well the weather outside is frightful...

what a storm! it makes us so thankful for a warm apartment.

i took the train this afternoon for the first time in four years. k. and i have been meaning to have an afternoon together for several months. tradition is to go to newburyport or marblehead to christmas shop, but this year we never seemed to find the right weekend for it. so this week we promised to gather at her house for an afternoon of coffee with baileys and "middlemarch." when the storm struck, i decided to take the train, since i can walk to the ipswich station and the beverly station is minutes from her house.

what a fun time. the pbs version of george elliot's novel is just phenomenal. and we exchanged our christmas presents. k. was so generous. she even gave me some cute "bear-bottomed" tights for ella (they have a bear on the bottom).

it is so cold outside, and extremely windy. the train was 15 minutes late picking me up to go home, and my legs were just frozen. it was so nice to arrive home and curl up on my couch with "house of mirth" and eat grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.

i switched comforters on my bed to the quilt made by a. and given to us as a wedding present. it is so beautiful...the most beautiful thing anyone has ever made me. the whole room looks fresh and new.

i can't believe this week is christmas. elenora is enjoying the experience of having a tree in the house. i think somewhere deep down she will remember this christmas.

j. wrote elenora a nativity story book for her present from him. it is so beautiful. he's quite the artist, actually. i've been looking for a good nativity story book that would tell the story in a way that would really interest a 15-month-old. j.'s story is perfect, with a dog and a cat on every page and a narration that is very accessible and lovely. i can't wait for her to open it and read it.

ella is enamored of her books lately. the first thing she does when i get her out of her crib in the morning is to say "book!" and to point excitedly at her books. then i put her down while i gather her clothes for the day and she happily opens various books and looks at their pictures. she keeps bringing books from her bedroom to the living room play area, and we probably have about 15 books piled up by the toy basket. she very often opens and "reads" the books, and can point to everything on the page. she makes good associations between the books and real life, too. if the book has a monkey in it, she will point to her crib, where she has a stuffed monkey. if the book has a christmas tree, she points to her own tree. if the story has a character who is sleeping, i can say "ella, what is the [baby bear] doing?" and she will make the sign for "sleeping." in the jan brett stories, i can say "who is coming next?" and she will point to the side photo where jan brett will put a picture of the next character to enter into the story. if the book has a picture of an animal yawning or sneezing, i can say "ella, what is the [bunny] doing?" and she will mimick a yawn or say the "aaaa" of "aaa-choo!"

it's really amazing how much she comprehends. what a fun little girl.