I could hav stayed home all day under covers, sipping tea and staring into the fire.  But . . . 

Arrived in Madison in the wee hours of this morning and had a good, long sleep.  This morning we breakfast and then puttered made lists—of all I’ve been thinking of this past week, of getting ready for the new year, of groceries we need to buy today.  Julia googled swords to add to a drawing in Adobe Draw—I am encouraging the use of layers.  Her use is artificial right now and I could be wrong in my directions, but I am assuming the some practice will benefit her in the long run. She is using her new stylus although she is still at times reverting to her fingers.

 A rundown to go with a few pictures.

Christmas Eve: MFA while Cheshire was at work.  Saw a very little bit of the museum. Julia loved the big old European canvases; for me, it was the impressionists.  Kinda like mac ’n cheese for the soul. And then, evening eve in New Hampshire, exchanging pajamas and silly, joke gifts.

Christmas in New Hampshire:  a long morning of exchanging presents and brunch.  Julia had two little girls to play with.  A lovely dinner and conversation.

We went back to Boston the next day and started a few days of driving around towns and neighborhoods.  I visited a realtor and found out about the strange (to me) habits of Boston area realtors.  Each has her or his properties under contract that she fills when they are vacated.  The realtor I met has properties in Arlington.  She will keep me in mind for the summer as her landlords let her know of openings.  She will not, however, look for anything outside of her properties in Arlington or in any other town.  For that, I need to check with more realtors and comb the listings. This is different from all the other places I’ve look to rent or buy but I’ll play.  I can see us living in Arlington or Brookline easily.  One is like a busy town, the other more urban. We also spent time in Newton where they have two good public high schools.  I didn’t see any perfect neighborhoods there but one of those schools may win out.  

By Friday evening, we were ready for home.  Kisses to Cheshire, an easy flight and drive.  Home came with a small pile of unopened cards.  So many sweet wishes for the holidays.