Outside my window, two standard poodles are running through the backyard gardens at break neck speed, totally unaware of the freezing rain and temperature surrounding them.  Our roads are already slick with a frosting of ice.  And so are the poodles – our dark-furred boy looks like he’s flashing rhinestones.  If the cars traveling up and down Walker Avenue could negotiate ice as well as the poodles… well, they wouldn’t be crashing into curbs and getting stuck on hills.  Maybe the poodles could offer lessons on when to brake and when to keep going? 

It’s an ideal night to stay home and cuddle up with a good book and some hot chocolate.  But alas, we have two Thunder tickets for tonight’s game, so my husband and I are going to slide downtown to cheer on the hometown team.  We frequently attended major league sports events in Texas, so we celebrate the Thunder’s arrival in OKC.  We make about half of the games. 

But on a night like tonight, if truth be told, I’d much rather stay home with that hot drink and the wonderful twelve hundred page novel I’m reading, — “…And the Ladies of the Club”.  I love stories written by so-called late bloomers – this one was published in 1982 by an eighty-seven year old author, Helen Hooven Santmeyer – it’s a story to be savored as I can easily imagine the author did for many years, before deciding to put words onto paper to tell it.  And behind it, is her personal witness – that even at eighty-seven, it’s never too late to pursue your dreams.  What gifts.

It’s time for me to go pursue reality — I’m making chicken & dumplings tonight for supper.  It’s great comfort food for an icy cold January evening.  No matter where you spend it.