The bottom of the year.

This year, the solstice (my holiday, as you may recall from years past) coincides with the beginning of Hanukkah, and so as I lit my first candles, I said thank you not just for the light's imminent return but also for this neat confluence of dates. In 2006, the solstice was the last day of the eight, so I lit my way there, day by day by day. This year, I will travel twice during these eight days, lighting my way back out of the dark. Tomorrow there will be seven seconds more daylight.

Today, as if to stress how low down and darkened we've gotten, the temperature plunged; the windchill is -17º F ("actual" temperature -2º). That picture? It's of the inside of my car's windshield.

For the second year running, I've missed my blog's birthday. Now we are three!