on this first day of winter

on the first day of winter i finally managed to slow down enough to bring a little christmas into the house. a few of my favourite decorations. this little gold cone will be just fine as a christmas tree. i haven't baked in so long so tackled a raspberry braid. as it was rising for the 2nd time, with all the lights twinkling - indoors and out to counter the dullness of the day - we had a power outage. it lasted only 2 hours. but i had to take the loaves to my mother-in-law to bake, and i curled up on the couch in front of the window, wrapped in blankets and read in the natural light. the wind and rain around me. on this first day of winter.