  The walls are closing in. Not working today. I should be revising my thesis, or at least closely reading it so I can start revising it this weekend.
I should be writing thank you notes for Christmas gifts. I should be cleaning my bathroom, which is starting to look like an extensive science experiment. I should be brushing the cats, who look like little Yetis with their winter fur on their tiny bodies. I should be doing laundry or putting away the clean dishes or vacuuming. I should be writing back to Christmas cards or email. "Should" Tara gave me a tiny gift book called urlLink Oh Friend of Friends: Peanuts on Friendship . It is made up of Peanuts comic strips and quotations about friendship. I just sat on the floor with the cats in my lap and read it through, sniffling and wiping my eyes. I've always loved Peanuts. It was very much a part of my childhood, watching the specials on TV and reading the strip in the newspaper. I had a Snoopy watch with a turquoise-colored band, and his arms (front legs, I suppose) were the hands. Sometimes someone manages to find a gift that seems small and maybe inconsequential, but signifies more. I'm not saying that her other gifts, including Nancy Pearl's urlLink Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason , aren't wonderful and appreciated. It's sure to be fascinating reading and I'm looking forward to getting a professional librarian's perspective on the eternal question of What to Read. (The author is also famous for being the model for the urlLink Librarian Action Figure , making her a cult heroine to some and a target of scorn and derision for others.
) Back to the Peanuts book. There's a great statement from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "It is one of the blessings of friends that you can be stupid with them. " That may be what this blog business is all about. I got a lot of tea for Christmas. urlLink Lemon Green , urlLink Raspberry Green , urlLink Wild Berry Plum Green , urlLink Blackcurrent , and urlLink Citron . I'm happy! Tea always makes the day better. I'm also glad that I got such a variety of flavors.
Not sure when I started drinking fruit tea almost exclusively, but I do find that I enjoy it more than plain teas, particularly hot. My mom gave me a little box shaped like Wrigley Field. I've started to collect little boxes - this is a small collection, though, and really needs no help getting any bigger. So I pulled the box out of the gift bag and ooohed and aaahed appropriately, and she said, "Open it up! " I could tell that it was empty, but I opened it anyway. Then I screamed, because there's a little sound chip inside the cover that plays "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and is light-sensitive.
I nearly had a coronary. Mom knows I like the urlLink Cubs and thought it was perfect for my collection. I particularly appreciate the sound factor. I'm starting to feel guilty about all that "should" stuff. Maybe it wasn't so productive to write it all out. No nap today. 
