Snow fell last night, rather gently. Now it feels like Minnesota around here once again. I woke up far more slowly than the boys, who were out playing at shoveling before I had even gotten out of bed.
My new resolution is to get up and face the weather each morning for a walk around the block with Seneca, no matter what the weather happens to be doing. I need that fresh air just to wake up and Senny has to check his "tree mail" so it's good for the both of us. This in no way substitutes for more serious exercise later in the day; it's just part of my search for a healthy morning ritual, one I'm hoping will aid me in the development of a creative habit.
After breakfast, D. took the boys out to the country for a bit of sledding behind the four-wheeler, and I sat at my desk, concentrating for three hours on my history project. While doing a little Internet research, I was shocked and saddened to learn, that Nigel Nicolson had passed away in September. Last year when I went to England, I spent the day with this 87-year-old gentleman, calling on him at Sissinghurst Castle. My shock at the news of his death, came not, obviously, from his age, but rather from the fact that mentally he was as sharp as a young man, and still keenly interested in the changing world. After I'd finished delving through his files, he wanted to know about the Internet, ebay, and the world of motorcycle racing (to which I have a tenuous connection only through marriage.) He was kind to me, to this homemaker from Minnesota, embarking on a "grand venture" as he called it. Whenever I feel discouraged, I remember the encouragement I received from this courteous Englishman who was one of the finest editors and cultural historians of his generation.
Not only that, he taught me how to serve a proper English tea.
12:03:11 AM 
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