Maybe it was driving through the snowstorm that smacked the upper Midwest last night, turning at 3:45 drive into a 7-hour drive...

[as luck would have it, seems like the storm started in Chicago and ended in Cleveland, which pretty much took care of our entire route]

or maybe that during that 7-hour drive, we were going 45 most of the way through Indiana, trying to avoid being one of the umpteen cars which had spun off into the median...

[we even saw a state trooper stuck]

or maybe that it got really cold in the meantime...

[windchill in the 'teens now]

or maybe I'm just getting older...

[and enjoyed the post-bar-party sipping of champagne by our friends' fireplace as much or more than the party itself, with the shining exception of being able to dance to my favorite songs from college]

and so a little more comfort-oriented and selfish?

But here are the facts today: when we finally arrived home last night and I opened the package with the new pyjamas from Sis, which are a really lovely purply-grey-chocolatey color, and velvet, I did not put them on and lounge around, read a magazine, watch TV, etc.

No, no, I put them on inside-out -- thereby getting the full benefit of the velvety warmth -- and I went directly to bed. I mean, because, really, the back side of velvet NEVER, no matter what, feels as nice as the velvet itself. I may never be able to go back. Why, friends, has no one invented double-faced velvet PJs?


Happy New Year, kids - may it be a year of comfort and warmth, no matter the season.