It seems to never fail... regardless how little I feel Christmas in the run-up, regardless of how disjointed the holiday seems, I get to the quiet of Christmas eve and Christmas day, and ... I appreciate the world around me. I appreciate the near-universally enforced day off. I appreciate that it's a time to give to others and to say thank you for being in one another's life. I appreciate that while I carry a lot of stress, I have so much less actual worry than many. I appreciate that everyone seems to slow down a little, stay home, and spend time together. It's a good and beautiful ritual. We gather in the darkness, and we light a candle of hope.
Merry Christmas, everyone, and know I appreciate all of you whom are in my life.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Lake Jane is Frozen
Every so often this area gets a doozy of a storm... although truthfully this current spell is longer than just about any I can remember. But there have been a lot of tales of 1985 lately... I also think of 1980... and I remember a really cold weekend in 1990. Why the more recent events aren't more memorable, I don't know. I guess I'm not a kid anymore so I just want it to go away.
Anyway, just a block down from me is a Lake Jane Park, which is divided into the "Upper Park" (housing the pool, playground, and ballfield) and the "Lower Park", which is next to the lake. The lake is one of my favorite spots around here. From the bridge, you can stare up at Mt. Rainier, and it's ever so quiet on the lake. Lots of houses, sure, but just a glorious area to sit. I walked down on Friday afternoon but was really too late for a decent photo, so I went back on Saturday morning. The lake had frozen considerably more since the day before - no cracking when I stood on it. I didn't go far... no interest in falling in, and I doubt it was *that* solid.
Beautiful, gloriously beautiful.
Also lovely is that park has a good hill the kids have been putting to good use - I knew there were swaths of kids in this neighborhood, and hey, they've all come out of hiding. Yay! Go outside!
Anyway, just a block down from me is a Lake Jane Park, which is divided into the "Upper Park" (housing the pool, playground, and ballfield) and the "Lower Park", which is next to the lake. The lake is one of my favorite spots around here. From the bridge, you can stare up at Mt. Rainier, and it's ever so quiet on the lake. Lots of houses, sure, but just a glorious area to sit. I walked down on Friday afternoon but was really too late for a decent photo, so I went back on Saturday morning. The lake had frozen considerably more since the day before - no cracking when I stood on it. I didn't go far... no interest in falling in, and I doubt it was *that* solid.
Beautiful, gloriously beautiful.
Also lovely is that park has a good hill the kids have been putting to good use - I knew there were swaths of kids in this neighborhood, and hey, they've all come out of hiding. Yay! Go outside!
Monday, December 1, 2008
chocolate nirvana
I need to start this by mentioning that I'm not a huge chocolate fan. In a choice of vanilla or chocolate, I'd take vanilla every time; fruity vs. chocolate, I'll take fruity... you get the idea. Chocolate is tasty, but on the list of sweet things it falls after many others.
But tonight I was shopping at Trader Joe's and picked up a box of dark chocolate dipped peppermint Joe-Joe's. They're like Oreos, only better. And with dark chocolate. And peppermint. A lot of it! I'm not actually sure how long it has been since I've even bought a box of cookies - many months, at least - perhaps that why I had such a reaction. I managed to hold it to eating 2 before I got home and one for dessert. The original plan was to take the rest to work and I might just have to revise that plan.
The Unitarians are busy making up holidays - hey, why not, jump on the December bandwagon. So apparently they now have a holiday called Chalica that starts tonight; 7 days, 7 principles. Tonight celebrates principle 1, the inherent worth and dignity of every person. I wrote two overdue apology notes. They are overdue, so using the holiday as a reason for getting it done seems like a good thing to do. At least I can let it go now.
But tonight I was shopping at Trader Joe's and picked up a box of dark chocolate dipped peppermint Joe-Joe's. They're like Oreos, only better. And with dark chocolate. And peppermint. A lot of it! I'm not actually sure how long it has been since I've even bought a box of cookies - many months, at least - perhaps that why I had such a reaction. I managed to hold it to eating 2 before I got home and one for dessert. The original plan was to take the rest to work and I might just have to revise that plan.
The Unitarians are busy making up holidays - hey, why not, jump on the December bandwagon. So apparently they now have a holiday called Chalica that starts tonight; 7 days, 7 principles. Tonight celebrates principle 1, the inherent worth and dignity of every person. I wrote two overdue apology notes. They are overdue, so using the holiday as a reason for getting it done seems like a good thing to do. At least I can let it go now.
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