Early Winter

One of the things I love about winter is the clarity of the atmosphere. I mean that in the most literal sense. A few days ago we took the kids for a walk on the beach. It was cold, yes, but the air was so clear. We could see bits of land far out across the bay that we can't see the rest of the year. A lighthouse. A boat. The outline of a building.

Last night and today are vividly clear, too. When we turned out the lights last night, the bright, almost full moon and it's reflection off the snow were so bright, I started to wonder if the sun was being sneaky. I looked out the window and up and no, it was the moon, its light drowning out the light from stars. It was so clear it seemed like the sky could shatter if given a good hard knock.

Down at the harbor this noon, I think we saw an owl. Out of the corner of my eye what I thought was a hawk emerged from under the pier. But then its wing span (huge) didn't make sense and the shape of its head was different. I watched it make slow headway against the breeze for a few moments before it swooped into a clump of trees and became appropriately camouflaged. I hope it comes to visit us.

Other things become clear when the air is so clear - though resolutions may not be so clear.

The church situation is more clear in that it's a total mess and less clear in terms of any resolution. Another friend has quit the vestry, and the rector has tried to discredit her in the process. The Christmas services were just weird. I've come up with all sorts of ways not to shake the rector's hand during the Peace (on the infrequent times we do attend). Not very Christian, I know. I feel very uncomfortable when he seeks me out in the back row in the middle and uses his booming voice to greet me, unlike how he greets others; it makes me feel condescended to. So I blow my nose and sniffle a lot when he comes near. (Then I use anti-bacterial hand gel and shake everyone else's hands.)

It has become clear this winter is that I need to take C's newly discovered crustacean allergy much more seriously. I didn't think I hadn't been, but last night my husband made a Thai coconut chicken soup for dinner. Sounds perfectly safe, right? Not necessarily. He called me as he was making it and asked where the fish sauce was. I told him. We were still on the phone, chatting, when he was about to put it in the soup. Then all of a sudden, I remembered.

"Stop!" I interrupted. "Read the label on the fish sauce first!"

"What?"

"The label. On the fish sauce, before you put it in the soup. I think some fish sauces use shrimp."

Sure enough.

We got lucky. No fish sauce went into the soup.

I spent part of this morning cleaning out the pantry of all items with suspect ingredients.