"I heard her sweeping away; and soon after she was gone..." ~ Jane Eyre

Reader, even Jane takes leave to Millcote from Thornfield in the novel.

I am taking a small leave from these affairs until after New Year's Day.

Of late, my brush strokes in life are not as even as I would like them to be. The metaphorical painter in me desires nothing more than to mix a new pallet and start stretching new canvases for this upcoming year - fresh, white canvases where all backgrounds and settings and figures are possible.