It smells like Christmas.

I've got a small candle that Pooks got me lit. It gives off a faint scent of pine trees. Every Christmas we got a tree from somewhere, and it wasn't always a tree (one year it was a Christmas bush). I have always associated that faint smell of pine with Christmas. It's not like a strong pinesol/air-freshener kind of smell, but like the smell of pine trees when the air is cold and silent, and the wind is gently whispering through the trees.

It's a cold night tonight. Everyone seems to be indoors snuggling away from the cold. I've got my windows cracked and am enjoying the cold. I always prefer it cold and had the windows open all last winter. This year will be interesting since I have to move sometime this winter too.

It's late, I've been up (re)reading Harry Potter vol. 4. I read Books 2 and 3 this weekend. A couple of weekends ago I read Conan the Valorous, one of my more favorite Conan stories. A friend of mine calls books like that, "mind candy". Something light and easy to read, not mentally challenging, but something that moves the mind a little.

Maggie's got the Star Wars Lego game for a while. She gave me Big Brain Academy and complains that I'm not good enough yet. It's a mental stress testing game with different quizzez and things. I'm not as good as her at it yet so when we play against each other she asks incredulously, "Haven't you been practicing?" or "I thought you said you were good at this one?" It's good for my ego to get shown up by a 15 yr old every once in a while... ok, every time we play.

Pooks and I are still house hunting. It's been interesting trying to fit it in around both of our work scheduals. I think we're looking in the right places for us to live.

Just another long and meandering post.