Three Weeks of Winter

Christmas 2013, my first Christmas at home since my time as a student in Massachusetts, has come and gone.  As has my first New Years at home since, as far as I can recall, 2002.  The days were filled with seeing friends and family, celebrating holidays, watching the birds, working on puzzles, and always struggling to keep the Minnesota cold out—even before the ‘Polar Vortex’ made its way through!

Kamikaze Kim, Kristi, and I spent a couple of days together for the first time in a few years. 

The Clan Goranson Christmas festivities ensued as they do every year, with all the normal chaos as one might expect to find in a family of this size… and character. 

Much of my time was spent relaxing at home, hanging with Wilbur in front of the fire.  He was clearly overjoyed to have me there.

One of the highlights was cross-county skiing in the mornings in the Back 40… usually in sub-zero temperatures.

If you look closely you can see the ice crystals on my eye lashes in the photo below.  It was an every day occurrence. 

It was a great trip home.  So much so that I was sad to leave, despite the –55 degree wind chills the day before.