shoulda

The walls are closing in.

Not working today. I should be revising my thesis, or at least closely reading it so I can start revising it this weekend. I should be writing thank you notes for Christmas gifts. I should be cleaning my bathroom, which is starting to look like an extensive science experiment. I should be brushing the cats, who look like little Yetis with their winter fur on their tiny bodies. I should be doing laundry or putting away the clean dishes or vacuuming. I should be writing back to Christmas cards or email.

"Should"

T.O. gave me a tiny gift book called Oh Friend of Friends: Peanuts on Friendship. It is made up of Peanuts comic strips and quotations about friendship. I just sat on the floor with the cats in my lap and read it through, sniffling and wiping my eyes. I've always loved Peanuts. It was very much a part of my childhood, watching the specials on TV and reading the strip in the newspaper. I had a Snoopy watch with a turquoise-colored band, and his arms (front legs, I suppose) were the hands. Sometimes someone manages to find a gift that seems small and maybe inconsequential, but signifies more. I'm not saying that her other gifts, including Nancy Pearl's Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason, aren't wonderful and appreciated. It's sure to be fascinating reading and I'm looking forward to getting a professional librarian's perspective on the eternal question of What to Read. (The author is also famous for being the model for the Librarian Action Figure, making her a cult heroine to some and a target of scorn and derision for others.)

Back to the Peanuts book. There's a great statement from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "It is one of the blessings of friends that you can be stupid with them." That may be what this blog business is all about.

I got a lot of tea for Christmas. Lemon Green, Raspberry Green, Wild Berry Plum Green, Blackcurrent, and Citron. I'm happy! Tea always makes the day better. I'm also glad that I got such a variety of flavors. Not sure when I started drinking fruit tea almost exclusively, but I do find that I enjoy it more than plain teas, particularly hot.

My mom gave me a little box shaped like Wrigley Field. I've started to collect little boxes - this is a small collection, though, and really needs no help getting any bigger. So I pulled the box out of the gift bag and ooohed and aaahed appropriately, and she said, "Open it up!" I could tell that it was empty, but I opened it anyway. Then I screamed, because there's a little sound chip inside the cover that plays "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and is light-sensitive. I nearly had a coronary. Mom knows I like the Cubs and thought it was perfect for my collection. I particularly appreciate the sound factor.

I'm starting to feel guilty about all that "should" stuff. Maybe it wasn't so productive to write it all out.

No nap today.