Darker

Only one more day until the solstice - 5:03 p.m. tomorrow in Minnesota. The darkest day in a month that has been getting darker every day, lightened only by the Christmas spirit and the knowledge that after tomorrow it's going to get lighter and lighter. But probably colder, too. I was 32º today at the temperature apex.

NCW and I took an afternoon walk to the avenue - Grand Avenue - to visit our drug dealer - CVS - and to try to wrest some cash from the ATM on Grand. It was cloudy and a bit murky, but as we walked along Lincoln we encountered a Little Free Library. They've been sprouting up around St Paul lately. I like the concept, although I've yet to borrow a book from one of them yet. NCW has, however, a time or two, and has returned the book or replaced it with another later on.

This is about the dreariest photo I've ever posted here.

The winter solstice in 1913 was on December 22, a day after Lillie's birth. She'll be 101 tomorrow.

I managed to play tennis again this morning at Wooddale. Not much to report. We played 25 games, two and a fraction sets, and I was both a winner and a loser. I have a log of my tennis activity since January, 2011, but I seldom go back to see what happened, but today I checked to see when it was that I fell and broke my left hand pinkie and ring finger - November 29. That's three weeks, so I have only another week until I can deep six this cast/splint that's been slowing me down. Not soon enough.

NCW lost her mittens this a.m.  She was afraid that it might mean, like it did for those naughty kittens, that she "shall have no pie."  But luckily, she found them this afternoon.  We're going to Baker's Square for dinner.