Good morning, friends! I can’t believe we’re about midway through December already – how? I’ve barely started my Christmas shopping, and still don’t have my cards out; I need to get moving. This was a fun weekend but I got basically nothing productive done and I’m now totally wiped out; pretty normal for me. On Saturday morning, our dear friends Zan and Paul came over for brunch, a walk in our neighborhood park, and lots of catching up. We hadn’t seen them since pre-COVID (literally just before the world shut down; we saw them on March 7, 2020 when we all went to a St. Patrick’s Day parade together and walked around Old Town – and then not since). It was so good to hug Zan again; it had been too long – another thing COVID has taken from us. Anyway, the morning flew by as mornings tend to do when you’re with people you love, and by early afternoon I had to wave goodbye to Zan at the Metro and drive the kids to a birthday party for their friend K. K was a kindergarten classmate of Nugget’s, and when the kids started riding the bus this fall they discovered that she lives just a couple of streets away, so she’s become both kids’ neighborhood pal. (Peanut loves the glittery headbands K churns out and distributes to her friends; Nugget likes to walk over to her house and drive her mini Land Rover.) The party was a blast – the kids bowled, ate pizza and coconut shrimp, and Peanut got to try soda (hold me). I had to drag them away at the end of the party, which is normal for Nugget (who loves to socialize) but unprecedented for Peanut.

Sunday was a different kind of day – a day spent almost entirely at pools. First, swim lessons for Nugget (Peanut woke up with a cough, so she stayed home; she was thrilled, as she is going through an “I hate swim lessons” phase). As soon as we got home, I had to get in my own bathing suit, because Steve and I had a new adventure planned – we’re getting scuba certified. (There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.) We completed the e-learning portion of our certifications last week, and Sunday was the first of two days of confined water diving. You guys. Breathing underwater is incredible! I was apprehensive at the start of the class – it’s so much information to remember, and it feels like it’s all of life-and-death importance – but I surprised myself by being completely at peace with the very first underwater breath. The sensation of lingering at the bottom of the pool, watching swimmers kick twelve feet above me, was amazing, and every time we were at the surface I was impatient to go back down. I can’t wait for day two – next Sunday – and to experience diving in the ocean in February. I’ll write much more about the experience later, once I’ve gotten a few more dives in (and, to be honest, more pictures – the one of Steve in his wetsuit and BCD, above, is the only one I took; I was too busy in the pool).

Reading. Despite what the above gallery looks like, it was actually a fairly light reading week. Most of my evenings, especially in the first part of the week, were devoted to scuba e-learning; the course was fifteen hours and I did it over five days. But I did get some other reading time in. Early on in the week, I finished up A Single Thread (which I enjoyed, but not overly much) and then read the final, December, chapters in two books I have been reading gradually over the year – The Almanac 2021, and Orchard: A Year in England’s Eden, both of which I’ve read month-by-month since January. Then I whipped through No Holly for Miss Quinn, an old Christmas favorite, in one sitting. The rest of the week, I spent over Tied Up in Tinsel, a Christmas-themed mystery by Ngaio Marsh (one of the lesser-known Queens of Crime – she was a contemporary of Agatha Christie and wrote prolifically, but lived in New Zealand and traveled to England regularly). I have this beautiful limited edition from The Hatchards Library, which is a total delight to read – I just haven’t had the attention for anything, even classic crime, with my brain filled with things like buoyancy control, air pressure management, diving hand signals, safety stops and decompression…

Watching. Well, the main thing I watched last week was the many, many PADI videos embedded in my scuba course. Steve and I also started watching Becoming Cousteau (with Nugget, but it turned out to be not really kid-friendly, and he wasn’t interested in all the old footage anyway – so we’re saving the rest to finish later) and as a family, we watched the first episode of the new Will Smith nature/adventure show, which was FABULOUS. On my own time (very limited last week) I watched a few more Christmas book and #Vlogmas episodes from Miranda Mills – trying to get in the holiday spirit, still not entirely successfully. But Miranda sure helps.

Listening. We’re still on a seventies music kick around here (although I don’t have much seventies music, so it’s the same few songs over and over again). Nugget loves “Escape: The Pina Colada Song.” Follow me for more parenting tips!

Making. Christmas gift knitting continues – I have two gifts nearly done (including one for someone who will read this, so you’ll pardon my being cagey) and started a hat and scarf set for Peanut. I had some very soft pink-and-red yarn with her name written all over it. And I made a banana-walnut French toast casserole for brunch when Zan and Paul came over, which turned out pretty good *dusts off shoulders* despite my total winging it.

Moving. Five-and-a-half hours in the pool with a heavy air cylinder on was quite a workout! Aside from that, the usual walking and running. I need to get a move on with some strength training and some yoga, because I signed up for two December challenges on Garmin.

Blogging. My holiday reading list (or some of it) coming atcha on Wednesday, and then back to Shenandoah hiking recaps on Friday.

Loving. I feel like I say this every time I see friends these days, but it was so wonderful to spend time with Zan over the weekend. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to value time spent with the people we love, right? It’s never enough, but especially not when we’re all locked away from each other. Although Zan and I text regularly and keep in touch over social media, it’s just not the same. I had a moment when we were walking over to the neighborhood park on Sunday. Peanut was holding Zan’s hand, skipping along by her side and reciting an inventory of all the “makeup” in her Caboodle, and I couldn’t help but think about the fact that Zan and I have been friends since Peanut was one year old. We had tea (at Spot Coffee, a Buffalo institution) the day we met, and Steve came to pick me up with baby Peanut dangling off him in the Baby Bjorn. And now she was chattering away about lipstick and blush. Where did the time go? It’s good to share history with friends, and especially to know that your friendship is still at the beginning – even with all that history – and that you have many more years of laughter and sharing ahead. I know that Zan will be one of my very dear friends for decades to come, and that is such a solid, comfortable feeling.

Asking. What are you reading this week?