The first snowflake of winter was spotted! I caught it on the sleeve of my jacket, one perfect hexagonal flake. This is not real snow, just the snow equivalent of intermittent drizzle. But still, winter is coming. That always makes me happy.

It also seems to bring out a latent pioneering instinct. I was out in the garden trimming shrubs and cutting back my herbs, which have been taking over the yard. My office is now full of piles of fresh mint, thyme, oregano, sage and rosemary. It smells fantastic. In odd moments I�ve been tying the piles into bundles or wreaths to use in the kitchen this winter. It�s surprisingly satisfying work and, along with bread baking (this afternoon�s other project) is an excellent complement to more intellectual and academic pursuits, particularly since it also doesn�t make me feel like a drudge � neither activity being absolutely necessary in the modern world. I am not at all a crafty person (At least not in the Martha Stewart sense. I�m not sure about the Wile E. Coyote sense of the word), but there�s something about harvesting things that you have grown yourself and making your own bread. It makes me feel like a productive and useful member of society. Or at least my household.

This is especially useful when I don�t feel particularly productive on the parenting front. AJ has slipped even further into the funk that�s been dogging him the last couple of days. Today would have been the worst yet, except that we were smart enough not to try to take him anywhere. He dropped off to sleep this afternoon in nothing flat, however, which usually bodes well for a good nap, after which he�s generally more amiable. At least I�ve managed to mostly maintain my cool today � it is definitely easier when we�re home and I don�t have to worry about disturbing others. My husband is not handling it well today. But this is the beauty of having two parents. There�s always someone around to give you a break when you�re going nuts.

And my academic work has been going a little better. Since I decided to take a break from writing and focus on reading for a few days, I have been coming up with lots more to write about. Still haven�t heard from my wayward advisor, though. Grr. The next step involves trying to get my other committee members to pick up his slack. I�m sure that one or two of them will be more than willing to help, but asking for such assistance without sounding like I�m complaining about my advisor is going to require extreme diplomacy. I�m going to have to give my approach some thought.

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