I hate global warming...

It didn't snow like I wanted. My wish was to wake up with a blanket of white draped over the landscape.

I wanted the gentle hush of life sounds. Quieted by a snow muffle. The world stops going here and there to stay inside under the protective warmth of their homes.

Those days create the perfect excuse for making a vat of soup and yummy cookies. The house becomes delicious smelling.

I wanted to layer my son in snow gear and send him outside to go snowboarding or sledding. He would come home with red cheeks and a frozen nose.

I would greet him at the door with hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace. Time would be spent snuggling up in a blanket hearing about his snow adventure for the day.

It's still early in winter, maybe another day I'll get my wish.

Have yourself a very Merry Christmas...

I finally got my Christmas tree this year.

It seems like my brain keeps thinking I have more time before the holidays, but in reality they're thisclose already.

The Autumn wreath was replace by the pine one and the yellows, oranges, and browns have been replaced by blues, whites, reds and greens.

My tree is the prettiest one we've ever put up. I know I say that every year but every year my idea of beauty changes.

This year it's just lights and a star on top. NO ornaments.

Last year it was just particular ornaments and an angel on top.

It was the most beautiful tree we've ever had.

So, this year I smile at it's beauty in simplicity.

That's what I wish for this coming year - to be able to appreciate beauty in it's most simplest form.

Batten down the hatches...

Our first real winter storm is bearing down upon my little town.

The flakes are tiny and aplenty.

The wind swirls them around my face and up my nose.

It never fails - during a good storm, snow manages to get snuffled up my nose.

I was able to get my shopping done early. You can always tell what kind of storm we're going to have by the state of my cupboards.

Am I out of bred, milk, and/or eggs? Yes = major storm on the horizon. No = a minor inconvenience is approaching.

The news says "blizzard" "drifting" and "emergency."

I think we're going to get walloped.

With my body bundled up and my hat pulled down over my ears, I stand outside and listen to the snow fall.

You would think that snow was silent but it's not.

It is the quiet "shhhhhhhh" that hushes the bustling world that it covers.

The blanket of silence is beautiful and I always feel like my being is even too loud to just stand there and take it all in.

Jingled all the way...

The holidays are fast approaching.

So much to do in so little time.

I feel the crunch already.

As I travel about my town there are more people out than I expected. Most with harried looks on their faces.

They cut in line and give me the finger. I can only imagine what is going on in their heads as they push me out of the way.

I thought this was the season for holiday cheer. For smiles and a bit of giving. Not just presents, but of general good will and peace towards all men.

What's happened to the world?

Is commercialism to blame? The saccharine infused commercials don't project a hostile image. Rather the exact opposite.

My attempt at brushing off the rude driver works for a bit. I'm just at the point of going home and letting the crazies have-at-it without me.

I can't wait until January when the hustle and bustle of the season has passed.