It’s the 8th day of Christmas. I trust your true love has given you eight maids a-milking? We’ve welcomed the babe, ushered out the old year and rung in the new, and it’s snowing…again. It’s the blob snow, hanging in great blobs everywhere. Heavy and wet, it makes for great snowballs.

I’ve traded-in Celtic Woman’s Carol Bells and Il Divo’s White Christmas for Ryan Adams’ Desire and Nine Inch Nails’ The Good Soldier. My iPod line-up often depends on the story of the moment. What about you, does your music change with the story you’re writing?

I’ll be spending the first 15 days of January with Sven, including today. I distracted the mat master with cookies and DVDs as long as I could. He really loved the Réveillon Tourtière — a Québec tradition — but I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing an extra 5,000 word count for that sin.

As soon as I’m done with Sven, the pup and I are going out to play. If Sven doesn’t clear out fast enough, a snowball, or ten, might just get lobbed his way.

How are you beginning January? Elen wants to know.

Elen