At the closing of the year

The photo below was taken by Laura Erickson and is from the Crane Lake Nature blog

The year is at its end. Time is spent.  Many things said and done; so much more that could only be felt.  This week is the time-between-times, when the year turns bringing the solitude of winter months.  Those are the days and hours of introspection and germination that bring a soul's desolation or brilliance.  I am no great poet so at this low tide of season's change I will share with you the perfect words of another.  God bless.

Darkling Thrush

by Thomas Hardy

I leant upon a coppice gate 
    When Frost was spectre-gray,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
    The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
    Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
    Had sought their household fires. 

The land's sharp features seemed to be
    The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
    The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
    Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
    Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
    The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
    Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
    In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
    Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
    Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
    Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
    His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
    And I was unaware.

Getting Ready for Santa

Here is my little cherub cleaning up the front room as we get ready for Christmas.

Thanksgiving Pictures part one

We survived the Turkey time travel. I have will never travel between October 1 and May 1 ever again. Boo did very well under the circumstances of delays, snow storms, and strange places. Here are some pictures from my camera (Rick's has better ones, but I've not got them downloaded yet)

Shiori and Obachan

Rick, Boo, and Tippy

Her first plane ride

This was a couple days after we got home, but Boo found a chocolate bar that Ojichan had given her.  She got it open and quite a bit consumed before I realized what had happened.  So of course I took pictures before taking the chocolate away.
 *grin*

Fall Pictures

Well I have lots of pic from the last few days of Halloween fun and Leaf raking.  So I'll post a few for all to enjoy.  I'll try and post some more later as I get them organized.

Spiders!!!!

There was some spider wrasslen done today.  

She darn near took the poor thing's head off.

But she's too nice to do that.

 

So they called it a draw.

And they kissed and made up like best friends.

And then we took a break from decorating and had pizza.

The End

Murder

They murdered my favorite tree this morning. A back hoe ripped it from the ground in less than 2 minutes.  I've been crying ever since.

Pyrus calleryana - Bradford

Dr Who

There are many things that cause a grown adult to suddenly turn into a giddy child.  A certain candy or the memory of a place and time, even a person.  How apropos then is it that one of my favorite sayings comes from the very character that makes me school girl giddy.

"There's no point to being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes"  The Doctor.

For years of my young life, as early as I can find memory truth to tell, I have been a Dr Who fan.  Thank you KUED for a bright spot of both British humor and good SciFi to shape my young mind.  Just as droves of young geeks will debate the words of Spock or the quantum-thermodynamics of a lightsaber, I cling to my Tardis and ride a wave of Dr. centric geekdum.

It was formally announced - less than an hour from this blog writing - that Dr Who will be filming in Utah.  This is my home state and my current living location.   Being the self respecting Whovian that I am I promptly posted it to Facebook and emailed a number of Whovian friends. I would have twittered, but I don't have a cell phone and I don't do twitter.  The point is the word had to get out and fast.

Many people flock to events like a visit from a politician or a religious leader, but not I.  I would do almost anything to simply stand off to the side silently while they filmed so that later I could, with renewed glee, say 'I was standing way off to the side when they filmed that!'

Some may think that's silly, and maybe it is, but feeling child like glee for a beloved character/show is much more world friendly than a political rally filled with hate or a protest march because you don't like what someone said. 

I'll take my giddy Whovianess any day and try to be happy knowing I was at least in the same state as the Tardis, the Dr. and his world.

Pure joys

I have had a trying couple of days.  A flux of wonderful and hurtful, but through it all my duaghter has been oblivious and I am glad.  I watch her and think of Christ asking us to be like little children.  The pure joys that they experiance because of things like a train whistle in the distance, showing a favorite stufed toy the ABC's in a book, the spray of a sprinkler, or the magic of bubbles.

If only we adults could let go of our obsessions over money, our vehemence over politics, our judgments in the name of religion, and such.  The world would be a better place.  today I think I'll stop for a nap, drink a glass of coco, color for a while, and look for the pure joy in the day.

Sunrise and Longfellow

A excerpt from Longfellow's "Sunrise On a Hill" and a photo of today's sunrise.

I stood upon the hills, when heaven's wide arch
Was glorious with the sun's returning march,
And woods were brightened, and soft gales
Went forth to kiss the sun-clad vales.

. . . 

If thou art worn and hard beset
With sorrows, that thou wouldst forget,
If thou wouldst read a lesson, that will keep
Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep,
Go to the woods and hills! No tears
Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.

 

Fall has arived and I can breath again.  Sweet Potato and Pumpkin are on the shopping list, along with fresh peaches and pears.  Most autmns I get so inspired and this one is no exception, but I have a two year old that is in full fury.  No quiet mornings, no calm nights.  I rise like a zombie in the morning and tumble like the dead into bed at night.

I hope that I can get decorated for Halloween in a timely manor, that Thanksgiving (spent in a hotel this year) will not be a nightmare, and the Christmas will be uplifting. 

I miss the solitary falls of my single life.  I love Rick and my Boo, but I would love to spend a day quietly writing and drinking coco.  I should make some goals for myself;  not the loose weight and lower cholesterol kind, but the finish a tatted snowflake, make sweet potato casserole for no reason, or sew a wall hanging kind of goals.  My mother calls these moments "hyacinths for the soul"  I call them roses in winter.

What kinds of roses would you gather in winter? Mine will be small, but loved.  How about you?

Train Wreck

Here is Shiori's birthday cake. We were going to have "pool" party, but it ended up being too cold and rainy. We ate chicken nuggets and had cake serounded by Nemo fish and party balloons. The Balloons were a hit and I'll get that video up soon.



Here is our train wreck living room. She LOVES putting together the tracks and pushing the little wooden trains around on it. Especialy zooming down a "hill".

Bad Day Made Better

I received my blood test results this morning, cried, then went shopping.

I didn't buy much. I got new shoes to wear to church on those Sundays I have to teach. Lovely little black flats. I also picked up a pair of Rebock sneakers. They are wonderful; like walking on memory foam.

So of course I need some reason to wear these heavenly sneakers. What better place then while sitting *laugh* on my new Weslo recumbant excersise bike!


Super thin model not included.

The fact is my cholesterol levels are not good. They aren't evil yet, but the Dr. wants me to go on a drug that I'm really against going on. I'm being an empowered patient and saying "No". I am going to change more of my eating habits - eat oatmeal every morning - and exercise on my new bike. I even did a mile today just trying it out...I think I'm going to need some books on tape.

But Drummer Hoff Fired it off

Major Scott brought the shot.

Back Yard Pool Play

Summer Fun

Shiori is a water bug. She would rather play in the water than anything else - including eat treats. This last week we went up the canyon to the park and the highlight for her was the river (and throwing rocks in it). We also spent Sunday out at my parents' house and let her just play. Here are some pics and I will add the video later.

Gosh she cute!This is her at Rick's school scribbling on a lab sheet while we waited for the Mentos and Coke fountains to start.

12.5 Pounds of ...

Chocolate.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this precious artisan chocolate that has found its way into my home. There will be ice cream, a must, and I now have no excuse not to try to make mousse. I had this amazing mousse at La Grolla in New York several years ago that I dream about duplicating. I'm definitely making truffles as I've just learned to make Ganache. I guess this is the sign that it's time to break out the chocolate "cookbook" and make some of those amazing sweet treats that I've not had the guts or ingredients to make.

I'd love to hear some ideas for the chocolate.

A Father and His Girls

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. Here is my darling husband, my sweet pea and the cat. Life is good.

Caramel Corn and tatting

I made Caramel Corn last night which turned out wonderfully. I also tatted last night which turned out, but was a pain in the butt.

I'll be teaching my friend Stacy to tat this week and I hope I don't confuse her royaly. I tried the other night, but it was a disaster. Not my trying to teach her, but that the evening was a bit crowded.

The DHs playing Axes and Allies in the same room, two daughters watching Toy Story who came in every commercial break to "check" on the parents, and a phone call of mild doom/Birthday wishes from the family. Did I mention it was my HD's birthday? Well it was. He at least got cake and ice cream. It's funny to me how plans never work out when it comes to things like birthdays, weddings, and funerals.

This weekend is suposed to be warmer and I've made no plans so it's looking fabulous already. Now all I have to do is find a Father's Day gift.

Birthday Cake

Today is my husband's birthday. He wants a white cake with fudgey frosting. So I attempted my first Ganache. I'm not sure it will turn out fudgey, but it'll be tasty. we'll have to see tonight when I put the cake together and we eat it...with home made chocolate ice cream.

Even if it's a failure it will be good. Why? Because I used 10oz of Madagascar Amano Chocolate. Yep that's right folks I finally gave in and used all of my Amano Chocolate stash in baking.

This is the best chocolate in the world. And Art Pollard (owner and master chocolate maker) is amazing. Now that there is a store in Orem,UT I will be going over to buy more bars (Order online HERE) . I have a plan to make mousse this summer. I'll probably go with the Montanya; although, I haven't tasted the Dos Rios and its description sounds gooooood. Yum yum yum.

Summer Time

The season of summer is upon us. With Rick being freed from the bonds of teaching we are endeavoring to take up some serious puttering. Utah once again cut teacher pay - proving that they stack'm deep and teach'm cheep and don't give a *BEEP* about livable wages, but that's a post for another time - the point is our summer fun will be limited to things like grilling up the canyon and walks in the park.

It's a good thing Boo likes playing in the sprinklers and flying kites. I also wonder if I can talk my Dad into a fishing trip to Farnsworth. At Boo's age it would have to be just overnight, but I've not been there in over 10 years and I hate that. When it is a favorite place it shouldn't be that long between trips. Living just above poverty level will have a damping effect on travel plans.

Best find some good hiking shoes for me and the Boo and a swim suit for Rick.

choo choo

A quick note about Boo. She is now into trains...and crayons. She's coloring on everything.

This Ones For Grandpa

East Egg Hunt 2010

The hunt is on!





The hunt is off.

The New Room

The long story short is that we repainted Shiori's room over spring break. Here it is a lovely lavender or periwinkle purple...whatever you want to call it.

Slurp there it is!

Shiori can Can Can and Fetch

Shiori pics

First day at swim class



Christmas breakfast

Spaghetti dinner



So here are some pics to tide you over till I figure out what to do about the video. It's bigger than what Blogger allows. *grumble about Google*.

"Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems"

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens



Ebb Tide Rose

Spring has come and I wish to be out in it. I do like the winter with its white solitude, however, spring to me is that moment where the world catches its breath like a swimmer surfacing or a butterfly freed from a drab cocoon. Times of transitions from one state of being to another. Spring, like Fall, is the time between times. Nature has one foot in sea and one on shore and wonders what is to come.

My Tulips have pushed there first tender shoots up and one brave Johny-jump-up actually bloomed this last week. I thought about picking and pressing it, but then I thought I would leave the brave little thing alone to have a nice full life...even if it was a cold one. I want to clear out the detritus and debris, clip and prune and feed, but I can only cheer my little plants on for yet a little while. Winter bits and snarls still.

I'm excited to see what comes up where. I spent a bit of time last fall scoopling about in the soil putting down bulbs all over the place. I still have some that I need to "force" to enjoy and the growing stack of nursery catalogs beckons to be thumbed through. I am determined to put in the rose garden even if we move in the next couple of years. There are a couple of new roses I want - the deep purple and the green mini and, of course, the ever elusive Ink Spot I can't seem to get my hands on. Sun Flowers and Hollyhocks will be put in this year on the south side, maybe even some Four O'clocks. I want plants all around me like a shield.

I've grown to love plants more than people. Plants make no pretense about what they are about. Grow, bloom into beauty and move on in silence, but they enjoy your company in the meantime. People on the other hand...well they are not very plant like at all; much to their shame. You can learn a lot about being a good soul by listening to plants. I hope that spring comes to you in all its many splendors and whispers to you in the evening light about how to breath and how to grow and how to make the world beautiful.


Snowdrops



Peruvian Daffodil.

Swim Lessons

Shiori has started swim lessons. This was her first week and I did my best to take pics, but it's tough when you have to keep an eye on her in the water. Here is the best I've been able to get and some video. She is a wiggler and frankly I can't seem to get a clear shot.

First day was a lot of holding tight to Mom, but Wednesday and today she was fearless. She seems to like floating on her back, but is getting better about her face going under water and of course there is the splashing. She's discovered she can splash with her feet. I imagine I'll be spending some time at pools this summer.