Pure Magic

I thought yesterday's frost was pretty cool. This morning showed me I had no clue. Breathtaking is the only word that comes close.

I snapped pics around the yard, then sure I was missing better magic, packed the yeti in the car and drove around my neighborhood and to the park. Looky what I saw. It only got better as the sky got bluer.

The snow had a light crunch to every step. There were deer and rabbit tracks and Mr. Tucker had the best morning ever. Me too. It was really hard to take it all in. As I drove home, I saw a few neighbors standing in their yards with cameras, so I wasn't the only one mesmerized.

I woke my Rip Van Winkle 16 year old son and made him look out the window. He sat for a while and asked why everything was so white. Mom/nerd/weather geek told him a warm mass of moist air collided with cooler trees and crystals formed gently on every surface. What I should have said was Magic, my son, pure Magic.

Around noon, when the sun had warmed enough, the crystals on the trees fell softly and silently to the ground, sparkling glints of sunlight on their way down. I watched, and soaked it in so I could remember for ever and always.

The light in my trees and states of matter

What to do on day 7 of the cold from hell? Fuzzy brained, clogged sinuses, snot-festooned, raw throated, rattly chested, lymph enlarged, taste impaired, bone tired - this cold tests what I'm made of and how much more I can take before I run whining to the doctor for antibiotics I don't want to need.

What to do, indeed.

Well today, the sunlight sparkled in rime frost and I said what the heck. Boots on bare feet, coat over jammies, camera in hand, doggy at the door. It was good, except for the snot part, but I managed to enjoy it for the brilliant crisp morning it was, and laugh a bit at silly Mr. Tucker.

He likes teeny tiny toys. This one is a santa bouncy ball. He likes to pounce on it and bury it in the snow, then dig around like a pig after truffles until he finds it. Chew, chew, toss, pounce. Repeat. The snowballs in his foot pads are huge. Handfuls. It takes several towels to dry the snow melt off him, but a boy needs his play time.

I've lost count of the snowfall, 6 or so good ones, 8 or 9 inches, maybe?


Cold, though. I have a clock that beams the time and temperature on my ceiling, because I need to know these things. At 4 am it was 13 degrees F. At 9 am it was 19. I suppose it's 21 or 22 by now. Which can feel remarkably tolerable after a colder snap, if there is no wind. Especially if there is sun.

Enchanting rime frost, like fairy dust. I never catch the magic on film. Still, I try.

Then there's this. Christmas Eve errands with the family, gentle snow falling. Daughter says mom, look up. The moon roof was mesmerizing with water droplets from melted snow. Of course I had my camera.




Cool, huh? Random and yet not quite.

This is the patio one snowfall ago. Wish we had put away the chairs and covered the umbrella. But we're lazy like that. The hammock and volleyball net are up still too. Oh well.

This is the ice on my front step, from the roof melt. Can you see the shattered icicles? Daughter was tossing a volleyball up to break them before anyone got impaled. Got most of them before the ball got stuck. Not to worry. It'll come down in the thaw and it really adds to the decor, yes?



Major design flaw with this house. I amuse myself this winter looking at portico designs and fantasizing about a small, tasteful addition to provide shade and shelter for Tucker as he guards the home. And protect visitors from impalings or soaking rains. Maybe someday.

This poor red tail has been hunting my back yard for a few weeks now. I quit filling the feeders after I watched him make a kill under them. Didn't want to set traps for the little birdies. Besides, my neighbors keep theirs filled so the little ones won't go hungry. Wish someone would make a raptor feeder. I'd gladly hang some meat out for them. Tough life for these grand birds, forced to hunt in backyards for food.

Lastly, despite the cold, the 4 boxes of kleenex, the sleepless, congested nights, it's been an otherwise lovely holiday with my little family. We've read books around the fire, played games, eaten, drank and been merry.

I leave you with my Christmas Craft, the wine cork wreath. Easy to make if you have a drill and lots of corks laying around, check and double check. I made some tree ornaments out of champagne corks, but gave them away. Cute, though, with bells and bows.

Wishing you good books, warm fires, warm hearts, happy dogs or cats or kids, good times and sunshine, eventually. Hope you find something magical or wonderful or funny in the world around you. I believe all you have to do is look sometimes, and maybe do the unexpected once in a while.

For Ms. Moon, a sweet Nebulullaby

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Sean Lennon collaborated with 389 other people online at hitrecord.org to make this lovely nebulullaby.

Sparkly Things

We're on our second sparkly, light snowfall. The kind that makes diamonds in the sunlight, and something even more stunning in moonlight. It has been magical, and impossible to capture with a camera.

And yet I try. I almost got a good shot of the snowflakes perched on this leaf.

There are fewer berries left hanging this winter, though I don't know why.
The old sled is standing by the front door to greet any who stop by.


Another year has rolled by, another volleyball tournament in Chicago. The city lights at night and the sunrise from the 29th floor were spectacular.

All is calm, all is bright. Hope you are snug and warm and seeing beautiful things of your own.
My heart is lightened by the solstice's arrival, knowing that we get a minute of daylight back every other day or so starting tomorrow, the magical full moon eclipse and meteor shower, even though the snow will keep me from seeing them, and the spirit of the season. Peace to us all.

Joey To The World

I can hardly stand the latest cuteness on Zooborns. Tree Kangaroos.
Who Knew?? Enjoey and Happy Holidays.

Good Things

I'm not a big fan of the Christmas consumer frenzy. I've been bursting into tears in random stores for years now, overwhelmed with the piles of crap made in China, knowing that the people I am compelled to shop for need nothing and want for nothing, just like me. But here's something that doesn't make me cry - shopping online at the Greater Good.

You pick the cause - hunger, literacy, breast cancer, animal rescue, children's health, rainforests, the environment - and shop for interesting, fair trade goods through their portal and raise money while you shop. Not buying? Just click the button to raise money, no purchase required.

This keeps my inner grinch at bay, makes me feel better about the Holiday madness, and keeps my tree decorated in really interesting things like this:



I admit, I've bought myself a few things I didn't need but I really love on this site - a lovely necklace made from a Bhutanese coin, a tibetan prayer wheel pendant, a miniature leather bound Christmas Wish book ornament, a Nepalese scarf...all while happily shopping for others in my pj's. The prices are very reasonable, and the sale or clearance prices are crazy cheap, like this silk scarf for about 6 dollars!

Shipping and handling are $4.95 for the entire order. How great is that?

So, do yourself and your favorite cause a favor and check out the Greater Good.

If you want to feel even better about yourself, donate to water.org, Matt Damon's highly rated charity to provide safe drinking water and sanitation to those most in need. Or stuff some stray bills in the Salvation Army bucket, or drop off a bag of food to the local food pantry. Whatever keeps your consumer guilt at bay.

I'm done with my shopping frenzy for the year and I've fed hungry people in the process. No crying for me this Christmas! Hope yours is tear free too!

Too Soon Gone

Elizabeth Edwards recorded these words to her children:

“...when they are older and telling their own children about their grandmother, they will be able to say that she stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way – and it surely has not – she adjusted her sails.”

You can hear her read them at a minute and a half into Diane Sawyer's report here.

I took a moment to think about Elizabeth Edwards tonight, and was so sad to think about her two youngest children, not even teenagers, having to grow up without a mom. I read that when she learned her cancer was back and in her bones, all she wanted was 8 more years, so she could see them through high school, and do the job she was meant to do. She did not get her wish. I thought about her birthing her last two babies at 48 and 50, the optimism and hope and strength inherent in that act, particularly after enduring the loss of her son to a freak car accident at 16. I would not have been so brave.

The first time she popped on my radar, prior to the political aspirations of her husband, was as an author. She wrote the forward to a book I love called Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart , by Gordon Livingston. They met online in a chatroom for bereaved parents. The book is just wonderful, written by a psychiatrist who boils lifes troubles and wisdom down to its essence. I recommend it for anyone in need of perspective or healing.

Lord, that woman had enough to deal with in life, losing a child and fighting cancer, and then, just like in a trashy novel, her husband turns out to be a liar and a cheater, likely using her to keep his public image intact. She weathered that humiliation with more class than I could have mustered. I heard her divorce was to be final next month, and I wonder if she cared that she was unable to finalize it, or if she was able to let all that go in the end. I hope that she is remembered not for her husband's failings, but for her accomplishments, her career, her books, her fierce motherhood, her integrity, her grace, her courage and her humanity.

Here are some more of her words. I hope she rests in peace.

The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human.

But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact on the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful.

This is Why I Don't Bother

I don't hang Christmas lights outside. What's the point when this is a mile down the road? It's the best show in town, with music broadcasted right to the radio. Thank goodness it's blocked from my view by the hill or I wouldn't sleep for a month.

I'll keep my candles in the windows and go watch this instead. By the way, I think my whole house can fit in his garage. Landscape contractors have better houses than doctors and lawyers around here. Who knew?

Anyway, it's lovely, enjoy. There's more videos on youtube if you want to continue to be mesmerized. And feel inadequate about your own decorations.