Do you ever have grey periods? Times when life is stormy and stealth and you feel buried by the thundering, frightened by the downpours, and grieved by the bitter cold of it all? That is how it has been, lately, here in NY. The wind has been howling and the the snow has been persistent and effective. It is a time to don your woolens, stay inside, and pray that you have bought an adequate supply of hot chocolate.

On a good stormy day, you are aware of every blessing, warming you from above and protecting you. On a not so good stormy day, you feel housebound and hopeless; no matter how many blankets you stuff around the windows, the cold leaks in.    

And, then, finally, by the grace of God, after what seems like an eternity, the sky comes alive in blue. And, you marvel. 

I saw the first hint of blue on Saturday. Guild day. Usually, it is an anticipated time, but this time, I didn't really want to go. I sensed that Nylah would be left behind and, though I was extremely stir crazy from what seemed like weeks of blizzard, there is an unhealthy comfort that comes from staying in bed with your head under the covers. Sometimes even running away can't get you far enough away so that even running seems not quite worth the while.

But, Lynnie was going to Guild. So I had to go and I wanted to go. We chatted and had a lovely day. She bought me breakfast and Christmas gifted me with some lovely silk and a personal tea cup from her collection. I confessed that I ate the bulk of her Christmas present  (I told you, it has been stormy) and she forgave me.  :  )

What I love about Lynn is her honesty. She is very forthright even to the extent that she will risk it all and expose her own shortcomings. She is real. And, I think, because she is willing to look honestly at her own shortcomings, other people's shortcomings don't bother her so much. And, just for the record, if other people's shortcomings bother you and you feel an ardent need to engage Lynn in a conversation about the shortcomings of someone who is, say, Lynn's friend --- well, honey, I just wouldn't encourage you to go there. Because Lynn is loyal and you really don't want to mess with her friends. I like that about her.

So, despite myself, I was having a nice time at Guild.

I made the mistake, though, of mentioninig that I liked that swift. One of the girls from Guild had brought in an antique swift that she was selling. I oohed and aahed a little bit and made a casual reference to Lynn that someday I would like to get a swift of my own.

Well, the next thing I know, she is whispering and giggling and sneaking out to an ATM. That Lynn. And, after a while, I knew she had a secret naughty idea up her sleeve. And, so I told her in no uncertain terms that she was NOT buying that swift for me. That it was not acceptable, that neither my oohing and aahing (nor my whining) was intended to be a request for gifts, and I would not tolerate such an extravagance.

And she completely ignored me.

The pictures do not do justice to my new, gifted, swift. It is so beautiful. And so amazingly functional. I just love it and you, Lynnie. Thank you so much.