Embracing Winter

Embracing Winter...whether I want to or not.


Last year, my first full winter in Colorado, Mother Nature was kind. The winter was warm(ish) and the snow was sparse.  I mastered driving in snow and ice in baby steps. And fortunately did not have to practice it much.

This year, winter showed up with a vengeance.  There has been more snow so far this year than we had all of last year. I have already burned through 800 pounds of pellets.  Last year I maybe used 250 pounds the entire year. (And yes, I had to carry every single one of those 40 pound bags into the house. My winter upper body work out.)

The Twin Sisters dusted all over.

The drive to work is in the dark. The drive home is in the dark. Thank goodness work has a window which warms me and gives me a dose of Vitamin D very day. That will change in the spring as the office moves to a new space. I am delighted at all the construction delays as I am dreading the move.

Snow capped

My toes seldom see the light of day. They go from Uggs to the shower - where I catch a glimpse of them under water- to socks and boots and more socks and blankets. My skin resembles the underbelly of a mushroom- pale and luminescent- deprived of the sun and a tan.  Under every shirt is a camisole, an extra layer of warmth.  

Hiding behind the clouds

The bears have set an example that I seem to be following: load up on food and hibernate.  Gone are summer's salads and shrimp tacos, replaced by potatoes and apples and pasta, pasta, pasta. Like the bears, I have put on a few extra pounds. I'll worry about that come summer...I'm the only one who sees under the layers of sweaters and jeans. 

Ham and cheese in a puff pastry on a bed of jalapeño reduction, 

courtesy of my fave restaurant, Shallots.

These are the meals I crave and live on. 

Home from work, the cabin is chilly, the floors cold. First the pellet stove gets fired up, then the dog fed. Some nights it seems the cabin never warms so I take another cue from the bears and give in, taking the iPad and a book to the warmth of the electric blanket. It's dark out anyway, why not just go on to bed? 

A blanket of snow and clouds rolling towards the cabin.

Walks are non-existent unless there is fresh snow. Then they are a workout. But the day after snow there is ice, and with ice comes slips. That's how I broke my elbow a few years ago, an experience I am in no hurry to repeat.  So my workout routine is also non-existent, except for lugging bags of pellets in and out.  The yoga classes at work call to me, maybe I need to reply. 

Clouds, fog, snow? 

But in it all there is such beauty. Driving into Salida there is suddenly the view of the Collegiate Peaks, dusted with snow.   The Sisters out my front door change daily. Snow covered, snow dusted, snow traces, repeat.  The bald eagles are out, majestically flying through the canyon,  fishing the river. Where they are during the summer I do not know, but winter and spring are when I usually see them and this winter the sightings have been frequent. That river they fish, the Arkansas, is full of ice, frozen towards the edges, chunks breaking free and floating down as the sun warms the day. 

And even as we enter January I see a flash of hope to keep me carrying on.  Last week the sun set at 4:39pm, this week it will be 4:44pm. Five minutes later each week? I'll take that. By the end of January the difference will be noticeable. There are bulbs under the snow, storing their energy, waiting for enough sun and warmth to pop through.

And until then? You will find me under the electric blanket, reading. 

Carlos and I know where we belong in the winter. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 

from my cabin to yours.

2018

Aspirational Christmas Decor

Aspirational Christmas Decor....

You too can aspire to have a beautifully decorated house just like moi!
(Ok. Maybe you can aspire to have a half decorated house just like me.)

I have no kiddos this year, Christmas day dinner will be an orphan's meal at the neighbors and I only decorated for myself.

Christmas trees are my favorite. With a log cabin, avoiding a real (fire hazard) tree seems like a good idea. There's a narrow fake tree that just touches the 7 foot ceiling and squeezes between the pellet stove and the stairs. This year it is decorated with nothing but icicles- glass and plastic, frosted, clear, gold and silver- plus some snowflakes and white lights. I imagine it will stay up until March just like the one I had last year. It is on a timer so I wake up to a lit tree and come home from work to a lit tree. My own personal seasonal night light. It scares away the winter dark.   The tree will come down once we go on daylight saving time again.

LOVE this tree- it just fits. 

Most Christmas decor pics feature gorgeously wrapped packages, all color coordinated, with a theme. I have a theme too. UPS delivery boxes. There is one tiny wrapped package under there- a present I bought for myself- and the rest are lovely brown corrugated boxes with mailing labels. The most fun part is I have no clue who some of them are from. Christmas morning is going to be a real surprise!

Going with a UPS theme under the tree this year. 

At least it is all color coordinated. 

The mantel has garland. In the middle there should be silver and red ornaments. Or maybe some pine cones would finish it off. But for the past two weeks it has looked just like this....no centerpiece. 

It's almost done. Just needs something in the middle.

Not gonna get it at this point. 

Santa holds Carlos's and Mina's stockings. That Santa is about 55 years old. My dad's sister made it for us and my mother was kind enough to pass it on to me when the Big Guy was tiny. All three kids knew they would be dead if it ever got knocked over. Somehow it has survived.

Mina has already found her catnip mouse. 

Carlos can smell his marrow filled bones. 

No surprises for those pets.

My milagro tree which stays up year round gets tiny glass ball ornaments for the holidays. Except this year Mina, the kitty, knocked some of the milagros off and the chest it sits on needs to be moved to retrieve them. So instead the glass balls remain in their plastic bag, destined to return to the basement with exactly zero time on display. Maybe I should throw that bag up in the middle of the mantel garland?

Love this little tree but since it is by the kitty food, 

Mina has a tendency to knock the milagros off. 

And that darling Salida sign came from Buenos Aires, 

courtesy of friend Diana. 

Hopefully it will be hung up this weekend.

Hopefully. 

There are greenery wreaths on all of the doors. Sadly, all of the doors need painting. Ignore that- enjoy the festivity!  Even the shed doors have wreaths which makes me very happy as I can see them from the front windows. Amazingly the deer have left the wreaths alone.

We conned sweet neighbor Bev into taking our pics for a Christmas card. 

This was not a chosen pic but look how cute that wreath is on the shed.

And doesn't Carlos look handsome?

This poor door.

The sun beats down on it every day.

The wreaths are wire forms from the dollar store with $3 fake garland as 

a base and real greens from the yard to fill it out. 

Maybe the fake stuff is what is deterring the deer? 

My reindeer greets visitors!

The steer skull had to get in on the Christmas greenery action.

The same cannot be said of poor Kaiser's greens. I put them in his little carved paws, the deer come up on the porch and pull them off.  It's a game we play every day.

Another Christmas card reject pic.

But... again Carlos looks like a boss and Kaiser actually has his greens in his paws.

I've finished the living room off with my collection of winter needlepointed pillows. I love these. They will stay out for a while, covered with dog fur, just like everything else in the house.

My $30 leather chair.

Absolutely the best deal and the comfiest spot to sit and read. 

O wait. Maybe this is the comfiest spot.

My "Naughty" stocking hangs with the hats.

Upstairs the loft room floor is covered in tissue paper and ribbon. The sewing machine is out- I whipped up some flannel bags to put packages in rather than find boxes and paper. It's a mess and has been since last weekend.

There was a flurry of wrapping and packing to get everything in the mail.

So far UPS is winning- they delivered on time.

USPS is two days late and counting.

The Christmas cactus is blooming. How does it know?

This cactus is probably twenty years old- maybe older. 

Although I suspect the original died while I was in Colorado and it was in Texas under the 

care of the ex. I think he possibly replaced the original.

Either that or this cactus has had a genetic mutation because it used to have light pink flowers.

And Santa will be here in a few days.

It's a wonderful time of year, full of love and generosity and cheer and surprises.
I'll miss having my kids about but am relishing the quiet of a four day weekend.
The decorations, while not perfect or designer delightful, bring me joy. And personally, I think that's the point. Bring joy.

I wish everyone a wonderfully happy holiday with all of the treats of the season.

Happy Holidays Out of my Comfort Zone

Happy Holidays!!

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.

I spent the weekend in Dallas with my brother's family and my mom and even my sweet son. 

Me with my mom and brother.

Growing my bangs out...ugh.

Nothing worse. 

My absolute favorite picture of the weekend.

My great nephew playing Pokemon with the Big Guy. 

Also had the chance to see some friends so it was a pretty perfect time. The icing on the cake was I got to get on a plane- not much makes me happier- and on the return trip I spent a night in Denver with my friend Diana and her very sick daughter and her not sick son-in-law.  LOVE having a place to stay in the Mile High City as the drive to and from the Denver airport is the pits. 

And now I'm back at the cozy cabin in the woods, watching the snow fall outside my window. Don't think the temp has been above freezing at all today. The pellet stove is blazing and there is chili in the crockpot for dinner. 

Mina on my lap, fire in the pellet stove.

Cozy in the woods.

Need to put the Christmas tree up.

And last week I really got out of my comfort zone. The hospital had a craft fair which I went to last year...but wasn't brave enough to sign up for.   Cheryl, the nurse I work with, does beautiful photographs that she puts on cards and canvases. She sold things last year and encouraged me to try it this year. And then she reminded me and nudged me just enough that I turned in my fee and committed.   

Honestly, selling stuff I make has always intimidated me. Lots of doubts of  it "doesn't look professional enough", it isn't "creative enough". Whatever. Lots of excuses to not try. 

So with a shove from Cheryl, I tried.   I made some beads...necklaces and earrings and fun wrap bracelets. Then I made some banana bread and apple pies. And then I made some seasoned salt. My fabulous nephew, Andrew, who is über creative and much better at computer design than I, offered to help me with a label for the salt. I had a basic idea- he cleaned it up.   So it was an interesting table of items for sale. 

Andrew's improved version of my label.

After setting up, I wandered the other tables and despaired a bit that I was not as organized, creative, professional and then decided "F*@k it. I don't care."  This was an experiment. Would anyone buy anything? Would I take everything I came with home again? 

Lots of little salts. 

And some earrings. 

Needed a little work on the display but o well.

Well, guess what?  I sold half my salt, most of my bracelets, all of the banana bread, all but one of the pies (Fools. I should have sold all of them as they are really yummy.) and some  earrings and necklaces.  I probably made a $120 profit, which, considering I had zero expectations 
and I only started working on things November 1, was not bad. I had someone come up and tell me they had bought one of my bracelets for her daughter for Christmas. Really?? I made a Christmas present?

Would I do it again? Sure. But I would plan a little more- my presentation needed work-and start creating a little sooner. 

So. If you create, share it with the world. There will always be people that are more or better but there are also people willing to spend cold hard cash on your ideas and creativity. And that is such great validation. 

Put yourself out there.   And have a wonderful holiday season.