A New Year, So Who Cares?

Black and white cat
2013…Who cares?

Isn’t it just another day? January first with a new number after that. I’ve been around for 56 of them. When I was young I got very excited about New Year’s Eve. It meant a lot more to me than it does now. I used to call my parents (wow, long time ago – I haven’t had any parents in 15 years) and wake them up and couldn’t understand their lack of enthusiasm. I wanted to have fun, I wanted to go out and party with everyone else, but my kids were asleep and my husband was at work. I missed lots of chances to have a good time and before you know it there are no more chances.
So, it’s a reminder that my first best friend and my old boyfriend who died too young both had and have birthdays today – December 3st. The new year will bring new challenges and life goes on.
So Happy New Year. I say it because it is the thing to do today.

As Christmas Day Begins

merry christmasMerry Christmas to all my faithful readers and to those who may stumble across this blog today.
I am up early, before the sun is up, to check on my online stores and reply to some e-mail. I always enjoy the peace and quiet of early morning. But soon I will have to start the fire, make french toast and wait for the kiddos to get up.

Thank God they are not up at 4 AM any more! All of you parents who were up super early today, I can definitely relate. The days when Christmas was “over” by 5AM..! It always made for a very long day.
Now my kids are older so I’m sure they will wait until at least 7:00! Pretty sure anyway.

It is snowing, but won’t amount to much I’ve heard. Maybe just enough to give us that white Christmas. I plan to enjoy the fact that two of my four kids are with me. It’s a very good gift. I hope you have special gifts to enjoy too.

No New England White Christmas?

kids ice fishing on the lake
Ice Fishing Mid-Winter

It’s the Sunday before Christmas – December 23rd – and have splotches of snow on the ground in my area of southeastern New Hampshire.

My daughter came to visit from Manchester – to the east – and said, “you guys have a lot of snow over here”. So that tells you how little snow there is. Our ground is not even covered, but rumor has it (per the weatherman) that we might get some snow Christmas morning.

So although it appears that most of the northeast is currently brown and not white, that may change just in the nick of time.

Until last year, we always had plenty of snow for the holidays it seemed. This cold season has so far brought more snow, turning to rain, and ending up as slush, which is gross. My son and I shoveled that slushy stuff off the driveway and it was not fun. Leaving it there meant I could be stranded once it froze over. As it is, I have to put on my LLBean ice cleats (stabilicers) to go out and fill the bird feeders. My backyard is packed frozen snow which is like walking on ice. By the way those stabilicers are an excellent investment for around $20 and work great.

So I wish you a wonderful Christmas – white or not.  Enjoy your blessings – we can all find many things to be thankful for.

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Catching the Winter Sunrise

winter trees and sunrise
Winter Sunrise

Some of the most beautiful moments of my days happened when sitting at the bus stop early in the morning on winter days. To enjoy seeing the sun coming up, I’d have to leave the house where too many trees kept me from seeing anything except a glimpse of orange far off. But at the bus stop, near the wide open area of the lake, it was sometimes a spectacular view.

Sometimes I’d bring my camera and take a walk after my son got off to school. That is just one wonderful advantage of working at home. Having the ability to work my own hours means enjoying the best parts of the day if I choose. Yes, I am lucky.

Now I don’t live near the lake and I never see a sunrise – except the occasional bright color way off through the neighbor’s trees. I always think about how beautiful it must be to live on a hill. If you live on a hill, I hope you take time to enjoy that beauty.

The woods are something I can enjoy. Whenever I walk in the woods I always think of this part of Robert Frost’s poem. It’s the only part I can ever remember.  Certainly the thickly wooded areas of woods in the northeast are lovely, dark and deep.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
(Robert Frost)