Oh Brrrr!

ONE!!

TWO!!

THREE!!

Freezy

As much as I really do loathe getting cold, because I tend to stay cold for hours, I really have missed the snow.  This year we only got a couple inches of snow in our little town.  Not even really enough for a snowman.  Now I'm not complaining by any means, snow is just something that is a part of winter for me.  So, since we didn't have a whole lot of snow, we decided to go find some.  Not too far up the highway we turned down a side road and found a whole lot of snow.  Heavy, deep, wet, snow. 

Perfect for snowballs, snowmen, and the obligatory snow angels.  Oh what fun!  Everyone got out.  Laughing, running, jumping.  Just having fun.  Within just a few minutes pants were soaked, gloves were wet, and noses were cold.  But we weren't done yet!  On to the best activity yet.  Now I know that y'all have tossed rocks into a river (who hasn't?).  We did one better.  Tossing snowballs into the river.  Now that is cool.  You get the same splash, but if you pack the snow well, your snowball floats away.

Howdy!



Yes, they are jumping on the bed.

 When I first started reading it was the typical stories for young women: The Secret Garden, Little Women, Black Beauty, etc.  When first reading Huckleberry Finn something happened.  Something a little different then what happens when most people read that book.  After reading a chapter or two I would get up and do whatever it is that I needed to do.  But with one significant difference.  I started talking with the accent, pronunciation, and grammer from the book.  Really.  To top it off, I in no way did this on purpose.  I was simply so immersed in the story and my imagination was so ingaged, that it was as if I was there.  Listening and talking with those people.  Now I do realize that I probably did a horridous accent, but I didn't care.  I was there, with the people in the book.  Living right beside them.  I was going down the river on the raft with Huck and Jim.  I've reciently discovered something about myself.  I still do that.  Apparently there is just some part of me that connects with the language in books.  And I start to talk like that.  The soft southern drawls, twangy westerns, bad grammer from east side (excluding swear words), sharp English, the brouge of the Irish, and the lilt of Spanish origin.  To be honest, I don't even realize that I talk that way.  People, Mr O and Peaches mostly, tell me.  It isn't on purpose, it isn't to offend, it isn't to copy or mimic.  It is just my woderful imagination engaging my brain on a whole different level.  Lately I have been speaking with a few people who actually have accents from other parts of the country and other countries.  I do the same thing.  Honestly, it is a little wierd.  To feel my mouth making sounds and forming words that sound so different.  It is really neat, but also a little wierd.  Ahhh, imagination.  The things that we can do with it!

Living on a Flood Plane

look closely at the bridge.  Kinda unnerving, huh?

Or is that Flood Plain.  Or Flooded Plain.  Or...well, back to the topic at hand.  The river that flows down through the park 2 blocks away had a bit of an overflow this past weekend.  The little town that we live in is situated a little oddly.  There are two rivers that pass by our town, quite closely in fact.  A fairly small one that in the summer you can wade across, and a fairly large one that has a strong current and intiresting eddies all year long.  We are in the "Y" of those two rivers.  Great place for a town, right?  Well, in their defence, the founding fathers of this little place that we call home put the town in the most logistical possition for that time: next to the river and rail road tracks.  Yeah, we have trains going through at all hours, but that is another day.  But at that time, having the town on the river was a good thing.  Now, not so much.  At least we are far enough up from the river that we don't need to worry unless the river raises a good 9-10 feet.  Although, the several (I'm not sure exactly how much) extra feet of water swooshing by in the overly swollen river did close our street for a few hours, and came to within about 25 feet of our sidewalk.  That is a little close for comfort, really.  When you think about that much water going by.  All that debris.  Just the unrivalled power of floodwaters.  A bit scary really.  Awe inspiring.  And ultimitly reminding us that we are just one small part of this world.  If we only discover one thing, it is my hope that we find, and really see how small we really are.

Taking off the Rose Colored Glasses

Somedays we just need to remember all of those wonderfully positive things that we live for.  So, I present you with a list of a few of mine.

My Man.  Oh how I love this wonderful man who gave me my world.

Those sometimes cute, mostly obstinant, smaller versions of Handsome and I.  Mr O and Peaches.  They are (mostly) good kids.

Four legs.  Yeah, I know.  The dog.  If it were possible for dogs to serve up chicken soup to someone feeling not-so-well, Four legs would do that. 

Sunshine.  Yes I do live in the North-western part of the Pacific Northwest, and because of that it is usually rainy for about 8 months of the year.  But really, the sun is always there.  No matter how many clouds and how much rain, the sun is still there.

To be able to help people.  Volunteering at school.  Being there for my kids when they figure out something totally cool.  Helping out less fortunate folks through the food bank and just a simple smile and hello.  Every little bit, every moment, makes a difference.

Making fun things to give away.  Sewing is my craft of choice.  I love it.  So, I sew for fun, for friends, family, gifts, occations, and just to create something out of what used to be a flat panel of fabric.

Reading.  With the kids.  Watching them understand new words and new phrases every day.  Seeing the world of imagination open up even more for them.  Fantastic!

Balloons.  Really, I'm not sure what it is about them.  They are hard on the environment, they shrink down within a few hours, and they only float for a day or so.  But really, they are cool.

Smelling the flowers in whatever store we are in.

Looking like a fool running through the puddles with Mr O and Peaches.

Just life.  Truly Living Life.  Participating, not just observing.

Kids and Kameras

For the delightful holiday of Christmas, our two little (or not so little) kiddos received cameras.  Nothing big or flashy, just some sturdy point and shoot cameras.  They are identical except for color, and they are well loved.  Oh.  My.  Word.  Those cameras have taken so many pictures and videos. 

I think I may need to retire my camera!  I just love the thought that the kids put into most of their doings that are recorded.  It may just be them goofing off, but it is to share.  And it never fails to bring a smile to my face.  I love these guys!

Choosing Happiness

Many many times over the last few months I have been asked by people that I know how I'm able to keep a smile on my face.  The answer is, and always will be, I choose to be happy.  Happiness is a choice.  A cogitative, mental, conscious choice.  Yes I know, life is full of those things that are downers, bad things happen to good people, and over all life really isn't fair.  But, there is a choice.  Either we can let all that bad stuff get to us and make us unhappy, upset, and over all grumpy.  Or we can choose happiness.  To be full of Joy.  To be happy takes energy, this I know very well.  But a wise woman once said to me "your house will only be happy if you are."  I took that to heart.  At the time, there was no one else so the statement had profound effect on me.  I was the only one in my house.  That saying also works with couples and families.  We are only as happy as we want to be.  Sure, if you want you can allow the downers of life to make you depressed.  Just don't expect your house to be happy about it.  In all honesty this reminds me of "Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium" where the walls start to turn black from sadness.  The walls were literally turning black because the shop (i.e. house) was sad that Mr Magorium was leaving.  But that can relate directly to the topic at hand.  Even though our walls are not going to turn black, the attitudes will.  Like I said at first; happiness is a choice.  Keep your house happy.  Choose Joy.

Little Crystals of Water

Peaches and the snowhead.

The reasons that I love snow are plentiful.  Snow is the most wonderful thing in the world to watch fall.  Snowball fights are fantastic and a great release of pent up frustrations.  Snow ice-cream is possibly the best dessert ever.  Really, I mean ever ever ever.  It's the best, don't argue.  The fact that with all the hundreds of thousands of feet of snow that falls each year and each individual flake is unique completely floors me.  Totally boggles my mind.  That's a lot of tiny little unique water crystals.  Following animal prints in the snow has got to be one of the best games ever invented.  Watching the look of discovery on a child's face as they see snow.  Building snow men and then watching them inexorably melt down to nothing but the carrot.  The building of each layer.  Placing each one with care on top of the last.  Putting eyes, mouth, and nose in just the right places to make the perfect face.  The cold hands, nose, and cheeks that come from playing in the cold.  Drinking the cocoa stirred with a candy cane to warm up.  And then going back out to do it all over again.