The Years To Remember

Thursday, AM - When I woke up today, my weather app indicated it was 5*F, or -15*C and we had an alert for freezing fog. I looked out the window and it looked surreal, with frost coating all of the trees and shrubs and most surfaces. I decided I'd drive to the waterfalls about 6 miles away to take some photos, but as I got a couple of miles from home, there was hardly any frost and the sun was shining through. I realized this was a very localized phenomena, so I turned around and went back to my frozen home. I took a walk down to the lake, but it became clear that my phone camera could not do justice to what I was seeing, so I put the phone away and just decided to take a full 4 mile walk and enjoy the beauty.  Ice crystals on bittersweet. Was this deer wondering why I was taking a walk in these freezing temps? It's been so cold that ice rinks have been shoveled on the lake. It's unusual for the ice to freeze in December. This was all before I had any coffee or breakfast, s...

My daughter has been here a week now and we have been enjoying each others company. We went to see Wicked , and have been watching Queer Eye on Netflix. We had dinner out with her ex-stepmom and another friend which was very fun. Since she works remotely, she has been busy each day with work, while I go about my business.  I had a holiday luncheon with a large group of retired women I used to teach with. It was nice to catch up with them all.  The theme was to wear your teacher Christmas sweaters., but I never was fond of them so had none to wear. I made due with my favorite new SmartWool forest. These women certainly made teaching a fun career! I went on a gentle 5 mile hike with my hiking group, and of course lunch afterwards.  A wooded preserve near Cooperstown, NY. There was plenty of snow here along with frosty temps.  These were planted to make telephone poles. While picking up dinner, Glenn and I admired a Christmas tree display near home. The weather turned ...

For someone who doesn't love Christmas, I sure spent the weekend immersed in holiday events. I guess as long as I stay away from the commercialization of Christmas and holiday obligations, I really kind of like it! I'm embracing doing what I want to do and not caving to societal pressures. We all took many pictures of The Mount, but this is my best. My only regret is that I couldn't figure out how to get the blur off the moon. It was a clear waxing crescent.  Friday - I enjoyed three fun events this weekend, all outside in really cold conditions. The first was NightWood at The Mount in Lenox MA. The temperature was 24 degrees which was tolerable with the use of HotHands warmers along with ToeWarmers and full winter gear. We started off the evening with dinner at the Firefly pub, and ended it with hot chocolate and Bailey's at my house. I had a decent salmon burger and much laughter here. The Portal              📷 :Amyjean We all immediately thoug...

A brief visit to my hometown after 9 months.  I just got home from an overnight trip to Corning. It was my first time back since last February and all the drama surrounding Mom's passing. The reason for the trip was the first birthday party for my nephew and his wife's daughter, little Nora. She is a sweet little nugget! Little Nora In chatting with my nephew, he told me they were expecting another daughter in May. He was positively giddy with excitement. He explained that they had a very hard time conceiving Nora (they are both 40ish) so are delighted that another baby is now on the way.  All six of my siblings were there so I got to say hello, chatted briefly with all of them, and many other nieces and nephews as well. I mostly went on this trip to hang with Theresa and Carol and their families as I am closest to them. The other siblings made no effort to spend any more time together which was just fine with me. After the party, Theresa, Bruce, and I went to Carol and Clive...