I've been enjoying a new book by Tara Brach, called "True Refuge", a careful study of the role meditation can play in overcoming fear. I first borrowed it from the library, read a few chapters, and decided I wanted to own a copy. (I am thinking, though, that I might start using the library more often. It would be a way of supporting the library, saving me money, and putting some handsome hardbound books in my lap.) I've also been reading a book of excellent poems that Cia gave me for Christmas, called "Tales from a Wayside Inn", by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They are delightful story poems, including "Paul Revere's Ride", and the book is an old good-looking hardbound published at the turn of the 20th century -- a beautiful volume to hold in my hands.  I especially love Longfellow's smooth rhymes, line after line. Rhyming has largely been abandoned by poets these days, but I still love the music they make.

Today we spent a wonderful few hours up in Brooklyn with Jamie and Amy and their children. We enjoyed a friendly, tasty lunch at the big table in the great room, and then went for a delightful walk at the local Audubon preserve. It was a cold, gray day, but somehow the bare pastures and forests seemed especially beautiful, and the streams flowed along with wintry liveliness. We all had a chance to chat as we walked, and it was great to share news and friendship.