This is what the sky looked like this morning when Mom and I went out–still laden with clouds from yesterday’s rain.

Not that we can really complain about the weather. Here’s a look at my Weather Pixie for tonight, 5:45 pm. 68 degrees Farenheit. That’s 20 degrees Celsius. In January. The middle of Winter.

It’s not that I’m complaining about the weather. It’s really hard to complain about the warm and sunny days we’ve had lately. Any time January is at or around 50 degrees, you enjoy it. It’s like a rule. But . . . I have a closet-full of sweaters that haven’t been worn yet this year. I haven’t needed a scarf more than once or twice all season, much less my down comforter! This is a far cry from last January when our furnace broke during a cold snap.

Of course, the warm weather IS confusing the vegetation around here. I spotted this on our walk . . . lots of buds and already a couple flowers. Our neighbors have daffodils and crocuses already coming up . . . poor things, don’t they know that they’re MONTHS too early? I know virtually nothing about gardening, but isn’t the inevitable cold snap bound to hurt these premature plants?

Still . . . it did turn into a beautiful day. Right up there around 70 degrees, blue sky . . . really, really lovely. My dad golfed, which shouldn’t surprise anyone–but it IS surprising that he walked the course rather than riding a cart like he usually does . . . but then, he was lucky they uncovered the greens at all in January. Mom and I are taking bets on how sore his legs are going to be tomorrow, though.

Speaking of tomorrow, it’s the family-celebration of Dad’s birthday. His actual birthday is Wednesday, but tomorrow, my sister and her family are coming down, and my aunt and cousin are coming up. (Luckily, we can just barely fit nine people around our dining room table.) It’s a big birthday, too, so we want to make sure it’s a good one. (Any guesses on which birthday it will be? No prize, or anything, but I’m curious. There’s a good picture of him on my Christmas Eve post, and in that family picture we took in November.)

Anyway, so today, Mom and I went to the grocery store to buy stuff for dinner, and this afternoon I baked a cake (a double-recipe of our family-famous "Grandma cake," which can also be seen on that post where we took the family picture). Chappy got a bath, too, so he’ll be all nice and fluffy tomorrow. The table’s set . . . we’re all ready. Or, as much as we can be until tomorrow! I can do some of the food prep in the morning, so that’ll help. It’s a recipe I haven’t tried before, but it sounds good and I’m pretty sure everyone will like it, so . . .

Oh yes, speaking of family photos–look what Mom showed me today. I don’t remember ever seeing this picture before, but I love it. My Dad’s in the center back, and his parents are the two on the right of the picture–I love how my Grandfather is balancing up on the railing. My aunt, uncle, and cousin Don (er, Donnie, according to the notes) are on the left, with my uncle just peeking past my aunt’s head. Her mother is standing in the front center . . . Mom and I are guessing that my aunt’s father was the one taking the picture. We don’t know when this picture was taken, but every one looks like they’re having a marvelous time. My aunt and my grandmother are both wearing corsages, too . . . Mother’s day, maybe? (Although then why isn’t my aunt’s mother not wearing one?)

I mentioned to Mom, though, as we were sorting through some old pictures . . . we really don’t have that many of Dad as a young man, forget about as a child . . . that I’m always fascinated by photos of my Grandfather. He died when I was just 10 months old, so they are the only way I can know him at all. At least I have memories of my other grandparents, but him? He’s like the Mystery Grandparent. Dad rarely talks about him, and he’d been sick (Alzheimer’s, back before they knew what it was) a long time, so my Mom never really got to know him, either, so she doesn’t have any good stories about him. But what Dad does, occasionally mention, I relish. And when I find a photo like this, of him happy and smiling and full of the life I never got to see? It makes me smile, too.

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