Serendipity

2012-02-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

1. A lovely Stitchy Fingers visit -- the Cherry Squares were delicious!
2. The aroma of woodsmoke
3. The days are getting longer

2012-02-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

1. Out for breakfast
2. Self-cleaning oven :)
3. Robin activity in the spruce tree -- maybe another nest again this year?
4. Alder incense

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2012-02-06T10:18:00.001-08:00

1. Plenty of hot water -- something I take for granted every day, but without which my shower would be miserable
2. Pale winter sunlight shining through bare branches
3. The slow easy pace of my life

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2012-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

1. Frosty rooftops
2. Powder room redecorate project is just about done!
3. Ripe avocados

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2012-02-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

1. My pink sweatshirt -- it's February :)
2. Pretzels
3. A nice little afternoon nap

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2012-01-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

1. A chocolate chip bagel for breakfast
2. Ron the friendly helpful postmaster
3. Squirrels across the road -- maybe they're making a comeback?
4. A happy conversation with Susie about the church orphanage quilt project

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2012-01-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

1. The amaryllis are blooming!
2. Dove milk chocolate squares
3. Flickers twittering at the bird feeders

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All is well

2012-01-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

1. Ran across this special vintage quilt at Lakeview Trading Co today for only $10
2. Got the museum newsletter done early this month!
3. Date night: fish tacos and horchata for supper, and then we saw Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, an excellent movie

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GOOD HOURS

2012-01-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

Good Hours

I had for my winter evening walk -

No one at all with whom to talk,

But I had the cottages in a row

Up to their shining eyes in snow.

And I thought I had the folk within:

I had the sound of a violin;

I had a glimpse through curtain laces

Of youthful forms and youthful faces.

I had such company outward bound.

I went till there were no cottages found.

I turned and repented, but coming back

I saw no window but that was black.

Over the snow my creaking feet

Disturbed the slumbering village street

Like profanation, by your leave,

At ten o'clock of a winter eve.

~ Robert Frost ~

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2012-01-23T08:20:00.001-08:00

1. Good progress on the Habitat house
2. Telemann concertos playing in the sewing room
3. Beef lo mein and spring rolls for supper -- Happy Year of the Dragon!

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2012-01-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

1. Waffles for breakfast
2. Soft winter sunlight
3. Girlfriends at the quilt shop

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2012-01-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

1. A rainy blustery stay-at-home day
2. Tony has started to work on redecorating the downstairs bathroom
3. An especially nice winter dinner: roast pork, pierogies with apple slices and brussels sprouts

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2012-01-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

1. Lotion on my dry hands
2. Started the March "bird" quilt at long last!!! I'm really happy with the fabric colors I'll be using.
3. My comfortable recliner

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2012-01-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

1. All caught up with Doves, and in the home stretch with Meals on Wheels
2. Lunch at McDonald's with Mother
3. I'm enjoying starting through Simple Abundance again this year

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2012-01-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

1. Breakfast at Grizzly Manor - Dad hung up his Cubs sticker
2. Got more donated fabric for comfort quilts
3. The amaryllis buds will be opening soon

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2012-01-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

1. Got four bindings done today!!
2. Mexicali soup
3. The sun setting behind the pines across the road

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2012-01-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

1. A nice evening at guild meeting ... I won a door prize!
2. Wore my new vest today and it's really cute
3. I'm good at organizing

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2012-01-15T17:23:00.001-08:00

1. Looks wintery outside this afternoon, like it might finally snow
2. I woke this morning after dreaming about smoking and my first thought was 'I don't smoke!'
3. Comfortable in sweatshirt and sweatpants, my favorite at-home outfit

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2012-01-14T16:42:00.000-08:00

1. Trimmed my hair and it's bouncier and curlier
2. Finished piecing the birds top, and got it and Mary Todd layered and pinned -- I'm getting so much done recently!
3. Love all these sweet dogs!

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2012-01-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

1. Had such a nice time at Stitchy Fingers -- I haven't attended regularly since last summer
2. Order came from Reproduction Fabrics: the greens and purples I need to get started on my next couple of projects
3. Cut a quickie top for another comfort quilt, pleasant bird novelty print fabrics

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2012-01-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

1. New PQ and P magazine came
2. Historical Society meeting -- I haven't been to one of these in months, either
3. I baked banana bread and the house smelled so nice!

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2012-01-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

1. Mild weather
2. Fabric order came from Hancock's -- Pine Tree Lodge yardage
3. Went to the movies for the first time in ages -- saw War Horse

2012-01-10T16:39:00.000-08:00

1. Finished up the Agua B-a-D comfort quilt
2. I like my wardrobe -- it's just right for my personality and my lifestyle
3. A peaceful beauty parlor excursion with Mother

2012-01-09T16:16:00.000-08:00

1. Grocery shopping together -- it's our "date of the week" :)
2. How amazing the internet is!!!
3. Full moon -- brilliant moonlight spilling across the foot of the bed

2012-01-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

1. Being "locals" at Sizzler
2. Our beautiful scenery
3. Tucked into bed early to read

2012-01-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

1. Started reading Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
2. Pizza for supper
3. Finished the Twelve Days of Christmas project -- it's very clever!

2012-01-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

1. Tony is really enjoying his HfH activities -- Bosch came to shoot a commercial at the job site today
2. Good sewing time today -- finished up a small quilt challenge, Mourning Crosses, and also got going on the Agua B-a-D set
3. Doing a good job remembering to take my calcium tabs every day

2012-01-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

1. Mother used the electric cart at the market for the first time, and did OK
2. A couple of nice "new" books from Doves -- I laughed till tears ran down my face at Ellen DeGeneres' "The funny thing is ... "
3. A super-simple and very tasty new crock-pot-tortellini recipe

2012-01-04T16:12:00.000-08:00

1. Thoroughly enjoyed getting together with the girls again at the guild board meeting -- I missed them over the holidays!
2. An unexpected visit from Dave and Jessica -- they both had the same days off because she started a new job. They're so dear! And those two dogs are sooooo loco!!!
3. Got a good start with sorting and weeding the comfort quilt stuff -- I'm going to be very organized this year!

2012-01-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

1. I started a cute clever little Twelve Days of Christmas mystery project
2. Great success with Judy's bread recipe -- two loaves kneaded, risen, baked and ready to enjoy
3. I got over to storage and brought home comfort quilt stuff to work on
4. A nice potato-cheese soup recipe from Cooking Light

2012-01-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

1. Woohoo -- I spent some nice time sewing today, for the first time since before the holidays!
2. A new blade in my rotary cutter
3. I'm comfortable with who I am

2012-01-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

1. The house is plain and simple again: holiday decorations have been stored away
2. Embracing traditions: lentil soup for prosperity
3. Bright quilts and feather pillows -- I'm tired tonight

WINTER

2012-01-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.

- Edith Sitwell -

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2011-12-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

1. Dad had a minor surgery done yesterday, and everything went well
2. Christmas baking and wrapping right on schedule
3. Latkes for supper tonight, another holiday observance we enjoy each year

2011-12-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

1. Flannel sheets
2. Tamales for supper -- it's the first day of Las Posadas in Mexico and here in California (haha, we celebrate everything!)
3. My buddies in the sewing room

2011-12-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

1. Sitting in the sunroom watching the action outside at the bird feeders
2. Havarti cheese on my sandwich
3. Friendly courteous delivery drivers -- UPS, FedEx

2011-12-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

1. Holiday party season -- had a lovely time at the guild dinner last night, and the museum dinner is tonight
2. Silly emails that make me smile
3. Most of the holiday decorating around the house is done, and we're feeling festive!

2011-12-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

1. The hush of falling snow
2. A stack of magazines and mail-order catalogs to browse through
3. December 1st means we get to open the first door and have the first little chocolate from our Advent calendars, a tradition we've kept since Nick and Dave were babies.

2011-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

1. House slippers keeping my toes warm
2. Rediscovering a couple of blogs that I used to enjoy years ago
3. Vegetable soup and sourdough biscuits for lunch

2011-11-28T14:56:00.000-08:00

1. Back to normal after Thanksgiving -- refrigerator cleared of odd leftovers, guest bedding and towels washed, tablecloths and napkins ironed and put away
2. Flickers in the birch tree this morning
3. The warm homey yeasty smell of bread baking

2011-11-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

1. That first cup of coffee in the morning
2. My Guild friends
3. Feather pillows

2011-11-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

1. Small-town life -- I always see someone I know at the market and the post office
2. The house smells good! I made gingerbread and homemade pizza today
3. A glass of cool refreshing water -- sometimes I'm just thirsty

NOVEMBER

2011-11-17T08:29:00.000-08:00

November comes

And November goes,

With the last red berries

And the first white snows.

With night coming early,

And dawn coming late,

And ice in the bucket

And frost by the gate.

The fires burn

And the kettles sing,

And earth sinks to rest

Until next spring.

- Elizabeth Coatsworthe -

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2011-11-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

1. Rabbits scampering across the frosty yard at sunrise
2. Oatnut bread with apricot jam
3. A tidied-up linen closet
4. Snoring dogs
5. Cinnamon-scented candles

2011-11-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

1. Brilliant blue skies
2. Breakfast at Grizzly Manor today, a "locals" favorite - biscuits and gravy!!!
3. Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale
4. The aroma of woodsmoke around the neighborhood -- chilly nights mean lots of fireplaces keeping us all cozy :)

2011-11-06T22:47:00.000-08:00

1. Being mindful of darkness falling early on this first night of time change
2. Lighting the candles and the woodstove to make the house cozy
3. Quiet time with my thoughts

2011-10-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

1. Kettle corn
2. Orion shining above the yard
3. Bright warm quilts on a cold night

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2011-10-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

1. A mellow October afternoon -- soft sunshine and crickets chirping in the yard
2. A mug of freshly-brewed coffee
3. Caught up on laundry AND errands
4. The shorthand language that has developed after decades of marriage
5. Apple pie a la mode :)

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2011-10-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

1. A pumpkin bagel with cinnamon sugar for breakfast
2. Doggie antics -- they keep us entertained!
3. The forest is beginning to share its harvest -- pinecones, crabapples, rose hips, serviceberries, acorns ... a feast for the wildlife!

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2011-10-11T18:27:00.000-07:00

1. Rye toast
2. The aspens are turning gold
3. Sitting on the back porch watching the brilliant moon rise

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2011-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

1. A huge flock of ravens circling and cawing over the lake
2. Apple turnovers
3. Freshly-aired pillows

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2011-09-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

1. Cozy at home on a thundershowery afternoon
2. A nice phone call from Dave
3. Peanut butter cookies

2011-09-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

1. Warm bright days and cool nights -- love the changing seasons!
2. We're finally beginning to get past the overwhelmingness of caring for Dad with his broken hip ... life may actually return to "normal" someday. It's hard to be elderly.
3. Amy's Brisket and a lovely challah from the Farmer's Market for supper

2011-08-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

1. Dad is hangin' in there
2. It was 103* in Victorville when we left yesterday, and 64* when we got out of the car at home
3. We've settled into our new routine ... taking it one day at a time

2011-08-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

1. The sun is riding a bit lower in the sky these days -- summer is waning. I love watching the seasons change.
2. The sound of children's voices playing across the road
3. A relaxing supper on the deck

2011-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

1. A wonderfully mysterious foggy morning
2. Goldfinches feasting on the sunflowers in the yard
3. New calendar pages -- they both have sunflowers! :)

2011-07-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

1. New Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine arrived -- lots of great inspiration!
2. Rain ... we always need it
3. A lovely dinner at Barnstorm Restaurant at the airport last evening: good company and wonderful views of the sunset
4. Chocolate ice cream
5. An owl hooting right across the road last night
6. Sunflowers blooming all over the yard -- the seeds were "planted" by our busy chipmunks
7. The aroma of coffee brewing
8. Fluffy feather pillows
9. Rocking on the front porch
10. Summer in the mountains!

2011-06-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

1. The yarrow in the front yard is blooming
2. They play music over the loudspeakers in the parking lot at the grocery store ... and today when I got out of the car, I heard the Soggy Bottom Boys! The soundtrack from 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' is one of my all-time favorites!
3. A good book: just finished reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Totally absorbing and much deeper than the movie

2011-06-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

1. The pearly light in the sky before dawn
2. Juicy plums
3. Shea butter lotion

2011-06-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

1. Lupines and poppies are blooming around the valley
2. The writings of Anne Lamott
3. Strawberry shortcake

2011-03-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

1. A phone call cancellation on a "snow day" gave me an unexpected sewing afternoon
2. Bittersweet chocolate
3. Nice neighbors

2011-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

1. I went down the road this afternoon and cut a big armful of pussywillow branches just in time before they get buried by our next snowstorm. It's already starting to snow, and we're supposed to get nearly two feet by the end of tomorrow.
2. Cheerful phone conversations
3. Cherry pie

2011-02-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

1. A coyote outside the sunroom this morning
2. Father is doing well on his new meds
3. Mushroom soup for lunch

2011-02-03T08:35:00.000-08:00

1. Coyotes loping along the road behind the post office
2. Garden catalogs in the mail -- spring is coming!
3. Dove chocolate hearts

2011-01-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

1. Stitchy Fingers, my guild friendship group
2. A tasty supper: steaks on the grill
3. Freshly-aired feather pillows

2011-01-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

1. Eleventy-zillion guests in town for the long weekend -- traffic is crawling and everything's crowded, but it's OK ... all these folks are boosting the local economy!
2. Lovely mild weather and dry roads, so the guests can travel safely up and down the hill

3. Local friends and neighbors :)

2011-01-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

1. I heard an owl hooting nearby last night
2. A safe trip for Tony "down the hill" today
3. A sweet juicy orange

2010-12-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

1. It's been raining on and off for two days, but no drips in the family room -- we're keeping our fingers crossed that the roof issue is completely resolved.
2. Baking cookies and wrapping presents with Christmas music playing in the background
3. Eggnog tea -- a holiday *find* at the grocery store!

2010-12-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

1. FOUR raccoons in the yard this morning!
2. Holiday plans well in hand
3. A nice glass of Moscato wine after dinner

2010-11-30T08:22:00.000-08:00

1. Orion shining above the back porch
2. Hot cocoa with whipped cream
3. Coyotes howling in the cold dark night

2010-10-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

1. Feeling sooooo tidy and organized
2. A nice glass of Chianti with our pasta for supper
3. Nightfall: crickets chirping, stars twinkling and the clock tower at Interlaken Center chiming in the distance

2010-10-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

1. Blackbirds
2. New friends (hi Kathryn and Duane!)
3. Thunder rumbling in the distance

2010-09-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

1. It stays dark later in the morning ... which means the dogs sleep later, which means I sleep later!
2. Apple cider
3. Chipmunks frolicking in the yard (and Elvis is still absolutely sure he's going to catch one every time he goes out)

SEPTEMBER

2010-09-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

By all these lovely tokens

September days are here,

With summer’s best of weather

And autumn’s best of cheer.

~ Helen Hunt Jackson ~

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2010-08-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

1. Nice soaking rainshowers the past couple of days giving the forest a drink
2. Pasta dinner at Paoli's -- yum!
3. Sitting on the front porch listening to the crickets (summer is waning -- it's getting dark earlier!)

2010-08-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

1. Chocolate ice cream
2. Butterflies and hummingbirds in the garden
3. The soundtrack from "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?"

2010-07-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

1. Butterflies flitting in the yarrow
2. Peach cobbler
3. The bright glowing full moon

QUESTIONS BEFORE DARK

2010-07-10T06:34:00.001-07:00

Day ends, and before sleep
when the sky dies down, consider
your altered state: has this day
changed you? Are the corners
sharper or rounded off? Did you
live with death? Make decisions
that quieted? Find one clear word
that fit? At the sun's midpoint
did you notice a pitch of absence,
bewilderment that invites
the possible? What did you learn
from things you dropped and picked up
and dropped again? Did you set a straw
parallel to the river, let the flow
carry you downstream?

~Jeanne Lohmann~

SUMMER

2010-06-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

I pray that the life of this spring and summer may ever lie fair in my memory.

- Henry David Thoreau -

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2010-05-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

1. New jeans -- smaller size -- woohoo!
2. The aroma of coffee brewing
3. A quiet weekend after a noisy dusty week

2010-05-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

1. Strawberries from the Farmers Market
2. Comfortable shoes
3. Birds twittering in the yard at twilight

DANDELIONS

2010-04-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

I am the sun's remembrance, the boy

Who runs in hedgerow,and in field and garden,

Showing his badge, a round-faced golden joy

With tips of flame. I bear my master's pardon

For my long,greedy roots. I bring his message

And pay his sovereign coin for my passage.

If any call me robber of the soil,

Let him but wait on windy weather, note

How easily,without a mortal's toil,

I change my gold to silver treasure,float

The fairy mintage on the air,and then

Defy the curse of all industrious men.

~Richard Church~

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2010-04-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

1. My daffodils are blooming! We're enjoying lovely sunny weather.
2. A sweet juicy pear
3. A stack of "new" books from the Friends of the Library Used Book Sale

2010-04-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

1. A new blade in my rotary cutter -- why do I let it go soooo long?!
2. Chicken roasting in the oven -- the kitchen smells homey and savory.
3. Robins singing in the rain

MARCH AFTERNOON

2010-03-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

The afternoon is bright, with spring in the air,

a mild March afternoon with the breath of April stirring

Antonio Machado

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2010-03-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

1. A mug of tasty corn chowder for lunch
2. Tony singing along with Cat Stevens as he primes and paints his new doorframes
3. The dogs standing in the sun with their heads up and their eyes closed, just sniffing the air

MAKE THE MOST

2010-02-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

“Make the most of yourself for that is all there is to you.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

2010-01-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

1. Frosty rooftops
2. Lotionlotionlotion on my dry hands
3. Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Sleepytime tea

SNOW

2010-01-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.

~ William Sharp ~

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2010-01-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

1. Pinon incense
2. A sweet juicy orange
3. Woodpeckers at the feeders this morning

NEW YEAR'S EVE

2009-12-31T08:39:00.000-08:00

New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.

~Hamilton Wright Mabie~

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2009-12-30T08:28:00.000-08:00

1. My favorite warm wool cardigan (AKA my Bag Lady sweater)
2. Hot fragrant chai tea
3. Bright moonlight reflecting off the snow

2009-12-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

1. The lovely sounds the chickadees make at the feeders -- they have such soft pretty voices
2. Feeling organized and purposeful for a change :)
3. A happy cheerful phone conversation with Nick -- he and Stacey received their gift package

2009-12-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

1. The smell of smoke in the air from neighborhood fireplaces and woodstoves
2. Time in my sewing room today -- I enjoyed a nice balance of companionship and solitude
3. Holiday lights

DECEMBER MOON

2009-12-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

Before going to bed

after a fall of snow

I look out on the field

shining there in the moonlight

so calm, untouched and white.

Snow silence fills my head

after I leave the window.

Hours later near dawn

when I look down again

the whole landscape has changed.

The perfect surface gone,

criss-crossed and written on

where the wild creatures ranged

while the moon rose and shone.

Why did my dog not bark?

Why did I hear no sound

there on the snow-locked ground

in the tumultuous dark?

How much can come,

how much can go

when the December moon is bright.

What worlds of play we'll never know

sleeping away the cold white night

after a fall of snow.

~ May Sarton ~

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2009-11-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

1. Nick is coming out from Boston for a visit next week!!
2. Nibbling on a cookie leftover from Thanksgiving
3. The full moon shining on the white snow ... all is calm, all is bright

STOPPING BY WOODS

2009-11-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

~Robert Frost~

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PRAISE SONG

2009-11-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

Praise the light of late November,

the thin sunlight that goes deep in the bones.

Praise the crows chattering in the oak trees;

though they are clothed in night, they do not

despair. Praise what little there's left:

the small boats of milkweed pods, husks, hulls,

shells, the architecture of trees. Praise the meadow

of dried weeds: yarrow, goldenrod, chicory,

the remains of summer. Praise the blue sky

that hasn't cracked. Praise the sun slipping down

behind the beechnuts, praise the quilt of leaves

that covers the grass: Scarlet Oak, Sweet Gum,

Sugar Maple. Though darkness gathers, praise our crazy

fallen world; it's all we have, and it's never enough.

~Barbara Crooker~

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2009-11-10T08:20:00.000-08:00

1. The aroma of coffee brewing first thing in the morning
2. The late afternoon sun sparkling on the lake
3. Orion rising high over the poplars

2009-11-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

1. Freshly-aired pillows and crisply-ironed pillowcases
2. The grandkids across the road playing on Grandma's swingset ... happy voices :)
3. Bright clear moonlight