Whatever gets you through the winter

To me, the only inspiring sight I've had this morning -- and I'm trying hard to stay away from all windows and am silently berating the person who, one hundred and thirty years ago, thought it would be a good idea to install many nine-feet-long-by-three-and-a-half-feet-wide windows ALL OVER THE HOUSE, so that no matter where I am, I'm confronted with tracked-up, ugly snow; bare trees shivering against leaden skies; dirty, salt-spattered cars going past with their drivers hunched miserably over the steering wheels, trying to coax some heat from the vents, and oh.....bugger it....I'm just going to walk around with my eyes squeezed shut and bump into the furniture like an idiot -- AS I WAS SAYING, there has been only one inspiring sight this morning.

And that was one of my great-grandmother's old blue pottery mixing bowls, one which I've been told was a wedding gift, making it about ninety-five years old, which Meelyn piled high yesterday with not-yet-completely-ripe mangoes and gorgeously green limes. It makes me feel that there actually is some warmth and sunshine out there somewhere, as we stolid citizens of the Hoosier state hunker down and prepare for an Alberta Clipper to blast us over the next few days.

It really is so pretty. I wish I could make Nicki work so that I could take a picture and show you.