Firelight

We've not had many fires this month, because it's really not been cold enough, but it's always lovely to enjoy firelight and the cosy warmth of an armchair beside a hearth. This was a relatively short-lived fire, just burning prunings from the garden without any of the large, solid logs that create long-lasting warmth, but it was good to sit beside it with my knitting for a while before dinner.

The day's event was a family meet-up on Zoom with my two brothers and their families. J was delighted to see three of her cousins as well as aunts and uncles, and it was a long time since we had all talked together, with a lot of significant life changes to reflect on - two retirements, one ordination, one graduation and new job, one transition to university and one move to new work and relationship in Germany, as well as holidays, activities, memories and all the other minutiae of family conversation. For us there are no such excitements, but it's good to take stock and, despite the continuing challenges, to remember all that we have.