We had our first snow last night. A white world filled with bright points of color, our street looked magical. The snow was still there this morning as I peered into the morning darkness from the bedroom window.

It is a fitting day to put up the Christmas tree. It seems a bit strange, it being just the two of us. For twenty-six years, children have trimmed the trees in my house. Now those children are trimming trees in their own homes. There is something right about that. Still, it seems a bit strange.

We decided to assemble the artificial tree this year. We store it in the cold cellar. After it was assembled and decorated, I noticed a strange smell in the house. Attila confirmed this, pointing out that there was a "bit of mould" on a few of the branches. Closer inspection revealed that the "bit of mould" was quite a lot of mould. Down came the tree and off went Attila, returning after a short time with a lovely little balsam fir.

The house smells wonderful. It was worth every penny.

We will give the artificial tree a spray and a shower and pack it up to use another time.

Where did Tuesday go? Last thing I remember, I was poking around inside Alfred and spending a lot of time talking to departments of the government on the telephone. Time flies when you are having fun. It is true.

I know that today is Saturday only because Attila slept in until a faint light tinted the sky visible. On an ordinary weekday, Attila does not see morning light from the bed, or even from the house. As I sat at my computer and heard him rumbling around in the bedroom at around 8:00 A.M., I suddenly realized that the weekend had arrived. The week got away from me, completely away from me.

The past week has sped by at top speed. It was a good week, a very good week. I have rediscovered an essential element in my personality. I love to work. Getting my teeth into a new project is stressful at first, collecting the puzzle pieces before starting assembly. However, once the pieces are on the table and ready to move about, it is a lot of fun.

After a lifetime of putting the needs of others firmly in front of my own wishes and desires, I am in a position to please only myself. This will take some getting used to. My initial reaction was to clean and organize. I did not quite graduate from that phase, much has yet to be cleaned, and organization eludes me.

A new phase seems to be developing. When I start a project, there is nothing to prevent me from pursuing it until it is either completed or abandoned. Accustomed to frequent interruptions, my approach to projects and work was one of small investments and of resignation.

All that has changed. With no interruptions, a project can occupy my focus from the time Attila leaves before light until he arrives home in darkness. Frequently I am startled as he comes in the door, thinking, "Why has Attila come home early from work?" Of course, he has not come home early at all. The properties of time seem to be highly dependent upon context.

I must watch though, I find that I am forgetting to eat during the day. One must eat. I am thinking of installing an Alarm Clock on the computer configured to go off several times a day, suggesting that I take a break from whatever I am doing and make something good to eat. Ah, but then I would forget to startup the software and then where would I be?

The hard drive project went well. The installation of the new was much easier than the removal of the old, after I had seen where all the pieces were and how they all fit together. The first boot after the install was a bit tense; will the drive mount or will it not? It did, first time around and I was so pleased I walked around all day with a smile on my face. Alfred can now backup files safely and has plenty of extra room for playing with those PhotoShop files.

I will close my entry now; the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen is just too distracting! Tonight we are making a pizza. The dough will be ready for the pizza pan soon; it is my job to prepare the dough. I hated the job until I discovered the magic of corn meal. Replacing one half cup of the flour called for in the recipe, with one half cup of yellow cornmeal, makes the dough easy to spread on the pan, and enhances the flavor.

I have never forgotten to eat when Attila cooks!