Cold, Clear Waters at Greenwood Furnace

In which we reclaim and celebrate Christmas with family!

And so we packed up the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and we stopped for hoagies on the way - one for me, one for my husband, and one to take to my dad, who's bacheloring it, now that my mom is in rehab.

My husband and I stopped to eat our hoagies at Greenwood Furnace, and after we'd eaten, I hopped out of the car to get some photos. There was snow on the beach, which looked really out of place somehow.

I was tempted to label this shot - Come on in, the water's fine! - but I know these waters are very, very cold. In fact, there is ice along the far shore. Rest assured that if you swim here, you will freeze your sweet bippy off!

And then we went and visited my dad, and found him doing well and in good spirits, despite the fact that my mom isn't home right now. The news is that he has a good appetite and appears to be eating well.

He had also just Zoom-visited with my mom the day before. When I expressed concern at his being there alone in the house for the first time, he reminded me that he was also alone when Mom got sick and ended up in the hospital and then rehab for several weeks last summer.

We got to spend time with all of my immediate family who isn't either dead or in a nursing home, which was overall positive. My little sister Julie and her husband were there when we arrived. My brother Robin and his wife showed up as they were leaving. And then my older sister Marilyn and her husband arrived, with more food, late in the afternoon.

Throughout the afternoon, there were the happy sounds of people grabbing cookies and enthusiastically chomping them down. And my husband and I got to open presents, courtesy of my older sister.

Maybe this year, Christmas WAS originally a little bit stolen from us. But on this day, we took it back!

The soundtrack song is for the scene above: Neil Diamond, with Coldwater Morning.