I've been thinking about this month's (and next) theme, FIRE, for a while now. I'm afraid of fire in a big way (thanks mom, for that story about your best friend burning the house down with the easy bake oven), so imagine my joy when I came to Japan and found a ceramic gas heater (read: open flame) in my apartment. It always made me nervous, but I continued to use it, cautiously, for three years. After setting fire to my pajamas one fateful morning last February, I decided enough was enough, and this year I hardly use it at all. This means lots of hot water bottles, blankets, layered clothing and hot tea, but living without a heater is not so bad. I am helping the environment, I remind myself, when it gets teeth-chatteringly cold. Sometimes I turn it on when guests come over, because most of my friends think I am crazy for living at such freezing temperatures. Plus, it is not as scary when someone else is around.

I'm not a candle person or a campfire-type and I can't even use a lighter, but I LOVE the colors for these two months. And despite my lack of posting lately, I have been doing a lot of knitting on projects both old and new. It's just that sometimes I can't bear to give up a cozy spot on the couch for the ice-cold spot on the floor near my computer. The good news is, this place is starting to warm up!