Oh, baby, it's cold outside. Windy, and so dry that noses and throats and eyes are scratchy and teary and raw. I love the sunshine and the cold temperatures, but the dry wind (Santa Anas) I could really do nicely without.

Anita gave me a cape or poncho or whatever it's called--rebozo?--for my birthday, and it's just perfect for this kind of weather. I've been all toasty and wrapped up, feeling quite cocooned this morning. What a thoughtful gift! I admired hers when she wore it, and she knew I didn't have one (after 10 years of working together, we pretty much know one another's wardrobes).

I've been collecting Christmas gifts little by little, arranged on the shelf above my computer. On my "To Do" list is to wrap them. Or go to the 99cent store and buy appropriately sized gift bags. Probably the latter. Gift wrapping is not my forte.

People are starting to congratulate me on retirement as well as wishing me a happy birthday. Some of them seem so young. Patricia this morning said she was 50 and so glad to be vested--meaning that she can retire if she must because of family circumstances. It was something of a shock to realize I'm old enough to be her mother (and long since invested).

It's all coming together in a rush--Thanksgiving, birthday, retirement, Christmas. Friday is the annual Christmas chinese dinner with Dan Gent and musical friends. Saturday a birthday celebration for a Sagittarius friend who is exactly 10 years older than I. His daughter (my housemate) is exactly 10 years younger than he.

What strikes me most of all is that people don't look the relative ages that their chronological ages would imply. Some seem so old--often as a result of illness or negative mental attitude--when they are actually younger than I by several years. And some, like Jackie, seem only in the 40's when actually in their 60's. Genetics and health and socio-economics, I guess.

Of course, when we were in our 20's, the mantra was to trust nobody over 30--they were all old, and set in their ways, tools of the establishment. That isn't true, either. Some are afraid of change, some just cautious, some as feckless as ever.

Basic personality doesn't vary much down the decades.