this morning #920.

this morning, i fired up the fire & sat down on the porch with my cup of cocoa. at this point in the day, the snowfall was still minimal. a flurry of flurries had fallen earlier, just before dawn. the winter air kept calm. crisp & clean. barely a breeze. the steam from my mug sent the scent of chocolate wafting up to mix with the warmth off the wood stove. i’d finally come to love it here. our isolated december hideaway. after a rough couple of years of making unreliable memories here, i’d finally been able to settle into the space. new year. new wife. whole new life. with the house no longer filled with nonstop shouting, i could now hear the safety of soft sounds coming from the hills around the house.