winter silhouettes

the weather is now cold and dry.

we cover our soft cores with layers of

silk, thermal, and wool.

we don jackets, hats, and scarves

before venturing outdoors.

and we all look pretty much like the

sta-puft marshmallow man.

how unlike the trees, who've shed

their cloaks and veils of green

to stand naked throughout the harsh winter season.

their silhouettes vary, like personalities.

the elm stands slim and tall, often alone. the trunk, a graceful vase

from which limbs emerge and arch downward gracefully in a dancer's pose.

the oak is dark, sturdy, and stout. many short limbs,

heavily muscled from holding up the leaden winter sky.

pale and perhaps too fragile to stand alone, the white birch finds strength in numbers.

all this variety in the landscape makes winter a bit easier to bear.

i never tire of these pictures that the trees paint for me.

happy new year

...if i had words to make a day for you,

i'd send you a morning golden and new.

i would make this day last for all time,

and give you a night steeped in moonshine...

---from the movie "babe"

holiday tradition

on friday, molly, emilie and i will be making our 3rd annual holiday trip to chicago. we stay the weekend, shop, and do one special thing.

last year we saw the king tut exhibit at the field museum. we also saw wacker drive about 75 times as i kept missing the turn for our parking ramp and we kept going in a big circle down in the loop. i was getting panicky because i thought we'd miss the shuttle bus and not be able to get into the museum at our assigned tour time and thereby forfeit our tickets. it didn't happen. we saw it all and it was breathtaking.

this year we're going to high tea at the drake hotel on sunday afternoon.

i am not allowed to be the driver this time.............

sad homecoming

i took this photo last nite so i could introduce you all to my 2 new parakeets, pearl and grace.

i got them about a month ago. they were my prescription to fight seasonal affective disorder this winter. you know, s-a-d. the feeling of wanting to dig a deep hole in the nearest snowbank and crawling on in wearing old flannel jammies and staying in there until winter is over. and of course you would be sleeping the entire time. or eating.

my nurse practitioner said to try bringing the outdoor things i love so much into the house for the winter to keep me happy. so i got my birds to bring nature into the house.

and i have loved having them--parakeets are very social and busy and love to do acrobatics. they are kind of messy and fling seed around a bit but i don't mind.

so i was very bummed when i came home from work today and found grace dead in the bottom of their cage. i don't know what happened. can parakeets have heart attacks or strokes?? she was chirping up a storm yesterday. weird. now i am worried that pearl will die, too.

if that happens i guess i'll get out my shovel to start on my snow cave.

oxymoron of the day: "holiday peace"

for so many people i know, the holidays don't seem to be the visions of sugar plums experience that the commercials on tv would lead us to believe.

a friend at church said his life is in turmoil, and the holidays are just adding to it.

another is dealing with a serious illness in the family. there will be a funeral in the next 2 weeks.

another hates wrapping gifts, holiday baking, and the social obligations that the season entails.

i don't know what to say to them, except that it will be over soon. another holiday season will have passed. including new year's eve, that poke a stick in the eye of all the lonely people in the world holiday.

i stopped getting flustered about the holidays a few years ago. it wasn't a conscious decision. it just kind of evolved. i became less perfection oriented. i learned that a few loose dust bunnies in the house over the holidays wouldn't lessen my family's enjoyment or scare away santa.

but i will confess this: i take the 26th off every year. to do nothing other than read the book i get from santa. i don't go to the day-after sales to buy what i didn't get the day before. that mania can go on without me. i'm on holiday.....

opened these pix tonite from auntie ml.


this i would caption: "hmmm....busy day, busy day...what's next....let me think a minute."

this one i would caption: "rising gas prices mean nothing to those of us who drive the flintstone hybrid."

sweet nothings

these little wonders are cinnamon swirls.

the dough is flaky and rich, a buttery pie crust-type of dough made with a pastry blender.

the swirl is cinnamon-sugar.

i've had this recipe since 1970.

the recipe card is yellow, stained, and tattered.

my handwriting was much more legible than it is now.

i love these cookies because they remind me of the little snippets of leftover pie dough that mom would dust with cinnamon-sugar, bake, and let us kids eat as a little treat.

sweet memory.

season's peace............

"these people need a grandchild." brodie dieck, 12/14/2007

would you trust this elf to make your toys??? think he's employed in china??

heck no, it's just duncan brodie, being forced to stoop to new ever-lower lows in my quest for something to put in our christmas cards other than a newsletter.

i'm not fond of newsletters.

they're usually full of information you already know.

except for terry and terri kiley's newsletter.

it always makes me either laugh, or cry, or both.

i am so tickled when their card comes--i know it has that special treat inside, a treat made with my favorite ingredients-- beautiful words and ideas.

long time no blog

i just noticed it's been a month since i posted anything. why?? well, our pc is on the backporch, and since we're empty-nesting it, dennis decided not to heat the porch this winter.

arrrgh!! it's been too damn cold to sit out there ever since! the weather here has been colder than normal, and we have a half a foot of snow on the ground.

needless to say, my brain cells and my inspiration freeze up easily when i can see my breath as i write so i haven't been blogging a word on the pc.

so why now? ta-da! i bought a laptop and we are wireless in the warmth of the living room, looking at the christmas tree, smelling the nice low key spruce scented candle i bought, and generally just lovin' it! i can couch-potato -blog-in-my-flannel-jammies anytime i want to! and i will be so come back soon and give me inspiration with your comments.

stay warm..............cocoa for everyone, jeeves...................

my advent bird

at the end of november i put up a little fake christmas tree and a snowman on the front porch near the front door. the tree has little white fairy lights and is on a timer so it lights up at dusk and stays on till midnite.

about a day after i put it out, i went out at night to replace some lights that had gone out. as i opened the door to step out onto the porch, a little bird was startled out of the tree and flew over to the ash tree on the tree lawn. i was startled too! i figured it had come to roost in my little tree for the comfort of the warmth given off by the lights. the same thing happened later that evening when i let the dog out. after he was back in i played spy, looking out through the glass of the door into the dark. sure enough, after a few minutes the little bird came back and resettled himself near the top of the tree.

he has been there every nite without fail. we are no longer using the front door after dark for any reason whatsoever!! i want my advent bird to stay warm while he keeps his vigil.....