A new business has meant I did not get to take a southern vacation this year. Alas, my beloved partner has eagerly kept me apprised of the warm sunny days on a Cuban beach and the jaunts in and out of that jewel of a city, Havana.

But winter in the Ontario countryside has not been at all unpleasant, although we have had the long and bitterly cold days. But these have brought the crystal blue skies and resilient freshness of a clean and invigorating air. And we have had little snow, but just enough make the hills and fields dance and to remind us that it really is winter. Not a bad thing in itself.

However, managing a household of demanding pets, coping with a herniated disk, dealing with hungry wood stoves, balancing two careers and rehearsals for 2 one act plays, the performance of which is too quickly approaching, has perhaps meant trying to juggle a little more quickly than my dissipating co-ordination would handle . This is why I am typing with a finger bound and pricked with 8 stitches. All for a vegetable stew that I would not eat. A kitchen can be a dangerous place when one is too distracted. And had it been the chain saw then I might not have been here at all.