miracle is happening here.

Naturally, we stayed home tonight.




Viola!

The bed is made.
The furniture is 'undusted.'
The night table has wood showing.
The carpet was vacuumed.
And there is actual carpet visible.

This is very good.
I have to get up early tomorrow and get to town in the morning. We need to stock up.

As I write, my Weather Cricket on my computer screen is chirping urgently.
There is a winter storm warning posted for tomorrow afternoon through Saturday evening.

It's a good thing we went to the library yesterday.
Looks like we'll get some more down time tomorrow.