The golden leaves that lingered lovingly on the trees for Thanksgiving have vanished overnight - swept away by howling winds that raged with frigid ferocity.
An icy rain pelted the shivering forest after midnight and turned into snow flurries just before dawn.
My initial plans to drive into town were completely thwarted when I looked out the frosty window this morning: the world was oppressively bleak and windswept. I wasn't in the mood to freeze my ass off and get stuck in the mud (again).
I needed to buy some things but it can wait. I have enough supplies at home to sustain me.
My only genuine annoyance is that winter has come much too early this season. Usually I don't have to worry about drastically cold weather until January.
All I really want to do is drink hot tea and go to bed - where I snuggle under an ample layer of covers and read. My two cats, Bosco and Scratch, always keep me company.
And that's when I miss Scruffy the most......
As a prelude to the winter season, I'm posting a piano video.
I know that most of you have already seen it, but just pretend that you haven't.
It's my piano arrangement of the pas de deux from the Nutcracker ballet by Tchaikovsky.
Since my original arrangement is excessively long, I cut it drastically for this video - leaving only the second half.
This was a humanitarian gesture to ensure that nobody dies of boredom.
Note:
I recorded this video when I lived in San Angelo, Texas. It was July and about 110 degrees (Fahrenheit).
I tinted the video blue to make everything look "cooler" and I lit candles to invoke a "wintry" atmosphere.
In reality, I was as hot as a microwaved burrito.
