Photo Journal | 365 | some people think I'm an advocate of Lucifer, some say I'm a child of God; some people think I've got the nine lives of a cat, others say I'm filthy as a dog

058/365 - Monday 28 December 2015 | I wrote in my last post that the end of Christmas always makes me a little sad, but maybe always was the wrong word to use. The truth is that this year, I'm more relieved than wistful, ready to put away the decorations and get on with my life, excited about the coming year.

059/365 - Tuesday 29 December 2015 | It's been raining for days, weeks, months. I can handle it. I love the rain. This old house we live in, however, well... Our big Christmas gift this year was a life-sized skeleton to sit on our front porch and dress up throughout the year. (My grandmother just gets me.) Here's Leonard grinning out from underneath an umbrella, sitting on the bench like he's waiting for a bus that will never come.

060/365 - Wednesday 30 December 2015 | As soon as I got into the car at the end of my work shift, from his car seat Mads announced, "Mommy, we go to Abbey Road!" His language is developing so quickly, it boggles the mind. My perfect little sponge, he shall be fed real chicken nuggets in a restaurant with guitars hung on the walls.

061/365 - Thursday 31 December 2015 | Rough day. Amazing day. All of the above. Stood in the same room with the original works of MC Escher, yes, but while wrestling an unruly toddler. Mads was not just a toddler today, he was a Toddler Full Force. Convened at Grandma's house, briefly, afterward and enjoyed a cup of her coffee (she always makes it strong) in the mug Grandpa used when I was growing up. Good bye, 2015, you difficult, astounding thing, you toddler of a year.

062/365 - Friday 1 January 2016 | This blurry photograph of my husband makes me so happy, because he was so happy when I took it. On New Years Day we took Mads and Ella to Monkey Joe's. I usually inform friends, new and old, that my husband, breathtaking and astonishing and worthy of knowing and loving though he is, is resolutely anti-fun. I had assumed this Monkey Joe's business would not be Wolfman's favorite hours of our day. But, ever the good dad and uncle, as soon as the toddlers had doffed their shoes, he had doffed his as well and joined them in all the bouncy structures, and he smiled while doing it. I love they way his joy surprises me sometimes. I love him when his grumpiness does not surprise me. I love him.

063/365 - Saturday 2 January 2016 | Mads and Wolfman visit me most mornings at work, with the weather being what it is lately--wet, very wet, incredibly wet, oh and now here's some cold. My menfolk drop me off at the door of my shop, and I get the store open and running. About half an hour into my work day, they grace me with their handsomeness again. Sometimes Mads will be riding in a car-shaped cart, spinning the wheel, sometimes they will have ridden the carousel or the train or a coin-operated car or two. I love seeing their good-looking faces. It is, always, the best part of my day.

064/365 - Sunday 3 January 2016, Day Off | The boys took me to Hillsborough Street. I hadn't been in years. We popped into Sugar Magnolia, once my favorite place to buy all my gypsy duds, but now-a-days disappointingly not everything-in-the-store-under-$15. We bought Mads a little Balinese tom tom drum and a handsome new shirt for Wolfman. Then, we had a sit down next door with the gooiest, messiest cookies. 

"Be Forewarned," Pentagram