By the time Thanksgiving approaches, I have finally adjusted to the darkness of late afternoon. I find myself delighting in the hours I spend reading and writing by the glow of the lamp next to my desk.

When I walk the dog after supper, I enjoy noticing what my neighbors are up to. Does the bluish radiance of the tv in my friend's family room mean that her sons' homework was light tonight and does not require her usual parental supervision? An unfamiliar car in another home's driveway and lights on in the dining room--company for dinner? And what about the new neighbors with their humungous entertainment center--what show have they tuned into this evening? These observations make the chill and the wet of the requisite dog walk vanish.

Probably my favorite way to spend a late afternoon and early evening is to curl up and read on the couch in the family room with Sophie cuddled next to me. As long as I stroke her head or some doggie body part, she'll let me read on. Precariously balanced on the couch's left arm is a hot cup of Darjeeling tea. The house is still. The corners are dark. I become lost in the life of the characters I'm reading about and I find myself unwinding, bit by bit, until I'm totally relaxed.