Monday, December 11, 2006

snogginess

It’s a grey, rainy day here in O’Fallon. I’m fighting a cold, which feels appropriate. I usually caught one each semester, so I guess I’m right on schedule. (When I had a cold in England, a British friend asked if I was still feeling “snoggy,” and that’s now my favorite cold-related adjective. It says it all! And yes, I’m feeling terribly snoggy just now.)

Since my last post, I’ve been to Nebraska twice, and today I’m settling back into my room. I’m behind in pretty much everything, and in writing most of all!

Our trips were worth it, though. I love hanging out with Adrienne, my younger sister, and her boyfriend, Jon. Mom and I were there the first weekend in December to hear Adrienne and Jon sing in a massive Christmas concert, which was an awesome kick-off to the season. We spent a few days there and came back on Sunday (December 3). A huge ice storm had hit parts of Missouri and Illinois while we were gone. As we drove home, looking at ice-coated trees in the moonlight, I was talking about how beautiful it all was, despite the destruction.

Then we pulled into our driveway, and I shut up about beauty, because there was nothing gorgeous about our yard. We lost one tree completely, and halves of several others.


Half of our giant pine tree fell off.


No partridges in this pear tree!

So between settling in and our usual work, Mom and I took an afternoon out to work with the fallen branches. We managed to haul away two thirds of a tree that had been resting on fences (yikes!), and to clear up some of the mess. But it was a cold day, and I had already been a little sick…

Hence the present snogginess. But it doesn’t feel like winter without a cold, does it? We ran back to Nebraska this past weekend—this time with Dad—for another concert, also not to be missed. (It was a jazz concert. I love jazz!! It’s another excellent rainy day prop.) This coming weekend, Jon and Adrienne will come this direction, and it will start feeling like Christmas. I still have shopping and planning to do, not to mention writing.

Writing! It’s been forgotten almost entirely, between the traveling, the trees, and the runny nose. I’m still thinking about the New York City conference, though, and I’m planning to write a few short stories before the year is out…—jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 12/11 at 08:15 PM
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