This bear crossed the road in front of my car on the highway from Helen Ga to Hiawassee, GA a couple of year ago. I watched him for some time from the safety of my automobile.

Twenty-five degrees outside. I guess that means winter is definitely here. All our beautiful leaves were blown off the trees this past weekend. They were exquisite this year and I drank in their beauty until the last one lay on the ground.

But now we have a different kind of beauty. The mountains are pretty in all seasons. With the leaves gone we have a much wider view and see ridges all around us.

We snuggled in for the past several days. My husband has a bad bronchitis and I've had some symptoms of a cold, but we have been like the bear I captured on film a couple of years ago. We are planning to hibernate this winter. I am enjoying staying home and just being - not doing. We wear our flannel P.J.s all day and spent part of this morning sleeping in our chairs. We had good intentions when we got up, but sleeping in on a cold day just became more inviting than going out.

After all, we are retired and having the freedom to veg out is one of the best perks of having spent all those years getting up early and working long hours. We tell ourselves we deserve it!