Yesterday was the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Since I was home by myself all day I decided to record it. I set up my camera and tripod to take a picture of the living room (the brightest room in our house) every hour from 8 in the morning until 8 at night.

I also set up a timer so I wouldn't forget.

In the twelve hours I was taking photos there were only four where the living room felt bright. The sun rose a few minutes after 10 AM and set again just after 3 PM. There was direct sunlight hitting the living room wall from just before 1 PM to just after 2 PM. Most of the time I find the lack of light at this time of year frustrating (it's so hard to get a good picture of a pair of socks) but in those few hours of brightness every day I rediscover just how wonderful sunlight is and how much I love it. I'm looking forward to watching the days grow as we move into the new year.

Rob and his dad set up our new dishwasher today. We've been without a working dishwasher for about a year and a half so this was a pretty big deal. As soon as the new dishwasher was ready to go we ran a load of dishes … and didn't even have to stand around in the kitchen while the dishes became clean. So, so awesome (and so much quieter than our old dishwasher).

The best part of the whole thing, from the critters' point of view, was a large box that was part of the packaging for the dishwasher. It was used as a pouncing platform, a bed, and a chew toy - sometimes all at the same time.

It's been a cool rainy weekend. We walked down to the Ramble and Ride yesterday and found ourselves wishing we'd brought a couple of toques. Fortunately the wind was behind us on the way home (the hot chocolate and fresh donuts helped too). My garden looks wonderful and bushy. I should really pull up some carrots. The beets need to be pulled up too. I'm planning to pickle them but I'm not sure I'll get to that this afternoon. It might wait a little longer. We've had lots of (damp) squirrels and birds at our feeder, much to Abby's delight. There's been quite a bit of knitting. My cardigan is now almost an inch past the underarm divide. I should probably try it on before I go much further. Just to make sure the fit is nice through my shoulders. The critters have been snoozing in various parts of the house. Ollie and Fred have been taking turns monopolizing my lap. Especially if I happen to be knitting.