The first day, Aqua Net man and Cool Hand Luke

Neighbor Rhonda's dog Lucy, Monday morning

- And before it was over, six inches of snow fell in Atlanta. Then there was sleet on top of the snow, leaving more than an inch of ice on top in some areas. So looks as if I have the day off again today! There are news reports of miles of tractor-trailer trucks stuck on our perimeter highway, so I do not complain about being in my place where it is warm and there is lots to do.

- Watching news reports all morning and laughing at a veteran weather reporter who was reporting from outdoors, withstanding the barrage of admonishment by the female anchors inside that he is not wearing a hat in the 20 degree weather. Best line of the day, "My hair is like a hat now after so many years of having Aqua Net sprayed on it."

- Delving into the 4-star films that have been accumulating in the "My DVR" folder, last evening, Cool Hand Luke. I did not know that is where that line "What we have here is...failure to communicate" came from. Paul Newman's character of Luke demonstrates an unquenchable spirit and you can just feel the miserable summer heat. Today I can choose from, The Last Emperor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Roman Holiday and A Streetcar Named Desire. I'm think the Audrey Hepburn movie. :)

It snowed all night, wonderland and pinch me

Photo by Jerry Tirado - "three inches so far" taken around midnight

- My camera battery needed charging (of course) so perhaps I will be able to post my own photos of the snow in north Georgia tomorrow. Friend Jerry is more of a night owl than me and posted this one on facebook after midnight.

- Waking up to what sounded like rain hitting the windows, but it is sleet that is packing in the snow that fell all night. Opening the front door at 4:45am to a winter wonderland.

- We were warned of this snow and ice system approaching Georgia on Friday and decided to close the printing company today and possibly tomorrow. This means I get to read, watch movies and cook today. Somebody pinch me. :)

Figo, thank you note and I wish you enough

- My favorite little Italian restaurant near the office - Figo Pasta. I love how they have embedded broken crockery as a mosaic for their front counter, but my favorite thing is how the staff calls out greetings when you come in the door.

- Receiving a written thank you note from my niece for her Christmas present. She had thanked me in person, so it wasn't really necessary. But I love seeing her handwriting thanking me for her gift card, that she used it the next day and that her dog Lucky liked his special "cookies."

- A former neighbor of my parents, probably the kindest woman who ever lived, emails "forwards" and I do not have the heart to tell her I usually do not read forwards. But the subject line made me read one today, "I wish you enough." It is long, about a woman telling about the tradition in her family of saying "I wish you enough" to each other. The essential message is given at the end: 'When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.'

I wish you enough, my friends. And I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Life is a song, interesting client and good things

- Discovering an item purchased from a mountain vendor last October, but forgotten until I ran across it in a drawer this week. I like the stickers on the box and the message on one of them, "Life is a Song...Sing It." Indeed.

- Funniest moment of the week: a printing client sits in the conference room with me and tells of his dream business card, prefacing that with, "Have you ever seen the film American Psycho?" Hmmm, no, but it is in my Netflix queue now. :) Apparently it has a theme of "business card envy" running through it.

- Favorite facebook status update of the week, from home town school friend Ralph: "Rain on the tin roof, chicken on the grill, sitting in front of a big roaring fire listening to some good music. It's a good day to be at the shack." This is the kind of thing I like to see on facebook, good things happening.

The walk in, 30318 and memory lapse

- I just thought the sky was beautiful when I was walking around the back of the printing company on my way in to work at 7:30am and stopped to take the first photo. But the second photo shows the walk - not beautiful, but with a certain character. Potholes that always remind me of tiny fairy skating rinks when they are iced over, the trucks of nice men who will smile their greeting and the glory of the morning.

- I've worked there for three years now and feel part of the 30318 neighborhood. Mr C's Bar and Grill doesn't have the usual quirky sign postings anymore - I think that guy must have moved on. I kind of miss that. My new dry cleaner, "Ralph's Cleaners," is around the corner - Ralph always remembers my name. I chose his cleaners over the other two on the street because of the number of cars pulling in and out.

- In another part of town, later in the evening, a group of slightly weary women have a meeting without cake / cookies / or whatever. Someone was supposed to bring that. Oops - we didn't need it anyway, I keep telling myself. And perhaps it is appropriately spare for the beginning of the new year.

Maybe I'm Amazed, practice and back to work

- My favorite Foo Fighter and a pretty good chick singer salute my favorite Beatle. I saw this on the Kennedy Center Honors Paul McCartney and thought it was fantastic. I've always loved that song and keep coming back to watch this video over and over.

- Arriving home after work in time to hear neighbor Corbin practicing the bagpipes and since it is not too cold out, leaving my front door cracked open for a bit so I can listen.

- The last really quiet commute on Monday. The vacationers and holidayers will be back today. It's all good.

Tradition, favorite gift and perfectly delicious

- Since there was a bit of discussion of new year traditions on the blogs this weekend, I thought I would show you my black eyed pea stew. The peas are supposed to represent coins and the collard greens represent green money. The tradition goes that eating these items on the new year brings the promise of prosperity in the months to come. I just like that I know what I'll be eating on that day. :)

- This handy gadget was in my Christmas stocking. It hangs from the cabinet handle and you can clip a recipe on to it for easy viewing during meal prep. Small things like this always end up being my favorite present.

- Friend Alice made this carrot cake for friend Kim's birthday. She arrived with the cake telling about its imperfections, but it was delicious and charming with its array of candles.