Old Man Winter

Old Man Winter lost his clothes
One of those nights when the wind turned mild
All he left on the cliffy rocks
Was a dripping beard and a pair of socks
(Mary Duncan)

where did it go?

this was so lovely. beyond words. and it led to this...

and of course, this...

(and fortunately this, thanks to Iris...!)

and a couple of projects reached completion, and went into the mail...

...or into a puppet show

all was just as it should be, but then...what is this?!

yes, you guessed it - MUD where the snow ought to be!
what's the story?
all that lovely new snow in Washington DC?
instead of Washington, Maine!!?
let's ask the man on the street (or rather the man on the lawn)
for his opinion:
! ~ exactly ~ !

there is one thing I can count on around here, and this is it:

December walks

I wanted to show you a glimpse of our daily December walk. I love that Dog can be off his leash and bounding happily through the snow, sniffing tracks, looking for puddles to drink from (frozen, this week), and always waiting for me before he gets completely out of sight.

I also love, love, love that once we broke a trail through the fresh snow (Dog and I) the deer started to use the same path. Now that it's frigid and icy, the only tracks through the woods are those on the path of Dog, deer and me.

And by the way, these long, long shadows of late day sun, are at 1:30 in the afternoon!!!
I'd like to share with you one of my favorite poems, by Elizabeth Coatsworth: "Early Dark"

Night's all right
With stars and a moon,
But night's all wrong
In the afternoon!
It drops from the trees
And it creeps on the floor,
And they call me in
By half past four!

Life goes on...

Well, I didn't mean the "Last Hurrah" to be so literal! Wow, where did the time go? October got pretty full, with big, big sadness, I'm sorry to say. We said good-bye to one of the dearest people who ever walked the earth. Someone we spoke with almost every day. It was always wonderful to pick up the phone and hear his voice. Always upbeat and positive and excited about new possibilities, no matter what. He lived a long time with illness, but with incredible grace and optimism, always accentuating the positive. Who would take up flying an airplane at 80 years old with cancer? He would. We miss him beyond words.


But...he had a beloved faithful companion, the 4-legged kind, who moved in with us and brings me daily joy. The sweetest, gentlest dog that ever there was. And thus we go forward. The daily walks I always longed for but couldn't always get to...now they happen! Twice a day, even.

In fact, this dog is so sweet that he recently received his first piece of fan mail! From a dear 2-legged friend who has not been keen on 4-legged-s, to say the least.
A little hard to see in this picture, I know, but there is a 7-year-old boy feeding treats to a very gentle dog at our little house, with (I'm guessing) the sun going down between trees (very early in the afternoon) in our yard.
Love in so many forms...love for those who have gone on before us and without us...those who are wonderful companions while we are still here...those who make friends where they didn't know they could...
It's all good.

the last hoorah

"flying above the clouds"

"Flying above the clouds," says F.
Isn't it a beautiful sight?

high in the sky...so peaceful...looking down on the soft billows below...

Well, actually, it's the latest batch of homebrewing in our kitchen.

Apple wine this time...

with our feet on the ground, and our heads in the clouds.

one thing leads to another

well, there's nothing like this time of year...shorts on at mid-day, but a cozy fire at night

cozy wool socks...

cozy, cozy, cozy...

and out come the knitting needles.

Not that all my other projects are finished, mind you, but...

when someone gives you this:
you need to do something really great with it, yes?

And since I'm hoping to develop a new knitting habit with less "tink"-ing

(a la Iris), I decided to try my idea out on another skein of yarn,

since I do happen to have a bit of a stash.

I'm committed to no tinking on this trial scarf/shawl-let.

Maybe stockinette would have looked nicer?
Showed off the yarn more?

That question will have to remain a question.

A little lace along the edge, and hopefully enough yarn...
and then I'll try it in the shades of blue loveliness!

It feels wonderful to have those needles in hand once more!
And the wool socks feel nice as well. And the fire.
What can I say? I do love cozy.