Kage Baker – of whom I dreamed incessently last night; we were vacationing on Catalina Island – would advise me tonight to just let folks know: all is well, all is bright, I’m just tired and making sure nothing is happening. It’s a night for nothing to happen.

And that’s all there is to it. I’ve deliberately put off finishing the stocking stuffers until tomorrow, because it will actually be fun to go scramble a little on Christmas Eve. The presents will be a pleasure to wrap. And Christmas Eve dinner tends to be a scratch meal, while Christmas Day’s repast is all purchased and reposing in pantry and freezer and fridge, ready to go.

I saw my orthopedist today, and am assured my fractured ankle is mending ahead of schedule. I’ll need another two weeks in the brace and Das Boot, instead of 6 or 8: my super power healing abilities have kicked in just fine. I am delighted, because while the foot corset is not too bad, Das Boot is a major pain and effectively prevents me from walking more than about 15 minutes. Or 20 feet. It weighs ten pounds and makes me lurch like Frankenstein’s creature with vertigo.

The wind is blowing wildly here,  beneath the lee of the Hollywood Hills; another rain storm is bearing down on us. A great present from the Jet Stream and El Nino to bless our Christmas Day! In the meantime, the lights are dancing in the wind, there’s a mutter and murmur in the eaves, and festive raccoons are plummeting occasionally onto the lawn and racing around in the glow of the Christmas lights.

So everything is cozy and nice, and heading with happy inexorability toward Christmas Day. I hope it’s the same tonight for you, Dear Readers – I hope you enjoy a quiet, peaceful night in this little pause before the Great Holiday begins.

The Great Wheel turns. Let’s all of us roll gently for a while.