Waking early, Frank home, we have coffee and talk in the quiet house. We start and end the day together. It’s so nice to have him home. I went for a swim, rather than a walk. I seem to need to swim more than anything these days. There was ice on the river’s edge, but I didn’t get there for my walk. It was such a busy day. And I have quite a lot on my mind. Tonight, had to prepare for the annual Winter Open Readings gathering for my Charles River Writers. In the afternoon, made quesadillas to bring. How exquisite this evening was. I asked my friend Karin to host, as I knew the house might be too disrupted. We had a lovely gathering; all the writers from the group able to attend, bringing spouses and friends. We had our potluck dinner, then the writers each read a piece and we had deep conversation and it was quite a successful event.A late night, and I can hardly keep my eyes open. A festive time—everyone lingered chatting. How important rituals are. This, our seventh winter Open Readings. Our tradition survived Covid and lives on.