Yesterday I was reminded of an old O. Henry Christmas classic story. About a man and  his wife who dearly loved one another. They lived in poverty and each desperately wanted to have a gift to give to the other. The man had a pocket watch he treasured that belonged to his father. The woman had a wonderful head of long, beautiful hair. Her husband longed to buy her pretty trinkets to show off her hair. His wife thought how wonderful it would be if she could buy a watch fob, a chain to attach to his pocket watch.

 

On Christmas Day the husband gave his beloved wife combs he had bought with the money he gained from selling his pocket watch. Only to discover that she had a chain to gift to him, paid for by cutting off and selling her long tresses. 

 

Well, yesterday morning I decided to cut my hair. I had been allowing it grow long, and Irving didn't care for how it looked, dragging down my facial features. I liked it well enough but the longer it grew the more unruly it became. So I snipped the length off so that it would sit just above my shoulders in what approximated the 1920s 'bob' cut. I wondered how long it would take for him to notice.

 

 

Coincidentally, after our afternoon ravine walk, Irving went upstairs to do a few things and was there awhile. When he returned he settled down comfortably with Jackie and Jillie to read the news on his laptop. I finally got up to prepare dinner and when I looked at him I realized he was clean-shaven. He's worn a beard for the last 50 years, when it was anything but as popular as it is now, for men growing beards. Now he's without one. 

 

 

As for noticing my hair, he didn't. Once I drew it to his attention he thought it suited me more than the longer hair. He hadn't noticed, he said, because viewing me from the front obscured the fact that my long hair was gone. Ha!

 

We wandered out to the ravine a little earlier this afternoon than usual. Having decided to do our weekly food shopping tomorrow, to avoid the after-Christmas rush, and the likelihood we'd be seeing some empty shelves. Another mild day. In the news there was a story about unusually cold temperatures in China, where in Beijing, daytime highs of -10C were bedevilling people, unaccustomed to the kind of weather we usually have at this time of year. 

 

The milder temperature today of 5C came with early morning sunshine, but by the time we got out it was just intermittent sun and mostly cloudy. More snow and ice had melted with the milder temperature, but the forest trails, with a light layer of water on top of the ice, were even more slippery than before. We saw relatively few people out, but those who were on the trails took the precaution of wearing cleats. 

 

 

One person who wore just boots was quite the sight, cheerfully balancing himself and trying to control his slides downhill as his dog raced happily ahead. The younger the person the less likelihood of coming out of a bad fall with injuries; conversely the older the person the greater the chance of regretting the rash decision to risk injury in this new non-winter landscape.

 

 

We had the usual contingent of encounters with our canine friends, dashing over to extend a seasonal greeting and patiently awaiting their edible gifts. We're always happy to see them, just as they're glad to see us. Jackie and Jillie have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances that they welcome and call over for brief cookie parties.